Jennifer & Matt – Inn at Perry Cabin Wedding

Jenn & Matt’s Wedding on Maryland’s Eastern Shore

“A Very Special Story”

It was a soft lit day on Marlyand’s eastern shore in beautiful Saint Michaels where Jennifer and Matt became one.Everything came together for the good to create resonating images.

Family came from across the country to celebrate the union, and there was no shortage of real emotion. I could sense the deep connection between Jennifer and Matt and I hope it comes through to you in my work.

The event was held on the waters edge at an absolute beautiful historicvenue called Perry Cabin.Itreminds me of a southern mansion and the people who work there are so friendly that you would think you are in the deep south.

This wedding was such a breath of fresh air to me.Much of the wedding consisted of airline pilots, stewards and their friends,and I could feel a strong bond among the group.It was so special to me because it felt so natural and real. The expressions of two people in love enjoying this special day with their loved ones consisted of laughter, tears, and everything in between.

One thing you won’t find here is any plastic smiles put on for the camera.Often there were no smiles at all. Sometimes love is felt deeper and expressed differently. I was observing and capturing real, honest moments in a beautiful way. Everyone was totally being themselves and in the moment, and there was no pressure to act a certain way.

When working with the bride and groom, we did go out of our way to find great light, or we created it. We also found beautiful soft backgrounds, created interesting compositions, and we did prompt Jenn and Matt a little.Weoffered some suggestions and encouraged them to play, and then they did their own thing. We encouraged and guided them a little, but they took it to the next level and made it their own. Their true personalities came shining through!

I especially loved it when I brought Jenn to the waters edge and asked her to hold the bottom edge of her dress. She reluctantly did so. I then encouraged her to move and twirl around a little. You ladies know that can be a challenge in the grass with high heels. In short order, she was playing and twirling, Matt was laughing, and the resulting images look gorgeous!

Earlier when getting ready, we put Jenn in soft window light. While shooting,we guided her into some comfortable situations, and Jenn gave us honest expressions yielding stunning images.

I can’t remember this wedding, or any other for that matter, without thinking of the emotions expressed between the bride and father.As always, it was very intense and beautiful.This is particularly meaningful to me because I have a seventeen year old daughter myself, and I always think abouthow I will feel when I give her away someday.

I was fortunate to have a wonderful opportunity of capturing many special moments between father and bride before the father walked the bride down the isle and gave her away.I was quite a distance away working with an incredible lens and I honestly do not believe they were aware of my presence. These were precious moments!

The moments at the alter seemed exceptionally beautiful too. We were outside on the water’s edge. It was very quite, and the late afternoon light was very soft.The ceremony was brief and to the point.I was quite a distance away, once again, working again with an incredible lens and getting incredible close ups! Jenn later commented that she didn’t even see me during the ceremony.

I really love how the background goes slightly soft with the focus being sharp exactly where I want to lead the eye …….

I was careful to shoot wide when the bride was coming and going from the ceremony because I wanted to capture the guests in the shots too. I was so happy I succeeded because the guest expressions in these shots really added so much.

I really love seeing all the guests with dozens of little point ‘n shoot cameras popping off in the background. One of the benefits of shooting large raw files is that we can zoom in and see every guest’s face, in focus,behind the bride and groom as they exited the ceremony.I love those shots!

I used one of these shots in a double wide landscape spread on my 12×12 Finao flush mount album,and it has huge impact!After seeing the final album, Christine, the owner of Finao Albums, commented that Jenn & Matt’salbum, if entered,would have taken 1st place in a recent wedding album competition that she judged. Let me know if you would like to see the album spreads that I designed!

For those interested in a little photo tech info, flash was used sparingly. Prime lenses, wide apertures,available light, my 200mm f2 (a $4k plus lens) , an attractive couple deeply in love, honest emotions, and candid moments all worked together to help create beautiful images.

The shoot turned out better than anything we could have created with models because the love and honesty ring through in these images unlike what can be produced with even the best actors.

I still get goose bumps when viewing the slideshow of images and hearing the music as I’m reminded once again that something very special happened that day.We are blessed to have played a small part in capturing such wonderful memories forever. It can’t be faked. You can feel it. It’s real!

Mark