katie + zach | a fall wedding full of sentimental details at rosewood farms

Katie and Zach win so many awards if you ask me… they waited the longest and rescheduled the most dates, to have their wedding reception at Rosewood Farms at the end of 2021 — but like all good things, it was WORTH. THE. WAIT. and then some!!!

As residents at Johns Hopkins, these two have been through so much together; prior to sharing their residency at the same hospital, they had to wait for the weekends and travel to different cities, to spend quality time together while studying during med school. Originally planning a May 2020 wedding meant switching their plans to an outdoor micro ceremony in a park and the big party in November 2021 at Rosewood Farms…

The leaves and grounds at Rosewood Farms in November were incredible and the temperatures stayed just warm enough to take beautiful outdoor portraits with their wedding party in navy suits, cranberry dresses and the bride in a fur stole… enjoy these early favorites from Katie and Zach’s long awaited wedding celebration with all of their family and friends!!

7 UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS AND DETAILS FROM KATIE + ZACH’S NOVEMBER WEDDING AT ROSEWOOD FARMS

1. All. of The. First. Looks. (Scroll down to see!)

2. One of my favorite unique elements that shared their love story with guests was one that Katie’s parents made for when Zach proposed — an engagement “test” of sorts, it was a quiz that Zach had to take to prove how well he knew Katie and her family… Katie had one he had to take about Zach too!

3. Katie’s dad is an avid woodworker, so everything that was wood at the wedding was made by him! He and Zach worked together to make the ring box Zach used to propose to Katie; her dad made the gorgeous solid wood keepsake card box as well as all of the lantern table centerpieces and donut board display saying ‘Holy Matrimony’; Katie gifted Zach a wooden watch and Zach gifted his groomsmen a tie bar and bottle opener, all made out of wood.

4. There were so many sentimental family details! Katie’s bouquet had a wooden cross sewn into it that was Zach’s grandmother’s originally; her headpiece had white flowers from both her mom and grandmother’s veils… and she wore sapphire blue earrings from her grandmother.

5. When Katie’s dad gave his toast, he had a lifesize llama head printed out for them… it’s been an inside joke in their family for years!

6. Katie tossed the bouquet to her friend that just got engaged days before…!

7. The sparkler exit at the end of the night with their wedding party right before the rain came down!

Katie had a first look with her bridesmaids (and mom and mother-in-law) and then with her dad and finally with Zach… each was memorable and heartwarming in their own way! Zach surprised her by wearing a Green Bay Packers bowtie… it made for incredible laughter and a first look that will never be forgotten!

Congratulations, lovebirds! Words can’t express how excited we are for you - you finally did it (AGAIN) and it was even more magical than your original plans! Your family and friends speeches, your vows, all of the dances… it all brought happy tears to so many eyes. You deserve every happiness in the world. I can’t wait to see you both again and meet your future golden retriever pups!!

xo,
Naomi

HUGE THANKS TO THIS STELLAR VENDOR TEAM!

venue: Rosewood Farms
planning: Social Graces Events
photography: Urban Row Photography
videography: Rivion Wedding Films
catering: Caffe Gelato
beauty: Gloss Salon
florist: Twisted Vine Wedding and Event Florals
DJ: Eric of East Coast Event Group
officiant: Pastor Ian McFadden
wedding dress: Pronovias
dress (+ veil) boutique: Jennifer’s Bridal
bridesmaid dresses: Azazie
shoes: Kate Spade
groom’s attire: Suit Supply, Black Tux, The Tie Bar
invitations: Zola/Minted
cake: Bing’s Bakery
donuts: A&R Bakery
signage, donut board, tie clips, ring box, cornhole, centerpieces, favors: handmade by bride, groom + bride’s parents

katie + zach | an intimate outdoor micro wedding in maryland

When Zach mentioned one of the many things he loves about Katie, I’ll never forget his response being: “When Katie smiles, she smiles so much that her eyes close shut.”

You can see exactly what Zach’s talking about, in the moment when they were officially announced as husband and wife at their intimate elopement and micro wedding ceremony (on their original Memorial Day weekend wedding date!). Katie’s entire face lights up and fills with so much joy, it’s absolutely contagious to everyone in her presence…

Let’s back up a minute though because their love story and journey to this May wedding day is one to celebrate in and of itself! If you haven’t already seen their Bmore Licks + Fells Point engagement photos, check them out HERE - make sure you read the story of how they met and how Zach proposed; it involves a scavenger hunt through Baltimore that ended with the sweetest handmade wooden ring box made by Zach + Katie’s dad together!

Here are 6 moments from Katie + Zach’s heartfelt mini wedding ceremony in Maryland, that will give you all the feels (you’ve been warned!):

1. Zach’s emotional reaction as Katie walked down the aisle brought me to tears - as recent graduates from medical school while dating long distance, they found out a few weeks ago that they matched for residency at Johns Hopkins and will be able to work and live together in the same city for the first time in 3.5 years!

2. Their brief ceremony was officiated by their pastor, Ian of St. Moses Church in Baltimore, and was the perfect compliment to their personalities and relationship; weaving elements of religion, humor, love and kindness.

3. The wood arbor they got married under overlooked the waterfront in Cecil County and reminded them of where they got engaged, on a bench in Fells Point, overlooking the Baltimore harbor.

4. Both Katie and Zach’s moms contributed heirloom elements from their own weddings to incorporate in the celebration, including a vintage cake topper, the lace flowers incorporated on Katie’s veil, sapphire earrings made from her grandmother’s ring, a wood card box Katie’s dad made for the occasion and cupcakes for the small gathering of family and friends, since cupcakes have been a part of their relationship since the beginning.

5. Katie surprised Zach with a meaningful engraving inside his ring and a beautiful new wooden watch.

6. Right after they were married, both moms and dads got the biggest hug from both Katie and Zach and I just love how much heartfelt and warm energy the entire elopement had among it! The photo below of both moms walking up to congratulate them is my absolute favorite.

After the ceremony, they walked down the mini aisle and were greeted by a small group of friends and family there to help them celebrate (safely distanced and with masks on) their newlywed status!

Congratulations again, lovebirds, I was honored to be a part of your mini wedding and elopement!! I love that you were able to get married on your original wedding date and will now have this as your official anniversary in addition to the future party planned at Rosewood Farms!

xo,
Naomi

katie + zach | a bmore licks + fells point engagement

When I first spoke to Katie and Zach, one word kept coming up in the conversation: relational. In all honesty, I’d never heard one of my couples use that word as often as they did. After learning how Zach proposed to Katie, hearing how they finish each other’s sentences, and watching them interact together as we started at Bmore Licks for their engagement session, I immediately got it…

Their upcoming wedding at Rosewood Farms is going to be quite the celebration - after you read more about these two lovebirds below, you’ll understand why!

4 reasons why these Fells Point / Patterson Park locations were so meaningful for Katie + Zach’s Baltimore engagement session:

1. Ice cream with rainbow sprinkles (Katie’s favorite ice cream topping) was part of Zach’s proposal scavenger hunt which started and ended in Fells Point…

2. Zach proposed to Katie on the same bench we ended at on Bond Street Pier in Fells Point

3. It’s their favorite way to spend a Friday night: with a walk by the water, ice cream and cuddles. But Katie also added, “as long as … our two future golden retrievers are there”. (#urbanrowpup love at its best)

4. This last fact has nothing to do with where we took their engagement photos, but has everything to do with how thoughtful Zach is. He designed and created the wooden ring box he presented to Katie WITH her Dad’s help since he is an incredible woodworker and it was something they could bond over and create together, leading up to the proposal.

Katie radiates joy and Zach described it perfectly: “When Katie smiles, she smiles so much that her eyes close shut.” I believe that they’re both incredibly relational as they highly value thoughtful, meaningful moments and gestures in their relationship and it’s apparent as soon as soon as you are around them.

In Zach’s words, how they met:

“We met early on in college at Johns Hopkins. Katie was the star point guard on the basketball team and I rode the bench on the football team (kidding, sort of). Needless to say, I definitely noticed Katie first. We were both a part of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at Hopkins, and I distinctly remember telling a buddy of mine “she’s my kind of girl”. I was drawn to Katie from the very first moment.

One night while at dinner with FCA, Katie mentioned that she likes to bring a cupcake to friends for their birthdays. I jokingly (read: pleadingly) asked her if she would do the same for me. Katie, being the sweet, relational person that she is, agreed. She was pretty surprised to learn that my birthday was in fact the very next day! I think the fact that Katie actually brought me one the next day is more of a testament to the person she is than any interest she had in me at the time. Needless to say, I like to think it all started with a cupcake.

…during finals week, she let me meet up with her and walk her home from the library every night. I even surprised her with her own cupcake on her birthday. Finally, we went on a few more dates!”

In Katie’s words, how the proposal unfolded:

“Zach made the decision at the end of his third year of medical school to take a year off so that we would be in the same class and would be eligible to apply for a couples match for residency. It was since we made that decision that I knew I wanted to marry this man and he later asked me to marry him in the most perfect proposal ever: a scavenger hunt to all of our favorite places in the city.

[By the end] I was so stinking excited that all I wanted to do was finally see Zach. I was then given the last clue that sent me back down to Fells Point, to a particular park bench overlooking the harbor that Zach and I have sat and talked at many times. Only tonight, our favorite park bench was decorated with jars of lights and looked even more perfect. It was there that Zach got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and with a great big smile on my face, I said “YES”. We had a few minutes to ourselves to just soak in the moment, walking around by the water before finding our hidden photographer who had captured the whole thing. After that, Zach and I went to a nearby bar where so many of our friends, as well as Zach’s family were gathered, many of whom had traveled many hours to celebrate with us. As Zach mentioned, I am a pretty relational person so it meant so much to me that Zach incorporated not only so many of my favorite things, but also so many of our favorite people in the proposal. All I can say is that he set the bar pretty high for himself for any future anniversary or celebration.”

I have loved getting to know you both so far and admire how heartfelt your relationship is. I already have tissues ready and waiting for your wedding day because I know I’m going to be crying all the happy tears throughout the day as you become husband and wife and never have to say goodbye on a Sunday again… I can. not. wait. for your spring wedding at Rosewood Farms!!!

xo,
Naomi