As a wedding photographer, I hope each of my couples gets to work with only the very best vendors that serve them well. Wedding vendors who are honest, highly communicative, amazing at their craft and work hard for their clients.
Being in the industry since 2018, I've met my fair share of DJs, videographers, planners and H&MU artists, and sometimes each vendor assumes they're THE most important wedding vendor. As you can imagine, inflated egos can really make everyone else in the room feel cramped, but when you meet Maddie, owner of DMV Weddings & Events (pictured above), you immediately know she's not that kind of wedding planner.
I initially met Maddie at the Frederick Wedding Show in February, and her vendor table was next to mine at Tenth Ward Distillery. We worked out a spacing issue with having six vendors in one small space, but she was never demanding or rude.
Maddie and I made small talk when we had breaks in between groups of guests during the wedding show. She also shared her chocolate covered salted caramels (and if you didn't know, sweets are the third best equalizer in the world).
A few weeks later, I offered to be on-site for one of her events to capture BTS of Maddie and her team doing their thing. Planners do A LOT behind the scenes and far beyond just the day of the wedding, so I know it's a challenge for planners to depict the value they bring to each of their clients.
At Springfield Manor (pictured above) with Maddie and her team, I noticed the individual boxes of decor she had for each table and every box was labeled. Maddie had careful notes from the bride about decor items and where each should be setup that she frequently used to triple check.
Maddie and her team never seemed stressed for time and had margin to help lost-looking guests navigate the venue. She was never frazzled, rude, or "too good" for any task that would help the bride achieve the vision she had for her reception.
She is not the planner who feigns drama or unnecessary stress during the planning or setup portion of the day. Watching (and photographing) Maddie and her team set up the reception was the organized and smooth process that every bride needs on her wedding day. Maddie is the kind of person who cares about her clients and cares about her own staff.
In the wedding industry, it's full of "solopreneurs" who can get territorial, defensive and haughty at times, so it's both encouraging and refreshing to meet "the real ones" in my work as a photographer. The people who are actually... people but also professional.
So if you're looking to work with a wedding planner with creative passion, an eye for detail and a calming presence that gives you even more confidence in her as your planner, send her a DM on Instagram! (She was always quick to respond!)
My list of wedding vendors to recommend isn't long, but it's full of real people who I'd trust implicitly to take care of you well on your wedding day. They are a mix of Pittsburgh, PA and Frederick, MD favorites:
Planning & Design: Maddie, https://www.dmvweddingsandevents.com
Venue: Christy, https://valleyviewfarmvenue.com
DJ: Winston, https://www.djwinstont.com
HMU: Kim, https://www.poeticallybrushed.com
Videography: Mara, https://m20media.biz
Custom Sugar Cookies: Caitlin, https://linktr.ee/sweetginkgobakery
Floral Design: Carmen, https://www.wilderoseweddings.com and Christina, https://www.homesteadfloralweddings.com