Story

Mary & Mark's Trinity Episcopal and Bavarian Inn Wedding in Shepherdstown

An April wedding in my own town: vows and shared hymns at Trinity Episcopal Church, candlelight passed hand to hand through the congregation, and a Bavarian Inn reception that ended in golden light on the lawn above the Potomac.

April 26, 2025

Mark kissing Mary on the cheek in golden evening light on the Bavarian Inn lawn, her flowers in hand and the treed river valley soft behind them

When Mary first wrote to me, she introduced herself and Mark as, in her words, an old couple. Yes old, she added, in case I planned to argue. She was 73. He was 80. She is a therapist, he is a mediator, they both have grown children and full lives, and on April 26, 2025 they were married at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Shepherdstown, then celebrated at the Bavarian Inn on the bluff above the Potomac. I have photographed a lot of weddings. I am not sure I have photographed one happier than this.

This one was also personal: Shepherdstown is my town. The church, the inn, the river below it, this is the mile of the world I live in, and spending a wedding day inside it never stops being a gift.

A gathering at the house

Before the church there was a party at the house, and it was pure spring: tables set by the pool in blues and teals, flowers on every surface, a painted garden bird pressed into service as a ring dish, and the dog working the crowd in a towel coat. Somewhere in the middle of it the two of them slipped away for a few quiet photographs, then came right back.

Round tables in blue and teal linens set around a stone pool with navy umbrellas, an arrangement of pink roses and blue delphinium in a blue and white vase in the foreground — Blue on blue, out by the water.

Close view of an arrangement of pink roses, a yellow ranunculus, blue delphinium, white hydrangea, and baby's breath in a blue and white vase — Every color spring had to offer.

Both wedding bands resting on the yellow painted sunflower tray of a brightly painted folk-art bird sculpture in the garden — Two rings, parked on a painted bird.

Two gold wedding bands resting in a cluster of pale pink cherry blossoms held in Mary's hand — And again, in the blossoms.

Guests gathered at a table by the pool under navy umbrellas, a fire pit and bright yellow and teal chairs around them, woods rising behind — The afternoon, settling in around the pool.

A guest in a bright pink dress leaning down to wrap her arms around a laughing older man in a striped sweater at the poolside table — Held on to, mid laugh.

A yellow lab in a bright blue towel coat standing on the flagstones while a guest rubs his back — The best dressed guest of the afternoon.

Mary and Mark sitting close together on a garden bench in front of a yellow house, her hand resting on his chest as they look at each other — A bench, and a look that needed no words.

Mary and Mark walking down the lane hand in hand with a yellow lab on a leash between them — The three of them, out for a walk.

A large group of family and friends packed onto the front steps of the yellow house, arms in the air, everyone cheering at the camera — Everyone who came early, on the steps.

Vows at Trinity Episcopal

Trinity's sign says founded 1747, and the stone walls, red doors, and stained glass wear those years well. Mary and Mark walked the aisle together, side by side, which after this many years of living felt exactly right. They sang the hymns from a shared sheet. When the vows were done, Mark raised a fist at the chancel like a man who had just won something, because he had.

The stone front of Trinity Episcopal Church in Shepherdstown with its red doors open, the parish sign reading Founded 1747 as guests arrive — Trinity, its red doors open for the day.

Black and white portrait of Mark laughing in his tuxedo and bow tie before the ceremony — Mark, ready, more or less composed.

The nave of Trinity Episcopal Church filled with seated guests, sunlight through stained glass and Easter lilies at the chancel — The nave, filling with their people.

White Easter lilies banked along the chancel rail of Trinity Episcopal Church in soft window light — Lilies along the rail.

Mary in her pale blue dress and Mark in his tuxedo walking up the red-carpeted aisle side by side, smiling at their guests — Up the aisle, side by side.

Mary and Mark facing each other at the chancel, vows in hand, the unity candle waiting on the table beside them — The vows, held in both hands.

Mary and Mark singing together from a shared hymn sheet at the front of the church — One hymn sheet between them.

Mark raising a fist in celebration at the chancel as Mary laughs beside him and the priest smiles — A verdict from the groom.

Candlelight, passed hand to hand

Near the end of the ceremony, the couple lit candles, and then the light went out into the pews, passed from guest to guest until the whole church held it. It is one of the loveliest things I have seen inside a ceremony, and it photographed the way it felt.

Mary and Mark holding lit taper candles and each other's hands at the chancel — The first two flames.

Guests in the pews leaning toward one another to pass a candle flame down the row — The light, moving through the pews.

Mary and Mark coming back down the aisle married, his fist raised high while guests beam from the pews — Married, and not quiet about it.

Mary and Mark waving from the red arched doorway of the church tower — A wave from the red door.

Guests gathered around Mary and Mark at the church doors, everyone cheering with hands raised — The whole congregation, in one frame.

The Bavarian Inn, and the light above the river

The reception waited a few minutes up the road at the Bavarian Inn, where a welcome sign carried their names and the staff set glasses in dirndls. There were toasts, there was cake, and then the evening did what Shepherdstown evenings do: it turned gold, and we stepped out onto the lawn above the Potomac.

A welcome sign at the Bavarian Inn reading Welcome to our wedding, Mark and Mary, April 26, 2025, beside the glass-walled reception room — Their names at the door.

A Bavarian Inn server in a traditional dirndl setting rows of wine glasses in the bright reception room — The Bavarian Inn, in full character.

A long low arrangement of pink and cream roses, ranunculus, purple mums, and ferns running down the center of the couple's wooden table by the window — Their table, under a garden of its own.

Mary and Mark laughing and raising glasses at their table during the toasts — Glasses up.

Mary and Mark cutting their wedding cake together in front of a large gilt mirror — Four hands on the knife.

Mary laughing as Mark offers her the first bite of wedding cake — The first bite, delivered with ceremony.

Mary and Mark standing together in golden evening light on the Bavarian Inn lawn, the Potomac valley soft behind them — Golden hour above the Potomac.

Mary and Mark surrounded by family in jewel-toned dresses and dark suits on the Bavarian Inn lawn, the treed valley glowing gold behind them — Their people, in every color, in the last good light.

A row of guests on the Bavarian Inn lawn waving and laughing in the golden evening light — Their people, lit the same way.

Mary with her arm around Mark by the window at the Bavarian Inn as he gives a thumbs up, both laughing — The review, straight from the groom.

Planning a Shepherdstown wedding?

I live here, I photograph at the Bavarian Inn and in the streets of town all year, and I will be watching that lawn all evening for the moment it turns. Start with the Shepherdstown wedding photography page, or check your date. And no, you are never too old, or too anything, for a wedding this good.