One of the many handmade elements of our Art Deco wedding happens to be our wedding stationary.  I designed them. Then I got all crafty on the inside of the envelopes with pretty, fancy liners. But, after they were all sealed and ready to go I was faced with the fear that our plain store bought envelopes may fall a little flat in our guests’ mailboxes. Yes, that was legitimately a fear. Maybe I need to re-prioritize, LOL!

Anywho, I had to take it up a notch. I added some Art Deco glamour. “How?” you might ask, with a little vintage stamp collection that’s how. If you want to glam up your envelopes keep reading, if not please promise me you won’ t use the awful wedding stamps available now at your nearest post office – wow they are bad! If you don’t want to go vintage there is another option, go custom. Zazzle.com lets you design your own stamps, I was tempted. They are a little pricey though.

But onto the vintagey goodness . . . first things first you will need quite a collection of stamps to make it up current postage rates. Most vintage stamps are in the 3-10 cent range, which if you do the math that would add up to be a lot of stamps on one envelope. So, when you find anything above 15 cent mark don’t walk away, it’s about as rare as the diamond on your finger.

Admittedly not everyone likes the treasure hunt as much as I do (Treasure Island was one of my fav books as a kid) and by treasure hunt I mean thrifting. For me there is a natural high to finding something at a thrift shop with history and glamour. I recently found some beautiful French champagne coupes, it was like the highlight of my week.

While I do have a tendency to collect just about anything, I surprisingly did not have a stamp collection of my own. So, I raided various stamp collections across the area. You will be surprised to find a lot of antique stores, coin shops, and estate sales have a lot of stamp collections to peruse. The trick to getting all the glamour without the big price tag is to go after stamps that are unused and uncanceled but, are not collectible. And make sure you confirm that this is in fact what you are buying. Most of the stamps I found were actually priced at face value. You can also splurge, if you don’t feel like treasure hunting at all of the local antique stores by buying them online. Ebay is a great resource and this search is a perfect starting point. USmintsheets.com also has a lot of beautiful stamps at reasonable prices. Verde Studios, an etsy shop will even do a custom design of a vintage stamp collection for you if you have the budget for it. Just be careful, consider this your fair warning, there is a chance you could get a little carried away and buy 3 times as many stamps as you actually need. I had to consciously discourage myself from looking for them. It became quite an obsession.

Now that you have your collection the real fun begins. I had such a blast playing around with the colors and layout combinations. There were some out there pairings that I had to tone down a bit, but I was really pleased with the mix of art deco, flowers, and such that we ended up with. What do you think?

- Rebecca Smith

When I met Mike, I looked like this:

This photo encapsulates my life at the time – questionable hair styles, questionable outfit choices, and always surrounded by alcohol.  I had just turned 21 and was virtually never sober.  I was bartending at Mex Tequila Bar in Power Plant which I couldn’t decide if it was the coolest thing in the world or the worst thing to ever happen to me.  I actually remember seeing Mike for the first time.  I immediately said to myself, “I have to know who he is.”  A girl I was working with was talking with them, so I had her introduce me to the group he was with.  Mike was much more shy than his friends but I was determined to get to know him.  Next thing you know, I am writing my phone number on a bar napkin with my name on it.  Pretty bold move if I do say so myself.

From that moment on we were pretty much inseparable.  We went out on a few dates at first which quickly turned into a relationship.  Upon graduating from Towson (and growing up A LOT), I moved downtown to be closer to him.  The funny part is – I grew up in New Jersey and Mike grew up in Florida, neither of us ever thought we would end up in Baltimore.  After another year or so, we moved in together have made this city our home.  We have made countless memories in Charm City and everywhere else over the past 4 years.  Mike has made me a better person and I couldn’t be more thankful that I decided to write my number on that napkin that fateful drunken night.

This past Spring, we decided to take a trip to London to visit my sister who was studying abroad.  From there, we took a train over to Paris to celebrate our 4 year anniversary, which just so happened to be the day we arrived.  Our first stop was the Pont des Arts bridge (AKA the Love Lock bridge).  As we were walking up to the bridge I realized we didn’t have a lock to put on.  Mike turned to me and said he had a special lock made for our anniversary.  I definitely thought this was the moment he was going to propose (everyone had their suspicions).

It was amazing!  But when he didn’t propose, I thought – maybe this isn’t the moment, and he just wanted to celebrate our anniversary.  So we found a place on the bridge for our lock and took some photos with it.

Just as were about to throw the keys in the Seine River, he turns to me and says “I have another special lock for you.”

On the lock was engraved “Will you marry me?” and I instantly broke down into tears.  It was the most amazing moment of our entire lives and I still can’t believe we actually got engaged in Paris.

Once the excitement of the proposal was over and lots of photos were taken (by my sister who captured the entire moment!), we threw the keys to our locks in the river which means our love will last forever (obv!).  Basically, it was the most romantic way Mike could have proposed.  I couldn’t have chosen a better person to spend the rest of my life with.  We are so very happy and excited to begin this journey together.

I guess working at Mex Tequila Bar wasn’t the worst thing after all. – Monika Reynolds

Monika is a fashion and lifestyle blogger at champagne-picnic.com. You can follow her while she builds a fabulous lifestyle on Twitter and Facebook.

It was clear early on in our relationship that this was the real deal. We openly talked about our future together and there were no secrets about our intentions – I am typically a wear-my-heart-on-my-sleeve kind of girl. Once our family and friends realized our relationship was heading towards forever, the questions began.  We got the usual “when are you getting married” but mostly people asked “who proposes to whom?” Being a same sex couple, we are in the unique (and I think fortunate) position where there are no rules when it comes to traditional expectations. Therefore, we get to make this experience entirely our own, and we decided that we would both propose whenever either of us was ready. This agreement meant one thing to me: GAME ON. Those that know me might say I am a bit competitive, and our proposal plans were no different. In the end, we both win because we are happy and in love and want to spend the rest of our lives together. But c’mon . . . we can all guess who won.

After searching high and low for a ring (Kristine is extremely picky) and anxiously asking her parents’ permission, the weekend I planned to propose had arrived. I convinced Kristine that my sister, Sarah, should come along for the trip since she had never been to the Jersey shore and wanted to see Kristine’s family. Really, our intention was to have her there for the proposal as the secret photographer. We left on a Friday morning and my plan was to drive into Atlantic City (Kristine’s hometown) and go right to the beach where I would propose. I was pretty anxious so I didn’t want to have to wait any longer than necessary. Of course, the weather was not cooperating with my plan and our two and a half hour drive was overcast and at times rainy. Throughout the trip, Sarah and I kept convincing Kristine that we needed to go to the beach immediately, despite the bad weather.  She was not making things easy for me, claiming we could go another time during the weekend. Luckily, about 20 minutes from our destination, the sun poked through the clouds just long enough for us to make the final decision that we WERE going to the beach.

Finally, we parked and walked out over the boardwalk and onto the sand with dog in hand and ring in pocket. As Kristine ran around with Jolie without a care in the world, I scoured the beach for a good spot while building up my nerve. Silently, I signaled to Sarah to take a “phone call” from work and walk away (positioning herself to take photos). I kneeled down to pet Jolie and remained kneeling as I grabbed Kristine’s hands and said I had something to tell her. Her response: “Well then get up”, to which I said “Just let me talk!” So romantic. As I started the speech I had semi-prepared, Kristine realized where this was leading and started to repeat various forms of the phrase “Are you serious.” Even as I pulled the ring out of my pocket and asked her to marry me, she still wanted to know if I was joking. I pointed out that I was actually holding a ring and it was then that she believed what was happening. As I went to give her the ring, I noticed a small black bag in Kristine’s hand. Earlier, unbeknownst to me, she had been the responsible dog owner that she is and cleaned up after Jolie. It was then that I realized I had proposed to her while she was holding a bag of dog poo. As romantically as possible, Kristine tossed the bag aside and I put the ring on her finger. We celebrated with hugs, kisses, pictures and yes, many laughs about our pooposal.  While this was definitely NOT in my plan, it is without a doubt “us”.

Photo credit to Sarah Wolf. Proposal on the beach in Ventnor, New Jersey. Ten points if you can find the bag.

But the story doesn’t end there.  Obviously, it is no secret that we are going to get married but Kristine still wanted to surprise me with a proposal and a chance to say YES as well. Because of her job, we did not have weekends off together, so on a Sunday in December, Kristine surprised me by taking the day off. We got to sleep in together which we rarely do, and as we were lazily waking up, she started saying sweet and wonderful things to me, which is unusual because Kristine is not exactly a morning person. Before I knew it, she pulled a blue ring box out from under the pillow and asked me to marry her. I enthusiastically accepted and spent the rest of the day grinning from ear to ear, admiring my ring.

(top) Kristine’s ring modeled after my mom’s engagement ring, (bottom) my ring inspired by Monica’s from FRIENDS

So, there you have it: two proposals, two rings, two people in love. It might not have been perfect or over-the-top but then again, we aren’t perfect, over-the-top people. And I wouldn’t want our stories to be any different. Up next, I get a little crafty and pop question #2, “Will you be my bridesmaid?” – Emily Wolf

There are two ways to plan a destination wedding: one with a site visit, and one without. We were fully prepared to plan without ever seeing the actual spot where we would be married. In fact, we booked all of our vendors based on a trip Matt took to Yosemite a few years ago! He remembered it was “jaw dropping” (his words) it was so beautiful. That recommendation, my love of the woods, and pictures from the internet were enough to convince me.

If the planning had remained virtual and over the phone, that would have been fine with me. However, little questions started popping up like how to pick a menu without a tasting, how easy is it really to get from the hotel to the wedding site, is there anything along the way from the airport to Yosemite where we can pick up items for the guest bags, etc. Logistical details mainly. Matt and I found some cheap flights and decided to camp out for a short visit that would answer all those little details.

Everyone kept asking me if I was nervous I would get there and hate it. That wasn’t an option since all the deposits were already down! But really, that thought never crossed my mind. I may have had a few brief Bridezilla moments, but largely I’ve managed to stay focused on the end game – Matt and I being married at the end of the day. Even without that perspective, there’s no way I could have not fallen in love with this place. It’s so exciting to finally be able to post my own pictures and not ones I found on the internet!

There is almost no cell reception so I was worried how guests would find their way. Just seeing the layout of the Valley and how easy it is to walk from one place to the other (or take the free shuttle) put my mind at ease. That alone was worth the cost of the trip!

The other major benefit of going was meeting the wedding coordinator in person. My mom and I composed a list of 33 questions to ask her, but don’t worry, I’ll spare you and just go with the abbreviated version:

Transportation: Where are the closest airports and what’s the easiest way to get to the destination? Once there, if guests need to get around, what’s the easiest way to do it? Luckily everything is within walking distance in Yosemite Valley, but we found a bike rental and a free shuttle to facilitate traveling the short distance from the hotel to the wedding site.

Accommodations: What amenities does the hotel have? Will they hand out the guest bags for you? See if you can check out one of the rooms you have reserved, especially if you’re reserving a suite for the bridal party to get ready in.

Activities: What things are there to do in the area? Are there activities you want to set up for the entire group? Are there brochures, maps, and schedules that you can collect to add to the guest bags or send to guests ahead of time? The gift shop offered to give us a discount on a pack of park maps and we found a mountain tram tour that we can reserve for our entire group.

Wedding day schedule: Can items (table decorations, menu cards, etc.) be mailed out in advance? Who is responsible for the timing of the wedding reception? Have them give you a tour of exactly where your guests will walk to get to the ceremony (is it clearly marked or will you need signs?), where  will the wedding party gather before walking down the aisle, how do you get from the wedding site to the reception, and where is the rain location? We spent an hour just walking through all these different spots to see how the day will go us and for our guests.

In the end, I think the wedding would have worked out fine without making this trip. However, knowing myself, I will be roughly 1,000x less anxious and stressed having seen everything in person and walked through it ahead of time. For us, the point of having a destination wedding is to spend quality time in a beautiful place with our closest friends and family. That would be harder to do if I was stressing out over the details or arranging things last minute!

Next up is to finalize invitations and start thinking centerpieces.

Only four months to go! – Hallie Falquet

Our wedding style, if my Pinterest board had anything to do with it, would be a combination of Black tie event and backyard BBQ. I think baby’s breath bouquets and chevron Cornhole boards are perfect elements for a fun party, but then there is a part of me that yearns for a candlelight dinner in a grand ballroom. However let’s be honest, I have never been one for an outdoor ceremony and I love the comfort of air condition when dancing, so a backyard celebration was not in the cards.

Adam and I both joined Greek Organizations in college and they are a large part of who we’ve become, so I thought using one of each of our organization’s colors in our wedding palette would be the perfect way to incorporate the theme of “us.” Our choices were down to pink, red, green, and grey, but eventually we went pink and grey (which, fun fact, can be spelled grey or gray).

After discussing the modern romantic style we desire for our wedding, Lauren (our planner from Moore & Co., formerly K&B Events) suggested multiple shades of pink to create texture and eye movement. She made that come to life in our vision board meeting where we were given four awesome concepts that included a color palette, multiple pictures of tablescapes, cakes and bridesmaids dresses that coordinated to give our modern romantic party the life it needs.

After deciding on two boards as favorites and the types of pink we like (coral/peach was not a hit for either Adam or me), Lauren sent us our final color palette after the meeting. We plan on focusing more on lighter pinks with pops of a darker raspberry. We will be using draping and lighting to create elegant focal points, while using some flowers with square vases, lots of candles and multiple color linens with clean lines for modern touches.

Lauren has ordered 12 samples of linens and we will have some ideas for flowers for the tables and bouquets, but that is another appointment and another blog post. - Phoebe Brown

I found my gown and said yes to that dress!! This is the thing many girls like myself dream of finding. I spent hours in my childhood making wedding dresses out of bed sheets. I wanted to be a princess on my big day. Now that I am grown-up, my perfect gown has changed but the importance of this garment has not. I have always thought my quest would play out like any episode of Say Yes to The Dress. I would find it surrounded by the ladies I love, my mama would cry and everyone would hug. However, the reality of my story is more of an accidental find.

While Baltimore doesn’t have mega salons like Kleinfeld’s in New York, we do have a few big ones that most brides will try. One of them, Betsy Robinson, had advertised a sample sale. Thinking maybe this was my chance to get something stunning at a discounted price I made an appointment for my mom and myself. My dad dropped us off and we checked in. The sales girl, Ashley, showed me the sale items and I was disappointed to not see anything I even was interested in trying on.

Fortunately, I wasn’t limited to just the sale rack.  After pulling five or six dresses, we headed back to the fitting room. There were a few that I liked but you don’t want to just like your gown . . . you want to LOVE it. Most of the dresses felt heavy. Our wedding is outside and more casual so I was looking for something light. We went back to the racks and I pulled a few more, but nothing had caught my eye yet. Ashley brought a dress to me and asked if I wanted to try it on, even though it wasn’t full lace. I agreed but wasn’t convinced.

After another three gowns, I tried on Ashley’s pick. It fit like a glove. And I realized: I love this dress. Like, love, love, love it. My mom loved it too, although there were no tears (boo!). Ashley asked if I wanted to see it with a veil. She put a cathedral length one on (which is what I requested) and the angels sang down to me. This was it. I got a bit misty myself standing there looking in the mirror. I was a bride, a real one. After dreaming about this for so long, I had found it. When I wasn’t even trying or expecting it!

While I still have a year to go, I know this is my dress. It just feels right. But now that means no more looking! No more pinning, no more browsing, no more Style Me Pretty (for dresses anyway). For anyone else out there getting ready to look, as long as you have 6-8 months, there is no rush. I honestly didn’t mean to find my dress, it just happened. Another piece of advice is go with an open mind. This dress is sort of similar to what I was thinking but not really what I had imagined as THE dress. Also, I was lucky because I am the sample size and therefore almost all of the dresses fit me without any extra clips, etc. If these samples are too big or too small, have faith that once it’s ordered in your size and altered to fit perfectly, it will look a lot different (and better!). And most importantly, have fun. What girl doesn’t love playing dress up? – Carrie Costantini

Disclaimer: Not every love story starts out with sunshine and rainbows.

Let’s start off by fast forwarding back to 2007. I had just graduated college and started my first “real” job. Bright eyed and beyond enthusiastic I walked into Day 1 and was greeted by my new boss. Wow was he charming, handsome, and . . . umm taken! Bummer. It wasn’t until that moment that I really understood Alanis Morissette’s lyrics that dominated my middle school years: Isn’t it ironic?

Months after putting my nose to the grindstone and living through daily reminders that this great guy was not available, I jumped at a new opportunity. I signed up to go through a new training program offered, even if it did mean a 2 hour commute for a few months. Yeah, I wanted out of there.

Months had passed and I was transitioning well to my new position. I was desperately trying to have fun dating but, no one really got the butterflies going. And unfortunately I kept running into that charming, handsome, unavailable man at work functions and social events. There was just something about him that I couldn’t get out of my mind.

As I was finishing up the training program, I was asked to return to my original office.  I just flat out said no. I didn’t think I could survive any more daily reminders. I started at a new office close by and the charming, handsome man and I had a few run-ins at work happy hours. It is then that I discovered that unbeknownst to me the charming, handsome, unavailable man was in fact available. Almost a year after I met him the harbored crush could finally be pursued. The flirting commenced almost immediately and our little love story began with the modern day love letter, email. After four years of more emails, texts, fun, laughs, kisses, love, support, a puppy, and moving in together we are getting married!

He popped the question the day before Thanksgiving last year and after the holidays the planning began. We are few months in and I have learned so much in such a short amount of time. Keep checking back for my monthly updates as we create our Art Deco inspired wedding with our Handmade budget. There will be lots of crafty DIY projects and budget conscious creativity.  Hopefully you can take something away from our planning process to inspire your BIG day.   -Rebecca Smith

One month. 30 days. 4 weeks. However you want to put it, our wedding is . . . SOON! I have to say the past 11 months of engaged life have treated me well. I’ve had a blast planning our wedding and also enjoyed all the other fun nuances of being engaged, such as using the term ‘fiancé’ and wearing this gorgeous diamond on my left hand.

But there is one thing that I haven’t thought about until the past couple weeks that I’ll probably miss the most, and that’s my last name. Yes, it may sound silly, but I’ve had this name for close to 33 years and giving it up is, well . . . bitter sweet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely excited to become “Mrs. Robinson,” but when you really think about your name it’s something that becomes a part of you. But, the good news is, as a bride, we have options and I’m taking advantage of them. I’ve decided to keep “Bradford” as my new middle name. So, in all reality I won’t necessarily have to part with my last name completely . . . just my middle name, but I can live with that.

Aside from some of these “deeper thoughts” (if that’s what you want to call them) that have been running through my mind as we count down the mere days before our wedding, there are several things that I’ve been doing to steer clear of being deemed a ‘bridezilla’ so I thought I would share:

*If you call yourself a ‘bridezilla,’ then most people won’t feel the need to call you one…at least not to your face!

*Google Calendar – The last three months of wedding planning are the busiest. So if you and your fiancé want to stay sane, I’d highly recommend sharing an electronic calendar, such as Google Calendar, so you both can see when things are planned and who is doing what, when. This is a must!

*Excel – I’m a Microsoft Excel geek. I love it. Guest list, budget, rental items, you name it and we have an Excel spreadsheet that organizes it. Love, love, love Excel!

*Exercise (taking some ‘me’ time) – If your Google Calendar starts to get too full, then you know you’re not taking time for yourself. You know what I’m talking about: “personal time,” “me time,” whatever you want to call it, you need it! I exercise regularly but when it came down to the grind of wedding planning, I was skipping the gym and heading straight home to check things off my list. Bad idea. So, I did it, I invested in a personal trainer and I couldn’t be more happy with my decision. Ladies, if you want to get toned for your wedding and need someone to keep you motivated to get to the gym, Damon Dukes at Merritt Athletic Club in Canton, is your man! Shoot him an email if you’re interested (ddukes2269@gmail.com).

*Date Night – Yes, it’s the cliché “Date Night” term that married couples tell engaged couples they should always make time for. Well, it’s the truth. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the wedding planning, that you get out of your routine and, well, life is passing you by. Part of the planning process is preparing to be a married couple and that means continuing to enjoy one another and taking time for each other just as you did prior to getting engaged.

*Bottle(s) of Wine – Nightly. Just kidding. But seriously, when there are 150 invitations that need to be stuffed and stamped sitting on your dining room table, pour a glass of wine or two and try and enjoy it. Note: sit glass far away from all invitations, and white is probably the way to go. Red will stain!

*Just Stay Positive – You’re planning what could be the most important event of your life. There will be bumps along the way, challenges that don’t seem fixable, and, yes, some days when everything seems to be going wrong. I promise that the next day they don’t seem so bad, and…in the end, everything works out just the way it was supposed to!

Get in, buckle up, and enjoy the ride. My journey along Country Road will soon change direction, but this is only the beginning… I’m looking forward to the next phase of this beautiful road trip. -Amber Bradford

Kristine, left, and I celebrating our one year anniversary at the Dave Matthews Band festival in Atlantic City, 2011.

I would like to start with two confessions.  #1: Despite my better judgment, this Maryland native has fallen for a Jersey girl. It’s true, I just can’t resist that feisty attitude and hearing “wooder” makes me go weak in the knees. Not really. But I do love her like crazy and she lets me be myself and keeps me in check when necessary.  #2: I have never blogged before and at the risk of being white noise among so many other wedding stories, I thought this would be a chance to share our experiences during this process as a same-sex couple. Positive and exciting changes are happening for the gay community and I am grateful not only for the unconditional love and support from our family and friends, but also for the opportunity to legally marry the woman I love in my home state.  So here it is, the classic tale of girl meets girl . . .

In between jobs at the National Aquarium and the Maryland Zoo, Kristine taught at a nursery school for about a year.  I was working through grad school as a nanny for an adorable three year old, who was starting her first year of preschool, and in the afternoons when I picked her up, “Miss Kristine” would tell me about her day. This is officially how we met, but I tease Kristine that while I was crushing on her, she didn’t even notice me. It wasn’t until a year later that fate (and by fate, I mean very persistent friends) unknowingly brought us together.

It was a Thursday night in July and a good friend of mine convinced me to meet her out at Grand Central Station, a popular gay bar in Mount Vernon. Coincidentally, Kristine’s friend dragged her out as well. Typically I am not a very outgoing person and I don’t think I have EVER made the first move, but that night I spotted Kristine across the bar and decided to approach her – maybe I was feeling sassy in my pink dress? I bounced (according to witnesses) over, tapped her on the shoulder, and reintroduced myself. I give Kristine a hard time (noticing a pattern?) because she didn’t seem to remember me at first; but we started talking and by the end of the evening we had exchanged numbers.

After fourteen loooooooooong hours (which is like weeks in lesbian time), Kristine finally texted me and we planned our first date for the following night.  I guess you can say it went well because here we are, almost three years later, living in a tiny row house in Canton with our dog, Jolie, and three cats, Camden, Jones, and Phoebe Buffay.  And yes, we are planning our wedding. Because I am a planner and very detail-oriented, our wedding isn’t until July 2014, making sure we have plenty of time to make our day exactly the way we want it to be. That also means there will be several blog posts between now and then, so, if you’re still reading, keep an eye out for my next post when I will share the deets of our engagement stories (that’s right, we have two!). – Emily Wolf

Sean and I met in Brewer’s Hill in April of 2011, where we both were living at the time. Soon enough, we moved in together, and from our bedroom window each night, we could see Mr. Boh winking at us from the Natty Boh tower.

Our relationship continued to grow and blossom around all things Baltimore–Orioles games, local farmer’s markets, trying new corner bars for Ravens games, and of course, drinking Natty Boh.

Fast forward two years. We are now living in the county but still go into the city often. Last Saturday evening, Sean took me to Tark’s Grill, then we decided to “have a few drinks” on the water. Well, instead of driving to Bo Brooks, he pulls into the parking lot of the National Bohemian tower. “I have a surprise for you”, he says. “I arranged a private tour.” Still not sure what to think, but very excited, I went with him inside, where we were greeted by the building manager Dave. Little did I know, Sean had arranged it all in advance with him. We had the entire building to ourselves. Dave took us up to the top floor in the elevator, where we saw the view from the offices there. Then he opened a door to the outside and pointed to a ladder on the side of the building. Sean told me to climb it and that it would be worth it to see the view of the city from the top.

When I climbed to the top of the ladder, which is literally right next to Natty Boh’s winking face, there was a blanket with champagne and glasses, plus 2 Natty Bohs and 2 Natty Boh hats. I was floored. It was then that I understood just what was happening. Sean got down on one knee and proposed, and then Dave (who left us alone when we climbed the ladder) let us have as much time as we needed on the roof. We sipped our drinks, took photos of the city and of us in front of Mr. Boh’s face, and just enjoyed our first moments of being engaged while overlooking the neighborhood where we first met.

Dave then returned and took photos for us, which was great. We were there for sunset and into the evening, which was incredible. The only “flaw” to the evening was that Sean had put a video camera in hiding to capture the engagement, and it ended up dying as he was getting down on one knee!

As if this wasn’t enough, there was more to the evening. Sean and I got in the car and decided to go to Fells Point to celebrate with drinks. When we walked into the upstairs of Kooper’s, 25 of our family and friends were there waiting for us! Sean had planned a private, open-bar, catered event weeks in advance, and the people we care most about were there. It was an incredible evening that we will both forever cherish.  – Colleen Sidlovsky