Susannah & Jeff are Married | No April Fools Wedding, Golden Sands Reception Wedding | Berlin Maryland Wedding Photographer, Dana Marie Photography

Ceremony:  Stevenson United Methodist Church, Berlin, MD
Reception:  Golden Sands, Ocean City, MD
Band:  Naked Nation
Hair & Make Up:  Bliss Salon
Cake:  Classic Cakes
Photography:  Dana Marie Photography
Photography Second Shooting & Slideshow:  Dona Jung

What a beautiful wedding day for this sweet couple!  They were married in town in Berlin which gave us a gorgeous backdrop for formal portraits.  We were then able to grab a few photos of them walking down the sidewalk also before heading into town for the reception.  The skies gave us a beautiful shade of blue as we went from the church wedding to the Golden Sands in Ocean City.  The sand was cold and a little damp but that didn't stop them from making their way onto the windy beach for some fun portraits before the party started.  The bride's brother was a member of the band Naked Nation and they rocked the house with some great tunes special for the bride and groom.  Congratulations Susannah & Jeff, we wish you a lifetime of happiness!

Wedding Photographers in Motion | Ocean City, MD Wedding Photographer, Dana Marie Photography

As wedding and event season is underway for booking I find myself reflecting back on the past season and taking inventory of equipment and help.  It is exciting to report that the only casualties of last season were a couple of pocket wizards, one of which that landed in the bay (oops) and a speed light that shattered on impact with the floor, both of which I had back ups ready to fire on hand.  I picked up a Canon 1DXMarkII last April and it proved to be one workhouse of a beast and even got me through a wedding with no issue that rained from start to finish with the help of a ThinkTank Raincoat.  I did shoot the wedding party standing on the covered porch of the property but that left me standing in the rain and using the right gear everything went very smoothly.

I am blessed to have a couple of amazing people on my team that help make it all happen.  Going through these photos it is fun to see some of the last year's adventures and I love that my hubby has a smile on his face holding an umbrella for me in the wind driven rain of the wedding mentioned above.  Here's to a big 2017, I am excited to work with all of the couples booking and all of the neat venues they have chosen to host their big days!!!

Lifestyle Newborn Studio Sessions, Dana Marie Photography

I am loving these new style newborn shoots done in the studio, they have more of a lifestyle session feel to them.  Since the fall of last year I have transitioned my newborn shoots back to the basics, more classic and timeless.  Focusing on the baby with parents, with mom and with dad, focusing on their features and less on the object they are propped with I am spending more time putting the families in front of my lens.  These sessions have cut my newborn session time from 3 hours to about an hour and a quarter so this gives exhausted parents a shorter trip to the studio and getting baby back home.  With the all inclusive option get access to all of the delivered digital images to be able to print on your own at your leisure.  Add the maternity all inclusive for an even bigger savings.

Lifestyle Studio Newborn Shoot, Ocean City, MD | Dana Marie Photography

The second newborn in the garden studio, now that everything has been set up and complete this little guy came into the studio and we had the coziest session.  When Mama told me she liked monkeys I thought of the perfect little sock puppet outfit to work with him.  This was one of the first sessions in the new babies and boudoir studio and the time was about an hour versus the typical 2-3 hour session.

Holiday Traditions with Children | Jeffrey Auxer Glass Blowing, Berlin MD

What begins a family tradition in a family and what does a tradition mean to you?  This holiday season we have been on a quest to spending more time together and for me to document better this special time in our kids' lives.  Yesterday we did something I have wanted to do for several years and life just seemed to get away from us each holiday season!  We went to Jeffrey Auxer Designs in Berlin and the kids got to blow glass ornaments for the tree.  This was an amazing experience for us and for the kids.  Jeff was super nice and knowledgable and his gallery is incredibly beautiful.  The kids got to choose the colors they wanted for their ornaments and blow the glass themselves with Jeff's supervision.  This was definitely one of those things my husband and I left saying wow, that was really awesome and should be come a holiday tradition in our family.  If you haven't already stop in and see his unique one of a kind pieces and pick up an ornament or two, they are sure to be the topic of your next holiday get together :) You can see more of his work here:  http://www.jeffreyauxer.com

What a Christmas Card Means to Me...

Christmas cards to some seems a thing of the past.  In the hustle and bustle of the holidays sometimes preparing, ordering and addressing Christmas cards to many seem like a waste of time and money but for me they are priceless.

My feeling towards holiday cards has evolved over the years, every year it excites me to send out cards more than most other Christmas traditions.  It started as wanting to share a piece of my family with others over the holidays when time doesn't allow for a face to face gathering but for years now with each card I send I pray.  I pray for the recipient and their family for health, peace and good fortunes.  I pray for their circumstances and maybe for a friend, relative or pet they posted about in need on Facebook that I happened to see.  I stop and think about that person and wish them well and hope their New Year is exciting and brings new opportunity.  The same holds true to receiving cards in the mail.  When the mail can sometimes be daunting with bills and junk mail throughout the year, a chore to check the box, the month of December is exciting to me to see the cards that may come.  I hope that getting our card in the mail will bring a smile to the face of the one who opens it as we like to try and provide some sort of comic relief to the cards and maybe that will make their day a little brighter.

I think about each family as I open and look at the cards I receive and I pray for them and thank God for their friendship.  I save cards over the years, I love to see how families change adding new little ones and watching babies grow, sometimes the cards (or parts of them) even make it into my scrapbooks.

We have had to scale back over the years, we sent a couple of really cool accordion cards with tons of photos for a couple of years but the cost was higher in paper and postage and we could send more cards by going with a flat card so that is the route we take.  It is fun to choose designs and personalize them to our family and pick the photos we want to share, choosing photos that show each of our kids personalities.

So the next time you think that sending cards is a waste, maybe it isn't valued to some but there are people who truly appreciate the sentiment of a Christmas Card and this girl is one of them.  If you happen to see this blogpost and made holiday cards with photos I took this year or in years past it would make my day to receive one in the mail:

Dana Marie Photography
9925 Stephen Decatur Highway E2
Ocean City, MD  21842

Fall Family Photos with Foliage, Ocean City | Ocean Pines, MD, Dana Marie Photography

I loved meeting this beautiful family in Ocean Pines, MD for their family portraits.  The girls were so sweet and happy in front of my camera and the colors the family chose to wear were stunning against the fall colors on the trees.

Treasure Beach RV & Campground | Eastern Shore, Selbyville, DE

Imagine enjoying a cup of coffee and watching the sun rise over the water, that is exactly what Gina with Gina Drago Design and I got to do this week while photographing this beautiful campground and RV Park.  Life is good living on the Eastern Shore and even better when you love what you do :)