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Stephanie & Matt — Loyola Chapel & The Belvedere — Baltimore wedding photography

Stephanie and Matt really deserved good wedding weather. More so, perhaps, than any other couple whose wedding I have photographed. We had a rough time with weather for their engagement session. Hoping for gorgeous sunrise photos — think a stunning sky streaked with pink and orange behind the Lincoln Memorial in DC — we rescheduled once because of forecasted rain. On the second try, Mother Nature still did not exactly cooperate. It was overcast, unseasonably humid and a vicious thunderstorm rolled through right in the middle of our session, forcing us to run for cover at the Memorial.

With their wedding scheduled for late March, Steph planned to wear a mink stole that belonged to her Grandma Norma (and great-grandmother Mary before that!). Then, the warmest, most summer-like spring in recent memory arrived. The week of their wedding, I joked with Steph that she might have to duck into the hotel’s walk-in refrigerator to be photographed with the fur. Sigh. I spoke too soon. Their wedding day dawned rainy and overcast. Nonetheless, Steph and Matt did not let it bother them one iota. They instead bought cute umbrellas for their wedding party. They moved their family photo session inside. And they smiled and laughed and reveled in the love of their wedding day, no matter the weather. (And, as is almost always the case, there was a brief break in the rain, allowing us to dash outside for some fun photos of the two of them with spring cherry blossoms and puddles.)

Here are some of my favorites from their wonderful day:

Steph and Matt hired the amazing Madeline Comoglio of mlc designs to create an entire suite of wedding paper goods, from invitations and place cards to rsvp cards and menus. You’ll see more of her teriffic work a little later in the post.

Steph, her sisters, parents and girlfriends all got ready at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel. We were supposed to photograph her getting ready — putting on her dress, finishing up jewelry and such — but she was way too excited. When my assistant and I arrived a couple hours before the ceremony, she was completely dressed and ready to go!

In addition to the mink stole (that Grandma Norma wore on her own wedding day in 1953), Steph wore a hummingbird pin from her other grandmother on her big day. It was pinned to the stunning bouquet of pink spring blooms designed by Shawn Nocher of the Floral Studio.

The bride, looking gorgeous.

I love photographing my clients’ grandparents and Steph’s Grandpa Russ was no exception. He was so sweet!

Rain rain, go away. (But I loved the hot pink umbrellas!)

The Alumni Memorial Chapel at Loyola University is such a beautiful place for weddings. With the super dramatic altar lighting and stunning stained glass windows, it’s one of my favorite places to shoot.

Great shot from my assistant, Lucas, at the back of the aisle as Steph and her father entered the church.

The next image is also from Lucas.

What a lovely wedding Mass they had!

So many great little moments during the statement of intentions, vows and ring exchange.

With this great of a smile, Steph was such a joy to photograph.

Married!

This next image is also from Lucas.

The wedding party was so much fun to work with as well!

A few fun photos of the newlyweds before we left the church.

A little wedding party fun with the iconic facade of the historic and always-fabulous Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore.

I love how the cherry blossom petals in this next image look like snowflakes — and coordinate with the pale pink of Steph’s wedding shoes. Plus, any regular reader of this blog knows how much I love the sight of crinoline peeking out from under a gorgeous wedding gown!

They are so sweet together!

Nice teamwork, if I do say so myself! In the next four photos, the close-up images were shot by me with the simultaneous wider view shot by Lucas.

We couldn’t pass up a chance for a puddle reflection photo — since we got great ones at their engagement session!

Just for fun, I’m including this silly photo that Lucas snapped of me while I was working. I have to say — it’s so obvious that I love love my job. I mean, I knew that I do. But I guess I did not realize that I grin so much behind the camera!

Speaking of silly, Steph and Matt had me cracking up with their funny facial exercises to loosen up the jaw muscles with all the smiling they were doing for pictures. I had to include a series that I caught of them in action!

A few gorgeous reception details, including the previously mentioned paper goods!

(Hooray for a guest book with engagement photos on the cover!)

Oh so thoughtful: I’ve seen lots of clients offer a basket of flipflops for female guests to slip on at the reception. But Steph and Matt organized a massive trunk of flipflops by size for their friends and family.

I love love loved these little cocktail table centerpieces. So petite and lovely!

A first dance.

Some touching, heart-warming and amusing toasts. (Any time a father of the bride brings a bag of props to the mike for his toast, you know it’s going to be good!)

A pair of parent dances.

And oh so much fun and frivolity! (This band, The Rollex, was just incredible!)

Next three images: A little ‘Poker Face.’

Cake anyone?

The newlyweds had ‘Home’ by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros play during their cake cutting. At its conclusion, they treated their guests to an impromptu little dance. If you’re familiar with the song, I’m pretty much certain you’ll be able to hear the whistling and drum beats from looking at this next series of photos.

I’m always struck on wedding days that I don’t just photograph events for my clients. I photograph love and joy and amazing memories.

Congratulations, Steph and Matt. It was a true pleasure working with you and your families. I hope you plan something else soon that you’d like me to photograph because I’m going to miss our fun phone calls, e-mails and get-togethers!

Credits:

Photography: Jennifer McMenamin Photography

Ceremony: Alumni Memorial Chapel at Loyola University

Officiant: Father Frank Nash

Reception & Catering: The Belvedere

Bridal attire: Priscilla of Boston

Make-up: Ryan Krasney of Blend Event

Hair:  Cousins of the bride

Groom’s attire: Jos. A. Bank

Florist: The Floral Studio

Cake: The Cupcakes Lounge

Band: The Rollex

Transportation: Z Best Limousines

Invitations & Papergoods: mlc Designs