When the coordinator (more on her later) told me Amelia and Javier's ceremony was only nine minutes, that didn't seem right. I get in-the-zone during the ceremony so it's hard for me to judge how much time has passed, but I found it hard to believe that in nine minutes, they could pack in deep flushes, tears, words of wisdom from the officiant, handwritten vows and a whole lot of laughter. Amelia and Javier had the most joyous recessional I've seen and I'm so glad I was there to snag it.
Their wedding was at the most fantastic venue ever, the
Patapsco Female Institute (rental info
here), the "ruins of a girls school" Amelia told me at our first meeting. And that is exactly what the space is - no roof, half-walls, columns that lead to nowhere. The space is maintained as-is - half falling apart, totally awesome. Amelia and Javier's friends and family filled the space with all manner of joy and love and par-tay. It was a good old time.
The light in the Hotel Monaco in Baltimore was out-of-this-world. Check it.
Meanwhile, in a suite across the hall...
Bear is not one to be left behind for the festivities. He wasn't invited to the main event, but he did get to hang with everybody before and after at the hotel. And insisted on being the center of attention. He's a good dog.
Possibly my favorite getting-ready picture ever.
The flowers at the wedding were not blooming things but "meaningful herbs" -
but I never did catch the meanings. From Amelia: "Rosemary for love, loyalty & remembrance, thyme for strength, lavender for luck, mint for warmth, sage for domestic virtue."
Her dress was
perfect so we had to rock some of that floaty, swaying action.
Amelia and Javier hired
Rebecca Dick of Blue Canary Events a couple months before their wedding to help them with the planning. Amelia told me she wished she had hired her from day one. I was so impressed with Rebecca's attention to detail (she signs her emails "party planning perfectionist"!) and general I-got-this attitude. She was amazing to work with and
everybody should get on her bandwagon!
Vendors:
Getting ready venue:
Hotel Monaco, Baltimore
Ceremony and reception venue:
Patapsco Female Institute
Planner/coordinator:
Rebecca Dick, Blue Canary Events (highly recommend!)
Photography: me!
Florist:
Willow Oak Garden
Paper Goods & Gift Bags:
Golden Silhouette Designs
DJ:
Ricky Bulles
Catering:
Kloby's Smokehouse
Dessert spread:
Heidelberg Bakery
Hair and makeup:
First Impressions Salon
Equipment rental:
Grand Rental Events
And once again, can I just say that the light at the Hotel Monaco in Baltimore is gorgeous, beautiful, stunning, unending. I love love love shooting getting ready there. I need to rent it out for some boudoirs.
We scooted to the Baltimore Museum of Art to do first look and portraits and things.
Here's Sam.
And I am in no way trying to take credit for this, I just think it's so cool. There was this metal sculpture with a small opening - a slit, really - in it. Sam saw that and shot Katherine and Jonathan through the little hole - but it made such an awesome effect in the lens. I had to try it out myself and this is what happened. So neat, right!?
They held the ceremony outdoors in the ridiculous afternoon sunshine.
I fell in love with this venue. There's a little fountain that separates the ceremony from the guests and you have to walk over those three stepping stones in the middle to get to the altar. They had a sound system so you could hear everything - but it made for an incredible visual and it also had this really nice stage effect, even though they weren't elevated. I dug it so much.
L'chaim!
Is there anything cuter than the two moms hugging?
Such a great wedding. Congratulations to the bride and groom and thanks again to Sam for having me out!
After the unbelievably brief ceremony, we hustled outside in the super-frigid air to do some quick family photos outside. About five minutes of that, and we were practically running for the library.
And that was fine, because it was an awesome library.
Finally, I can't post this shot without giving credit to 
Congratulations Allison & Mark! Keep the good times rolling.