Love Story: Molly and Adil’s Combsberry Inn Eastern Shore Wedding

Love, Stories Documented, Wedding  //  25th October 2012

Yesterday, you all saw some beauties from Molly and Adil’s wedding weekend in Oxford, MD. (If you missed the previous posts, check them out here: The Cake, The Adarni, The Rehearsal Festivities) We could not wait to share those posts with you, but we promised that today would be even more special… and that it is!

Last night, Molly and Adil and Molly’s family joined us for a reveal party where we shared their photos with them for the first time. There were laughs… tears… and cheeks that were hurting by the end of the evening! ;) It was amazing! Before they left, Molly asked us to share our favorite wedding weekend memory with them. And that, my friend, was a hard question. We had a lot of favorites… between Mark and his AMAZING sugar artistry and Molly’s dad surprising her by dancing with her and sharing his dancing skills that he learned while taking dancing lessons specifically for that moment (YES! AMAZING right?!?), we had a hard time choosing.

However, what truly honestly was our favorite part of Molly and Adil’s wedding weekend was the overwhelming authentic feelings of love and gratitude we felt throughout the whole weekend! As soon as we arrived to Molly’s parent’s home on the Eastern Shore on Thursday, we felt like we were a part of their family. That feeling never changed… and actually still has not changed! ;)

We were with Molly and Adil and their families for the whole weekend… we saw the craziness of pre-wedding festivities, the stress of the little finishing touches that were made, and the overwhelming sense of gratitude that Molly and Adil poured out through their hearts in every way! We saw the little moments that made their wedding day that much more special and we could not be more grateful for that opportunity.

Just before the rehearsal festivities began on Friday, Ryan and I sat down with Molly and Adil to capture some of their emotions on video. THIS was the “cherry on top” for us! Molly and Adil have this amazing way of expressing their emotions. They never try to mask it; they just let it flow from their hearts! I can tell you that there is NOTHING that makes our hearts smile bigger than seeing authentic hearts share their love! We are honored and humbled that Molly and Adil took some time during the craziness of their wedding weekend to share their emotions with us and give us the opportunity to capture it so that they will always and forever be able to remember those special feelings! (Don’t miss the video at the bottom of this post! It is extra special and may require tissues!!)

Molly and Adil- you are a blessing in our lives! Thank you for trusting in us, believing in us, and most importantly sharing your authentic hearts with us! We are truly grateful! Wishing you so much love! And we can’t wait for your 50^th wedding anniversary… we might just have to join you in reliving those special memories while watching your video! ;)

A special thanks to all of Molly and Adil’s family and friends for welcoming us in with open arms! You all are amazing! Also, huge thanks to all the amazing vendors that helped make Molly and Adil’s Eastern Shore Wedding Spectacular!

Ceremony Venue: Combsberry Inn | Reception Venue: Tred Avon Yacht Club | Cake: Mark Seaman (friend of Bride and Groom) | Flowers: Fabulous Flowers | Band: Incognito John Duley | Hair and Makeup: April Willems (Friend of Bride) | Bridal Salon: Betsy Robinson Bridal Salon | Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Watters from Annapolis Formal | Groom’s Suit: Hugo Boss | Rings: Zachary’s Jewelers | Photobooth: Liz and Ryan | Photographer: Liz and Ryan

This video is the very first of its kind and we hope it is just the beginning of many many more to come! We have created a weekend coverage collection for our 2013-2014 weddings that includes an interview element to capture an additional dimension of the many emotions of this incredible time! We are so excited to use this interview element to accompany our photos and help tell a more complete love story. Let us know if you are interested in hearing more details!

 

Molly and Adil’s Wedding: Garden Reception and Rehearsal Dinner

Stories Documented, Wedding  //  24th October 2012

If you enjoyed the gorgeousness of Molly and Adil’s Adarni Ceremony, we know you are going to love what is to come. I promise it gets better and better!

On Friday, Molly and Adil gathered their closest family and friends for a Champagne Reception in the Garden of the Combsberry Inn. As they poured the champagne and toasted to the incredible wedding weekend they were in the midst of, they shared their gratitude for those surrounding them. Molly and Adil presented gifts to everyone who played a role in making their wedding celebration everything they dreamed it to be. They laughed, they cried, they celebrated… but the emotion that was the most evident through it all was gratitude! Molly and Adil’s grateful hearts brought me AND Molly’s dad to tears. (One of those was more likely to happen than the other!) It was perfect!

After the Garden Reception, everyone made their way to the Barn for a gorgeous rehearsal dinner. (Side Note: Yes, the Garden, the Barn, and the gorgeous waterfront grounds are all within about a 3 minute walk of each other! The Combsberry Inn is like a dream! Seriously, it is gorgeous!) Molly and Adil planned a family style, layed back meal for everyone involved in the wedding. (Huge thanks to Creative Cuisine!) After dinner, all wedding guests were invited to join them for a Welcome Reception. Their very talented friend, Larry Lay, treated guests to some fine piano bar music! It was like a dream in so many ways!

Can you even imagine their wedding?!? ;) So much fun! Can’t wait for you all to see it tomorrow!!!

 

 

Molly and Adil’s Wedding: The Adarni Ceremony

Stories Documented, Wedding  //  24th October 2012

Today is a big day friends! We have been so so so excited to share Molly and Adil’s wedding weekend with you and now is the time! ;) We have a full day planned of photos from Molly and Adil’s AMAZING wedding celebration on the Eastern Shore! And then tomorrow… we have something extra special! It is the cherry on top and you will not want to miss it!

As you may remember from the Behind The Scenes post about Molly and Adil’s incredible wedding cake, Molly and Adil’s wedding had some extra special details that we were honored to have been able to capture as we spent the weekend with them!  Their wedding celebrations actually started on Thursday (well actually it started earlier in the week when their guests began arriving from all over the world! ;), but the formal events started Thursday). They kicked off the weekend with a Parsi Wedding Tradition called the Adarni.

This was the first time that we had ever been a part of this tradition, so we were super excited and did some research beforehand! We learned that this ritual is all about gift giving! ;) How much fun is that?!? Everyone who is related to the Bride and Groom… including the Bride and Groom, of course, receive gifts! What we loved most about this celebration for Molly and Adil was that it was actually the first time that many of their family members had met each other! It was such a beautiful evening and the perfect relaxing environment to bring everyone together and make their engagement official! Let the wedding festivities begin! ;)

Behind the scenes: Molly and Adil’s Wedding Cake

Stories Documented, Wedding  //  12th October 2012

There were a lot of details about Molly and Adil’s day that just made our hearts fill with joy!  It was clear to us that their wedding was not just a celebration for them by them.  But it was a celebration where a worldwide community was coming together to make sure Molly and Adil’s wedding celebration was one of a kind!

When Molly and Adil shared with us that their close friend was going to be making their cake, we thought that was pretty cool.  But when they told us he would be flying in from Chicago on Monday to begin prep on the cake in Molly’s parent’s kitchen we got pretty excited.  Okay, pretty excited doesn’t really do it justice.  We were pumped.  But, then they filled in the gaps that blew us away and told us that their friend was a master sugar artist and would be using blackberry preserves that had been canned from Molly’s parents garden earlier this year!!!  WHAT!?!  How amazingly special is that?  I googled their friend’s name and he is not “just” a sugar artist, but the Chicago Tribune calls him, “a master sugar artist and cake stylist. One of the best in the country.”  Yes, this was AMAZINGLY special and there was no way we were not going to capture this!

We arrived to the Eastern Shore on Thursday to begin capturing Molly and Adil’s wedding weekend.  First stop was Molly’s parent’s house.  We immediately felt at home as we got the tour of their home and joined the rest of Molly’s family as we watched in awe of the magic Mark and his assistant Alexis were putting together.  By the time we arrived, the refrigerator was full of beautifully crafted magicalness, waiting to be decorated!  We were literally left speechless as Mark shared the details of the cake in numbers.

Within this beautiful masterpiece, that consisted of 60 lbs of cake, there were approximately:

7 doz eggs
16 lbs butter
12 lbs sugar
11 lbs flour
15 qts buttercream
30 bananas
… just to name a few!

AMAZING right?!?!  It was such an amazing honor to be able to capture this incredible gift to Molly and Adil as it was created! 

Over 50 hours of Mark’s craftsmanship went into just the flowers on this cake!

Ohh and I would be remiss if I did not mention… this cake not only looked AMAZING, but it tasted pretty darn AMAZING too!  Thanks Mark and Alexis for sharing your incredible talent with all of us! Be sure to check back next week for more from Molly and Adil’s Wedding and to see what Mark’s Cake looked like once it was finished!

 

Love Story: Kaylene and Matt’s Rustic PA Barn Wedding

Love, Stories Documented, Wedding  //  28th September 2012

The tears were flowing as we stood at the top of the hill inside of the barn waiting for Ryan’s cue that Matt had arrived.  We chatted about this big day and how it was finally here.  I gave Kaylene my best advice: to soak it all in!  This was the moment that she had dreamed about for so long.  The man of her dreams, the one who completes her was standing at the bottom of the hill.

We made our way outside of the barn and down the hill.  With tears still streaming down our faces, we soaked it all in together.  The sky was a bright blue and the sunshine was beaming through the big white puffy clouds.  We noted that PopPop definitely had his hands in making that weather so perfect for that special day.

Matt was now in site and with a deep breath, Kaylene was ready for this.  Matt’s smile got bigger and bigger as the anticipation of seeing his beautiful bride grew.  The moment he had been waiting for was finally here.  He turned around and his expression says it all.  He is one lucky guy!

As they soaked it all in, Kaylene’s tears were wiped away and their smiles were bigger than they ever have been before.  This was their time!

Whew… as I cry happy tears just writing this, I can’t help but be incredibly grateful that Kaylene has found the man of her dreams in Matt and that he has blessed our family in such a special way!  I said this in my MOH speech and it could never be repeated enough… Matt, thank you for bringing that smile to Kaylene’s face!

Kaylene and Matt, THANK YOU for the honor to play such special roles in your day.  As the photographer and MOH, Ryan and I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of such a magical day and such an amazing love story!  You two amaze us and we could not be more grateful to have you in our lives!  We love you!

We would be remiss without saying an incredibly HUGE thank you to Kaylene and Matt’s parents and close family and friends who played such a HUGE role in making their day so AMAZING!  Between all of the incredible woodwork & other handywork, Ed (Kaylene’s dad) put into the barn (so worth every single minute of work!  It is gorgeous!), the daylong marathon of caramel apple making (all of the guests give you an extra big thanks for that one! ;) They were tasty!!), the making of the centerpieces, the leaf cutting and so so so much more… you all made their day extra amazing!

We also wanted to give our good friend and third photographer Brendon a HUGE thank you for filling in for Liz while she performed her maid of honor duties!

Photographers: Ryan and Brendon, Liz and Ryan | Ceremony Venue: Private Residence | Reception & Catering: The Williamsport Country Club | Brides Hair: Savoir Haire | Tuxes, Bridal, and Bridesmaids Gowns: Tanya’s Bridal | Flowers: Nevill’s Flowers | Officiant: Rusty Wolfinger

This slideshow is extra special… we hope you enjoy reliving Kaylene and Matt’s wedding day to the live performance of “The Prayer,” by Jenna and Sean Lorson (Kaylene’s cousins… and I am proud to say they are my cousins too!!!, but not so proud to say they took all of the music talent in our family! ;) )  They are amazing!  (Please ignore the background sound of children crying, they were moved to tears… lol… this was the actual recording from Kaylene and Matt’s wedding day!)  And it is nothing but MAGICAL!!  Please note:  Tissues required. ;)