Rachel and Dave are that couple that just want to have fun, enjoy life, and have a good time being weird. That tone was seen throughout their wedding day and it was epic. My favorite part about this wedding was getting to know Rachel and Dave a little bit better. Its so weird because when we first met at the intial consult, I found out that Rachel was a school counselor and did the same program as me at Loyola! Their wedding took place in Taneytown Maryland at the Antrim 1844! Its a gorgeous venue, with lots of fun places to explore, like their kick ass wine cellar! Let me down there for like 10 minutes… please? Hahaha, its simply gorgeous. It also fit their laid back attitude. The wedding took place indoors, because it was insanely cold and windy, but that didn’t mean it was going to ruin the day. Actually, it was the opposite! Their wedding day was so much fun and so relaxed because they opted to do a first look before walking down the aisle. They wanted to get their photos out of the way so they could actually enjoy their wedding day. Which, we still did some photos throughout the day/night, but they got a lot of stress done first!
They had cocktail hour in the mansion and then a cozy reception with a lit dance floor!
POST WEDDING Q&A
How did you both meet??
“I had just moved to Maryland for graduate school. Samantha (my sister in law) suggested a girl's night out for dinner and drinks. The waiter for dinner at Razorbacks in Towson was none other than Dave! Because he took such good care of the table and seemed nice, we thought it would be cute to leave him a little note on the receipt "Meet us at Crackpot," the next stop on the night out. We didn't think much of it until hours later when we saw "the waiter" walk in. Dave and I spent time talking and he asked for my number at the end of the night. Our first date happened about a week later at Red Brick Station in White Marsh, MD!”
What is your PERFECT date night?
“Taking our dog on a long family walk, ordering in delicious food, finding a good movie on Netflix, sharing a bottle of wine, all before 9pm.”
When did you know he/she was THE ONE?
Rachel: “I knew Dave was the one when my car flooded--water all the way to the dashboard--in a freak rainstorm in June 2012. Somehow, I managed to drive the car to his house without getting electrocuted. He was so calm and cool in what felt like a crisis situation. He handed me a beer and told me to take a hot shower. Meanwhile, he wet-vacuumed my ENTIRE car out, even though he knew it was probably totaled because of the water damage.”
Dave: “We dated on and off for a few years before getting serious and there was a reason we kept coming back to one another. Rachel is a really good person, keeps me in line, and I'm lucky to have her.”
How did he PROPOSE?
“While walking to our friends house through Baltimore on New Years eve (2016), as we approached our friends house, Dave stopped me. He then got down on one knee and proposed!”
After you got engaged, what made you choose your wedding venue?
“Ultimately, it was Dave who said he really liked it. He didn't have many hard opinions during the planning process, but he did say he could picture us having a great wedding at Antrim 1844. So it was an easy decision.
Once we knew we were going to have a bigger wedding, the hunt was on to find a venue that wasn't too far from Baltimore (we didn't want to have stressful, long trips to a far away venue every time we needed to plan something), held over 150 people, and was as all-inclusive as possible (reception & venue same location, flat price per person for dinner, open bar, tables, chairs, etc.) Antrim 1844 had all of those things. We were able to envision our family and friends enjoying the historic and stately atmosphere of the mansion during cocktail hour. We then read a lot of reviews and viewed photographer's blogs from the venue. Most of our decisions for vendors for the wedding were decided on after reading reviews too.”
What was your FAVORITE part about your wedding??
Rachel: “I'm really happy we chose to write our own vows (again, Dave's idea). It was a challenge to summarize all the love and feelings into a few sentences, but it allowed me genuine time to reflect on our relationship, our married future, and how far we've come. Somehow, we made it through both sets without crying.”
Dave: “Spending it with each other. Making sure to stick together as much as possible throughout the evening.”
What was the WORST part about your wedding?
Rachel: "By the time I got in the chair to get my hair and makeup done, all the bridesmaids and moms were getting dressed themselves. I felt kind of lonely in that time. I wish I had timed the morning better so that we could have had more quality time together as a group before the wedding.”
Dave: “Feeling like we didn't get to spend enough time with all of our guests.”
What ADVICE would you tell other engaged couples who are planning their wedding??
“You only get married once, so have the wedding and party that YOU want to have. Make it true to who you are as a couple. Try not to stress about obligatory invites, traditions you think are silly, or the many, many opinions other people impart on you.”
The Wedding Team
PHOTOGRAPHY Lisa Robin Photography & Video
