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
lianna + brian | an intimate baltimore rooftop elopement in federal hill
/The amount of joy and laughter Lianna and Brian exude is nothing short of contagious… I honestly can’t stop smiling and am so happy you two were able to celebrate it in the intimate, meaningful way you wanted!
L + B planned an intimate weekday rooftop elopement at their home, but first they celebrated in their own adorable way by making stops for photos in Fells Point, Federal Hill park and ending at Little Havana for a fun and cozy dinner reception with 🌶 sauce as their favors, yummy margs🍹, a cigar bar and my fave: a candy s’mores bar with 5 different flavor combos (genius, really)!!
When I asked Lianna if there were any important or significant details they were incorporating into their elopement, she replied with this… “Nothing inherently special or significant besides being surrounded by our families, in our home and favorite places to spend time in together…” Pretty sure that’s all you need in life.
Enjoy these favorites from their intimate Baltimore rooftop elopement!!!
I love their ‘how we met’ story…
“Every year, my college sorority would host a duck hunting-themed date party where everyone dressed in camo and jorts - classy! In 2013, I took one of my friends (who happens to be a great friend and former roommate of Brian's) and he went with one of my "sisters". We spent the night in the same circle of people but not really chatting too much with each other one-on-one. For the next year, Brian referred to me as "Naime's date" because he couldn't remember my name (and to be honest, I had no clue what his name was either... I just thought he was the cute guy in the crew!) Finally, we called each other out on it and haven’t stopped talking since (unless of course, he is on the golf course)!”
And since their proposal took place on their roof deck, that’s also where they got married…
“On October 3, 2020, Brian and I spent the whole day just the two of us (and our pup, Abby, of course!) This is pretty rare for a nice Saturday in golf season so I was excited to just have a nice day together! We started out by taking a walk around Lake Roland and eating brunch in Hampden. The rest of the day we watched our college team actually win a football game (also pretty rare these days) and being lazy at the house. When night rolled around, Brian suggested we go have a drink on our roof deck. He had strung lights and lit our firetable so it was a beautiful scene to walk up to. That is where he got down on his knee and asked me to be his wife, just the two of us!”
Congratulations, sweethearts! Your excitement, joy and laughter is contagious… hope you never stop enjoying each other’s company like this! You’re absolutely onto something with beginning your married life together by celebrating in all of your favorite Baltimore spots.
We were honored to be a part of this day with you and your families! Cheers to more rooftop sunsets and keeping things spicy… just remember to always keep laughing and “be cool, be cool, be cool”.
xo,
Naomi (+ Liz, associate photographer)
vendor love:
bouquet and rooftop florals: Thurman & Fig
restaurant florals: Fleur de Lis Baltimore
beauty: Brushed Beauty
dinner reception: Little Havana
cake: Codetta Bake Shop
afryea + shaquille | a spring elopement in downtown baltimore and druid hill park
/Afryea and Shaquille are the definition of soulmates that compliment each other in every way!
Their intimate Baltimore elopement took place on one of the coldest days we’ve had this spring so far (it was 36 degrees and flurried earlier that morning!), but you’d never know while looking at the photos… they exude joy, happiness and respect for each other, while being the perfect amount of quiet and thoughtfully contemplative (Shaquille) combined with energetic excitement and bubbly radiance (Afryea).
The sun was shining bright and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to document a love story like theirs! The world needs more of their kind of love.
Afryea and Shaquille got ready and had an intimate, heartfelt ceremony at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront downtown with their families witnessing the love, excitement and memorable vows they shared.
I was OBSESSED with both the minimal yet gorgeous pearl jewelry Afryea incorporated into her bridal look, complimenting the low back, soft lace dress she wore as well as Shaquille’s powder blue suit and floral tie.
Shaquille’s close friend Jim officiated and there was no shortage of laughs, happy tears, warm blessings by each family member and excitement for their future together. All of their words brought me to tears behind the camera!
Their expressions in the photo above (one of my favorites!) was brought to you by the best comment by Afryea’s dad: “you all could be a toothpaste commercial!” He’s not wrong!!
After the ceremony we took portraits in Druid Hill Park which had so many beautiful spring buds and blossoms opening up and matching blue skies to Shaq’s suit… it was almost like they planned it that way! ;)
I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and never-ending joy together as you continue to grow as a couple and start your life as newlyweds in New Orleans; you already have an incredible foundation with all the love from your families and your roots in Baltimore and NY!
Thank you for trusting me to document your wedding day - it was an absolute honor!!
xo,
Naomi
nakeia + chris | a micro wedding with an old world feel in dickeyville, baltimore
/Nakeia + Chris are still planning a larger party in the future but for now, they embraced the idea of a small and memorable intimate wedding at a historic home with their closest family and friends and it was absolutely PERFECT! The Dickeyville neighborhood where they celebrated, felt like it was MADE for them: it was relaxed, quiet, beautiful, full of charm and tons of character!
These lovebirds designed and planned their wedding to take place in one of the larger homes in the neighborhood on one of the 2 main historic streets; the upstairs bedroom served as Nakeia’s getting ready space, while the large gathering space on the first floor held the ceremony and was later transformed into a dinner reception.
We took advantage of the backyard full of greenery for family portraits and then explored the neighborhood together for their adorable just married, golden hour portraits (my favorite time of day)!
SIX UNIQUE AND MEANINGFUL DETAILS NAKEIA + CHRIS INCORPORATED INTO THEIR CANDID AND INTIMATE WEDDING:
Nakeia’s off the shoulder crepe dress had buttons running the entire way down her back as well as on her sleeves. So classic and modern all at once.
The baby’s breath in her updo added a romantic, whimsical and soft, textured look - the perfect way to tie in garden elements!
Nakeia’s Uncle Terry walked her down the aisle and was beaming the entire way; it was absolutely heartwarming.
They jumped the broom to symbolize starting their lives together!
The wedding party wore burgundy colors with orange ribbons tying the hydrangea bouquets together to represent Virginia Tech, the groom’s alma mater… Go Hokies!
Nakeia and Chris loved the Dickeyville aesthetic, so they prioritized portraits during golden hour… (more on what unfolded, below)!
Nakeia met her Uncle Terry at the bottom of the stairs and this moment of him beaming at her, makes me so happy. So much pride and joy!
We walked along the tree-lined streets, stopped in front of stone knee walls from the 1800s and ivy covered garden residences marveling at how quaint and cozy this hidden gem felt - it was like we were in a tiny European village (definitely reminded me of Cinque Terre in Italy!) as neighbors shouted down from open windows and came out of their homes to share in the excitement of their newlywed status!
Congratulations, Mr. + Mrs. Gardner! Your easygoing, relaxed and fun personalities were a joy to document - I can’t wait to see how you continue to celebrate your love next year and make memories together for decades to come!!!
xo,
Naomi
erin + nick | elegant historic hampton mansion engagement
/The number 13 has always been Nick’s lucky number (ps: it’s actually my family’s lucky number too!) and so it was only fitting that on June 13, 2007, Nick asked Erin to be his girlfriend and they became a couple… in the hallway at the end of an eighth grade school day!
Erin and Nick have been through so much together in the course of their 13 year relationship leading up to their Maryland wedding day; having the honor of getting to know them and documenting their love story has been nothing short of incredible… from our very first conversation nearly a year ago, I could immediately see and understand how Nick’s favorite thing about Erin is her thoughtfulness.
While the pandemic threatened to move their wedding to 2021, and steal the perfect wedding date from them (originally planned for June 26, 2020… 13 years and 13 days exactly from the day they started dating), an incredible silver lining emerged during all of the wedding postponement conversations. The stars in fact aligned, and they are going to be able to get married on June 13, 2020 after all (which was the date they originally wanted!) - in a smaller, more intimate ceremony in Columbia, Maryland where they first met and attended grade school together. I’m pretty sure there won’t be a dry eye during their backyard wedding ceremony.
In Erin’s words, how they met (I still can’t get over how they’ve been together for half of their lives!):
We met at Harper's Choice Middle School in Columbia, Maryland, at the beginning of sixth grade. We had our very first period class together that year, as well as a few others, but didn't know each other all that well. Still though, I have a memory of sitting with my best friends that year blushing at talking about thinking he was cute. We got to know each other a little more over the next couple of years in orchestra (both playing the violin). The oldest photo I have of the two of us is that December, during our orchestra concert - I'm looking over my shoulder at Nick, and it's so precious! In eighth grade, we had most of our classes together again, and I started talking to my friends (at those stereotypical middle school sleepovers!) about how cute Nick was, and how much I liked him, but didn't think he'd ever really noticed me. Just before valentines day that year, they convinced me to tell him how I felt. I composed an elaborate note to be slipped to Nick during English class on valentine's day, but a snow day pushed it to the next day. I think I wanted to crawl under my desk and die of embarrassment when I saw him open and read it! He responded the next day with a note of his own that thanked me for wishing him a happy valentine's day, but told me that he didn't feel the same way, and hoped we could just be friends. Since we were the two kids in school who weren't cool enough to be on AIM with everyone else, he also included his email address, and we started exchanging emails. Over the course of the next few months, we started emailing every day, eventually a hundred times a day, talking all night after school about everything and nothing, and becoming closer and closer friends. A couple of weeks before the end of the school year, Nick stopped me in the hallway at the end of the school day, and passed me a new note saying that his feelings had changed, that he really liked me, that he hoped I still felt the same way, and asking me to be his girlfriend. I was over the MOON! I wrote back a note the next day to say yes, and passed it to him on June 13, 2007. Thirteen has always been Nick's lucky number, so he and his best friend Ethan had decided that was the right day for him to ask me.
And now, the proposal in Nick’s words:
I proposed at the national cathedral in DC on April 21, 2019. We had been there before when we lived in DC, and I knew that the grounds and gardens were beautiful and would be perfect for pictures. April 21 was also Easter, so I figured it would be a good excuse for us to be dressed up nicely without creating suspicion. We were back in DC for the long weekend for the wedding of one of Erin's best friends. Erin was the officiant for her best friend's wedding on Saturday, and part of the bridal party, so when she had to be up in the bridal suite at 8:30 am for hair and makeup, it left me plenty of time to head over to the Cathedral with a good friend that Erin used to work with in DC to scope out the grounds, figure out where the best hidden vantage points for pictures would be, where the sun was, how we could approach the gardens so that we were aligned for pictures and also not make Erin suspicious about what we were doing there. Neither Erin nor I go to church very often anymore, and she most definitely did not want to go, but because it was Easter I convinced her that it was probably the right thing to do. Despite calls for rain all weekend, we had perfectly sunny skies. I had the Uber drop us off well out of the way so that we would approach the cathedral perfectly in line with where our friend would be hiding with his camera, and managed to time our approach perfectly so that the hundreds of people at the cathedral for easter were actually in the church just as service was beginning, which left us all alone on the grounds. The church bells were actually ringing as I got down on one knee and surprised Erin with a proposal that couldn’t have gone any better or more according to plan.
Erin is brilliant, and a meticulous planner, and just generally super thoughtful and aware, so I thought there was little to no chance of me pulling off a surprise proposal, but because she was so focused on her friend's wedding, and delivering a beautiful service, and ensuring that her friend had the wedding of her dreams, she was completely unaware of my plans.
We spent some time just us in the gardens, and then raced home to easter dinner where Erin only expected to see her family and mine, but I had also secretly arranged for all of our closest friends from home to be there waiting to surprise her, and help us celebrate our big day.
I’ve always believed everything happens for a reason and you both are proof that good things come to those who wait… I CAN NOT WAIT to watch you marry the love of over half your lives, 13 years in the making on June 13th in an intimate, small and ridiculously meaningful wedding ceremony among the presence of your closest friends and family!
Let’s get you MARRIED!
xo,
Naomi
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!):
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!
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.
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.
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.
Katie surprised Zach with a meaningful engraving inside his ring and a beautiful new wooden watch.
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
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…”