RAIN OR SHINE: Maryland WEDDING SEASON WON’T CHANGE FOR THE WEATHER

Planning your Maryland wedding means unpredictable and fickle weather is a constant worry for brides and grooms, no matter the season. Winter wedding? Well here’s a heat wave in February for ya. Summer wedding? OOPS IT’S 40 DEGREES. We all know planning a wedding is stressful, but in Baltimore where our weather is as crazy as our state flag, there’s an extra layer of stress and weather app watching that follows you throughout the wedding planning process.

When Travis and Rachel booked Top of the Bay as their wedding venue, they planned to get married overlooking the water, and September is usually a pretty safe month. But, alas, Mother Nature said, “nah”.

Due to the very yucky weather we had that September day, one would think the more-than-blustery and rainy Maryland weather forcing the entire event indoors would ruin the wedding mood, but no amount of bad weather or last minute changes could dampen Rachel and Travis’s smiles! These love birds were both glowing with excitement and anticipation at seeing each other for their first look. Because of the sudden location change, I was nervous when scouting out a location that would be pretty, private and have a low level of background distractions indoors for their first look (since we all planned for this wedding to be outdoors), but Rachel waved her hand with a smile and said, “I’m sure wherever you choose will be great. Let’s do it!”

As Rachel calmly got ready and waited for the first look, Travis bounced around greeting wedding guests (which Rachel told me he was NOT supposed to be doing yet) because he was just so elated to be marrying her, he just couldn’t stand still. His beautiful, warm daughter and charmingly funny son helped him get ready, hunted him down when I needed him for pictures and kept him laughing and smiling as he anxiously anticipated seeing Rachel for the first time in her dress and veil. Likewise, Rachel’s son, who would later walk Rachel down the aisle to Travis, was very present with his Mom and Travis, randomly popping into the room with his sweet calm presence, checking on both Rachel as she got ready with the ladies, (which included her lovely soon-to-be stepdaughter) and hanging out with Travis and his soon-to-be step brother and sister.

The warmth, love and unity in this wedding was truly a pleasure to witness. To be in the orbit of all this love felt like sneaking into something special, a privilege I really hold dear and don’t take for granted. It’s one of my favorites parts about being a wedding photographer; a special outsider’s ticket into an intimate day of family and close friends.

Thankfully, the beauty of Top of the Bay as a Maryland wedding venue isn’t limited to the beautiful overlook of the water. The indoor space has a lot of charming features that photograph beautifully and create interesting and unique backdrops for wedding photography, making it an excellent venue choice for those planning a Maryland wedding who want the assurance of an indoor space should the weather turn sour when the wedding day finally arrives. Although he staircase is an obvious winner when it comes to the couples portion of wedding photography at Top of the Bay, I was actually REALLY excited about a few less than obvious photography opportunities, such as the arched doorway that leads to the kitchen staff area.

From a vendor standpoint, I really love Top of the Bay because of the staff! The staff were awesome at Top of the Bay, for real. The coordinator and people handling the food and bar were all a pleasure to work with as a team to make this wedding rock despite the last minute change from outdoor to indoor.

Travis and Rachel were the chillest, happiest and sweetest couple to photograph and I still smile ear to ear when I look at their wedding photos because I can just FEEL the happy vibes pouring off the screen. I promised myself I would post as few of my favorite wedding photos as possible from their gallery, which means I’m still going to post way too many, but, what can ya do?

Venue : Top of the Bay

Catering: Top of the Bay

Hair by: Erin at Shear Genius

Dress: David’s Bridal

Wedding Photography: Rachel Tanner Photography

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