Real Weddings, Elopements & Guides · WV, MD, VA & DC
Whole days, told
the way they happened.
The archive
Everything, newest first.
Michaela & AJ
Mount Rainier Elopement and West Virginia Backyard Reception
Twelve people on a stone overlook at Sunrise, a gondola ride to dinner above the clouds, and thirty-five days later a pole tent in a West Virginia backyard. One wedding, two Saturdays, opposite corners of the country.
Getting married as an LGBTQI couple in West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia or DC
The licence rules in all four, side by side, because they are not the same and one of them will cost you two days. Plus the venues around here I have actually worked.
Wedding photo booth alternatives, and why the best one has a photographer in it
What a wedding portrait studio actually is, how it differs from a photo booth, what each one costs, and the century of photography behind it.
What wedding photography actually costs, and why
A straight answer with a number in it: what a wedding runs around DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and how to read a cheaper quote.
Why winter is the best time to get married on the Texas Gulf coast
Hurricane season is over, the rain has stopped, the heat has gone and the beaches are empty. Everyone still books spring and autumn, and pays more to share the sand. Here is the argument for February.
Getting married in Rockport and Fulton, Texas
A beach ceremony with fewer than ten people costs nothing here beyond the parking fee. That makes Rockport the cheapest legitimate beach wedding on the Texas coast, and it has pavilions for when the weather turns.
Tomato Jam 2026 at Sistermoon Farm in Shenandoah Junction, WV
Photos from Tomato Jam 2026 at Sistermoon Farm in Shenandoah Junction, WV: Moon Booth portraits and a full day of event coverage, all free to download.
How long do wedding photos take? A real timeline
Portraits of the two of you need about fifteen minutes, not an hour. The bigger variable is light, and it moves more than three hours across the season.
Getting married in Port Aransas and on Mustang Island
Port Aransas charges $50 for a beach permit covering up to 300 people. Corpus, twenty minutes away, charges $100 and reserves nothing. That gap is the whole reason to look here first.
Two venues, one wedding day: what the drive really costs
Ceremony in one place, reception in another. The drive is not the expensive part. Here is what a second venue really takes out of your day.
How to get married in Texas
Texas makes you wait 72 hours between the licence and the ceremony, which wrecks more travelling couples than anything else. There are four ways around it, and one of them also takes $60 off the fee.
Beach wedding permits on the Texas Coastal Bend
Six different authorities inside forty miles, and every one of them charges differently. Corpus is $100 and does not reserve the beach. Port Aransas is $50 for up to 300. Rockport is free under ten people. Here is the whole map.
Andrea & Patrick
Bavarian Inn Wedding in Shepherdstown
An October wedding at the Bavarian Inn: vows under a draped arch on the terrace above the Potomac, portraits in the middle of German Street, dinner beside the brewhouse tanks, and a dance floor that went late.
What an engagement session is actually for
The photographs are the smaller half of it. An engagement session is the hour where you find out what being photographed together feels like, before it matters. What to wear, where to go, and when to book it.
Mary & Mark
Trinity Episcopal and Bavarian Inn Wedding in Shepherdstown
An April wedding in my own town: vows and shared hymns at Trinity Episcopal Church, candlelight passed hand to hand through the congregation, and a Bavarian Inn reception that ended in golden light on the lawn above the Potomac.
Wedding venues in Northern Virginia and Loudoun wine country
Fourteen venues from Old Town Alexandria out to the Loudoun vineyards, split into the ones I have photographed and the ones worth knowing about. Wine country, historic townhouses, and the barns in between.
Bailey & Youssef
Brinklow, Maryland Estate Wedding
An August wedding at Youssef's family estate in Brinklow, Maryland: an Islamic marriage ceremony in the gilded sitting room, portraits under towering trees, a silver Corvette in the driveway, and a tent full of drums and dancing at the end of it.
Sara & Ryan
Shenandoah National Park Elopement
Vows on the Little Stony Man trail with the whole Shenandoah Valley below, then a ranch reception at River's Bend Ranch in Page County: an autumn elopement that hiked first and danced after.
Amie & Cody
Zigbone Farm Retreat Wedding
A September wedding at Zigbone Farm Retreat in the hills outside Frederick: a ceremony on the lawn in front of the ivy-covered cottage, wildflowers everywhere, and a golden-hour walk through the meadow with their dog Cujo along for all of it.
Annie & Thomas
Harpers Ferry Brewing Wedding
A July wedding on the hill above the Potomac: vows under the timber pergola at Harpers Ferry Brewing, a birdcage veil and a rust suit, and dinner under a string-lit tent while the river valley went gold.
Wedding venues in and around Frederick, Maryland
Eleven venues across Frederick County, split into the four I have actually photographed and the rest worth knowing about. Barns, a brick room downtown, and the bridge everybody wants portraits on.
How to elope in Shenandoah National Park
Fifteen people or fewer with nothing set up needs no permit and costs nothing. But your photographer counts toward the fifteen, and live flowers are banned outright at outdoor ceremonies. The rules, from the park rather than from other photographers.
How to elope in West Virginia
The licence is $56, or $36 if you take a four-hour class, and there is no waiting period. Where to actually stand across the state, from the Eastern Panhandle to the New River Gorge, and when to come.
How to elope in Austin, Texas
There is a free wedding chapel on a cliff edge outside Austin that hosts over a thousand ceremonies a year, and most guides never mention the catch. Where to stand, when to come, and how the free booking actually works.
Next step
Yours could be the next one on this page.
Send me your date and where you are thinking, even if the where is still a maybe. I will write back with everything, usually within the hour. If you would rather see the numbers first, the pricing page has them.