Spring

After today's rainstorms and the mix of hot and cold weather we've been having, I'm not sure if spring weather is here to stay or not. I walk past these beautiful tulips at work every day, and I finally took a few minutes to take some macro photos of them. I'm definitely not a nature photographer; I had a hard time waiting for the wind to stop blowing them around so I could get a good focused image (using a manual focusing lens!)
I hope you enjoy these photos. I'm hoping to be able to take some more spring images around our house. There are some amazing little gardens around the rowhomes in our neighborhoods!

Previous Clients: Review My Services!

I've recently started a photography vendor profile with Wedding Wire, a wedding planning resource for brides and grooms to find vendors and plan their big day. I would absolutely love if some of my previous clients would take a few minutes to fill out a vendor review for my services and your experience with me as your wedding photographer. I'm hoping that more potential clients will be sent to me after hearing from former brides :)

Please follow the link below to fill out the review. Thank You So Much!!!

Wedding Wire Review

Jaime & Brian's Wedding

Saturday, I spent the afternoon with an amazing couple with great family and friends all gathering to celebrate their big day. The wedding ceremony & reception took place at the Sheraton Hotel in Towson, where we scoped out beautiful places to take photos (where the walls in the hotel happened to match the wedding colors!) These two were so in love...smiling at each other even from across the room and laughing at all of the fun traditions that played out throughout the day with their families.

I was so happy that my great friend, Erica, referred Jaime to me as they were friends in college at Towson University. I immediately felt a connection with Jaime, and knew that we would have a blast the day of her wedding. Both her and Brian were so easy to talk to and I felt like they trusted me with each pose I put them in and each crazy idea I had for photos. (Except for the piano photos, which I cannot take credit for; thanks to the groomsmen for those!)

Jaime & Brian, I hope you and your family and friends love these highlight photos. Thank you for asking me to document your love in the artform I know best :)

Stephen & Megan's Wedding

Stephen & Megan's Wedding from Desiree Stover on Vimeo.

Stephen and Megan...

I can't even begin to explain how much love could be seen between the two of them on their wedding day. I don't think I've ever seen a groom that smiled more than Stephen. We had an amazing time in La Plata, MD as Megan got ready with her gorgeous bridesmaids. They had the perfect house for photos and the perfect backdrop of freshly fallen snow for some fun outdoor photos. The groomsmen were all geared up as well and were happy to step outside in the cool air for some portraits before the ceremony.

Megan interned with my boss and I a few years ago and has stayed in touch. When she got engaged, she quickly "booked" us as her photographers and the rest of the planning seemed to fall in place as her and Stephen planned a wedding in La Plata, while living in Norfolk, VA! Every part of the wedding was memorable; even the limo ride to the reception that didn't quite make it the whole way!

I wanted to try something different to feature Stephen & Megan's photos. There were so many images that I chose in my first edit, so I decided to make a short video with some beautiful highlights.

Stephen & Megan, I hope you LOVE your highlight photos. I can't wait for you to see the rest!!!

Gearing up for a Winter Wedding

This morning I have a delay for work due to the snow, so I worked on getting my gear together for Megan & Stephen's winter wedding on Saturday in La Plata. And of course, I couldn't let you down without posting a few photos of Ruger! He was enjoying playing outside in the 8 or so inches we got in Baltimore & even one of him watching the snow out the window. (the pics are out of order, but still!) I could tell he was busting to go outside & play, so I was happy to have some free time this morning when it was light outside to take him out!

Hope everyone is staying safe & warm in this weather!

2010 Weddings

2010 Weddings from Desiree Stover on Vimeo.

2010 was a great year. I finally got the chance to go through my 2010 weddings and pull a couple of my favorite images from each couple's big day into a slideshow. It really makes me smile to see all of these couples and the amazing day I was able to capture in photos for them.

Hope you all have a very Happy New Year!!! Enjoy!

Holiday Portraits

After a quick trip to NYC for work, I returned and have stayed super busy since my last wedding of 2010 in November. Close friends & family asked me to take some holiday portraits of them, and since I hope most cards are already sent out, I wanted to share a few of my favorite images.

My neighbors all got together for an annual portrait of the entire family, and I even was able to get two small children to "grin" without any Photoshop work! The day got really fun when Grandpa dressed up as Santa Clause & the almost two year-old wasn't sure what to think!

I also took my first night portraits of our aunt and her children. I think we picked the coldest and most windy night of the year, but I still think we came out with some really nice family portraits. They really had my creativity swarming...and we ended up finding some nice backgrounds for photos, even when it was dark outside!

And I've been wanting to take photos of my dear friend, Becca, for months now, as her pup, Annabelle, and Ruger are best buddies and playmates. We had some fun at a local park and even did a bit of train dodging!

I hope everyone has a very Happy Holiday and enjoys whatever break from work they have. Stay warm & Keep Smiling!!! :)