We talk a lot here about how weddings are supposed to be fun (because pretty is not an emotion, no matter what Pinterest tells you). But you know what vendor doesn’t always get the memo? Wedding photographers. There’s a lot of magazine editorial-inspired poses and staring faux-meaningfully into each other’s eyes in modern wedding photography, which is… not for everyone. So when Baltimore-Washington, DC-area-based Devon Rowland slid into my DMs a few months ago (for real, we’re IG friends), I was like…oooh, this one gets it. She clearly understands that wedding photography should be about capturing you living your best life, nothing faux needed. And her rates also start at just $2,500 (scroll on for details on that), so getting wedding photos like this:
And this:
Doesn’t have to be an out-of-budget experience.
Devon and APW couples actually go way back, after a bride she worked with in the yesteryear of 2014 got Devon hooked:
As someone who works with a lot of non-traditional couples, folks who want to do their wedding their way whether that means a swing dance jam circle for their first dance, fire performances after dark, or a full Catholic ceremony with reception at their childhood home, A Practical Wedding really resonated with me by showcasing the kind of weddings I was serving and not the straight-laced, cookie-cutter ones that everyone thinks are the standard.
In my opinion, a wedding day is about celebrating the couple and what makes them who they are as individuals and as a pair. APW couples are smart, creative folk who make their wedding their own in a way that is fun and unique. As a photographer, I specialize in capturing those unique personalities and documenting the day in a way that is true to the event and the people who planned it (e.g. YOU). APW does an incredible job of highlighting, celebrating, and reveling in those kinds of unique people and their weddings, and I am so glad it’s a part of the wedding industry I know and love!
When I first scrolled through her portfolio, I couldn’t help but think, wow, Devon Rowland’s clients are COOL. Because, uh, have you seen them? But really, it’s more that Devon is the kind of photographer who can make anyone look and feel like a cool kid by being super big-hearted and supportive of all the things that made her couples unique. (Because duh, we all are in some way.) And she is the kind of person who gets how her couples are an eclectic mix of influence/hobbies/life history/blood family/chosen family living their best lives (from cool hair and adorable pups to glamorous nerds), because she is too. Born in Wisconsin, raised in Europe, home in Maryland, college in Maine, Devon loves swing-dancing, traveling, changing her hair a lot, oversharing photos of her cat, and even gruelingly long days of photography:
I knew I needed to be doing photography as a career after spending ten weeks photographing plebe summer 2011 at the United States Naval Academy. I had a camera in my hands for at least 60 hours a week and took 80,000 photos, and when the school year started and the job ended, I found I still wanted to get up at 4am to go spend 8-12 hours photographing. From there I focused on family and newborn photography, slowly adding more and more weddings. By 2016 I’d shifted into full-on wedding photographer, and here I am!
And where that is is making clients really, really, really happy, like Emily here:
Devon gave us exactly what we wanted—fun, happy wedding photos! One thing we both knew—we didn’t want to spend our wedding day in awkward, unnatural poses and she made sure we didn’t! She gave us the few poses we needed and the rest were happy, smiling guests and bride and groom, tons of candids, and plenty of shots of our gorgeous venue. I was shocked at how many photos she got of us and our guests laughing. Either we had the most funny wedding of all time, or she did an excellent job of capturing the joy of the day.
I’m guessing it’s the latter, because the magic of Devon’s work is her ability to capture the full gamut of feels on the day—silly and romantic, emotional and hilarious:
Devon serves Washington D.C., all of Maryland, and northern Virginia. She also travels, like she did for this Oakland couple who got married under the Redwoods. Wedding rates start at $2,500 for five hours of coverage. This package is available within 6 months of your wedding date only, so if you’re the kind of person who’s planning your smallish wedding in less than 6 months, Devon is your golden wedding photography ticket. (2019 is nearly booked up so don’t procrastinating reaching out. Devon has just a handful of dates available, particularly later in the fall.)
Other packages include 8 hours or more of coverage and are always customizable to include exactly what you need, like engagement sessions and/or second shooters, and none of what you don’t.
PLUS! Everyone who mentions this post gets 10% off their booking until the end of 2019.
So what are you waiting for? (Especially if you’re getting married in the next six months and looking for an affordable DC-area photographer!) Check out more of Devon’s work (and yes, there is more of that sequined dress and pink hair right here), follow her on Instagram, and reach out to find out if she’s the right photographer for you right here.
DEVON ROWLAND IS OFFERING 10% OFF ALL PACKAGES BOOKED BY APW READERS BY THE END OF 2019—CLICK HERE TO GET IN TOUCH!
