Kimberly & Tristan - Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore - Baltimore wedding photography - Jennifer McMenamin Photography

Kimberly & Tristan — Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore — Baltimore wedding photography

Kim kept joking that all she wanted in planning her intimate little brunch wedding was a good waffle. She somehow ended up with more than 80 guests for a full-fledged wedding at the brand-new, breathtakingly beautiful Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore. Perched on the edge of the water in swanky Harbor East with every luxury and amenity one might imagine — pools, outdoor bars and patios, a fancy-schmancy coffee shop, panoramic views, guest rooms and ballrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, a full-service spa and an upscale restaurant — the hotel opened in November and held its first official event in December. Kim and Tristan’s nuptials were only the second wedding ever thrown at the hotel — and it was perfection. Despite the January date, we somehow ended up with temperatures in the 50s. (I had a photo shoot a week earlier and the poor brides had goosebumps up and down their bare arms. Kim had only a bit of wind to worry about on her wedding day during outdoor photos!) They had the cutest little ring bearers — Kim’s sons — and flowergirls — Kim’s nieces — that a photographer could ask for. Their wedding ceremony was personal and touching. (Asked during the traditional vows whether she took Tristan to be her husband, Kim responded, “I really do.”) And like every other part of the day, it was filled with meaningful little glances between the bride and groom, who had dated in college, drifted apart and then found each other again. I’m going to let the photos tell the rest of the story. Here are some of my favorites from their day:

The Four Seasons offers sweeping views of the city and harbor.

A few getting-ready details.

In addition to getting herself ready, Kim also had her two sweet boys to fuss over on the morning of her wedding. Here, she finishes up styling Mason’s hair.

Graham, meanwhile, occupies himself with a little wedding day TV.

The bride, looking gorgeous.

Since we had a limited amount of time — the couple contracted me for only 90 minutes of photography — they chose to see each other before the ceremony for a few photos.

A few groom and groomsmen details.

Kim and her lovely ladies.

These girls were absolute hams in front of the camera. I love love loved their gray dresses and cranberry feather hairpieces. So stylish!

The wedding party, minus one cute little ringbearer, who was running around with the babysitter and burning off some excess pre-ceremony energy.

A few ceremony details.

I love the expression of Kim’s mother as she is escorted down the aisle.

This next shot was captured by my assistant, Lucas. I love the way Kim’s father is looking at her just before their walk down the aisle to Tristan.

And I love Kim’s expression here as well.

This next image is also from Lucas — a nice silhouette from the back of the aisle.

With two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows and noontime sunlight pouring into the room, the ceremony site presented some lighting challenges. But we had scouted it out in advance, set up some off-camera flash and were good to go. It was truly a beautiful spot for a wedding, offering guests a beautiful view of Baltimore as the backdrop for Kim and Tristan’s vows.

This next image makes me smile. I have a 2-year-old daughter and am very familiar with this here’s-my-phone-so-please-don’t-cry-during-this-very-important-quiet-moment trick.

I love love this next photo. As much fun as I have creating beautiful portraits for my clients and documenting all the personal details of their wedding days, it’s catching little unscripted moments like this that makes me adore my job. There’s nothing like a still photograph to forever capture and freeze in time a special moment, a telling glance, a little reaction that my clients might not have even caught at the time. I hope that Kim and Tristan can look back at this image years from now and remember precisely how they were feeling about each other on their wedding day.

Married!

An alternate perspective from Lucas at the back of the room. I like that he caught a program on a guest’s lap with Kim and Tristan’s names in the foreground but with the focus on the newlyweds in the background.

We dashed off to shoot just a few more photos of the bride and groom before they joined their guests for cocktails.

You can see the effects of that previously mentioned wind tousling Kim’s hair.

Reflections all around.

And then it was off to the ballroom to shoot a few reception details. I love the very modern chandeliers and all the rounded edges of this space.

Until just recently, the groom worked as a chef. He made a custom BBQ rub for all the guests and the darling little jars served as placecards as well. So clever!

The groom specifically requested that dilly beans — that’s pickled string beans, for the uninitiated — be included on the bloody Mary bar.

The brunch offerings were unbelievable!

I couldn’t help but stay a few minutes extra to capture introductions, the first dance and toasts, including the exuberant dash into the room by those sweet flowergirls.

The newlyweds danced to ‘Still the One’ — that great song with the opening line, ‘We’ve been together since way back when’ — and sang to each other as they danced.

A welcome toast from the bride and groom. Among his thank-yous, Tristan acknowledged his longtime friend, event planner Anne Berman, who helped tie everything together for the couple. She returned the salute by blowing a kiss to the newlyweds.