At the Hilton in Linthicum, Maryland, Melanie and Brad tied the knot!

It was a short ceremony and an intimate reception of maybe 30 people. On record, the smallest wedding I've ever photographed, and for the shortest amount of time--only two hours.

An interesting sidenote: Melanie's dress is one of the first strapped dresses I've seen in recent years! She also mentioned that she bought the coverup separate from the dress. When photographing Melody's wedding just a few weeks ago, she too was noting how difficult it was to find something with sleeves, and had to get her long sleeves specially made. Could this be a new trend in bridal fashion?

Since I've been photographing smaller weddings lately, I've found that I really enjoy these smaller affairs. They tend to be low-key, but highly demanding and exciting for a photographer. With no down time, there's always something to photograph and do, and it's a neat challenge to remain unobtrusive when you're one out of thirty, versus one out of a hundred.

The new baby that one family member brought along, of course, barely noticed me.