Heidi + Brian's wedding - October 6, 2012 - Gaithersburg, Maryland

I’m sure I first saw Heidi several years ago at her best friend’s Jackie’s wedding. Jackie and Sean’s wedding was one of the first I photographed after starting my own business. It definitely felt like a family affair when Julia, another former bride–and Jackie’s sister –did Heidi’s wedding day makeup (impeccably I might add). Jackie and Sean’s adorable daughter Kaelyn was the flower girl. Heidi and Brian are such a fun couple and their wedding day was filled with laughs. Starting with the bride’s walk down the aisle. Kaelyn made it down the aisle but didn’t throw any rose petals. Luckily Heidi’s dad had snagged a few and threw them as they walked. Heidi and Brian were very expressive and laughed a lot during the ceremony until the tears began to flow as the couple made their presentation to the Virgin Mary. I’d like to give a shout out to Heidi who was totally agreeable to getting into a swan paddle boat in her wedding dress. The Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg adjacent to their reception site has a little lake and I thought it would be a very cool picture. It turned out to be of my favorites of the day and she didn’t hesitate for a bit. Heidi is a kickboxer and she and Brian incorporated that into their reception entrance. Brian came out first and was handed a pad while Heidi ran in, purple boxing gloves on for a friendly one-two punch. The dance floor was rocking all night and it was the first time—and not the last for this wedding season—I’d seen everyone doing the dance to “Gangam Style.” And I’m not usually a huge fan of the bouquet and garter toss but the sequence of Brian taking the garter off was great and the garter part of the ritual is usually uncomfortable and quick. This time, the couple was an actual couple and boy, did he get into it! Again, it made for funny photos. One thing that made me laugh out loud as I was editing the wedding photos was something I didn’t notice while I was shooting. Heidi’s Grammy—who spent a good part of the night on the dance floor—is in the single girl line up to catch the bouquet!!