An elegant,  joyful celebration at the Four Seasons Baltimore with perfectly-timed rain a special guest appearance…

Rachel and Tommy met on a blind date.  He fell for her from the start and set out to impress her with his charm and athleticism ;).  The met at the state fair and while he had difficulty with some of the fair games initially, he made sure that Rachel’s evening ended with a stuffed animal in tow and a sense of Tommy’s relaxed, fun-loving nature.
Rachel reached out to me because she loved the unique, creative and personal feel of my wedding photography.  She also appreciated my ability to capture emotion and a sense of place.  She said she was impressed at how well I worked with large groups and how comfortable I made everyone feel on the wedding day.  She noted that a wedding day is such a personal event and it felt incredibly natural to welcome me into it :).

Rachel and Tommy’s stationary was elegant, personal and professionally executed by MLC Designs.  They incorporated the Baltimore skyline and even commissioned a personalized watercolor map.
The map highlighted key locations in Baltimore– the Four Seasons, the Christ Lutheran Church, even the spot where they got engaged and a a little black lab in the park, representing their dog, Cash.
Rachel shared that one of the things that made her start to fall for Tommy were his sense of humor and his devoted love for her.  He is undoubtedly her best friend, he makes her feel safe and is very supportive.  Here Rachel reads Tommy’s words to her on her wedding day, such a sweet moment…

I like to play with reflections and light and I love how Rachel’s dress appears to glow as she and her maid of honor reach to take it down from the window.  I also like how some elements of the Baltimore skyline are visible in the reflection.  Can you see the bolack stacks from the iconic “Power Plant”?

Tommy shared that Rachel is an authentic, caring person who is driven and dedicated to getting the most out of life.  It didn’t take him long to fall for her and every day his feelings for her get stronger.
Here Rachel is dressed in her wedding gown, what a beautiful bride!

Rachel and her father are close.  He actually helped her to choose her wedding gown, but seeing everything come together on the wedding day and seeing his little girl as a bride left him in awe:

It rained on and off all day, so we literally  went with the flow ;).  There were plenty of indoor spaces at the Four Seasons Baltimore for us to utilize, so we would pop in and out all day.
Here Rachel takes a moment to stop and smell the roses quite literally as her bridal party gathers for portraits…
Rachel and Tommy are Georgia Tech grads and knew that they wanted to incorporate gold into their wedding color palette.   Purple seemed to be a natural compliment to the gold and Rachel is a Ravens fan.  When the bridesmaids tried on the purple gowns it really sealed the deal.
Looking gorgeous, ladies!

Now on to the men…  here is the groom, Tommy!
Tommy is genuine, down-to-earth and a lot of fun to be around.  His easy-going personality is the perfect compliment to Rachel’s detail-oriented personality.  They really balance each other out and are able to accomplish more when they are together.  They share similar interests, passions and family values.

There are many beautiful aspects of the Four Seasons Baltimore, but one of my favorites has to be the sunning view of Baltimore Inner Harbor.
High winds and intermittent rain was the forecast for Rachel & Tommy’s wedding day.  There was a gap in the rain, and the men hopped out for a quick photo in front of the iconic Baltimore skyline.

Each of the men wore personalized socks to fit their interests and personalities.

Tommy said that waiting for Rachel during the first look was an intense moment for him.  Rachel recalled the wind blowing and his suit flapping in the wind.  Tommy said it was all he could do to contain himself and wait for her tap on his shoulder.  I think all of that emotion really comes across in the first image.  When he turned he saw the most beautiful bride that he could have imagined.  They spun, they kissed.  It was lovely.

If there was one word to describe these two it would be joyful.   They lived in the moment and took it all in.
Rachel shared that she is a real planner and had put all of the work in ahead of time, and on the day of, she and Tommy decided that no matter what happened, they would make the best of it and enjoy it and they did through wind, rain traffic jams and all!  They truly were unaffected and celebratory!

Rachel mentioned being most drawn to my creative, unique wedding photographs.
Here I caught Rachel & Tommy’s reflection off of the Four Seasons Baltimore as he whispered in her ear.

Rachel shared that Tommy is one of the smartest people she knows and that he was a huge help to her in school.  They both studied engineering at Georgia Tech and Tommy taught her how to study more efficiently.
She used to spend hours reading her textbooks before starting on her problems and Tommy had her do the reverse.  She’d start on the problems and reference the textbook when she was confused. 🙂  It was so much more efficient and was a huge help!
He was also a few years ahead of her in school, so he had already taken her classes and still remembered everything he had learned in previous years.  He’s a mechanical engineer and she’s a civil engineer.

Rachel shared that she was so happy to have chosen to have a first look, it allowed them to spend more than an hour of their wedding day alone together and really just enjoy each other and the stunning grounds of the Four Seasons.


I am inspired by the editorial photographs that I see in magazines like Vogue and Vanity Fair and like to take a contemporary portrait of the bridal party that has a similar style.  Here is a more serious, “blue steel” version, haha:

Here is a more fun, celebratory photo:

Rachel and Tommy were married at the Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore.  It was not only beautiful, but the pastor and congregation were amazing.
Here Rachel & Tommy’s mothers light the unity candles:

I love to capture traditional shots as well as wide shots that capture all of the architectural detail like the image about and below.

What an incredible moment!!!  I imagine it will be fun for Rachel and Tommy to look at this photo up close and take a closer look at all all of their wedding guests’ expressions as Rachel’s father escorts her to Tommy!
Pastor Amsalu was a joy to work with!

Rachel shared that one of the things that surprised her most was how emotional the vows were for her.  It was beautiful to witness…

I liked how the vibrant blue of the stained glass bounced off of the marble floors during the ceremony and caught it in this photo:

I like how you can really feel all of the joy, emotion and pure energy in this next photo!
I focused on Tommy and Rachel who stayed still for a fraction of a second, while everything around them moved.
While it took skill, there was also a good deal of luck involved  ;).  What an animated group!

Rachel and Tommy’s guests greeted them with a shower of fresh lavender, it smelled amazing and was small and biodegradable (in keeping with the church rules).

I used a slower shutter speed to capture the movement of the lavender and the excitement of the crowd.

Rachel wanted a large group photo with all of her wedding guests present.  She set aside some extra time after the ceremony for us to gather everyone, planned ahead with the church to get me a 16 foot ladder (haaa!) I climbed it and voila:


Cocktail hour was back at the Four Seasons Baltimore and just beautiful!

Guests were greeted by gold place cards, a nod to Rachel & Tommy’s dog, Cash:

Rachel’s reaction to seeing the ballroom decorated in all of its glory was priceless!!!

You can see the gold and purple coming into play with the chaivari chairs, uplighting and lovely centerpieces.
Rachel’s cousin, Michael Collins of Michael Collins Decor.  They were in the Four Seasons Baltimore Colbalt Ballroom.
The Baltimore skyline was an important part of the reception, both in their view from the Cobalt Ballroom and on their menu…

The night started out with all of the wedding traditions– the first dance, toasts and parent dances.



During Tommy’s dance with his mother, he played a song that he sang to her when he was a child.
It was Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”
He broke out into song while they danced, which really tickled his mom.  🙂
The weddings guests  were a lot of fun and had no problem getting out on the dance floor thanks to DJ Carl from Classic Collective DJs…

The surprise of the night was THE Georgia Tech mascot, Buzz arriving on the dance floor.  It was a huge surprise to Rachel and all of the Georgia Tech grads were thrilled!
Rachel and Tommy ended the night embracing the rain fully and stepping outside of the Four Seasons momentarily.  What a perfect end to a fantastic wedding day!


Rachel & Tommy, thanks for inviting me to be a part of your big day!  It was such a pleasure to work with you and I hope that these photos give you a taste of the creative, unique, personalized images that you were hoping to see in your wedding photos!  Many more coming soon :).