Judah Avenue

It’s hard to put your finger on it, but when you see Vince and Ticona close together in those quiet moments, sharing intimate jokes with one another, you know what it is: real love. Vince is a romantic at heart. And he’s also a successful entrepreneur. He owns a barber shop called 1 Cut Above, but for his fiancee, Ticona, it’s Vince who’s above the rest.

When Vince asked Ticona to marry him, he surprised her by having R&B singer Anthony Hamilton serenade her with the song, “The Point of It All.” Nothing sweeps a woman off of her feet like a sweet, sweet melody.

For their engagement shoot, Vince and Ticona kept it close to home in Sandy Spring, Maryland and selected Woodlawn Manor for their engagement shoot. We took advantage of the organic, warm, natural scenery on hand for what turned out to be a very short but intimate and loving photo shoot.

Vince and Ticona

Woodlawn Manor Engagement Session

When people fall in love, they often say that the person has a “glow” about them. And when I had the opportunity to shoot Mary and David’s engagement shoot, I can definitely say that their glow was more like a firework. These two love birds from the Bronx did nothing but exchange smiles and warm gazes at each other the whole shoot. Who says New Yorkers don’t have hearts?

We headed out to Bethesda for this shoot and took advantage of the beautiful scenery for Mary and David’s shoot. The scene was urban yet classic. The shoots in the open corridor with the street lights hanging above and the quaint gelato shop screamed romance. And the wall with the rainbow of graffiti brought out the playful and edgy side in our young couple. Hence the Kanye West “Stronger” glasses.

Check out the shots from Mary and David’s Bethesda engagement shoot below.

Mary and David: On the Streets of Love

Life has a funny way of bringing people back into your life. I was shooting a bride and groom at a wedding two years ago and while I was busy hanging up the bride’s dress for that classic shot, I suddenly heard someone exclaim my name, “NA-FA ADA-DE-VOH!” The woman’s voice chopped my name into distinct syllables in that way that only people from back home know how to do. I turned and saw Augusta. Augusta is sister to Jesse, whose engagement and wedding I recently shot as well.

At that wedding, we hugged and reconnected and a few weeks later, Augusta called to tell me about her impending nuptials and without any room for argument informed me that Judah Avenue would be documenting her wedding day. Now, I’m happy to say that her day of matrimonial bliss is near! But first, we had to complete the lovely couple’s engagement shoot. We traveled to Centennial Park in Ellicott City, Md., where Chris serenaded his blushing fianceé with a romantic melody or two. Then, the young couple braved the lake and set off on an adventure in the water with a bouquet of heart-shaped balloons trailing.

We capped the shoot with a low key session in the field as Augusta and Chris revelled in endless affection. Augusta and Chris, congratulations, may your married life be as easy and as sweet as a walk in the park. Cheers!

Augusta and Chris

Engagement Session

Oh my, where do I begin with these two? Abi and Jess are a duo. He plays the piano and she sings. For them, love is music. So it was only natural for them to want this incorporated somehow in their engagement photos. So once upon a time there was a picnic on a beautiful sunny day. …And a wonderful prince with the help of some fairies (Lyn and Randy, and Coreene too!) was able to put together an enchanting picnic in the middle of a fantastic clearing somewhere in Silver Spring, MD. Thanks so much ladies, you did an amazing job and it was a pleasure having you on set:)

We had a lot of fun on this shoot and came away with many great shots, it was so hard for me to pick a few for the blog, and when Jesse told me “I will never forget this day for the rest of my life”, I knew the mission had been accomplished! Beautiful blog stalkers be warned, there is music on here.

Abi and Jesse's Love is Music Engagement Session

Washington DC Engagement Photography

Cyndi and Tim are car enthusiasts, and not just for any cars – they are true lovers of Volkswagons. So of course they had to have their babies in some wedding photos with them. Take a guess as to the name of the color of the car on the right. Bet you thought it was blue or maybe purple? Wrong. It’s a Blurple colored car …yeap…that’s Cyndi’s car for you. Congratulations Cyndi and Tim…and to their cats Vinnie, Juanita and …ok I forgot again!

Summer is on it’s way and so are the fabulous engagement and wedding pictures of Abby and Jesse. Keep an eye out, there will be lots of romance coming soon on the avenue…Enjoy this memoir from a lovely picnic in an amazing secret glade on a sunny spring day….