The wedding of my dreams!!

Hey there, welcome to Jenna Davis Photography! For the past 12 years, I've had the privilege of capturing the beauty and love on a couple's special day. And to top it off, I recently became a wife myself! Being on both sides of the coin has given me a unique perspective that I'm excited to share with you.

Through my journey in the wedding industry, I've learned so much from every couple I've had the pleasure of photographing. I know from experience what makes a perfect wedding day, and it's that kind of magic that Nick and I wanted to replicate for our own big day. It was a beautiful experience that I'll always hold dear to my heart.

So first, let me tell you that I was a covid bride! We got engaged in November of 2019 and planned to have our wedding in November of 2020… Well then covid happened and like a lot of other couples we had to postpone. Now obviously it was super stressful and caused us to make some major changes to our original vision but in the end I think it made the day so much more special when we were finally able to have the wedding of our dreams. It just involved having a little more patience and resilience.

When it came to picking a venue we knew we wanted it to be convenient for most of our guests. Nick’s family and friends are spread out through different states and my family and friends are located near Frederick Maryland where I am from. Naturally we knew it would be easier to pick a venue in that area and I had the perfect venue in mind! Years ago I shot my very first wedding at Strong Mansion and it took my breath away. There was something so elegant and charming about that venue that it stuck with me all these years. After letting Nick take a tour we decided it was a perfect fit for us and our style. We both really love the fall so we started looking at dates that would fit around my wedding schedule. Ironically the timing worked out perfectly for pushing the wedding back a year for the same time in November.

For our wedding vision we obviously wanted to take the fall features into account. We took the warm fall hues of terracotta and oranges and mixed it with blush and midnight blue. Now something to know about me is that I love thrifting and creating treasure out of pre-loved items. So for our decor I found vintage depression glasses for each guest of all different shapes and sizes in our color scheme orange and blush. It helped add to the charm of our tablescape which I kept pretty simple and I think really showed off one of my favorite hobbies and added to the history of the venue. From these glasses the full wedding vision really came to life! We reused our neighbors centerpieces which were pampas grass and added fall hue florals! To save money we used a mix of silk preloved florals and garlands and mixed them with real florals! Luckily our venue has stunning views in the fall and we really lucked out with the fall leaves peaking at just the right time so the outdoor backdrop spoke for itself. Part of the wedding vision was to keep things modern but timeless so I had my girls wear blush silk dresses and Nick and the guys wore midnight blue suits with terracotta ties and bowties. I borrowed my MOH and best friends' veil for my “something borrowed” and for some fun us ladies rocked matching leather jackets! By the way did I mention it was super cold that day! Luckily Nick and I had already exchanged vows the year before on our original wedding date so we could keep our ceremony short and sweet and guests didn't need to be in the cold too long.


Ok, Let’s get into the nitty gritty of what made our wedding day so perfect to us! First, we had decided from the start we were going to have a first look. I know from experience that it can just make a wedding day so much easier as far as scheduling. For our timeline and the time of year that we were getting married it really helped us maximize our time getting pictures outside around the venue while still having enough daylight to have our ceremony outdoors. This also allowed us to have our family formals finished before the ceremony so ourselves and our family could really enjoy the party and catch up with everyone that we weren't able to see during the shutdowns. Spending quality time with our guests was super important to us and the first look allowed us to be present for our cocktail hour so we were able to greet all of our guests and mingle before the reception. We also got to enjoy our dinner and dance our booties off the entire night! Another thing to know about me is I love to dance and I will be the first one on the dance floor and and last to leave and that’s exactly what happened on our wedding day and I loved it!! We also had Nick’s father marry us both times so for us that was super special to have him be a part of our ceremony but he needed time to get those last minute jitters out before the ceremony. Again the first look really helped us make the most of our day.

When planning I wanted each of us to pick out a song for the wedding day because we didn’t have a song together and I chose the bridal chorus (when I walked down the aisle) and Nick chose our first dance song. For me one of the most special moments of the day was finally being able to walk down the aisle with my dad to the song I chose. After postponing and all of the covid drama it literally brought me to tears.. I also had a really personal song for my father/ daughter dance. My dad has a favorite artist who just happens to sing a song that was from one of my favorite disney movies so it made our dance super personal. Another thing I chose to include was my late grandmother's broaches. One from my mom’s side and one from my dad’s so it felt like they were there in spirit. Nick isn't as sentimental as I am but he definitely loved our first dance. Together we also decided to give a welcome toast. We really wanted to thank everyone for being there and celebrating with us and being patient as we navigated all of the changes that were made while rescheduling.I think for us it was a really special moment and it gave us the opportunity to express how grateful we were and it also allowed us to really take in the entire day coming together. Finally we didn’t write our own vows but we did write letters to each other to read before the first look! This is where Nick shined. His letter was so heartfelt and it really had us excited for the first look. It was also special to have on our video.

After really enjoying our dinner, cupcakes and so much dancing we ended the night with a last dance. We had all the guests hold tea lights that were illuminated and join in so we could have one final hooray before parting ways. I'm sure there is so much more I can say about our day and the planning process and what we loved most. I hope this helps to give you some inspiration for things to incorporate into your day and also helps you get to know me a little more. I think trust is so important when it comes to choosing your vendors and trust me I have experienced so much as a bride and wedding photographer.

Our songs:

Bridal Chorus: Lana Del Rey - Love for cello and piano (COVER) 

First Dance: Chris Stapleton- Joy of my Life 

Father Daughter Dance: Phil Collins- You'll be in my heart 

Last Dance Song: Donna Summer- Last Dance 

Venue: Strong Mansion- 

Photographer is a dear friend of mine, Kait Bailey!