Before I start gushing, let me say a huge thank you to the amazing
Kari Bellamy, who let me tag along at Jude and Mark's wedding. If you're a long-time follower of the blog, you might recall that I spent a good month in
England and
Belgium last year. As luck would have it, Kari needed a
second photographer in that timeframe for a wedding in Yorkshire. In a castle. With an incredible couple. With a vintage tea party theme. Are you excited yet? Oh my god, this wedding. Also, it was in the English countryside and the
heather was in bloom. Seriously, guys, this wedding.
These are the kinds of venues wedding photographers get to work in England. This is
Danby Castle, in North Yorkshire. It's the place where Catherine Parr moved after Henry VIII died. No, really.
I learned all about English weddings, which are surprisingly different from American ones. For instance, there's a part of the ceremony you're not allowed to photograph - something legal.
One of the great things about this day was that Jude and Mark hadn't hired a second, so I was "off the book" so to speak. Which means I could take whatever photos I wanted all day, without worrying about "getting the shot" or making anyone happy other than myself.
Also, vintage tea party theme. I mean, could a wedding have a cuter set of decorations? I'm not sure it could.
So another different tradition, is you have the ceremony (which has to take place under very specific regulations), then you have a "wedding breakfast", regardless of what time the meal actually takes place. Later, there's dancing and then another meal is served - weddings are allllll day affairs in England.
In fact, the time to do portraits, rather than between ceremony and the meal, is between the "breakfast" and the "reception." We got to steal Jude and Mark away to go do portraits...
... in the freakin' English countryside, which was covered in heather. Yes, I was freaking out.
Seriously.
Picking flowers for his bride.
Seriously.
Then after the breakfast, after portraits and some more hanging around in a "cocktail hour" type setting, you have the reception with a "disco."
Yeah just in case you can't tell, I loved this wedding.
Loved this wedding. I can't thank Kari enough for having me along and Jude and Mark for not minding another photographer hanging around on their day. Maybe some day I'll have my very own English wedding clients (hint hint y'all).
I don't often go out to the Eastern Shore - not sure why, just don't get that many folks asking about it (though I would love to do a beach wedding this year!). So it was really nice to be by the water. Here's the view from the bride's hotel suite:
Love Point at Kent Island really was a gorgeous venue. I had to stop the car on the drive in and take some photos.
Orange at a wedding. It's the best.
All morning, it rained and these big dark clouds filled up the sky. Just in time, with only a few minutes to spare, it cleared up. The staff dried off the chairs and the wedding went on at Love Point's gorgeous balcony overlooking the ocean.
Forgive me so many detail photos. I really liked their classy but laid-back setup - orange napkins and wicker chargers and little bits of seashells here and there.
And it's fair to say that I was obsessed with this tulle-and-Christmas-lights thing they had going on on the ceiling. You'll see more of it below.
Just before they're announced.
Congratulations you guys! And thanks again to Jessica for having me out.
And once again, can I just say that the light at the 
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!