The very first email Katie sent me literally made me laugh out loud – and I knew right away that we were the perfect match – and I have been counting down the days for the past year until Katie and Jake’s wedding!! These two are truly such a perfect pair; they are both so easy-going, funny, and always smiling.
In her first email, Katie told me that she and Jake love to visit Annapolis, that she is obsessed with sunflowers, and that they have a dog named Sadie that they just adore. Katie and Jake incorporated so many beautiful sunflowers into their wedding decor – from the ceremony, which was filled with lovely sunflowers, to the bouquets and the beautiful table settings (so pretty!). Katie also included her favorite color – navy blue – and lots of beautiful Sapphires (the Sapphire is the birthstone of September, which is why Katie and Jake had their wedding in September!). As a surprise, Katie’s dad gifted her a beautiful Sapphire necklace that matched the beautiful Sapphire earrings that her parents had gifted her that week! On top of including so many special elements, these two got married at a venue that was just minutes from where Katie grew up – and the Elkridge Furnace Inn was such a beautiful place for a wedding! The Elkridge Furnace Inn is just stunning – from the historic house and restaurant to the many beautiful photo spots (and the lights around the garden at night made for some incredible night portraits!!).
On top of all of that, these two included their sweet dog, Sadie, in their wedding! Last fall, I photographed Katie and Jake’s engagement session at Broom’s Bloom out in Bel Air; the sunflowers were just an INCREDIBLE backdrop and these two and Sadie made the session so much fun! Katie had told me that Sadie would be fine and they didn’t need to bring anyone to help with her, but I was still worried, so I brought Justin to be a dog-wrangler. Well Katie and Jake were right – Sadie is truly the perfect dog. They would tell her she isn’t in one of the pictures and she would walk away and lay down next to me. She is just so smart! So of course I was SO excited to see Sadie in her parents’ wedding – and she was just as well behaved on the big day!
When Kelsey – my second shooter – and I arrived at Katie’s parents’ house, Katie was getting ready with her bridesmaids, her mother, and her grandmother – and you would never guess that she was about to get married in just a few hours because she was so incredibly calm. On top of that, there were four dogs all hanging out and enjoying the visitors – and they were all calm! (I am so dog obsessed, so it was really fun to have a dog stop by every few minutes to say hello while I was shooting details! They were all so sweet!). Kelsey got some fun pictures of the girls hanging out while I photographed the details, and then it was time to head to the beautiful Elkridge Furnace Inn – which was literally minutes from Katie’s parents’ house!
After the bridesmaids came down the aisle, Sadie ran down the aisle to Jake (it was so, so cute!) and then beautiful Katie came down the aisle with her dad! Katie and Jake had such a special ceremony; their officiant has known Jake’s family for years and he passed on some beautiful words of advice for these two. After the ceremony, we did portraits and it was time for the party – and what a party it was! Katie and Jake’s family and friends had so much fun on the dance floor! It was an incredible party – and the dance floor was packed! Katie and Jake were smiling all day – I still am so impressed by how relaxed these two were throughout the day. They made sure they had fun all day – which is so important to do on your wedding day!
Kelsey and I had such a great time celebrating with you two, and we just loved photographing your beautiful day! Congratulations, Katie and Jake!! I hope you are having a fantastic time on your honeymoon!!
These three beautiful bands looked so gorgeous with this sunflower. This is one of my favorite ring pictures ever!
Sadie posed so well with Katie’s dress :)
Katie, you’re so pretty!!
And just one floor down from where the girls got ready, the guys were celebrating and preparing for the ceremony.
Time for the ceremony!
I loved this goofy group!!
I love this one!!
Magical!!
I love this one of you, Katie!!
I adore this one of you two!!
Reception time!
Every single table had a different photo of Sadie!! What an incredible (and fun!) way to include your dog :) (Plus, Sadie was even posing with sunflowers in some of the photos!).
It was a FUN reception!!
WOW!!
Congratulations, Katie and Jake!!
VENUE | Elkridge Furnace Inn
PHOTOGRAPHER | Brooke Tyson Photography
DJ | Jacob Jensen with District Remix
CATERING | Elkridge Furnace Inn