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Valerie & Eric
Grey Rock Mansion -- Baltimore wedding photography -- Maryland wedding photography

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Valerie has one of the coolest jobs on the planet — she is an elephant keeper at the Maryland Zoo. Eric works for his family’s company, extracting precious metals from computers and other electronics and recycling them for companies that need those materials for other uses. Together, they are funny and affectionate. They make each other laugh — easily and often. They exchange these knowing looks that perhaps stem from having started their relationship after they knew each other well. (Although Eric first asked out Valerie in high school, she did not accept his invitation until after her freshman year of college.) They are crazy about their huge families and circle of friends. They planned a beautiful spring wedding that encompassed all of those elements. Elephant placecard holders welcomed guests to the reception. During their ceremony, they were surrounded by their closest friends and their brothers. There were tears upon seeing her dad and when her mother carefully pinned a piece of lace from her own wedding gown to Valerie’s bouquet. They took time away from their party to shoot big group photos with each of the four branches of their massive family tree. (Valerie’s mother is one of seven siblings in her family. Eric’s mom is one of 13!) And their wedding fulfilled the one dream that Valerie ever had while growing up about getting married. “Most girls dream of a big wedding. My only dream was about a chocolate fountain,” she told me. Although the threat of rain chased their wedding ceremony indoors, we were graced with some lovely soft light for their outdoor photos. Here are some of my favorites from their beautiful day:   02-BettsSevere_00285-0053_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 03-BettsSevere_00023-0006_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 04-BettsSevere_00094bw-0020_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 05-BettsSevere_00193-0036_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

The bride with her childhood pup, Tawney.06-BettsSevere_00250-0046_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

My friend Daniel helped me out, assisting for this wedding, and shot some nice images of Eric and his groomsmen while I was with the bride and her girlfriends. 07-BettsSevere_00685-0140_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 08-BettsSevere_00357-0068_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 09-BettsSevere_00386-0077_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

I love this next image of Valerie. I think it captures her quiet beauty and her emotional vulnerability in the hour before her wedding. 10-BettsSevere_00415bw-0084_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 11-BettsSevere_00490bw-0096_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 12-BettsSevere_00497-0099_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 13-BettsSevere_00506-0102_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 14-BettsSevere_00512-0104_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

The bride, looking lovely. 15-BettsSevere_00582-0120_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

Finally, it was time to get married! I love the two upcoming photos of Valerie and her father, shot by Daniel, just before she walked down the aisle to Eric. 16-BettsSevere_00749-0155_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 17-BettsSevere_00768-0157_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 18-BettsSevere_00845-0179_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 19-BettsSevere_00884-0191_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

Catching little looks like these between my clients is what makes me love my job week after week! 20-BettsSevere_00900-0199_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 21-BettsSevere_00969-0221_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 22-BettsSevere_00923-0209_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 23-BettsSevere_00997-0231_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

Married! 24-BettsSevere_01005-0233_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 25-BettsSevere_01074-0250_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 26-BettsSevere_01310-0289_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 27-BettsSevere_01398-0303_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 28-BettsSevere_01464-0312_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

Valerie and her brother. 29-BettsSevere_01537-0324_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

And a few portraits in the garden of the newlyweds before heading in for the party. 30-BettsSevere_01620-0340_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 31-BettsSevere_01656-0347_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 32-BettsSevere_01714-0358_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 33-BettsSevere_01684bw-0353_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 34-BettsSevere_01736-0362_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

A few reception details. I love the march of the elephants and Valerie’s romantic bouquet. 35-BettsSevere_01866-0393_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 36-BettsSevere_02018-0419_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 37-BettsSevere_01924-0404_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

The next two images are completely unstaged. Daniel and I each waited patiently — he with my off-camera flash and I with my long lens focused on Valerie and Eric — crouched down on opposite sides of the sweetheart table for a nice moment to occur as the newlyweds started their dinner. It was most definitely worth all the crouching. 38-BettsSevere_02171-0449_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

A few toasts. 39-BettsSevere_02446-0497_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

A first dance. 40-BettsSevere_02585-0529_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

A pair of parent dances. 41-BettsSevere_02730bw-0583_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 42-BettsSevere_02760-0594_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

And an absolutely rocking dance party. 43-BettsSevere_02435-0495_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 44-BettsSevere_02615-0542_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 45-BettsSevere_02664-0560_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 46-BettsSevere_03057-0677_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 47-BettsSevere_02788-0602_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography 48-BettsSevere_03163-0692_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

Valerie & Eric’s guests bid them farewell with glow sticks at the end of the night. 49-BettsSevere_03268-0711_JenniferMcMenaminPhotography

 

Congratulations, Valerie & Eric. It was an absolute pleasure to work with you and your families!

Credits:

Photography: Jennifer McMenamin Photography, LLC

Ceremony & reception: Grey Rock Mansion

Catering: Simply Elegant Catering

Officiant: The Rev. Laura C. Cannon

DJ: Absolute Entertainment

Cake: Artistic Desserts

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Wedding Confetti