This weekend was the much anticipated wedding festivities for my closest friend Theresa and her new husband, Nick. While my photos certainly don’t do the festivities justice, I thought I would share a few, since this wedding had too many sweet details not to share it with you.
T & N got married at the Vandiver Inn in Havre de Grace, a small waterside town in northern Maryland. The Vandiver is a sweet Victorian styled Bed and Breakfast with a wedding pavilion out back.
Being the history nerds that we are, we asked the staff about the house’s story. Turns out it was built by Murray Vandiver in 1886 as a wedding present to his wife Anna. Just to prove how much he loved her, he had every wooden floor plank engraved with the phrase “with love to Anna.” It only seems appropriate that they have weddings there now.
T’s wedding day started out early in the morning with hair and makeup courtesy of Baltimore Bridal Beauty. The girls were really sweet and did a great job enhancing everyone’s natural beauty.
This was one of my favorite parts of the day because of the joy and anticipation on T’s face was contagious. She is a music lover and she took the morning beauty session to rock out to some of her favorite songs. When one of our favorite Third Eye Blind songs came on, I couldn’t help but get thrown back to our high school years.
She and I used to drive around in my car listening to Third Eye Blind, Eve 6, and Good Charlotte on repeat. We’d sing along to every song at the top of our lungs, until I would hit a pothole and my CD player (remember those things?) would skip, and the music would fade out. Without missing a beat, we’d stop singing, wait for the song to come back, and then start singing along again when the music was back. Here I was ten years later, watching her getting ready to marry her best friend. I felt so honored and so humbled in that moment. We’ve come so far since those days, T, it’s hard to believe time has flown by so fast.
T was the epitome of the perfect bride. She was calm and relaxed and beyond excited to get married. And it didn’t hurt that she looked absolutely gorgeous.
While the bridal party finished getting dressed and having some portraits taken, I asked Mr. A to take the camera out for a spin around the property. He was in history nerd heaven.
From the original spiral staircase.
To the stained glass windows. The details in the mansion were so lovely.
With our portraits out of the way, it was time for the ceremony to start. T’s uncle, who officiates weddings on the side, served as their officiant for the day. He did a beautiful job crafting a ceremony that matched their personalities and relationship perfectly.
This was my first time being a member of a bridal party and I have to say the best part is being able to get a front seat at the ceremony. From my vantage point, I could see N’s face perfectly. He’s typically a very quiet, reserved person (unless the Ravens or the Terps are losing—then you don’t want to know him). It gave me so much joy to see his face filled with so much emotion. I’ve never seen him smile so much. Watching him stare at T was seriously melting my heart. It really was a touching ceremony.
When the ceremony was over, we headed back inside the mansion for cocktail hour, where Mr. A was able to grab a few detail shots. Above is the escort card table. T & N went with a Maryland crab theme since they are both born and raised Marylanders and they both went to University of Maryland (go Terps!).
When the cocktail hour was over, we headed back to the pavilion, where the ceremony was held, to a flipped over reception space. That would be me pointing to the champagne we had to grab after being announced into the reception. I’ve got my priorities straight clearly.
The table decorations continued with the Maryland theme. I love the gorgeous mason jar centerpieces—who doesn’t love a bluebell mason jar?
And adorable crab table numbers. Crab claws making a heart, seriously how cute?
A Maryland themed wedding wouldn’t be complete without these crab mallet favors.
While dinner was being served, I managed to sneak in a picture with Mr. A (thanks for being our cameraman Jay). Mainly, I just wanted to add this picture so I could show off Mr. A’s brand new custom suit that he ordered for the wedding. He’s pretty proud of it.
We spent the rest of the evening dancing with our friends and watching a few very special moments.
This would be one of my favorite T faces. It cracks me up every time.
The father-daughter dance was also one of my highlights. They picked one of the sweetest songs, “It Won’t Be Like This For Long” by Darius Rucker. It’s one of the most perfect father-daughter songs out there—go listen to it immediately if you have not. I cry every time.
There’s nothing more precious than the Mother of the Bride’s face during the father daughter dance.
The day was filled with so much laughter and so much joy and a whole lot of love. It was such an honor and a pleasure to be a part of your wedding day, T & N. We love you both so much and wish you nothing but the best. P.S. We would also appreciate it if you could keep giving the Ravens and the Orioles such good luck. (As T’s uncle pointed out, since they’ve been engaged, the Orioles went to the playoffs and the Ravens won the Super Bowl. I guess the Maryland Gods approve)
Can’t wait to see what the future holds for you, T & N.
