We first worked with this family during Samantha & Britt’s wedding back in 2011 at the beautiful and understated Adelphi Mill. Since then we’ve gotten to work on family portraits, newborn portraits, and now a beautiful Quince, by the craftmaster herself, Samantha. Samantha wanted her daughter Isabel to have a fun experience with her Quince, which thanks to her skills as a tried and true DIY-er, would be a tasteful blend tradition and a flare for bright colors and strong coordination, without paying thousands of dollars to a dozen or more event vendors. It was hard work, but Samantha deserves a lot of kudos;Â planning parties is hard!
The day began at the Samantha & Britt’s family parish in Laurel. It was a traditional Quince mass observance, with Isabel front-and-center, flanked by her attendants in the pews behind. Immediately following mass, we spent a few minutes at the front of the church capturing some family formals, and then a few more minutes at the historic building on the adjacent property creating some portraits with her friends and attendants. A limousine would be carrying Isabel and her friends to the church reception hall about 10 minutes away, but before making it there, we stopped off at a nearby lake for a few formal photos of Isabel, all by herself, in her first portraits as a ‘grown woman’.
After finishing up with the portraits, we all headed over the church hall for the party of the year. Things started off with toasts from Britt & Isabel, and then moved through some of the traditional elements of the day; the crowning ceremony where Samantha placed a tiara on Isabel’s head; the the changing of the shoes, where Britt helped Isabel into her new ‘grown up’ shoes; the passing of the last doll, where Isabel gave a toy doll, representing childhood itself, to the youngest person in the extended family. At some point during the festivities, Isabel & Britt also shared a traditional father-daughter dance which produced some very touching moments.
All in all this was a really wonderful event, and Samantha did an incredible job pulling everything together. I’d like to extend a big congratulations to Isabel’s coming of age, and a hearty kudos to Samantha. It was a sincere pleasure to be there to capture these moments. Check out some of our favorite shots from the Quince below, and if you’re interested in scheduling a photographer for your Quince, Bar Mitzvah, Birthday party or any other event, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today!
