I numbered each of the pages (after shuffling a bit). Here’s the entries!

And the random number generator choice!!

Our winner was Shaneak M. Her wedding will be taking place in the Fall of 2013! I can’t wait to photograph her engagement session!

This bride, her husband and all of their friends have become very dear to Bret and I. They have invited us into their lives….to the point that we were invited to Jimmy’s 30th surprise birthday (groom on the bottom left)! It was such an honor.

I finally got to see the wedding wall! I didn’t have my camera, because I didn’t think we’d make the surprise on time, but I recreated what the wall looks like! (not totally to scale though!)

My vision for my business is life long relationships and investing in the marriages of my clients. I love photographing their weddings. I love being able to record their wonderful moments. But I think what I love even more is creating those relationships.

To see a wall of people that I have grown to love. a LARGE image of all of our rings (all 4 couples) and to know that my vision means just as much to these couples is more than I could even dream of.

In all senses of the word, I am the luckiest.

They had a whole ceremony and reception set up in one of the rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn. Which, by the way, is a BEAUTIFUL venue! And so convenient, location-wise. It’s just off 95 in White Marsh. The staff that I met were very energetic too! That’s huge to me!

Linda of Fine Florals by Linda provided all of the flowers. I am always amazed at how awesome her flowers are!

Yia Yia’s Bakery was also there and this cake was just breathtaking! What a perfect cake for a Balmer Hon!

Since all of the vendors at the show were the ones giving the free wedding, we all got to vote on our favorite military story. I won’t share the whole story (not yet at least! Need to chat with my new bride!), but the short version is this.

Nick and Ali met in the Navy, were friends first, had two back to back deployments…Over the two and a half years they have been together, they have only been in the same time zone for 4 months. Needless to say, this story seriously tugged on my heart strings! Bret and I were together for two years and only in the same time zone for about a month or two before he moved out here to marry me (4 months before the wedding, no less!)

Funny story about how Ali found out that she won the wedding!

One of the rules of the giveaway was that the winner HAD to be in attendance at 3:00 p.m. to win the wedding. Bridget (of K&B) had been in touch with Ali and confirmed she was coming. The closer we got to 3, the more we were all on the lookout for Ali! We started to think that she wasn’t coming. Then all of a sudden, Meg (of K&B) RUNS up to Bridget and says, “SHE’S HERE! SHE’S IN THE DRESSING ROOM!” (or something along those lines). Ali had been trying on dresses and mentioned that she signed up for the free wedding. At this point all of the vendors migrated to the dressing rooms! Poor Ali is standing there in her wedding dress (yea, she found her dress today too!) and have about 20 people standing there! I can’t post the pictures of her reaction because she was in her wedding dress! But once she changed, we took a few pictures!

It is going to be such an honor to capture Nick and Ali’s wedding day! I have a feeling I’m going to be crying the whole time! (I was crying a bit while we were telling her she won and chatting with her after.) Ali and her family are so sweet and so thankful. I feel like I have met brand new, life long friends! I can’t stop smiling about it!!!

The other vendors who participated in the event and will be giving Nick & Ali a free wedding were:

Hair Design by Abby
Buerhaus Design (Videographer)
Fay Daniel Designs
And us!

I was completely surprised to find what was inside:

Those are INK signatures! And a handwritten note: “We prayed for you today.” Every single one of my pastors signed it. Such an awesome, thoughtful card! Thanks pastors!

Here’s a link to my church!

First, my Perfect Wedding Guide account rep stopped by today to drop off the new guide!! This is always exciting, but this time, it was even more so! Why you ask? Because this chick is a Spotlight Vendor!!

If that wasn’t enough, I finally figured out how to hold together my bridal show materials for Saturday! I found these paperclips by accident and they are just perfect!

Now, there’s another reason today is especially awesome. Five years ago today, I met Bret. It was a really weird meeting, but that’s another story…it ended with us becoming friends, then dating, then getting married. I am amazed and overwhelmed every day by his love and encouragement. He is truly my best friend and the best guy I know. I think it’s even more awesome that today is our Day 950!

Here’s a few shots I got while I was there.

I couldn’t resist putting a fun filter on this next one. It wasn’t night time or stormy (as you can see above) but this just fit!

The inside is just as breathtaking as the outside!

I even got to capture the sunlight casting beautiful reflections through the stained glass windows!

I can’t wait to photograph here!

On 2/14/2007 we had a huge snow in Maryland. It shut down the state, really. I’ve always worked at places that NEVER close for snow, so it was a very pleasant surprise to find out I didn’t have to go to work. I had a number of things I wanted to do that day, but something very profound and important happened on that day. Here’s what I wrote in my journal (which I mostly use for writing down my prayers. So it’s kind of like written conversations I have with God and just general thoughts).

“I am so thankful for this day! Please bless my day, help me to live it to it’s fullest, help me to really grow during this time with you now. Father, please heal my wounded heart. Help me to embrace my singleness and where you are leading my life right now. I know you have m,y best in mind. You are so good to me!

How often this is true of us! We don’t know what God is doing until we get a major breakthrough and then we can see where he was working and his plan throughout.”

It was the first time in my life that I truly accepted my singleness. I had been through several relationships at this point and was even slightly pursuing a few guys around the time of writing the above entry. I always heard people say, oh, once you stop looking for someone, you’ll meet them! I would play the “yes, I’m done looking!” but would still be looking over my shoulder. On that day, 5 years ago, I truly meant what I said. I was content with being single. I can’t really put into words what that was like, especially after desiring a relationship for SO long. Desperately, and trust me when I say desperately!

What I didn’t know then, and what brings me to tears on nearly every single telling of that day, was that I would meet the love my life two days later.

Whatever your take on Valentine’s Day and whatever you’re doing today, I hope that this story encourages you, in whatever way you need encouraging.

(photo credit: Shawna Sherrell Photography)

What’s really awesome about this venue is that it used to be a bank and it has been restored to be a venue. There are so many unique qualities about this place!

When you first walk in, you can see the beautiful high ceilings and the amazing lighting fixtures.

And then you realize there’s a skylight!

The next thing that catches your eye is the old bank vault in the center of the main room.

There are a few REALLY neat things about the vault. Kimberly, who gave us the tour, noted that you could do many things in the vault. Gift table, candy bar, etc. She also told us that the sides (inside) are magnetic!! Just imagine hanging some fabric that matches your wedding colors in there! Now, I will note here that this is the only place in the venue you can hang things, etc. This is a historical building! There is also a wine rack in here!

These are the two lovely new friends I met today, Nick and Kimberly! It was such a joy to just sit and chat with them! We stayed for two hours just talking shop and getting to know one another. I look forward to working more with them in the future!

I didn’t get any shots, but this venue is RIGHT on the water! Imagine getting married in a really cool historical building and then getting your formal pictures taken by the water! ahhhh.

If you are interested in using La Banque De Fleuve for your wedding or other event, check out there website!

After our meeting, Abby and I grabbed a bite to eat at MacGregor’s. It was such a great time of talking about our experiences in the wedding industry and our lives. I am blessed to have met her!

This is what I got to eat!