Wedding at Josephine Butler Parks Center | Jeff and Grace

When I first stared in wedding photography I was worried I would get bored with weddings, as many weddings share common traditions and ways of doing things. But I quickly learned that no two couples and no two wedding days are completely alike, and it is one of the reasons I love wedding photography. Jeff and Grace certainly didn’t have your standard wedding, they wanted to have a simple and meaningful day that captured who they truly are.

The day started for them with a biked ride! They met each other at a bike shop many years ago and today Grace works at a volunteer bike clinic while Jeff bikes professionally and works in the bike program at the University of Maryland. Their biking lifestyle meant that it was all laughs when Jeff’s Dad used a three-way hex tool to tell stories about their relationship in his reception speech.

I met Jeff and Grace for their wedding at Josephine Butler Parks Center and we went right into photos at the Meridian Hill Park across the street. Their easygoing nature and willingness to show their true selves meant we had an wonderful hour of portraits to start off the day.

My favorite part of their wedding was the ceremony, which was different from most ceremonies. I loved getting the chance to capture their palpable emotions just minutes before it all started. Take a look at the photo of them standing outside the doorway of their ceremony below and see their nervous excitement. They walked with each other down the aisle and proceeded to hear six people give readings before saying their vows. It was a beautiful time that I was so thankful to capture.

The night continued with delicious food, moving speeches, and dancing to the music by DJ Kelton Higgins. They didn’t do a cake cutting, they didn’t do a first dance. There were many things they didn’t do on their wedding day; they boiled it down to what was most important to them. A big thanks goes to Chelsea Geyer their wedding day-of coordinator for helping this day to go off without a hitch!

I encourage my couples to not feel like they have to fit into a wedding mold. Do what you love, tell your story, and live your wedding day the way you want to live it. Enjoy the photo story below and see how Jeff and Grace made their day unique!