Amanda and Jason were married on a beautiful fall day along the coast of Maryland. Amanda wore the most fabulous pink wedding dress.
Her heirloom necklace was a gift from her soon-to-be husband.
Amanda had an extremely busy schedule leading up to the wedding day, “The Tuesday before the wedding I had my Ph.D. proposal (about trying to find the gamma-ray emission site in a type of very bright galaxy called blazars) so in the weeks before the wedding I was at school until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. every day. People would ask me, “How is the wedding coming along?” and I responded that they really should be asking how is the proposal coming because I had my mom and sister do the wedding stuff. Because everyone was really busy, a lot of little stuff didn’t get done until literally the day before the wedding (programs, etc.). The night before, I went to Jason’s parents’ house to visit with their family who had come from out of town. I had to leave early because I still hadn’t put together my veil (at like 8pm the night before).”
It may have been done at the last minute, but you would never have known. Everything looked amazing!
Amanda’s engagement ring and the wedding rings came from the same place her parents found theirs, Berman’s in Ellicott City. She says, “For some reason, I’m not sure why, that means a lot to me.”
“I knew all along that the wedding and my Ph.D. proposal would coincide, but I still wanted to have so many DIY details because I just love crafty-type things and they were a lot of fun to put together. In all honesty, everything wouldn’t have looked as nice as it did if my mom and sister hadn’t worked their butts off on that stuff, and I really credit them with taking care of a lot of the details when I was trapped at school.”
Amanda made these amazing boutineers and the beautiful hair piece her sister is wearing below.
The reception was held at the Gardens of Londontown in Edgewater, Maryland.
Amanda and Jason started dating while she was a junior at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Jason was a freshman at UMD. Nearly every weekend she would pick him up from the closest metro stop and they’d spend the weekend at St. Mary’s.
The DIY details drove Amanda a little crazy but, “In the end I’m so glad they were there. I think my favorite detail was the books on the tables. Jason and I are both HUGE bookworms and sci-fi nerds (that’s kind of a given, being that he’s an aerospace engineer and I’m getting my Ph.D. in astrophysics). About two-thirds of the books came from our collection of books. Some were even textbooks from our undergrad/grad classes.”
And of course, as big time “sci-fi nerds,” they had to have very special cake toppers, Star Wars’ Han and Leia. I love how Amanda even thought to put a bouquet in Leia’s hand.
Amanda laments, “I don’t really like dancing nor do I like being the center of attention and I thought the first dance was going to be incredibly awkward (which it was). The whole time we were dancing I was complaining to Jason saying, “Are we done yet? Is it over? Can we stop now?” Afterwards people said to us, “Oh! What were you guys talking about during the dance? You looked so happy up there!”
It’s true, Amanda and Jason were laughing and smiling all day and their joy was definitely infectious.
“Jason and I both have family that live far away and we were so lucky that nearly all of our out-of-state aunts and uncles could make it to the wedding. It was really meaningful that so many family members would be willing to travel so far, some coming to Maryland for the first time, just to celebrate our wedding with us!”
A photo booth was included in the reception with tons of hilarious photos of Amanda and Jason’s family and friends. CHECK OUT THE SLIDESHOW!
Photography by Jessica Schmitt and Eric Swartz
Special thanks to all the vendors:
Church: Our Lady of the Chesapeake Catholic Church, Pasadena, MD, Pastor: Father Brian Rafferty
Reception: Historic London Town and Gardens, Edgewater, MD, Events Director: Jean Shea
Caterer: The Wild Orchid Cafe, Karen Wilder, Annapolis, MD
Music: C & J Entertainment, Chris Temple, Odenton, MD
Florist: The Wishing Well Florist, Pasadena, MD
Cake: Caroline’s Cakes, Annapolis, MD
Groom’s Suit: J. Crew
Bride’s Dress: Designed and Handmade by Barbara Deckert Coture, Elkridge, MD
Hair: Stacey Dumsha, Sassey Shear, Pasadena, MD (410-255-0881)
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Bridal Boutique, Columbia, MD
Rings: Berman’s Jewelers, Ellicott City, MD
Centerpieces, cake topper, favors, other decorations: Handmade by Amanda, Amelia and Dawn Dotson
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