As a young girl I dreamed of being on Broadway.
I planned to move to New York with a girlfriend in my early 20's.
{I got a communications degree and became a high school English teacher instead.}
I met an amazing stage director and musician and fell head over heels.
He asked me to marry him on our second date. I was 26.
We had beautiful babies. Lots and lots of beautiful babies.
My girlfriend asked me, "What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?"
Capture beauty through my lens.
Life is precious. I'm only guarenteed this moment. And I'd rather fail at something I LOVE than succeed at something I could take or leave. Life in a nutshell.
I know who I am. I know whose I am. And His plans for me are far greater than I could ask or imagine.
I. love. life.
Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to visit my former blog "through the lens.
Mr. Hopkins allowed us the run of the land . . . the farm, the woods, the buildings . . .
After canceling our late summer Fenwick Island E-session because of a Labor Day Hurricane I was eager to give Kristina and Evan their heart’s desire. We hit the most beautiful autumn day and were light chasers for a blissfull chunk of the afternoon.
They will be married on the beach. Outer Banks to be exact. Sweet. Life.
Antrim 1844. He wooed her over long six course dinners and moonlit walks through the immaculate gardens to the gazebo under the stars. He wooed her with his words, his romance, and his ability to hear her heart of hearts. Carl got his girl, and he and Nancy share the easy flow that people who are well suited enjoy. It was such a pleasure to spend the afternoon with them, hearing about their long distance relationship which will expire as soon as they’re hitched. Will it be the Florida Gulf Coast? Or will it be Washington, DC? I think the jury’s still out on that one, but one thing is for sure . . . home is wherever they are together.
And . . . they can dance!
Nancy and Carl . . .I’ve enjoyed every minute with you both. From our Panera date to our email flurries to our crisp autumn afternoon at the mansion . . . you both are pure joy!
She went out on a limb and said yes to the invitation. Her classmate at Stevenson University was hosting a bible study and she was feeling the draw. First meeting, there he sat. Smiling, open and utterly charming, and she knew right away. He was gonna be hers. Five months later the deal was sealed, and next June it’ll be made official.
In the middle of our early fall engagement session, I just blurted it out:
Wait. I just gotta tell you. You have it. Hard to put words to it, but it’s easiness together, the ability to be real. Silly. Passionate. The whole spectrum of everything real, all in a single moment. It’s right and it’s beautiful. And I’m so happy you found each other.
And that fully restored ’68 pickup he brought? Now that was icing on the cake. They are in for a sweet ride together.
Ashely and Andrew . . . so excited for your wedding next June. So, so excited. You are so perfect together.
It’s that look that says, “There you are. I’ve been looking for you for so long.”
It was Mother’s in Federal Hill. Out with friends, they spotted one another across the bar and that was it. Since that first glance, they’ve been inseparable, exploring every nook and cranny of Bmore together and writing the nitty gritty of the cityscape into their romance.
Baltimore in all her glory was the canvas on which their romance was painted in bold, vivid strokes. Mother’s. Federal Hill. The American Visionary Arts Museum. Tidewater Park.
The back alley of Mother’s. Where it all began.
To really know Bmore is to love her.
Megan + Adam will be married in just a few short months in Washington DC’s National Harbor. I can’t wait.
Summer Nights. That’s where their romance began, in Maryland horse country, as fireflies lit the late summer meadows and they enjoyed long conversations underneath the stars. Then, Corrin went back for her senior year at UNC Greensboro, and Kevin began his bi-weekly trek down the highway to see his girl. They’ll be married this summer . . . on the same horse farm where they fell in love. Oh, those summer nights.
Corrin and Kevin, thank you for allowing me to document the Greensboro part of your love story. Both of you are so much fun to shoot, and I can’t wait until the wedding this July!!
Her stomach would fill with butterflies at the sight of his last name on the books, and then when he’d appear, all the girls would clamor to catch a glimpse . . . after all, Gina had been telling her cohorts about this handsome guy who brought his dad to the dentist.
He always accompanied his dad to the exam room, but that serendipitous day he chose to linger . . . after all, a gorgeous brown-eyed girl was manning the front desk.
Their first real connection cruised along until she overheard her father, the dentist, joking with his dad, the patient. It was something about horses, blankets and chickens- something about a dowry and the flirting going down at the front desk and lots of guffawing. Dentist Dad then announced to Matt that Gina would be obliged to provide a phone number, should he be interested. Her face- scarlet. His face- hopeful. They sheepishly exchanged numbers, but he didn’t ask. She waited.
He waited. He waited until he could wait no longer. It must have been a whole twenty minutes before he called her cell and invited her to dinner. They had their first date the next night- and they were done. They discovered how much they truly had in common. He’s a surgeon. She’ll soon be a nurse. And after all, any guy who accompanies his dad to the dentist- how do you beat that?
It was fast and furious. And their love is pure and passionate. By the way he tenderly brushes the hair back from her eyes so he can see them clearly to the way she looks when he whispers in her ear, I can tell . . . he loves her deeply and fully. They are MAGIC together and their springtime Tremont Grand wedding is going to be off the hook. With Fred Behney driving the train and Jamie Leboe’s artistic touch, coupled with floral design by Flowers and Fancies Stanton Wingrat . . . well, it going to be stunning.
Gina + Matt . . . you both make me love, love love my job.
Stunning. There’s no other way to describe them. Well, stunning and in love . . .
It was Worthington Valley horse country for their engagement session . . . right on Tufton, left on Belmont if you’re interested . . . and the opportunities lay right before us. They were so beautiful that they actually had spectators pull over and park to watch their session.
Tarryn and Dan . . . I can’t wait until your wedding next year- it’s going to be unreal. Seriously.
To say they met at church would be a half truth. But they did. Meet in church, that is. That’s only one layer of their story . . . it’s a story full of cross country adventure, closed doors, open windows and off-the-hook Young Life clubs. Dana and Jonn are proof that God really listens to prayer, and that He has a plan better than we can ever ask or imagine. It happened months after Dana left Chicago to take a job in rural Carroll County, teaching Spanish at Century High School. She had gone to her college’s recruiting fair, and the Carroll County scouts knew to scoop her up before some other school district nabbed her. Smart move. Completely on her own, she moved cross country, started her school year, and chose to get involved with Young Life–you know, to fill up all that extra time a first year teacher has! Jonn was working hard in his landscaping business, leading worship at our church and working through a tough patch, personally. He wanted to fill up his evenings with something worthwhile, and chose Young Life. They worked sided by side, investing in others’ lives. Step in the amazing power of God, who began to orchestrate, and before they knew it, they were sitting across the table from one another one early spring night at Chili’s. Jonn looked at Dana and saw “this sparkle in her eye,” and it was all over.
We went back to the place that it all began for Dana and Jonn, the Belinko home, and the Leppo Barn. That’s Young Life Central in these parts. And God put the icing on the cake when he gave us the most beautiful day of the fall season. Dana and Jonn will be married in May at the Linganore Wine Cellars, and it will be a marriage of three. These guys are doing it the right way . . . they have set their sights on Jesus, and while they are in the midst of planning a kicking wedding, they are also working through a devotional in order to prepare themselves for the other. They’ve let God write their romance. Sweet. love.
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