brandyce + tanesha | a colorful + fun rainbow baltimore elopement

Their wedding day was colorful, but their love story is vibrant!!

Full of excitement, Brandyce and Tanesha were married at the Towson Courthouse on a bright and sunny Friday in September. After the elopement ceremony, we went down to the water in South Baltimore for a fun celebration with tons of color and lots of love present among all of their guests!

Just because you’re getting married at a courthouse building, doesn’t mean your elopement can’t be full of color… Brandyce and Tanesha incorporated color in all of these ways:

• Wearing rainbow converse shoes

• Carrying rainbow floral bouquets

• All of their 11 guests wore rainbow colored attire and posed with rainbow umbrellas

• Ending with a rainbow colored smoke bomb send-off

But my favorite part of their love story is how they connected through a mutual friend and initially felt something about the other, but didn’t act on it right away and even managed to continue to get to know each other while living across the country.

“I love her smile and the way she grabs my hand to hold. I love the person I am when I am with her. She challenges me and makes me better. She is my happy place.”

Congratulations, ladies!! It has been such a pleasure getting to know you and having the honor of photographing your wedding; thank you for the opportunity to be a part of these memories. Your love story is an inspiration and I hope you never forget all the joy that was experienced on this day!

xoxo,
Naomi

brianna + bryant | an elopement at rawlings conservatory

Brianna and Bryant were planning to get married at the courthouse in downtown Baltimore with photos nearby in Mt. Vernon… but when rain threatened to ruin their plan for beautiful elopement portraits, Brianna had the best idea: to reserve time at the Rawlings Conservatory and embrace the fact that after 7 years, they were still going to be married at the end of the day!

Their families arrived at the Conservatory with them and Brianna + Bryant not only had a memorable first look with all the happy tears, but they took advantage of soft light for all of their portraits. They were both beaming and full of excitement, kindness and joy; couples with an attitude and approach like this truly make my heart so happy! This is what it’s about!

Fun fact: cloudy, rainy days are even better for photos when you’re in a space like this since the light is diffused and even, as it pours through the glass windows of this lush, beautiful, indoor greenhouse (side note: it will be humid though! ;)).

Congratulations again, newlyweds!! I’m absolutely honored that you had me there to document such a special and memorable day… you both looked incredible! To have the support of so many loved ones by your side as you became husband and wife, what a forever moment I hope you continue to remember and enjoy for years to come!!

xo,
Naomi

victoria + nial | a colorful mini wedding in downtown baltimore

Victoria and Nial have a love story that all started on a Baltimore bench (after initially meeting on Bumble!). These two share the sweetest love and admiration for each other while also appreciating the importance and love of family, connection and good food. I’m SO excited to share their micro wedding and courthouse elopement with you!! It’s full of tons of color, modern details and my favorite portrait locations in Baltimore!

“On New Years Eve we were going to a comedy show and I told her we would walk to this taco spot before for dinner. She didn’t know this would happen and she invited a friend to join us. I told him the plan and asked him to try to get some photos. Then while passing our bench I asked her to take a picture with me on the bench and then proposed.

She was surprised. Speechless for a bit. And said YES! We went to eat tacos and the comedy show. I don’t think she could stop smiling. She cried only as it sunk in, as we were having tacos. She didn’t want the tears to ruin her makeup…”

How incredibly gorgeous is Victoria’s bouquet?! So colorful while also being soft, elegant, romantic and not too bold… LOVE!!!

OBSESSED, actually.

A beautiful day for a stroll and some portraits in Patterson Park near the pagoda, just down the street from where they call home… city life and love at its finest.

After leaving Patterson Park, we stopped at this bench on the corner of Eastern + Wolfe St. in Upper Fells; this is the same bench where Victoria + Nial first met and later on, where he surprised Victoria and proposed! It was only fitting to have it flowered and full of lush color and a super romantic look for photos, by Steelcut Flower Co. Their #urbanrowpup Raffi even got in on the blooms with his own floral collar!

Our last stop of the day was in Fells, for portraits on the water at Broadway Pier before the happy couple celebrated with cocktails and dinner at the Pendry. But first, what celebration would be complete without popping champagne?!

Sending you all the love and congratulations as you continue getting used to calling each other husband and wife, Victoria and Nial! You planned such a flawless day with so many lovely ways to celebrate how your Baltimore love story came to be!

xo,
Naomi

…huge thanks to this talented team!

florals: Steelcut Flower Co.
dress: Calvin Klein
suit: Calvin Klein
videography: Adam Green
dinner reception: Sagamore Pendry
ceremony: Baltimore City courthouse

an emotional + joyful courthouse elopement

This is the week that should have been Laura + Garrison’s wedding week (it’s been rescheduled for July thanks to COVID-19), and they’re on my mind so often that I thought it was a perfect time to finally share these photos with you! In fact, it’s couples like them that remind me how many layers there are to what’s happening in the world right now. They make me so grateful for all of the support, kindness, warmth and grace that I’ve been lucky to experience in our industry along with so many other small business owners.

Laura + Garrison’s wedding was the first of many that will be rescheduled and postponed to occur later this year. It was (like all of the weddings we’re a part of) one that I had been looking forward to for so long for so many reasons, not the least of which was that it was going to be at the Accelerator Space with an incredible vendor team!

Throughout all of the ups and downs they’ve experienced in recent months, this single photo from their elopement says it all. They are a constant ray of sunshine, a perfect team and a couple that bring joy to so many friends and family!

Despite growing up in the same zip code, and having a ton of mutual friends, Laura + Garrison had never met before matching on Tinder in May 2016. Their first date was during happy hour in Federal Hill. They have such a natural chemistry together that was so much fun to document in and around the Baltimore Country Courthouse as they eloped on a mid-November day - which happened to also be the same date as Laura’s dad’s birthday!

Garrison planned such an incredibly sweet proposal, I’ll let Laura tell you how that all happened:

“Garrison said he would plan something nice for our 3 year anniversary a few months back. He never gave any details except that he had booked an overnight getaway at an undisclosed location. On our way to the surprise spot, Garrison drove north, south, east, and west to throw me off so I couldn't guess where we were going. 20 minutes later, we arrive at the most BEAUTIFUL house surrounded by gardens, which turns out to be about 7 minutes from our apartment in Austin. Inside, there were framed pictures of us, candles, and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Gare also got a nice bottle of champagne and a fancy charcuterie board (our favorite). He told me we had dinner reservations, so I made sure to dress up. He suggested we walk through the gardens, and as we were walking, Garrison tells me how amazing the last 3 years have been and says all of the sweetest things. As we walk down from the balcony and turn the corner, he gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him. I said Yes! (obviously) and a photographer comes out from behind a bush, and we proceed to do a 1 hour engagement photoshoot that Garrison planned!! It was absolutely perfect! After the pictures, Garrison made me dinner, played a love song playlist he had prepared, and we had the most perfect night celebrating together.”

Not only are they both so at ease when together, but when asked what they love about each other, it brought tears to my eyes…

“I love the way she makes me feel, I love how driven she is, and I love the way she laughs…”

“My favorite thing about Garrison is his thoughtfulness and how genuinely good of a person he is; not just to me, but to everyone…”

In Laura’s words, the reason behind the elopement…

“Shortly after we got engaged last Fall, we received some serious news about my dad’s health. To ensure he’d be able to be there to see us get married, we decided to have a small ceremony at the courthouse with our families. We got married on November 18, 2019- my dad’s birthday. Not only did I get to marry the love of my life on an already celebratory day, but I was able to have the experience of my dad walking me down the ‘aisle’ on a day when he was feeling healthy, which is a true blessing.”

This was my first Baltimore County courthouse elopement and I loved how intimate and special it was to stand alongside Laura + Garrison’s immediate family and witness their vows. Beaming smiles and radiant joy were a theme throughout their courthouse elopement from the moment they arrived to the moment they were married and twirling in front of the historic courthouse in those vibrant blue heels and elegant tulle skirt…

I hope more couples embrace this idea, especially in light of COVID-19. Why not elope now with a really short and sweet civil ceremony and then plan a meaningful party for more friends and family later? HINT: if you do go this route, I’m happy to swap your ‘engagement session’ for photos of your elopement!

Cheers, lovebirds! We CAN NOT WAIT for July - it’s going to be better than you can imagine!

xo,
Naomi

planning: The Otherside Creatives
florals: Thurman & Fig