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Woodlawn Farm Wedding Photographers: Jackie and Steve

A romantic, charming, authentic wedding on the Potomac River for one of the sweetest couples I’ve had the pleasure of working with…
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Jackie & Steve shared, “We absolutely love Lisa’s photography. When first checking out her blog, we were struck by how creative and unique her style was. Every post had a different personality that really seemed to capture each couple and their venue. Once we worked with her on our engagement shoot, we knew we made the right decision in our photographer. Lisa was so fun and kind. She made us feel at ease in front of the camera and we were constantly surprised by her fun and unique ideas.”
They continued, “We got incredible feedback from our friends and family about our engagement photos…Steve’s dad liked the blog post so much he even quoted Lisa in his rehearsal dinner speech! When it came to our wedding day, Lisa and her co-photographer, Kenson were just incredible. They really went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable and keep our day moving on time. In the end, we got all the shots we were hoping for and we can’t wait to see them!”
Balance is something that I really see in these two– both equally intelligent, generous, kind, down-to-earth, clever, bright…  I wanted a photo that showed this, and I knew this would be the perfect place, it almost looks like a scale to me and totally shows of the location, too.   This would look epic on a huge canvas:
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Jackie shared, “Steve and I both have a special connection to Southern Maryland. I went to school at St. Mary’s College and Steve’s family used to own a home on St. Leonard’s Creek. When we got engaged, we both knew right away that we wanted a ceremony on the water and  I  thought of Woodlawn Farm from my time in college.”
Their venue was so lovely and authentic– it reminded me of New England…
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As I approached the house, Jackie and her mother looked out to the ceremony space talking about decor I assume and the flower girl ran inside.  I love the lines and balance in this image and the symbolism the little girl entering in the bride and her mother looking out…
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Jackie sat at the window reading her card from Steve and the flower girl balanced along the windowsill– I caught the reflection in the china cabinet…
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More china and a huge smile from the bride to be…
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I love to play with different angles and really give you a sense of space– a similar moment with a very different feel… I absolutely love Woodlawn Farm!
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Steve shared, “Jackie is such an amazing person.  She is intelligent, funny, beautiful, and the most fun person to be around.  She always thinks about others and brings out the best in them.  All of these are reasons that I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her.”
I loved all of the detailing here from the lace of her dress to the intricate fabrics and carvings in the background.  I love how the light kisses her cheeks!  Jackie you are so incredibly beautiful, inside and out!
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My second photographer for this wedding, Kenson, hit it out of the park.  Here he photographed Steve getting ready– I love the vibrant colors…
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As Steve collected his thoughts (perhaps for Jackie’s card?) the queen of hearts sat on the table next to him.  I love the lines in the foreground…
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Steve shared, “When I saw her on our wedding day, everything was just perfect.  Perfect weather, a beautiful dress, and the person I had fallen in love with staring back at me.  I couldn’t wait to get married to her!”
Such an elegant entry…
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Jackie explained, “I got very emotional seeing him for the first time on our wedding day, realizing the tremendous step we were about to take together, but I had no doubts or hesitations that I was taking that step with the right person.”
Over.  Joyed.
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Jackie shared, “Steve is  truly incredible. He is kind, intelligent, generous, and thoughtful…pretty much everything you could ask for in a partner. Basically, I hit the jackpot.”
She continued, “He makes me feel loved and valued everyday, and always keeps me smiling.”
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Jackie explained, “When we toured Woodlawn Farm, we fell in love the long dirt road, the rustic cornfields, and the stunning water view. It was like something out of a fairytale, and fit with our idea of a rustic, romantic, intimate wedding.”
Here they are on the long dirt road, the tall stalks of corn and long straight road drawing your eye in to Jackie’s hand and their kiss…
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Jackie mentioned the view along the water, also worth mentioning, more water, generally mean more sky, too…
I really stopped down the exposure on this one to show off the incredible sky and clouds.  If you look closely you can see individual blades of grass too, I like to play with camera settings and perspective to capture something unique and interesting…
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While I love creative photography, and capturing moments, I also enjoy traditional portraits as well and make sure my couples have a good, eclectic mix…
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I love the perspective, contrast and detail in this shot…
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Such a beautiful moment with these lovely ladies…
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Jackie shared, “We loved spending the day with our bridal party and having them stand next to us on our wedding day. They were incredibly helpful and supportive.”
She laughed, “One of my bridesmaids was even seven months pregnant and posing for pictures  in heels! We couldn’t ask for better friends. (Side note – baby Aubrey came just two weeks after our wedding!)”
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Cheers to the happy couple… and a little fun with tilt-shift 😉
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Jackie’s father arrived, tears filled his eyes, seeing his daughter in her wedding gown.  I have several heartfelt images of this moment, but I love this shot of Jackie wiping her father’s tears away…
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Ah family photos, I work with each couple to make sure that we set aside enough time for all of the family photos that they want.  For this one, Kenson and Steve even helped to bring this bench to this spot, where I loved the lighting and background, thanks guys!
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Another thing I build in to my couples’ wedding photography timelines, is a little bit of downtime.  Wedding days are intense– so many moving pieces, so many deep emotions, it’s good to have a little breather and really take it all in, like this little guy 😉
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Awww…
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Steve shared, “My nieces, Savannah and Brooklyn, and nephew, Tripp, were so excited to dress up for the big day.  They talked about it for months in advance.  They certainly stole the show!”
It was so sweet the way Steve got down on Tripp’s level and welcomed him– for me, it really captured his openness and love for family and children…
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Jackie shared, “My dad and I have always been incredibly close so walking down the aisle, arm in arm with him, was an incredibly touching and emotional moment for both of us!
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Steve watching Jackie and her father process down the aisle…
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I wanted to show the surroundings, the large tree with out-stretched branches as well as the simple grass walkway and white wooden chairs.
Yes, I totally laid in the grass for this one, haha…
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Jackie explained, “We wanted our ceremony to feel personal and intimate.  Luckily, one of Steve’s close friends is an ordained minister who has a flair for officiating weddings.  Rob did an amazing job of working with us to put together a ceremony that felt like it truly represented our relationship.”
Both of them were so incredibly present during the ceremony, they were fully there feeling the wait of it, taking it all in…
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With this ring, I thee wed…woodlawn-farm-best-wedding-photographers-ridge-md-creative-chesapeake-bay-area-30-1
The ceremony was intimate and organic.  They were the only people on the property, which was established in 1634, it felt as if time stood still!
I sought out to capture that feeling, the way it made you feel small and surrounded all at once…
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They both shared, “We encourage and support each other.  It is amazing to know you have someone in your corner, no matter what may come.”
Kiss the bride…
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They shared, “We are especially excited to see the big group picture from right after the ceremony.  I have never seen that done before and can’t wait to see how it turned out. Thanks for the awesome idea Lisa!!!”woodlawn-farm-best-wedding-photographers-ridge-md-creative-chesapeake-bay-area-101
Aw look who found me in that awesome crowd of people, it’s Will and Steph, one of my couples from 2017, friends of Jackie & Steve’s.  Thanks so much guys for sharing your pictures and your kind recommendation, it is the greatest compliment I can receive!!!
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Wine, laughter, sunny skies and their closest friends and family– what a perfect cocktail hour…
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Jackie and Steve shared, “Our favorite part of the wedding day was having them all there with us.  It is humbling when the people you love take time out of their busy lives and travel from all across the country (or across the Atlantic!) to celebrate you. We are truly grateful to each and every one of our guests for making our wedding day so incredibly special.”
I captured several photos of their first dance, but this one, that shows them surrounded by all of their closest friends and family is one of my favorites…
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Daddy’s little girl…
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Dance floor shenanigans…
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Cake smash…
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We kept an eye out for sunset, and wow, was it stunning!!!
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And they lived happily ever after…
woodlawn-farm-best-wedding-photographers-ridge-md-creative-chesapeake-bay-area-44-1Jackie and Steve, thanks so much for inviting me to capture your wedding day!  My hope is that you can re-live this day for many years to come through these images– I hope that they captured, the emotion, the people and the places that came together to make your day unique.  And to Steve’s dad: thanks for quoting my blog in your speech!!  That has to be a first and is an absolute honor!  If you’d like to see more photos of Jackie and Steve, check out their engagement blog, here.
Thank you also to all of the people who worked together to make the event a success, a few of them being:

Venue- Woodlawn Farm in Ridge Maryland
Wedding Dress – Elegant Forever Bridal Boutique
Hair and Makeup – Rhona Lee 
Entertainment – Wizer Productions (Aaron Frier)
Photographer- Rhinehart Photography

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