AHHHH We shot a wedding in a castle!!!  O.k. had to get that out of the way.  But seriously folks.  This place was awesome!  There were beautiful staircases, amazing gardens and suits of armor!  For the month of August I had been road tripping across the United States photographing some of my favorite National Parks for the National Parks System Centennial.  A few days earlier I had been in Joshua Tree, CA and drove all the way from the west coast to the east coast and ended up in Maryland to photograph this amazing wedding.

I had never met the couple prior to the wedding but Gomi (the groom) and I had chatted quite a bit on the phone.  When we met it felt like seeing an old friend again that I hadn’t seen in awhile.  His smile is definitely infectious and we had such a great time prior to the wedding hanging out.  Nneka (the bride) played the part of gracious host throughout the day.  And was absolutely stunning in her wedding dress!  Seriously scroll down to see her bridal portraits in the castle garden!!!   Gomi and Nneka met in Nigeria and it was so fun seeing all of the different cultural influences come together perfectly to celebrate their love for each other.

One of my favorite things from the day was when each of the bridal party was introduced and each pair came out to their own song and danced through the crowd to the entire song.  Usually at weddings the entire bridal party will come out to the same song and each pair will maybe do a spin move or a dip.  Not at this wedding!  Each pair of bridesmaids and groomsmen and finally Gomi and Nneka danced to an entire song!  It was such a fun experience and made for sooo many great photos.  I think this is a tradition that should definitely catch on!

Towards the end of the night everyone was on the dance floor and Lauren and I were trying to keep up to the fast pace of the Nigerian music.  One of Lauren’s favorite moments from the wedding was when Nneka made her put down her camera and join her on the dance floor for a song.  We had such a fun time traveling to Maryland to photograph this wedding and are so glad and honored that Gomi and Nneka chose us to document their special day!

Ceremony Location: Church of the Immaculate Conception | Towson, Maryland

Reception Location: The Cloisters Castle

Flowers: Mary-Ruth Chapin

Catering and Cake: Hunt Valley Catering Inc.

DJ: DJ Phemstar

Dress: David’s Bridal