philadelphia wedding

Best of Weddings 2017 | Business

Best of Weddings 2017 | Business

Where did 2017 go?! It felt like just yesterday that I was staring a new year in the face, and all of a sudden here I am, doing the exact same thing, marveling at how time flies and how incredible one year can truly be.

I will probably say this each year, but 2017 may have been the best year so far. With every wedding season my confidence increases, my skills have grown, and my couples are still as amazing as ever. This year I spent about half my time in Hampton Roads, in venues like the Williamsburg Winery, Two Rivers Country Club, Saude Creek Vineyards, and more. I also ended up doing a lot of traveling, from the Plantation on Sunnybrook in Roanoke to the Kimpton Lorien Hotel in Alexandria, the beautiful area of Asheville, and even all the way up to Reading Country Club in Pennsylvania.

June was by far the craziest month of the year with 4 weddings in 3 weeks, and a double header weekend that had me shooting a wedding in Williamsburg on Friday and one near Philadelphia the very next day. To top it all off, just when I thought I would get some rest, we welcomed home our little baby girl. I know that isn't a wedding highlight per se, but it absolutely rocked my world...

Reading Country Club Wedding | Philadelphia Wedding Photographer | Matt + Kara

Reading Country Club Wedding | Philadelphia Wedding Photographer | Matt + Kara

"If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's yours forever. If it doesn't, then it was never meant to be."

I can't think of a more perfect quote to sum up Matt and Kara's relationship. They met while they both lived temporarily in Chicago working for the local Amate house. While they enjoyed a friendship at that time, once Kara moved to Washington, DC, and Matt returned to New York, it could have all been over. But these two were meant to be from the beginning, and after Kara reached out to Matt so he would be her date at a wedding in Long Island, the rest is history. Eventually, she moved up to Manhattan and officially began dating the man she knew she would marry one day.

That day came in the beautiful city of Reading, Pennsylvania, under a cloudless June sky. Matt and Kara spoke their vows during a traditional Catholic nuptial mass before heading to Reading Country Club to celebrate the new family they had just started. The bridesmaids chose lavender dresses in their respective styles while Kara carried a bouquet of purple flowers, greenery, and white. Her all-over lace dress with a chapel train and braided updo were inspired by Pippa Middleton - only I happen to think she made an even more gorgeous bride :) Overall, the beauty of the wedding was simply a reflection of some of the purest, most true love I have ever seen...

Old Mill Rose Valley Wedding | Philadelphia Wedding Photographer | DJ + Sam

Old Mill Rose Valley Wedding | Philadelphia Wedding Photographer | DJ + Sam

In my heart is adventure and a love for travel, so being able to photograph a destination wedding in Philadelphia was everything I had hoped for...and meeting wonderfully sweet people like DJ, Sam, and their friends and families made the weekend utterly perfect. These two are seemingly opposite from first impressions - Sam is the chatty one in their relationship, while DJ is on the quieter side. Where she moves around from table to table engaging with as many people as possible, he watches her with pride and love. And where she dances like crazy and starts rap battles on the dance floor, he has the most fun being by her side.

But where the two are most alike is first in their love for each other. Kind, supportive, and caring, each look they share and each smile at each other is full of nothing but joy and a sweet understanding. During their wedding mass they continued to whisper to each other and share smiles as they officially became husband and wife. And when we traveled to The Old Mill at Rose Valley to finish out their wedding day with bride and groom portraits, DJ held his new bride close as they looked forward to the future to come...