As I was working on the images from Andrea and Phil’s wedding I couldn’t help but think how cool it was that I got to hang out with them multiple times the week of their wedding. Because I got to photograph their engagement session only a few days before their wedding celebration I felt like I got to know Phil and Andrea really well last week and to experience this great couple in two distinct settings—first in a quite intimate way during their e-session and then again surrounded by the buzz and energy of their amazing friends and family in Delton, MI. The day started out with everyone getting ready at the Baypoint Inn on Gun Lake. Although it was extremely hot but everyone was in good spirits (helped in large part by the mason jars filled with drinks the groomsmen carried around throughout the day). From Gun Lake we headed to Delton, MI where Phil and Andrea got married at a family cottage that was built over a hundred years ago. The cottage was amazing as were all of the details that Andrea and Phil incorporated into their most special day. Even though Andrea planned the wedding from California she clearly put a ton of energy, thought, and love into all of the details and unique aspects of the day. I loved the candy bar and the homemade jam that each guest received. Thanks again Andrea and Phil for asking me to photograph your wedding!

Throughout the day there were lots of tears of joy–I love this moment when Andrea’s dad saw her for the first time.

Andrea (with the help of friends and family) brought together all the details of the wedding including wild flowers, homemade jam, and paper cut birds. But what I loved the best was the juxtaposition between the wedding details and the casual colorful style of cottage living–like the towels on the next door neighbor’s clothes line.

I love the contradiction in this image–the tie on the head screams party animal, but cleaning up after a minor party foul is the sign of a good and conscientious guest…

I first spoke with Andrea nearly a year ago and she told me all about her fabulous Michigan wedding—the fabulous Michigan wedding that she was planning on from Orange County, California. And while Andrea and I hit it off on the phone and via email we didn’t actually get to meet until this past week. So while it may be a bit unusual that I shot Andrea and Phil’s e-session only a few days before their cottage wedding, after communicating long distance for the last 12 months I was thrilled that Andrea and Phil opted to take time from their busy week for an engagement session. Andrea and Phil were a joy to photograph and they were so relaxed and joyful even while dealing with a hundred last minute wedding duties (they actually said it was nice to have some alone time with how crazy the week has been, well, alone time plus me, ha ha). So for these Californians we explored MSU’s horticulture gardens and some of OSU’s agricultural fields and I did my best to bring the beautiful California light to Michigan.

From the second I arrived in Cheboygan, MI I knew this wedding was going to be special. The air was balmy and the sky bright blue as we drove around northern Michigan—it was the kind of day when you wonderful why everyone doesn’t live in Michigan and I knew it was going to be the perfect weekend for a wedding. Niccole and Steven have been together for eight years and have weathered both college in Ohio and graduate school in Michigan together and have a wonderful ease with each other that comes from being with your best friend for years. It was amazing being a part of wedding celebration and I was thrilled that they asked me photograph their rehearsal dinner as well as the wedding. By the end of the weekend I felt like an honorary member of the family and was privileged to meet all of Niccole and Steven’s family and friends. After meeting and being warmly welcomed by the family it was so obvious why Niccole and Steve decided to get married at Steven’s family cottage overlooking Mullet Lake. Not only was the setting beautiful but the cottage gave a comfortable yet festive atmosphere to the event which was really unique and memorable. Here are just a few of my favorites from the weekend.

First, a few pictures from the rehearsal dinner:

Love the picture on the back of this home brew kit Steven’s brother received for being a part of the wedding party.

Aprons for the two fathers who would be manning the grill at the reception.

The wedding stated with an early morning trip to the salon in Petoskey.

My favorite moment from the day was when Niccole’s father saw her for the first time.

Bustling a dress takes some serious commitment.

I love this detail of Niccole and her mom cutting the wedding cake. Niccole made her own cake and yes, it was delicious!

Love this moment between Steven and his mother.

It had been several months since Cory and I had seen our nephew John, so late spring we headed down to Ohio to spend the weekend with Cory’s sister Andrea, her husband Rich and their beautiful son John Richard. I couldn’t believe how much older John seemed—he is incredibly mobile and has even begun talking (I know a lot of what he said was mumbles and gibberish, but I swore we had whole conversations together and we understood each other perfectly). But what I wasn’t prepared for was how busy John is. John is always on the go and doesn’t sit still for more than a couple minutes at a time. So while we were in Ohio I set out to document John in all his glory—banging pots and pains, running down the side walk, and his favorite activity of the weekend, brushing his teeth. Here are a few of my favorites from the weekend.

It is rare to be able to photograph the weddings of two sisters from the same family in the same year—but it is even more unique when both of your sisters are your cousins. I felt so lucky to be photographing in Holland again this time for the wedding of my cousin Bethany and her new husband Justin. It was a great day and the wedding was filled with little bits and pieces that represent them as individuals and as a couple. Bethany created The Blog of Unnecessary Quotation Marks, which was just been published as a book (you should definitely preorder a copy “here”) so all of the table numbers had rather unnecessary quotation marks. There were also lots of maps throughout the day that Justin carefully selected—the perfect detail for a geological mapmaker and a couple that has done a lot of traveling between Michigan and Georgia to make their long distance relationship work. But what really sticks with me from their wedding is how much I really loved photographing Justin and Bethany together—even though we always had people around us (there is never any privacy on the wedding day) Bethany and Justin would look at each other and interact like there was no one else there. The way these two are together is really special and I am honored I got to photograph their wedding celebration.

To answer Justin’s question, while I CAN do this awesome photo effect no I will NOT do it with your wedding photos.

I love this pic of Justin and Micah waking up Bethany’s brother Bryan–and yes, the clock does say 12:01.

Both Bethany and Justin are changing their last names–this is the moment when Bethany found out Justin hadn’t practiced signing his new name and had to sign it for the first time on the marriage license.

Love a caffeine run between the ceremony and reception.

Favorite pic of the day. How many couples get Rick Rolled at their wedding reception?

My sister was really pushing me to blog these photos faster (patience is not a virtue in my family) . So, here she is dancing at the reception…

I have been talking about Suzanne and Andy’s wedding since I had the pleasure of photographing it (when you shoot a really great wedding you can’t help but share some of the details). Although the forecast called for rain the skies were blue and cloud free—however, we were met with unbelievable humidity and heat. But Andy, Suzanne and their wonderful families and friends barely complained about the heat (okay, a little complaining, but I am talking furnace level heat here) and just seemed excited for their most special day. And while it was a beautiful wedding at a superb location (love the MSU horticulture gardens) with beautiful flowers and great good from the Wrought Iron Grill it was the emotion that made this day special. Well, the emotion and of course the dogs. The whole bridal party clearly loves and supports this couple. When Andy had a handmade card delivered to Suzanne it had all of the bridesmaids in tears. But in my opinion the best part of the day was the ceremony. Andy surprised Suzanne by having their dog Bear run down the aisle and deliver the rings. It was amazing and was a complete shock to everyone there. It was really wonderful to witness and I am so thrilled and honored I got to be part of Andy and Suzanne’s wedding celebration.

The bridal party called this pose “Dragon” and did it throughout the day–it killed me every time.

As a handkerchief Suzanne carried some fabric that she wore as a bonnet when she was a baby.

Suzanne’s sister Katherine was so expressive throughout the day –from huge smiles to lots of tears. Suzanne gave her some liquid courage to prepare her for her Maid of Honor toast.

I had a blast photographing Judd and Caryn’s e-session. I have ALWAYS wanted to shoot a session at a museum and when Caryn and Judd wanted to shoot at the Detroit Institute of Art I was SO excited. I love museums and the Detroit Institute of Art has a great collection in an absolutely phenomenal building. And since Caryn is studying to be an art historian the museum was a natural fit for this couple. We had a good time exploring everything from Greek artifacts to modern paintings and even got to take a few photos in between. I also had a wonderful time getting to know Judd and Caryn better on our drive to and from the DIA—I learned a lot about this great couple and a few things about Detroit style Coney Dogs too. Thanks for spending the day with me Judd and Caryn!

It was such a pleasure to photograph Kristin and Matt’s wedding. Throughout the day I could not get over how much love you could feel—not just the love between Matt and Kristin, but the amazing love and support that they received from their wonderful friends and family. All day long Kristin and Matt were surrounding by people who clearly thought the world of them and it made the whole day a unique celebration not only of this special couple but also of all the relationships in their lives. The day started at the beautiful Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, MI where Matt’s grandfather performed the ceremony. The party them continued at Aquinas College where the reception was filled with toasts, speeches, and even some serenading of the couple (complete with custom lyrics which we were told is traditional in Canada where Kristin is from). It really was a great wedding and I think the images capture the love and emotion of this most special day.

I have been eagerly awaiting Kristy and Josh’s wedding since I shot their engagement session last December. Kristy is just stunning (and about as sweet a bride as you could ask for) and I knew she would look absolutely gorgeous on her wedding day. And Josh is very funny and definitely brought some humor to what can sometimes feel like an officious day (and I think he looked very dapper). Kristy and Josh’s wedding ceremony was at the beautiful Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, MI. After the ceremony the whole bridal party walked (yes walked) from Fountain Street Church to the Amway Grand Plaza for the reception. The weather was beautiful and I thought the walk provided for such a nice moment in the business of the day.  I was blown away by all the details throughout their wedding day and thought the tablescapes at the Amway Grand were stunning.  It was great working with Jennie who was the day of coordinator from BellaJoy Weddings and Events and I was blown away by the floral arrangements by Shelly’s Designs.

I had such a good time photographing Jen and Pete last week. I have known Pete for a little while now (he is my husband’s cousin), but I couldn’t wait to meet Jen after lots of emails and even a brief and ill-fated skype date. Jen is phenomenal and it was immediately clear that she is definitely a great match for Pete. Jen and Pete drove up from Peoria, Illinois for the session and let me pick out some of my favorite locations in Lansing. So after a little scouting I found some fabulous new Lansing locales. However, the highlight of the session was definitely our stop at the Lansing Lugnuts stadium. Pete is a huge baseball fan (as you can see from his Cardinals jersey) and even played in college so on a whim we decided to take a chance and see if we couldn’t shoot at the stadium. It must have been our lucky day because we got into the stadium and the rain that we forecasted stayed away all afternoon. Check out a few of my favorites from the session (and thanks again to the Lansing Lugnuts for being so accommodating!).