I thought this was cute…they were trying to make a heart with their arms. If you can’t tell by the look on Jay’s face this was Tami’s idea!

On the walk back across the road to the car I spotted this big open field which I thought was nice…

The next place we had on the list was Washington Memorial Chapel on the other end of the park. Thank goodness for the map because it was definitely needed to navigate our way over there.

After the chapel we decided to just wander around and see what else we could find.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures from the shoot…

Tami & Jay are the most adorable couple ever! Both are very laid back and so much fun to be around. I ironically enough just returned from their wedding a few hours ago and am very excited to start editing the photos from it. Check back soon for those.

I think these two photos are my favorite from the shoot! I just told them to have fun and play around in the bumper cars and this was Michele’s reaction! I guess we know who the better driver is between these two!

While the bar was cute we wanted to head out and walk around Old City to get some nice outdoor pictures. I love the feel of all the brick and bright colors in this part of the city.

And of course no trip to Old City would be complete without a walk down Elfreth’s Alley the oldest residential street in the United States.

Just down the street was Franklin’s Court where you can see down through windows into what used to be Ben Franklin’s home below street level. It doesn’t look like much besides some dirt, broken up concrete but it was still cool. I loved this archway that takes you from the street into the courtyard area.

This is why I love my clients…I tell them to relax and be less stiff and this is what I get…

I think everyone was starting to get worn out at this point but I just loved the door way on the steps of the First National Bank.

And last but not least they wanted some pictures with the Ben Franklin Bridge in the background so we headed up to the walkway on Chestnut street which overlooks the Delaware River. We weren’t counting on the entire city including every news station being there though for the start of the Welcome America Celebration for the 4th of July. Oops! We managed to find one small opening among street vendors and tons of families who were crammed in to get this shot.

I look forward to working with both of them again in early October when they come back to the area for their wedding.

If you are unfamiliar with Henry Mercer, he was a historian and archeologist who was alive in the mid 1800’s to early 1900’s. He collected and preserved items that were used in daily life prior to the industrial revolution that became extinct with the new machines and technologies. He collected almost 30,000 items for which he built a 6 story castle to store them in now known as the Mercer Museum. If you live in the area it is an awesome museum and well worth checking out.

Fonthill, Mercer’s home, is a very unique building unlike anything you see today. It is covered in oddly shaped windows and unusual arches making it a very artistic backdrop for a photo shoot.

First we headed down to a small area in the lawn where there was a concrete pond and some trails leading into the woods.

After that we headed back up to the building to do some exploring.

Next we decided to venture down the trails to see what we could find. There was another house way back in the woods that had some beautiful tiles and sayings on it that appeared to have been a guest house. Unfortunately it has been destroyed by kids with spray paint and is full of broken windows. Normally something like this would make a cool back drop but we decided to keep walking due to the massive amount of broken glass on the ground. Flip flips + Dirty Broken Glass = Bad idea! Back into the trails it was to head towards the Tile Works.

Here you can see a very small sampling of the tiles that can be found in the buildings all over the property.

Last but not least we stopped by the Tile Works to do some photos in the archways that surround the courtyard of the building.

I had a great time with Tracey & Drew and can’t wait for their wedding next May at the Holly Hedge Estate.