This wedding is particularly near and dear to my heart because the groom is one of my best friends from Stanford. Thomas and Jocelyne have always forged their own paths, so it’s no surprise that their Ellicott City wedding last weekend was filled with personality, starting with the coolest wedding venue–the ruins of an old girls’ school. With hundreds of candles, string lights and dogwood branches, Thomas and Jocelyne’s wedding at the Patapsco Female Institute (or as Thomas likes to call it, PFI) was the prettiest wedding I have ever seen!

I’m having a hard time putting into words just how incredible it was to be a part of their wedding. They were pretty much the dream clients from start to finish, haha! Jocelyne literally bought a veil and they added a petal toss to the ceremony exit because I said they would make for fun photographs. I got to hear about all the little details, give advice, and even helped with last minute crafting projects. And, of course, on the day of, I got to spend the entire day with them, capturing their joy, love and excitement. I am so honored that Thomas and Jocelyne trusted me to photograph one of the most important days of their lives! Quick shoutout to my dear friend Courtney Larson of Inloveness Photography who flew out to Baltimore to photograph this wedding with me! And her sweet friend Lydia Browning who was our third shooter and general all around awesome assistant. Could not have done it without you! <3

Photo below by Inloveness Photography

Even rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of this wedding though! One of my favorite moments of the wedding was the first look when Thomas literally ran towards Jocelyne because he was so excited to see her. Also, it’s pretty evident through the photos that the speeches were all excellent! From the officiant (who was hands down, the best officiant ever) to the welcome toasts from the bride and groom’s parents to the maid of honor and best man speeches, the guests were all kept in constant laughter.

Two photos below taken by Inloveness PhotographyPhoto below taken by Lydia

Can we talk about how incredible the flowers were? I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what dogwood looked like before the wedding, but now it’s one of my favorite flowers! I also love that Sophie included strawberries as part of the tablescapes as a nod to Thomas and Jocelyne’s original inspiration for the color palette. Long story short, Jocelyne was having a really hard time picking out wedding colors when she happened across a bouquet of pinks, whites and greens with a few tiny strawberries in it. When consulted, Thomas said he likes strawberries 😉

I actually helped Jocelyne find Sophie & Co. when we were in Paris for their engagement session. We were sitting at a cafe together and talking about the wedding when she mentioned the florist she wanted was already booked for their wedding date and she couldn’t find anyone else with a similar style. When I found Sophie’s website, Jocelyne immediately fell in love with her work and I can’t imagine a better florist for their wedding! Sophie helped Jocelyne fulfill her vision, filling PFI with gorgeous floral arrangements.

Every part of the wedding was perfectly planned with help from Rebecca of Blue Canary Events, who was so sweet about rolling with the punches when we added a petal toss literally the week before the wedding and a ginger ale tasting bar a few days before. After some deliberation over favors, Jocelyne came up with the perfect idea for favors — their favorite books stamped with happily ever after and their initials. I also loved that they had rocks at the place settings so that our good wishes could be “set in stone” for them to read later.

If you liked this gorgeous Patapsco Female Institute wedding, you may also like Thomas and Jocelyne’s Paris engagement session (and part two) or this Saratoga Springs wedding.

Vendors:

• Second Shooter – Inloveness Photography
• Wedding Planner – Blue Canary Events
• Florist – Sophie + Co.
• Venue – Patapsco Female Institute
• Reception Music – The Finns with Sam Hill Entertainment
• Ceremony Music – Cherry Blossom String Quartet
• Hair – Ashley Taylor
• Makeup – Tymia Yvette
• Caterer – Main Event Caterers
• Rentals – Something Vintage Rentals
• Tents/Lighting – Grand Rental Events
• Cake – Fluffy Thoughts
• Videographer – Toy Box Studios
• Calligrapher – Shore Calligraphy