It only took me 38 years to finally go away to a sleep away Summer Camp, and this time it was for a wedding! Jamie and Sam pulled off what might be one of the most adorable, unique, and smart wedding themes I have ever witnessed and I have seen a lot in the past 17 of shooting weddings! Jamie and Sam have a ton of nieces, nephews, and cousins and also some VERY competitive and extremely sporty family members, so it only made sense to host a ton of adults and their kids at a sleep away camp together in cabins and have them all compete against each other in “Color Wars” AKA, tug of war, soccer, sack races, ropes course, archery and more! And this was ALL on the wedding day! The rest of the weekend was for BBQ’s, bonfires and s’mores, ghost stories, swimming, and oh, yeah, a gorgeous wedding ceremony and reception! Seriously, Jamie and Sam were the perfect couple to pull this off seamlessly. They are the only couple I know that could sweat it out playing tug of war in the heat, and then be ready an hour later for their first look and formal romantic photos!
Camp Puhtok is such a hidden gem. I grew up in the Northern Virginia DC area and you would never realize a place like this is so close to DC and Baltimore. Nestled in a tiny one-street town off the freeway, you find yourself deep in the woods and feeling like you have been transported to another place once you get there. There is a secret glen with a gazebo that you have to hike through the woods to get to and that was where they chose to do their romantic photos. I loved the entire process of shooting this weekend. Part of the whole experience was the serenity of walking through the woods, being around family (which the Spitzers are like my associate family now:) and just celebrating love. There really is nothing else you have to do to have a beautiful wedding. Everything else is just “stuff” and I think these two got it right!
Congratulations you two! Thank you for sharing your love, family, and such an incredible weekend with me! Here is a sneak peek of the crazy shenanigans we all got into.