Let’s start off with some details, shall we? 

While not only positively unique, Tessie's engagement ring and matching wedding band are antique family heirlooms, passed down through Tom's family.

There is this amazing balcony on the second level of the hotel, with beautiful wrought iron railings. I immediately knew I wanted to take the dress outside and I'm so happy I did!

A little abstract shoe shot.

Petals & Beans did a great job on the bouquets.

Tessie and her bridesmaids got ready at the Christiana Hotel. Her parents have put a lot of hard work into renovating the hotel. Here she gets the finishing touches on her hair.

A great laughing moment with Tessie and a bridesmaid.

All hands on deck - it's time to put the dress on!

I love how her bridesmaid's pearl bracelet matches her pearl necklace.

A tender moment with her daughter.

This is one of my favorite bridal portraits I think I've ever taken. Tessie is so gorgeous!

Tessie made an amazing bride! Happy, smiling and downright gorgeous.

Feroche!

The ceremony was held at Latta Memorial Church, not too far from the hotel.

I think the motion blur really makes this image of the new Mr. & Mrs. leaving the church.

I love silhouettes. Especially fisheye silhouettes. hehe

Pretty big bridal party!

The girls.

The guys.

Tom cleans up pretty nice, huh? He pulls off the sophisticated GQ look rather nicely!

There's this little train station across the street from the hotel and they had this great old suitcase for a prop.

Tessie & Tom have THE most adorable little girl. They make seriously cute babies. Just sayin'.

The Christiana Hotel

Tessie's severely talented nephew entertained the guests during cocktail hour with his rockin' guitar skills.

Tessie changed into an amazing cocktail dress before the reception.

Soooo, about that first dance. It started off with a traditional slow dance, sung by one of the bridesmaids (who forgot the words halfway through, but we forgive her!).

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner." Enough of a hint???

YES! They did it! They recreated the infamous last dance from Dirty Dancing and I was hootin-n-hollerin right along with the crowd!! They did an absolutely fabulous job too. Bravo!

I think they should try for SYTYCD. Oh yeah.

She even went all Patrick Swayze at the end! It was absolutely perfect.

After their dance, we snuck outside to get some quick shots with the 2nd dress. I had them do a few dance poses.

Did I mention that Tessie LOOOOOVES to dance? If you look hard enough, there just might be a video of us (and another girl) dancing in a music video from our video production class. Maybe.

and apparently she was in good company. She wasn't the only one tearin up the dance floor.

Flashdance, anyone?

And a quick self portrait of me and the bride. Where, of course, I look like a dufus. LOL

Thank you soooooo much, guys for letting me hang out on your wedding day!  It was so exciting to be the one to document your memories and of course it was totally awesome to see you finally get married!!

**You can see plenty more photos from this wedding on flickr or on facebook, where you can leave comments on individual images. 

Smiles, smiles and more smiles. The entire time. Love it!

No goofy faces from Tom yet. Hmmm...I think he does it on purpose just for Tessie's camera. LOL

We had some geese that decided they wanted in on our photo shoot!

Love this stone bridge.

I am generally not a big fan of the cliche gazebo photos, but there's always a way to step outside the box. Here I used my fisheye lens to give a different perspective and I love how it emphasizes the wooden ceiling.

We found some neat sculptures along the walking trail and of course had to put them to use! Have I mentioned that Tessie is very animated? LOL

I love this guitar sculpture - I wish I could take it home!

A peaceful and quiet moment under a willow tree. Romantic, yeah?

Such pretty pretty trees - I love the naturally happy expressions on their faces!

Kisses are a must have. Naturally.

Coming up next:  Tessie & Tom’s amazing Christiana, Pennsylvania wedding!  Stay tuned!

Lauren's engagement ring is one of most unique ones I've seen. I've always been afraid of tension mounts, but this one works beautifully, while incorporating Adam's irish heritage in the form of a horseshoe from the side.

Keeping with Lauren's simple and modern style, she chose an uncomplicated dress with no train or heavy beading, matched with simple shoes. The ensemble was perfect for her.

A small bunch of calla lillies (my favorite!) made for a fantastic match with her modern and simple theme.

Lauren's everyday style is effortless so she settled for simple makeup. I love how her sister is watching over her shoulder as the makeup expert.

Lauren's sister helped her get into her dress.

This Swarovski bracelet (which I'm in LOVE with!) was a gift from Adam. If you look closely, it's actually Disney - Cinderella's carriage and shoe.

Lauren, in all her bridal beauty. Exquisite!

Look at that million dollar smile!

I almost didn't recognize Adam in all his clean-shaven glory! He cleans up nice, doncha think?

The ceremony was held in the outdoor courtyard at the Mendenhall Inn. Perfect for a smaller number of guests.

Lauren and Adam included a sand ceremony in with their wedding vows.

I definitely wanted to use these stairs in some way, as soon as I laid eyes on them. I love the result!

Such a sweet moment.

Peach and aquamarine made for a beautiful spring color palette, on the cake and centerpieces.

A very excited entrance for these guys!

Lauren & Adam were very intuitive to their guests personalities, leading to a very laid back dinner reception, with only a pianist playing in the background. They knew their guests wouldn't want to be pressured to dance, so everyone mingled and had a great time. The garden room at the Mendenhall proved to be a perfect location.

Thanks so much, Lauren and Adam, for inviting me into your lives to document this beautiful day for you!  To see more images from this wedding, hop on over to our MDP Facebook page and become a fan. 

Sharon got ready at her parents house, along with her four sisters, who were all bridesmaids.  (Big family of girls!)

Now THAT is some bling!

Sharon was truly a radiant bride!  Just look at that million dollar smile. 

Signing the Ketubah.

Such a sweet moment!

Well now.  That’s some family initiation ritual.  Welcome to the family, Scott!  LOL

Such a happy pair!

The Grand Ballroom at the Mendenhall Inn.

This cake topper is one of my favorites that I’ve ever seen.  So sleek and modern.

Entering the reception…

A parting shot under the chandelier.

Thanks Sharon & Scott for being such awesome clients!  I really enjoyed working with you and your families!

**More images from this wedding can be found on the MDP Facebook page.  If you’re not already a fan, be sure to become one so you can keep up to date with all of our latest news and images!  Images will be posted on Facebook before we post them on the blog so be sure to check it out!

Life, my friends, is all about having people.  When I say people, I mean the fabulous, wonderful people who make up our personal and professional support networks.  The people we turn to for help, the people we trust.  The people who love us and we love them back.  This wedding, in fact, was all about having people.  Debbie & Tom have people – most importantly, each other, but beyond that they have an abundance of family and friends who support their love, who would break from their own holiday festivities to celebrate this couple as they wed, on the day after Christmas.  But see Debbie & Tom also had ERIN.  Folks….if you don’t know about Erin, please please please do yourself a favor and get her on your radar!  This fantabulous woman is Delaware’s Wedding Planner to the Stars, the Queen of Craft, the Candle Connoisseur, the Decorator Diva….I could go on.  She just simply ROCKS and I love working with her.    Erin is the go to gal for everything wedding related and I’m happy to call her one of my people too.  hehe

Debbie & Tom had a beautiful holiday themed wedding, the day after Christmas, at the Colonial Dames in Philadelphia.  It was cold, but perfect for the season.  A perfect contrast to the warmth of their love.  (I had to do it!  Ok, ok – no more corniness, I promise!  Please don’t gag!  LOL)  Seriously though…it was so beautiful.  The white Christmas lights, the festive red and green, the glamourous bride, the immaculate details….amazing.  and what better way to spend time around the holidays, than to witness and document LOVE.  Seriously.

Ok…on to the pictures. 

We started the day with Debbie, as she got ready at the Radisson: Warwick hotel.  Debbie & Tom were not your typical bridal couple….not nervous, not stressed.  They saw each other every step of the way.  Tom’s daughters were excited to be involved in every way as well.  It was a nice change of pace from your average every day wedding stress. 

The Dress – Simply adorned.

Debbie has simple taste.  I love petite bouquets.

Notice how the shoes also have a simple adornment, matching the dress?  I’m telling you – no detail went unnoticed.

LOVE this shot that Joel got of the rings!  Completely different than what I got, but still complements it.

Debbie and I agree that there is no such thing as too big of a diamond. 

Debbie gave her new step-daughters a gorgeous snowflake necklace to commemorate this day.

LOVE this spontaneous moment!

GLAMOUROUS!

While I was grabbing the detail shot above, Joel grabbed the full length shot below.  Two parts of the same story, yet totally in harmony.  Love it. 

The Colonial Dames was only a short walk from the hotel…

With the sun setting earlier this time of year, Debbie & Tom opted to see each other before the ceremony.  I love Debbie’s expression here!

I knew the light levels would drop rapidly so I came prepared with a video light.  I enjoyed creating my own lighting for a change!  I want to do more with creative lighting this year.  I love how this portrait of Tom turned out.

OMG I think this is my new favorite picture. 

Great placement of the Christmas trees here.  All of the details were perfect.

LOVE the stockings!  Such a great touch!

The guests place cards were attached to candy canes and hung on the tree.  Another novel idea.

Oh how I love the cake.  The sleigh, the reindeer, every bit of it.

Look at the detail!  Bredenbeck’s did a magnificent job!

Oh yes, couldn’t have a Christmas wedding without a Gingerbread house!  Complete with GingerBride and GingerGroom.  Too cute!

The tables were named after Santa and his reindeer.  Love it.

When I saw family later this weekend, they all asked how the wedding went, as they usually would.  Many speculated that there must not have been many guests, being that it was the day after Christmas.  Yeah well…..like I said….Debbie & Tom have people.    LOTS of them.

Thank you so much guys for inviting me to share in your holiday wedding celebration.  It was such a joy!  HUGE shoutout to Erin Proud and Joel Plotkin for being such fabulous people to work with!!  Here’s a behind-the-scenes shot of each of us, hard at work…

This girl can lug some chairs, let me tell you!  She works hard for her money!

Joel in deep concentration, us photographers really get into our jobs.

Me – workin on those rings.  I love the smallest details.

…and a shot of me and Erin cheesin it up.  Queen of Craft meets Queen of Self Portraits.  LOL

I think Erin was trying to look like GingerBride here.  Isn’t the kissy face resemblance just uncanny??  LOL

BTW, in an attempt not to overload the blog with tons and tons of photos, I’m gonna try to limit the number of photos I post per wedding.  BUT, since I love sharing LOTS of pics, you’ll be able to see more pix from any blog post (going forward) on both Flickr and Facebook.  Let me know what you guys think of this method!