When Laura + Ryan told me they were getting married at Shadetrees & Evergreens, I said, “where?”  It’s not a place I’d heard of and not many people have.  But it’s a hidden gem up near Frederick MD and is just one of the most natural, simple, and beautifully organic venues I’ve seen.  It was perfect for Laura + Ryan, who love nature and the woods – check out their forest-y engagement session!   Their wedding was full of beautiful, warm details – my favorite was the pie bar, although the apple tree was a close second.  The weather was not so cooperative and it rained all day long, pretty non-stop.  But at Shadetrees, the pavilion has a glass roof.  So even under the pavilion, you can still see everything outside and you feel like you’re in a beautiful clearing in the woods.  And the sound of the rain on the roof was so enchanting during their ceremony!

Wedding Planning: Tiffany Parry of Ribbon Box Events

Venue: Shadetrees & Evergreens

Dress: Wtoo

Florist: Ory Custom Florals

Caterer: Canapes Catering

DJ: Luciano’s Entertainment

Love the look on Laura’s dad’s face when he sees her ready to walk down that aisle!

During the ceremony, Laura & Ryan combined dirt from each parents’ yard into the pot of an apple tree that they’ll plant in their own yard.  It was so sweet and so perfect for these two!

The steaming hot food was delicious!

Christine + Justin are such zen people – they’re so easy to be around and so comfortable together that being in the room with them just makes you feel relaxed.  Seeing them so full of happiness on their wedding day was such a treat!  We had a ton of fun taking photos in Dupont Circle before heading to the gorgeous Dumbarton House in Georgetown for their ceremony and reception.  Everything couldn’t have been more perfectly lovely than it was!

Dress: Paloma Blanca

Makeup: Leah McKay

Hair: KC Felton, The Elegant Artisan

Getting Ready: Hotel Palomar, Dupont Circle

Ceremony & Reception: Dumbarton House, Washington DC

Florist: Rick’s Flowers

String Quartet: Sage String Quartet

DJ: Ed Witles, The Elegant DJ

Cake: Fluffy Thoughts Cakes

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am obsessed with boats and especially sailing.  I don’t actually really know how to sail, but anytime I see sailboats or container ships, I get so excited and start blabbering about how one day I’m going to sell everything I own and go live on a boat.  These outburts are generally met with a fair amount of eye rolling.  But I can’t help it, there’s just something about wide open skies combined with salt water and wind that just gets right to my core!  So when I went out to the bay to meet with Cristin + Derek before their wedding, I couldn’t help but get SO excited about being near the water all day and getting to cross the bay bridge multiple times in one day!  And Cristin + Derek are such sweet and fun people and the day was so gorgeous – how could we not love this wedding!  And wait till you see all the details – everything was so perfect!

Dress: Essence of Australia

Florist: Black Eyed Susan

Ceremony: St. Mary’s Catholic Church

Reception: Chesapeake Bay Beach Club

DJ: Anthony Simpson with My Deejay

Cake: Cake and Confections

Thanks to Dana Morgan, my second photographer, for the shots of the guys getting ready!

I loved this little detail – a creative way for the ring bearer to announce to the guests what comes next!

We all headed to the Annapolis harbor for some fun shots and were surprised to find a Corvette show going on!

What a great remembrance for Cristin + Derek to have from their wedding.  Derek made these Adirondack chairs with his grandfather and they had all their guests write little messages on them!

There’s something I love about this cute beer shot of Dana’s!

In lieu of a speech, Derek’s brother sang a really hilarious song about Cristin + Derek that he wrote himself

Yay for candy bars!

Robin + Marlon are such fun and happy people and their wedding day was filled with enthusiasm, laughter and the most amazing and unique DIY details!  I am definitely not a crafty sort of person, so I was so impressed at all the really creative details Robin came up with and put together so well.  Their family and friends were such a sweet and fun group to be around and despite the rain pouring down on Baltimore, their wedding was absolutely radiant!

Getting Ready: Hotel Monaco Baltimore

Bridesmaids’ Makeup: Monica Cook

Bride’s Makeup: Stephanie Quiring

Hair: Toni Austin at Daniel’s Hair Salon, Washington DC

Dress: La Sposa

Florist: Fleur de Lis

Ceremony: The George Peabody Library, Baltimore MD

Reception: Gramercy Mansion, Baltimore MD

Catering: Absolutely Perfect Catering

Cupcakes: Georgetown Cupcake, Washington DC

Dana got some great shots of the guys getting ready!

Robin & Marlon love the George Peabody Library in Baltimore and these beautifully decorated books were perfect in place of bridemaids’ bouquets for their library ceremony!

They also decorated the aisle with strings of paper flowers, made with paper from books!

I love all the expressions of joy and happiness right after a wedding ceremony!

It was a little bit of a rainy day….

….but that just made it all the cozier indoors!

I have no words to express how incredibly delicious these ribs were!  Seriously – I think about them a lot….

Many thanks to my talented second shooter, Dana, for this next great shot!  I love the atmosphere!

When things started heating up, Robin changed into this great dress!  This is a fantastic way to go – those wedding dresses get warm!

When I was making this post, I couldn’t decide what to write.  Everything I could think of sounded sappy.  And what I am writing will probably end up sounding sappy too, but what are you gonna do about it, you know?

The thing is, Sarah & Nathan are my friends and my neighbors.  I can see their back porch from my back porch.  The weekend we shot their wedding, I also took care of their (super cute) dogs, Magoo & Hilda, and their (sweet and adorable) cats, Batman & Mama.  I can see into their back room and they can see into mine, so they know what we like to watch on TV and I know what they’re cooking for dinner!  I can’t even tell you how many times I have texted with Sarah in the middle of the night when one of us is out chasing cats in dark allies.  So photographing their wedding was just supremely awesome – it truly was an experience I’d never had in some ways!  I’d heard so much about all their friends and family and it was so fantastic to put faces with names.  And watching the two of them get married meant so much to me!  Because for me, Sarah & Nathan are more than just two really super people who were having a fantastic wedding, they are two really super people whose life I know outside of their wedding.  And context brings so much meaning!  So congratulations you guys – your wedding was beautiful and I was honored to be there.  And you have the nicest friends and family in the world, so thank you to all of you guys for giving Sarah & Nathan a fantastic party!

Ok hopefully the sappiness level was tolerable there

Getting Ready: O’Callaghan Hotel, Annapolis MD

Dress: Mary’s of Annapolis, dress by Mary

Hair & Makeup: Friend of the bride, Jessica Castro

Florist: Silverstems

Invitations/Stationary: Allison Barnhill Designs

Ceremony & Reception: St. John’s College, Annapolis MD

DJ/Vocalists: Lovestory

Catering: Ken’s Creative Kitchen

Cupcakes:  Baked & Wired, Washington DC

Sarah & Nathan actually got ready in the same room, which I thought was really sweet.  They just wanted to be near each other all day.  But when it was time to put Sarah’s dress on and Nathan tried to come in, the bridesmaids shooed him out – but not before he got a small peek!

The campus of St. John’s College in Annapolis is really gorgeous – what a fantastic venue!  And an extra bonus – lots of chalkboard space available for any kind of self-expression while you wait for the wedding to start.

Dana had a great view from the balcony!

As guests filed out of the hall, they were greeted by trays full of delicious spiked lemonade!

Everyone loved these adorable little grass birdies, so cute!  Sarah’s mom was largely responsible for all of the inspiration and decor in the wedding and she did an amazing job.  The details were beautiful and the whole event tied together so well!

I loved the feel of these long dinner tables at the reception – there was such a sense of community and shared experience.

And the food, by Ken’s Creative Kitchen, was aaaamazing – so delicious!

The DJs, Lovestory, were so fantastic and different from every DJ I’ve seen at weddings.  Thomas & Danita are a vocalist duo and they are everything a good DJ can be and more, because they actually sing and perform in addition to playing music!  They play whatever music you like, but provide all the vocals for some of the songs, moving around the room and bringing the energy of live performance.  They were a big hit!