For the last 4 years, we have joked about who was responsible for introducing them. Ryan would always take credit because he worked with Brendon at the time. However, as I remember the story, Ryan and I were in our kitchen planning a fun evening and I said, “what if we introduced Karen and Brendon?!?!” ;)  To be fair, I do believe Ryan was actually the one to call Brendon that day and invite him over, so let’s just say… we introduced them.

I don’t think it actually became real to me until I read their story in their own words on their wedding website.  My heart smiled reading, “Liz and Ryan introduced us on a summer evening on their roofdeck.” At many points during their wedding celebration last weekend, Karen and Brendon said, “we would not be here if it weren’t for Liz and Ryan.” Whoa. Seriously, what an incredible honor! It is AMAZING to think how a simple action of following through on those “what if” statements in life can change people’s lives! Love is a crazy special thing! And although we know we cannot take full credit for bringing them together last weekend in marriage, we are certainly quite excited to know we had a small role in their love story along the way!

I cannot even begin to explain the emotions I felt on their wedding day. There is nothing quite like seeing two friends with smiles bigger than we have ever seen on their faces before. The day was perfect… the weather could not have been more AMAZING, the boats passed back and forth as they said their vows on a a pier in Fell’s Point, and their intimate wine and cheese celebration (that included the cutest handmade personal pies for dessert) complemented the evening of dancing and so much fun!

Karen and Brendon… as we reflected on your wedding day through your photos and the audio from your ceremony, the tears filled my eyes. We knew your wedding day was going to be special, but it filled our hearts with so much awe and joy as we witnessed your love at its finest! It is a day that we will never forget and we are so incredibly honored to have been there as friends… and photographers too! ;) Knowing that you will forever have these photos to remind you of that happiness and love that you share…that makes our hearts happy! Thank you for such an AMAZING celebration! We Love You guys!!!

Huge Huge Huge thank you to Natalie Franke for coming along with us for the day as a part of our team! Since it was our first wedding post my surgery, we wanted to make sure she was there in case I needed a break! ;) Thank God, I was feeling great (probably because we were capturing our friend’s marriage!! How HAPPY is that?!?!)… I know a large part of the reason was also because Natalie was by my side to fill in where we needed her most (she even carried my bag all day! :( Sometimes that is harder than shooting! ;) )! Natalie- thank you for being you! We are so grateful for you!

Also, a big thanks to all of the professionals who helped make Karen and Brendon’s wedding so special:

Hair and Makeup: Kristi at Canton Hair Studio | Flowers: Patti Raraigh (Brendon’s mom) | Ceremony Venue: Bond Street Pier (Admiral Fell Inn) | Officiant: Chris Fedak (friend of Karen and Brendon) | Ceremony Music: Jessica Albrecht | Reception Venue: Admiral Fell Inn | Pies: Arianna Franca, Batter Up Cupcakes  (friend of Karen) | DJ/Band: C&J Entertainment | Bride’s Attire: Etsy (YES! That beautiful dress is from Etsy! ;) ) | Groom’s Attire: Banana Republic | Bridesmaid’s Attire: Nordstrom | Photographers: Liz and Ryan

Over the last few weeks, we have had many conversations with our family, friends, previous clients, current clients, and even potential clients about the importance of photography and choosing the best photographers for you. I kind of wish we had a recorder for all of the conversations to share them all with you… but basically, all of the conversations culminated into an aha moment for us, choosing a photographer (although many see it as overwhelming) can be incredibly exciting! ;)

This past weekend, we photographed our friends, Brendon and Karen, who we actually introduced to each other! ;) (THAT was such an incredible honor!!!… and we will definitely share more about that soon!) Anyway, we had just placed the Day of Slideshow (a slideshow on our iPad of about 40-50 pictures that we had taken earlier on in the day to give everyone a sneak peek of the photos to come!) out in the bar area and found a group of our friends gathered around watching it! One of our friends turned to us and said… “Ahh! I so wish we would have spent more on our photographers.” At that moment, of course we felt humbled that they were as excited about Karen and Brendon’s photos as we were, but deep down our hearts broke a little. We want EVERYONE to have wedding photos that they are proud of and excited to share! Unfortunately, we often hear the horror stories from others and we know that is simply not the case.

As much as I would LOVE to say that there is a “one size fits all” kind of photographer and those photographers names are Liz and Ryan ;) … that is actually not the truth! But we do feel confident that there are photographers out there for everyone and it is all about finding the best fit for you!

I think one of the biggest challenges that faces brides and grooms when they get engaged is that there are 1 million people who now have an answer to all of their questions and want to tell them what to do next in wedding planning. Instead of adding to that and making it 1 million +2 people, we thought we would share just a few of our thoughts about our process in hopes to educate people on what they could have… so that they don’t look back in a few years and think, “gosh, I wish we had better photographs to remember our day!”

1. Wedding planning should be FUN! Being engaged is one of the MOST exciting times of your life! You have made the decision to spend the rest of your lives together and now you get to plan the celebration to make it official! How exciting to know that your friends and family want to come together to celebrate YOU as a couple! Never lose focus of what this day is all about… you are getting MARRIED! This day should be exactly how YOU want it to be. The professionals that you hire (from the venue, to the photographers, to the caterers, to the band/DJ, etc.) should all be people that you know will keep this process fun because they are just as excited about meeting your needs and helping you plan the perfect wedding for YOU! (Not all weddings are the same!!! That is the exciting part!) Our advice… never lose site of what this is all about – your marriage, and find the professionals that leave you with a smile on your face knowing they are going to help you make the beginning of your marriage exactly how you dream it to be.

2. Expect greatness! This was something we learned in college by one of our AMAZING mentors, Dean Badal! ;) She always taught us to expect greatness from others. Therefore, we have it ingrained in our bodies to expect greatness from ourselves right along with expecting it from others! We are providing a service as photographers. The photographs are just one little piece of that service! You should never have a doubt that your photographers are going to take great care of you! Ryan and I were chatting about this the other day… you know those wedding magazines that always list the questions to ask your photographer. One of the questions is always, “what would you do in case of an emergency and you couldn’t make it to the wedding.” To be honest, we never know how to answer this question because it seems so obvious to us. We would do EVERY single thing that we could to make sure we are there! If the situation came up (which would likely mean a life-changing emergency comes up ;( ) we would do EVERY single thing to make sure our brides and grooms were taken care of! You should feel more confident than ever that ALL of your professionals that you hire for your day will take care of you without even asking. Trust in your professionals and ask for help when you need it. We work with our couples to come up with their wedding day timeline… because as professionals we know how much time should be allocated to get our job done to the best of our ability. No, it is not something most would think is in a wedding photographers “job description,” but it is something that helps us do our job better AND it helps our couples along the way!
Side note: HUGE thanks to our friend and AMAZING photographer too, Natalie Franke for capturing us behind the scenes this weekend! She was there as our 3rd photographer and go to girl in case I wasn’t strong enough post-surgery to make it through the wedding.  However, I am happy to report- I not only made it through the wedding, but I woke up the next day feeling better than ever! God is good! ;)

3. Choosing your wedding photographers should not be viewed as just a business transaction. Capturing you as a couple is so much more than just taking a picture. We do everything that we can to try to get to know our couples before we even pick up our camera (that is why we start off our consultations by sharing some of our favorite treats and schedule fun date nights with our couples). We always joke that it is not typically normal for our couples to be used to having two strangers following them with a camera for a day. I think we all can agree that would be totally awkward. (And believe me, it would be just as awkward for us!). We are photographers, not because we like to take pictures- of course we do, but we are photographers because we like to capture the moment. We LOVE this life that we all live in and we want to document it. We appreciate every moment and know that in years to come there will be generations of families that will relive the memories of their loved ones through the photographs that we have the honor to take. Seriously, that brings tears to my eyes just thinking about that! We are so blessed to be able to do what we do and be surrounded by love as we do it!

4. Prioritize your Budget. It is likely that you want your wedding day to be PERFECT. You will do everything that you can to make sure that day is PERFECT for you, your family and your friends. Every detail is thought about over and over again. It is easy to get caught up in a budget and planning and pleasing all of your family and friends along the way. Focus on what is important to you and make a budget that reflects that. Of course, as photographers who value photography and have photographed over 85 weddings since 2009, we believe everyone should make photography a priority in their budgets. Whether the overall budget is $5000 or $200,000 it is so incredibly important that your wedding day is documented. It is the only thing (besides your rings & video of course) that will be able to bring you back to the emotions of your wedding day. Forget about the percentages of your budget that all of the wedding magazines, your family and friends are telling you that you should spend on specific pieces of your day. Find what is important to you as a couple and do what YOU want. As we said before, it is so easy for people to tell you what you should do… but honestly, our best advice is to do what you want to do. Follow your heart and you will find what is best. (This advice stems much deeper than just the budget topic! ;) ). But seriously, if everyone is so focused on making this day perfect, I sure hope that you have the memories to remind yourselves of that perfect day in the future! It is not always about the details… it is about the emotions that make the day so meaningful.

5. From Photographers to Family. After our engagement session last night, I posted an Instagram that said… “Our goal is always to fill our couple’s hearts with love- however somehow they always find a way to fill our hearts with even more!” At the end of the day, we want to leave our couples feeling more in love than ever before. We want to capture their love in a way that they can look back on in years ahead and always remember those tingles in their toes! We know that not everyone who is looking for a wedding photographer is looking for someone who is going to leave a lasting impact on their hearts, but we want people to seek that!  It is certainly our goal to make that impact on every single couple we come in contact with! It is our dream that we can touch people’s hearts in a special way… beginning as photographers and moving forward as family!
I had to include this picture because it is prime example of “beginning as photographers and moving forward as family!” We spent this Saturday hanging out with Kait and Adam (the ones playing skee ball above who were married in May) and their family at the MD vs WV game this weekend! I believe my words just before the picture was taken.. “Let’s take a family picture.” ;) We believe with our whole hearts that all of our brides and grooms and their families become one big extended Liz and Ryan family! And for that we could not be more grateful!!! Huge thanks to Kait, Adam, Rick, Kath, Marianne and the whole crew for showing us how to tailgate on Saturday in and out of the rain!… ohh and introducing us to the Terps world! That shirt I am wearing is actually Kait’s, but after the fun we had on Saturday we might just have to invest in some MD gear and hang out with them more often! (on off Saturdays of course!)

We could not be more excited or blessed to know that we have the opportunity to touch the lives of others in the work that we do. God has given us these talents and it is an honor to be able to share them.

Please, when you are looking for a photographer, think about these things above so that in future years you are not looking back wishing you had done something different! AND, if you know someone who would appreciate hearing these thoughts (or maybe you just want them to hear this perspective!) (engaged friends, family, parents, etc.)- please pass it along to them too! Everyone should have an AMAZING experience… at least we think so anyways! ;)

Ohh my goodness, friends! This post is happy! And we are so incredibly excited to share it with you!

Amy and Eric, one of our AMAZING brides and grooms from last September, contacted us months ago about Anniversary photos! They were looking for a special way to celebrate their Anniversary and capture this AMAZING time in our lives! Ahh! What an incredible honor to be asked to capture this special time for them! They shared their Anniversary weekend with us! AHHH! What a treat!

As you can tell, we hold Amy and Eric close to our hearts! They appreciate every moment and they always leave us with bigger smiles than we had when we met them! In fact, in the middle of their session, I noticed my cheeks were hurting from smiling. And I literally said to Amy and Eric… “I missed your smiles!!” Seriously, they have this special way of filling our hearts with joy!

My heart is so full of joy knowing that Amy and Eric will ALWAYS have these incredible memories as a reminder of just how happy this life truly is!

Happy Anniversary, Amy and Eric!!!

Whew! Happy Monday, friends!

This past weekend was a bit tough… ok, really tough. I woke up with a 102 degree fever on Friday morning and found myself admitted to the hospital by Friday afternoon. After two romantic date night evenings in the hospital (wink, wink), we finally made our way home yesterday! Thank God for that blessing! ;)

I have learned quite a bit over the past few days… many lessons I am still learning for sure through this recovery. However, one thing that has become overly clear is the power of positive thinking and my need to be extra confident throughout the tough times that God is guiding me through this life. He is right by my side and He is doing so many AMAZING things throughout this journey!

After a bit of a low point yesterday that was full of emotion (yes, tears and all!), Ryan reminded me that God is going to take care of me. God IS taking care of me right now. When I took some time to think about the positives in my life, instead of focusing on the challenges, my whole perspective changed! God IS so good and He has blessed us with so many AMAZING blessings to remind us of that daily!!

Instead of focusing on the details of the rough couple of days (one day maybe we can chat about that if you would like- but honestly right now I need to focus on the GREAT things happening! ;) ), I decided to create a Gratitude List today. I am going to share 5 things that are definitely on my list today. It would make my heart smile so big if you all could add to my list. I need to focus on the positives and the more I think about it, I think we all could, right?

Just a few of the things I am incredibly grateful that God has blessed me with today.

1. Ryan. Ok, I know that seems obvious, but I am even more than grateful for him today than ever. Ryan has been by my side- doing EVERYTHING for me! Seriously, everything (including even blow-drying my hair!)!! At any point I started to feel anxious or scared, God gave him every word I needed to hear to give me strength. I am so incredibly grateful!

2. Photographs. Twelve years ago yesterday, Ryan and I started dating. ;) So fun, right?!?! That is magical to even think about. This morning, a photograph of Ryan and I, that is on a box I had made for Ryan which sits in our bedroom, caught the corner of my eye. The photo looked VERY similar to a photo that Ryan and I just took on Saturday when they let us out of the hospital for some fresh air (see below!). As I looked closer at the photo, I realized it was a photo from the location where we started dating! ;) And the memories of our fun picnic adventure 12 years ago came flooding back. I am so grateful for that photo and the memories that come along with it!

3. Fresh Air! Ahhh! Seriously, the weather was absolutely gorgeous this weekend in MD. The skies were bright blue with big white puffy clouds! When I went into the hospital on Friday, the air was still a bit sticky from the 90+ degree days we had last week. Every time the nurses and doctors would come in, they would mention how great the weather was (not in a mean way- just to share their gratitude and excitement for me to get out to enjoy it!). I could not wait to get outside and take a deep breath of the cool crisp air that had moved in! On Saturday, they gave me permission to take a step outside and soak it all in! Since I have been home, the windows have been wide open and those deep breaths have never felt so good! ;) So grateful for the fresh air that surrounds us!

4. Nurses, Doctors, and others who are passionate about their jobs! God definitely had His hands in building a team that was going to take care of me. Dr. Keith, and all of the other nurses, doctors, techs, etc were so caring and so AMAZING. Dr. Keith went out of her way in so many ways to make sure she was there. Staying late on Friday… coming in the morning and afternoon on Saturday… and then again bright and early on Sunday! She was not on call and not suppose to be working, but she made sure she was there! That was incredible to me and definitely an AMAZING example of dedication that is more than appreciated! I am so grateful for every dedicated professional who is using their God-given talents to make a difference in people’s lives.

5. Comfort. The comfort of home is pretty remarkable. However, it is not the stuff… it is the people that surround you. It is the family and friends… those that are physically near and those that are not, but are certainly close to your heart. My immediate family and many of my close friends live out of state, but the past few days have brought everyone even closer to my heart. I am reminded of the incredible gift of friendships we have been given… from years past to very recent. We have family that surrounds us always (near and far) and for that I could not be more grateful.

This girl is well on her way to a speedy recovery! ;) (haha… had to share that!) But really- THANK YOU to everyone who sent their well wishes by text, email, phone, FB, blog comments, sweet treats, flowers, visits, etc. You all have lifted my spirits and have given Ryan an energy boost when he needed it most, too! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The gratitude in my heart is overflowing and that is so HAPPY! Seriously, that is the best medicine!!! Please please please take a moment today to think about what you are grateful for and say an extra special prayer to God thanking Him for those blessings in your life!! Please leave a few in the comments and I will be sure to thank Him along with you!

Camila and Peter are one of the sweetest couples ever! We met up with them earlier this week for some fun Mount Vernon Engagement Photos. Afterwards we made our way up to Sherwood Gardens, where Peter had proposed to Camila, for a fun little picnic in the garden.

One of our favorite things about Camila and Peter’s love story is their love for sentimental moments and saving memories. On their three month anniversary they bought two little white boxes and decorated them together.  And since then, they have been adding memories in the form of ticket stubs, love letters, and our personal favorite,  paper flowers that Peter made for Camila.  Seeing them relive some of their dating memories together at Sherwood Gardens was the perfect end to an AMAZING engagement session!