Mattie and Justin got married at
ThorpeWood in Thurmont, Maryland - a drop-dead-gorgeous setting for one heck of a wedding. Mattie cried all day long, she and Justin made out like crazy and her mom even got in a Wendell Barry quote. Also: composting toilets (really! ThorpeWood has composting toilets!), a million pennant flags cut out from maps and a "pine cathedral" (seriously). Mattie and Justin:
I got a little confused when I first arrived and ended up using my venue scouting time literally hiking up switchbacks. On the plus side, I communed with nature.
Thorpewood's getting-ready space is actually a locker-room-type shower area. Otherwise, it's perfect!
Apparently there are scads of ceremony options at the place, but Mattie and Justin went with the old pine cathedral. Not a bad choice, really.
Mattie losing her 'ish.
Making out after the ceremony.
Still making out.
We had an actual golf cart escort to drive us around the property and all the lovely spots to do portraits.
I went rogue and disregarded things like ponds, barns and gazebos in favor of amazing afternoon light...
...and this killer pine grove (Brenizer, 14 images, I believe).
And then, bless their hearts, they humored me by walking down to the creek, through actual woods, so we could get this shot (and the first image in the post). I could leave you with the impression I'm such a bad-ass, I got in the water, but it's not true - a big rock was jutting out into the stream.
ThorpeWood has a delightful lodge feel.
One of my favorites ever. Flower girls checking out the scene from the loft. Unscripted, I promise!
Rocking the casbah, as it were.
Congratulations, you guys!
Mattie and Justin's vendor team:
Ceremony and reception venue:
ThorpeWood
Catering:
Canapés Catering
DJ:
DJ D-Mac
Florist:
Willow Oak Flower & Herb Farm
Cake:
A Touch of Icing Bakery (Waddington, NY)
Cider:
Kaneb Orchards
Hair & Makeup:
Structures Salon (Frederick, MD)
Mattie's beautiful dress: Tara Keely from
Katherine's Bridal Boutique (Alexandria)
Mattie's shoes: Corso Como
Justin's dashing suit:
Alton Lane (DC)
Jack makes an excellent big brother.
They have an amazing house. It was pretty awesome to shoot in when it was empty and now that they've filled it with some really sweet decor, it's irresistible for compositions and things.
Congratulations again, you guys! Keep on rocking the life.
Look how much fun running is!
I was cracking up at the incredible hiding skills of the egg-hiders. To be fair, most of the kids were toddlers.
After a relaxing morning enjoying the scenery, weather and location, our heroes packed up and headed to the 
While getting some nature scenes for Anna and Justin (you'll see one below) during the morning, I went along their fun run route and scoped out this stunning pine grove. It was at the very top of my list to do portraits, and these two made no objections.
Many thanks, as always, to my intrepid second shooter Julia, who snagged the lovely portrait below.
When there's a dock, you take photos on the dock.
After the toasts, and the eats, it was time for some hard-core partying and dancing.
So I have no idea what the backstory is here, but these necklaces with shotglasses on them were passed all over the dancefloor.
Their friends and family helped decorate the center.
And folks, they decimated the photobooth. I had to change batteries twice!
Congratulations, you guys!
Anna and Justin's rockin' vendor team:
Ceremony and reception venue: