Every moment of this wedding day is filled to the brim with love and joy! The purity of a wedding day like this just makes our hearts flutter here at Bayside Bride. The room where the bride prepared for her day is downright stunning and each detail and image, captured by Kristen Gardner , makes us fall ever more in love with the nautical flair that the Chesapeake Bay area has to offer. The hints of navy and white striped ribbons and the immaculate waterfront view add to the nautical elements without taking away from the timelessness of this wedding day.
Garden Wedding by the Bay | Kristen Gardner
Garden Wedding by the Bay | Kristen Gardner
Roundz Catering , Cakes by Rachael , Rentals to Remember , and Historic London Town & Gardens
engagement | Peter + Devin
engagement | Peter + Devin
“I could tell that these two were planning something special from the get-go. We were introduced by a mutual friend whose wedding was also unusual, but theirs is a story for a different day. Devin and Pete are special because they have amazing family and friends who love them. Their plans to DIY nearly everything for their wedding kind of hooked me. Knowing that their family and friends are going to pitch in so much got me weepy…
..We had great plans for our engagement shoot that involved paint and other crazy fun things. Instead? It rained. So we did the next best, not-too-crazy but still as much fun thing. We headed to Deep Ellum area of Dallas for a few shots of them near a mural that’s near and dear to Devin’s heart. She may or may not have picked the colors of her boots to match; I never asked but I wouldn’t doubt it! Afterwards, we headed to Watermark Community Church which is where their wedding and reception were going to take place. To be sure: the interior of the church provided some incredibly fun backdrops for their photos. We avoided the spots that were typically used for engagement shoots and did a lot of playing with light and poses and…cards. Pete’s an avid collector of card decks so we had to make sure we used them. They made this shoot even more fun because they were willing to try so many new things with me. Really, what’s not to love? They were a dream to work with. No…make that: they were a dream to play with! – Mercedes Morgan Photography
“Oh, the world is so so so small sometimes! I was actually in a rock climbing class my last semester of college and met another girl in my class who was engaged (shout out to Cat)! We bonded over being each other’s life savers on the terrifyingly tall wall (literally) and gal-paling about wedding things. So, we decided to make our friendship official and added each other on Facebook. She got married during our class and as I stalked her wedding photos I fell in LOVE with them. They were absolutely stunning and romantic. After many hours of looking up wedding photographers on Google, realizing I could afford none of them and still being in love with Cat’s photos, I decided to contact her photographer, Mercedes Morgan . The rest is history!
…What aren’t we DIY for our wedding?! I feel like every person I know is going to be involved in making something for our wedding! My husband and I made all the Save-the-Dates and wedding invitations. Some amazing women I know spent an entire evening cutting fabric out for our flowers. A woman at our church is making cupcakes and cookies for our dessert bar. My husband cut and edited all the music for our ceremony. Cake stands have been made and painted in my brand new apartment, our centerpieces were designed on my parents’ kitchen table, programs printed in our office, playing card boutonnieres assembled hunched over a card table, bow ties for the boys were sewn by my mom/hubs and mason jars were painted with chalkboard paint in my living room for guest favors. My sister and husband spent several hours dumping out thousands of cards on my floor and tying them with twine for our “52 pick-up” departure. And best of all? My mom made my wedding dress. Seriously, y’all, my. wedding. dress. She freakin’ rules!!!
..Honestly, I am most looking forward to busting some moves on the dance floor! Anyone who has known me for more than a hot second has seen me dance awkwardly to just about anything. But I’m incredibly excited about experiencing our ceremony as well! We have special touches planned like hand picked music which should make things super meaningful. We hope it will be a beautiful reminder of Christ’s love for His people, how faithful He is, and how far His grace extends to bring two royally weird, crazy, screwed-up but forgiven and committed people together!” – Devin, the bride-to-be
bridals | Dale + Amy
bridals | Dale + Amy
“It’s always a pleasant surprise when a photographer shows up to a shoot and finds a bride and groom that look as if they’d stepped off the cover of a bridal magazine! This was certainly the case with Amy + Dale. Amy’s dress was beautifully elegant with its lace bodice and button detail down her long train. What’s even more impressive? She designed it herself! Best of luck to this beautiful couple!” – BMW Photography
“I found Brinn of BMW Photography through facebook while stalking one of my friends weddings. I loved the quality of her photographs so I checked out her blog and fell in love with her style! What stood out most about her photography was how she would capture natural moments and not just staged poses. I did some research and found out she also took pictures for many of my friends at Southern Virginia University. Because she was local and so talented I knew before I was even engaged that she would do my pictures!
..All I’m really doing myself is my hair and makeup, some of my bridesmaids hair and makeup, and I actually designed my dress. I knew if I had anything professionally done I would just be more stressed. So doing my own hair and makeup will help me feel more in control. Everything at our wedding is going to be very relaxed so I did not focus on all the little things. We are also making very unique centerpieces to avoid flower costs. My aunt and I love an author and illustrator named Edward Gorey so she drew a picture of Dale and I in his style, cut each one out and will surround them with petals and candles on each table. For our bridal portraits taken at Washington and Lee University in Lexington – I made my own last minute bouquet out of some old Costco flowers. I threw a purple and grey bow around them and they were perfect!
..I’m looking forward to the reception the most! I planned the wedding by myself so I’m super excited to see all those plans come together in addition to all my friends and family coming out to celebrate with us. We are having a large heated tent at our home with Carolina Brothers BBQ catering and beautiful flowers from Caren’s Florist in Vienna. It should be a great time and I can’t wait to experience it!” – Amy, the bride-to-be
Forever or Bust: Engagement Shoot Around Town
Forever or Bust: Engagement Shoot Around Town
These two don't have any baby worries (not yet! ;) with plans to marry in just a couple of weeks! Stephanie and Spencer gathered some great props for their engagement shoot with Anne Nunn Photography taken along the railroad tracks and at their favorite ice cream shop in Oregon. In preparation for the shoot, Stephanie found some old suitcases at a local thrift store and painted an old window pane for their "Save the Date" sign. The red chalkboard was designed by a friend of theirs using the words, "Always together, never far apart," which was something that Stephanie and Spencer would say to each other while Stephanie lived away in New York for a year.
APP wishes the cute couple a very happy wedding and an even happier life together!
Forever or Bust: Engagement Shoot Around Town by Anne Nunn Photography
Bayside’s New Look | Behind the Scenes
Bayside’s New Look | Behind the Scenes
Remember all of the news we shared in our Month of May review? Well, we’re not quite sure if you’ve noticed, but things are looking quite different around here! And although Bayside just magically appeared this morning as a shiny, new page there has indeed been work happening behind the scenes! Thanks to Krista’s incredible design skills the transformation is almost complete! Just like a bride’s makeup team has a trial before the big day, so do web designs. Weeks of coding, designing, and creating a test site are just pieces of the process. Those of you who have been with us from the beginning may remember our very first logo & heavy emphasis on navy blue! The page you are now viewing is the result of Krista’s month long process. Enough of the behind the scenes though, let’s take a look at what this means for Bayside Bride readers and vendors!
Bayside Beginnings
This new look is clean and fresh. It should help you find what you’re looking for faster and focus in on the image driven content! Speaking of images, starting tomorrow they’ll be bigger and more of a central focus on the blog. But this redesign is really only the first of several steps. Other new changes are soon to follow including a new Vendor Guide! And believe me when I say that it is INCREDIBLE!! And while we’ll still have a page with all of the local wedding vendors, you will be able to click through to their own personalized pages. It will allow you to scroll through images of their work, read their bios and link to their social media accounts. Brides-to-be, this will help you find the perfect venue, hairstylist, or planner that suits your style!
We’ll let you know when the vendor guide changes are active, but until then enjoy the wonderful content we’re sharing today!
A Maritime Affair | Krista Jones
A Maritime Affair | Krista Jones
Anytime we see a wedding at the Annapolis Maritime Museum our hearts beat just a little faster. This venue has all the vintage, nautical touches and bride & groom could desire.
Photographer Krista Jones has the perfect words for this truly maritime affair, “Christine played up the rustic details of the Museum with vintage mason jars, burlap table cloths, kraft paper bags stamped with the state of Maryland, old crates and other fun rustic elements. My words don’t do this wedding justice but before you scroll down, let me just tell you that it was an incredible night filled with lots of laughter, gorgeous sunset photos, awesome dance moves and a marriage between two absolutely amazing people”