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Ali and Jon-Carlhaven Emu Farm, Westminster, Maryland

Wednesday, October 08 2008

On Saturday, Ali and Jon were married at Ali’s family’s home, the Carlhaven Emu Farm. The weather was perfect – beautiful sunshine, not too cold, not too hot, great picture taking weather! When Ali, Jon, and I met back in August to discuss their wedding plans, Ali shared that she had a pretty incredible vision for her wedding day. She wanted to recreate the atmosphere of a super cool coffee house/bistro outside under a tent. I remember thinking that there was no way I could pull something like that off, but something told me that Ali had an eye for that sort of thing.

Driving up the lane to the Farm, I spotted a huge tent and knew that her vision had come to life. I later learned that Ali’s brother-in-law, Graham, who is the Creative Director of Fandango Productions in Baltimore, helped bring it all together. Several amazing details were provided by his company, including the tent, lighting (super cool street lamps!), dance floor, and ceremony seating. If you have any event planning needs, make sure to check them out.

This was the scene when I first arrived! Meet the Bride, Ali, and her Mom, Diane. Yes, Ali is putting together floral arrangements on her wedding day! How amazing is that?! I tried to give a hand with a few of the arrangements, but my skills were seriously lacking as compared to Ali’s.

 

 

Later I had the opportunity to get the Groomsmen together for a few fun, relaxed portraits. Jon, Karl, Neal, Jason, Jermaine, and Bobby were so much fun to work with – very easy going guys and totally funny.

 

Meanwhile, Ali was getting ready with her sister, Heather, who was her Matron of Honor.

Look at the amazing detail on this dress! Can you believe Ali made it?

Adding a flower to Ali’s hear was the perfect final touch!

 

For the first look, Ali and Jon met in front of the house – Jon was so excited to see his Bride! He almost saw her getting ready a few times earlier, but everyone made sure to keep Ali out of view. I love how excited he looks!

After the first look, we had the chance to spend a lot of time together taking fun, relaxed portraits. Because Ali’s front yard is absolutely beautiful we had the perfect backdrop for photographs. I love that Ali and Jon allowed for so much time for pictures – it gave us the opportunity to get some great shots, without feeling rushed, and also gave them time to spend some alone time together before the day really got crazy busy! Well, mostly alone, a few groomsmen took some pics at the same time which was totally funny.

 

Totally different perspective here, I just loved how blue the sky was!

Seeing as it is an Emu farm, we had to drop by the Emu pen for a quick visit!

Meet Luke, the cutest Ring Bearer ever!

 

Portraits with the girls were just as fun! Heather, Alyssa, Cassandra, Christina, and Katherine were willing to try just about anything. I loved the blue wraps that Ali gave them as Bridesmaids gifts! Around this time, the air was getting a bit chillier so they really came in handy!

My favorite – this resulted after I asked them to show me their best “sexy face”!

 

Just another one of the amazing details, candles hanging in the tree!

The reception totally rocked! It was a dessert reception with stations of different homemade desserts setup under the tent.

A few more details…One image I want to specifically point out is the reception layout – that was made by Ali (and I think a few Bridesmaids might have helped), and was a complete, to scale layout of the reception tent. It even included every seating area as well as the dance floor with little stick people dancing!

Love this picture from the cake cutting! Notice Ali and Jon’s little audience?

 

Ali and Jon,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to document your day! From the moment I arrived, I felt completely welcome – thank you so much for that. I loved spending time with you and your family and getting the chance to get to know you better. I wish you all the love and happiness in the world!