Thomas Wolfe's famous title notwithstanding, you can go home again, especially if that home happens to be Evermay in Georgetown. I have several weddings lined up this year at Evermay, the gorgeous Belin homestead, including the two I just photographed these past weekends. And next week, after a Passover break, I'll be back again.

I love Evermay and a lot of it has to do with its rich history. I wrote about this last fall, and even though we have a new home for The Dark Slide, you can still find the post here, at the old site. (A technical note, since some of you have asked: the photos at the old blog site aren't active, as they're competing to "find" the same domain called mattmendelsohn.net. Someday, if we have time, we'll manually re-upload them. But the text is all still there, dating back a couple of years.)

A lot of historic mansions and homes have found new life as event venues, though many tend to sweep the history under the rug. I love Meridian House, with it's magnificent linden trees, but I have to admit it's hard to ever get a feel for who lived there originally. You have to go down into the lower level, where some photos line the wall, to get that sense. Not at Evermay. The Belin family looms large here, from the photos of them moving in at the beginning of the last century to the great "Yale Man Leaps From Hindenburg" newspaper front page hanging in a display case, and that's how it should be.

First up at Evermay was the marriage of Elizabeth Collins and Marc Van Gestel, both of whom have something I secretly (well, maybe not-so-secretly) covet. Elizabeth a pastry chef who happens to work at the hub of frozen custard in this region, Del Ray's The Dairy Godmother. It's always good to know someone in the chocolate business, don't you think? Better than knowing someone who sells widgets.

And while I'll never turn a way a good frozen custard, it's actually Marc who I might hit up sometime for a favor. You see, Marc's a commercial airline pilot and I, sad to report, am not exactly the world's greatest flier. I do it a lot, I've shot stealth fighters refueling from Sacramento to Plattsburgh, and twice in my life I've jumped from a perfectly good airplane. But none of that takes away my general lack of enthusiasm about flying. (Notice I haven't used the word "fear" here. I'm trying to stay positive.)

So, Marc, don't be surprised if someday I ask you to explain away the 83 things that keep me from truly sitting back and enjoying my flight. I'll forever be in your debt.

Elizabeth and Marc are currently in the Galapagos Islands and Peru and Ecuador, taking in giant turtles and the like. And from what they told me, they're not flying standby, waiting for some jump seat.  For a change, the pilot gets to relax.

(To view a quickie gallery of photos from Elizabeth and Marc's wedding, click here.)

A week after Marc and Elizabeth's wedding I returned to Everymay for the wedding of Amanda Fuchs and Jeremy Miller. Like the couple before them, Amanda and Jeremy lucked into one of the most beautiful days one could ask for. Both weekends started off a bit dicey, weather-wise, only to turn into glorious spring days.

Amanda, Jeremy and I have a lot in common, including restaurants, politics and a love of far-off travel. And I can't overlook their impeccable taste in giving their guests authentic New York black and white cookies as they left. (Remember, it's more cake than cookie. Don't get taken by local impostors.) In fact, right now they're staying in Oia, the tiny tip of Santorini, the same town where I got engaged ten years ago. I don't know if anyone

 keeps a list, but the view at sunset from the top of the steps in Oia has to rank among the top five vistas anywhere in the world. Since I've now been to Greece several times, I wrote Amanda a quick list of things to do while there. (My wife Maya speaks fluent Greek, which I must admit helps a lot in a country where the word for yes is "neh" and the word for no--"ohi"--sounds a lot like "okay." Fair is foul, foul is fair...)

A neat thing happened during the time leading up to Amanda and Jeremy's actual ceremony, and it demonstrates why it's always good to be ready for anything. As I was taking portraits of the bridesmaids and groomsmen in the gardens, Alexandra Kovach, Evermay's director of hospitality, whispered in my ear that Jeremy's father was alone at the piano in the parlor. Since I was occupied at the moment, I sent my assistant Matt Lisack to check it out. Matt returned with a photo that is both simple and stunning.

Too often in wedding photography I see goofy clichés and worn out ideas still making their mark. There are photographers out there who actually think they're being original by asking the groomsmen to don sunglasses and walk like they're in the film Reservoir Dogs. Seems a bit seventh grade to me. What Matt found is a truly honest little moment, something none of us outside, including Jeremy and Amanda, had any clue was happening. This would be a dynamite photograph if it showed a busboy seated at the piano. But the fact that it happens to be the father of the groom makes it priceless.

Two weekends, two couples, one great old house.  And in two weekends from now, when I'm at Evermay for the third time in three weddings, it'll be fun to see what new little things turn up. Maybe it'll be a certain plant that's in bloom that day, or some great light streaming  through the upstairs window, or a moment like the one to the right here. Can't wait.

To see a mini gallery of photos from Amanda and Jeremy's wedding, click here.

p.s. A quick thanks to Kirsten Michels at Capitol Catering for always being so good to us. Nothing against the soggy club sandwich that some other caterers seem to like to give photographers, but, boy,Capitol Catering makes the best beef tenderloin....

In the interest of parity, I'll end this post with another photo from Elizabeth and Marc's wedding. 

Take care, guys.

Matt