Mo and Chris have a great love story. They went to high school together in Farmington Hills, MI, they even went to the senior prom together but were always just friends. It wasn’t until they graduated and attended different colleges that Mo and Chris began dating. Fast-forward five years and Mo and Chris celebrated their marriage with an amazing celebration which included their wonderful friends and family—many of whom new them way back when they were just friends in high school. The ceremony was at Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington Hills and the reception was at the ultra hip and very cool Baronette Renaissance in Novi, MI. Sprinkled throughout the day were little details celebrating Mo’s Scottish heritage. Many members at the wedding wore the family tartan and there were even a few kilts in attendance. For good luck Mo wore a six pence in her shoe and as the couple walked up the aisle as husband and life the youngest male guest (who could walk on his own) handed them a horseshoe. And for this superstitious family they considered it very good luck that it ended up being a rainy day (a family tradition actually). Thanks for including me in your special day Mo and Chris, and I am thrilled to share a few favorites from their wedding.

I love this expression on Mo’s face when the priest prayed that she and Chris would have lots of children.

Later Mo’s dad confessed when he met Chris at the end of the aisle he reminded him there were several hunters in the family who felt comfortable with a shotgun.

Chris and Mo wanted to take some shots on the golf course but what do you do on a rainy day when you are in four in heels? Hitch a ride.

I got into wedding and portrait photography because I was a photographer first and foremost and thought I could probably figure out how to run a business. Well, frankly, running a business is a lot harder than I ever imagine and although I want to pull out my hair some days I also find it to be a fun challenge. But to be honest, any success I have had as a business owner is because of the advice and support I have received from other small business owners who have been generous with their support and advice.  I love meeting, talking to and working with other young people who own their own business and who are work hard to create a great product, So I was thrilled when Adam from Retro Duck asked me to shoot some photos for their new custom catalog. Retro Duck is based in East Lansing, MI and is a fabulous vintage and custom t-shirt shop.  I see Adam’s work all over town (from bar crawl t-shirts to kickball teams shirts) and it was such a pleasure working with him. I don’t always highlight the non-wedding/portrait work I do but I think everyone should check out Retro Duck. It would be awesome to give your wedding party custom t-shirts for the bachelor/bachelorette parties or for the wedding day. I can’t wait to order my custom Telltale Photography tote bags!

Here are some shots from the catalog shoot–I really loved seeing the Retro Duck shop which is on Grand River in East Lansing and have included a lot of pics of the work space. And be sure to check out the Retro Duck website.

I was honored that the Sweat/Lawatsch family asked me to take their family portrait. Since the whole family was together for a little reunion they had me meet them in downtown Grand Ledge to take a few formal family shots that included four generations. After those pictures were done we had a little mini lifestyle session with the whole family. And what better way to get everyone relaxed and smiling then to enjoy some good ice cream. This family was a lot of fun to be around and I really enjoyed capturing a few posed portraits as well as some unscripted moments. I really loved watching the relationship this family had with one another. While every family is different and unique (and it certainly changes as families age) there is a beautiful bond between family members that almost all families share which is so wonderful to witness.

So before I start talking about how wonderful Bertrand and Emily’s wedding day was I just want to take a moment to note that this is my 100^th blog post. I waffle between feeling like it should be a lot more and not believing that in the last 18 months since I launched the blog that I have had so many opportunities to share my work. Thanks so everyone who visits the blog and who visit the site regularly. I have big plans to revamp my blog and website this fall and I will keep you updated on all the wonderful changes happening to telltale photography.

But now Emily and Bertrand…

I first met Emily’s lovely mother Jane at a wedding show in Grand Rapids last fall—she told me all about her daughter and how she was planning not one but two weddings, one in France and one in America. In fact, since Emily and Bertrand live in France (while Emily is from the states Bertrand is French) all of our initial communication was via email. But I am so glad that Jane found me at the bridal show, sent my website to her daughter, and that Emily selected me to shoot their wedding even with an ocean between us. Photographing Emily and Bertrand’s (second) wedding was an absolute pleasure. Maybe it is because they are already newlyweds but Emily and Bertrand had an amazing ease and joy all day–the whole day actually felt a bit relaxed (kind of un heard of for a wedding) and full of energy and love. Clearly Emily and Bertrand were thrilled to be celebrating the marriage with their American friends and family and the atmosphere at the reception definitely reflected the love and support everyone had for this couple. Here are a few of my favorite pics from their wedding at the Egypt Valley Country Club which was chock full of beautiful details including some amazing flowers.

My absolute favorite from the day!

At every wedding I look to photograph the moments that reflect the real emotion of the day—you know, the stuff that happens when people put away the public face that they put on and allow themselves to express how they really feel. You know, it’s the laughter, the tears, and the silly stuff we do with out closes friends and family around. It has been my pleasure being invited into that inner circle by my clients to document these moments and to create images that reflect the emotion that occurs in a wedding day in between all the pomp and circumstance of the marriage ritual. While picking out images to blog from Jared and Melissa’s wedding I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky I am that I get to work for such great clients who allow me to tell their stories. Jared and Melissa’s wedding day was definitely not short of emotion and special moments. I knew from the second Melissa’s mother started walking around the salon with cucumbers on her eyes that I was being welcomed into to this special day and that I would be able to capture some really great moments—and I certainly was not wrong. After the beautiful ceremony at the Catholic Community of St. Jude in DeWitt the whole bridal party piled onto a bus to visit a few of the couple’s favorite locations. We hit up Relli’s bar, the Spartan Hall of Fame, and MSU before heading to the Chisholm Hills Golf Course for the reception. The whole day was a blast and filled with tons of energy and joy. Thanks to Melissa and Jared for letting me document their most special day and for letting me photograph all the amazing moments.

Jeana Dee took this great shots of the guys hanging out with a couple of nerf guns before the wedding.

I think this is my favorite from the day–Jared and Melissa left the church while being attacked with streamer poppers, they could barely move but it made for fantastic photos.

I love this shot Jeana-Dee grabbed while we were at the MSU Sparty statue, a great take on a classic shot.

Jared’s brother gave Melissa a squirt bottle so she could train Jared like you do a pet–here he is demonstrating.

I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed getting to know Feyza and Sherif and it was such a pleasure photographing their engagement session.  Since Feyza is an MSU alum we decided to shoot the session around the MSU campus beginning at the horticulture gardens. It is a joy to watch this couple together—they are so loving and considerate of each other and it was wonderful to watch them interact.

One of my favorite parts of my job is getting a glimpse into different people’s lives and learning what makes each person unique and different. During Feyza and Sherif’s e-session they shared with me some of the traditions of Ramadan, which had just started observing. They had just started fasting a few days before and the conversation couldn’t help but drift towards food. I couldn’t believe how patient and good-natured Feyza and Sherif were despite the empty stomachs (I am usually a bear after a few hours without a snack—and by bear I mean raging lunatic who can only think about food!). I am so excited for Feyza and Sherif’s nikah ceremony and reception in September at the Lexington Hotel in Lansing!

I cannot tell you how excited I was to photograph Jerry and Olivia’s wedding. I fell a little in love with this couple when I photographed their engagement session. Maybe it was their adorable puppy Athena or the gorgeous garden Olivia worked so hard on—but I think it was the pool table in their living room that let me know this was going to be a fabulous wedding to photograph. And Olivia and Jerry did not disappoint. The whole day was filled with beautiful little touches and a lot of old school Hollywood glamour. I LOVED Olivia’s birdcage veil which was custom created at Grace Boutique in the Old Town Neighborhood of Lansing. And I adored the champagne and purple color palette of the wedding. But I think was struck me most was the love and emotion of the day and the fabulous friends and family that helps Olivia and Jerry celebrate their most special day.

Jerry surprised Olivia with this gorgeous necklace form Tiffany’s–I love the emotion in Olivia’s eyes, it definitely set the tone for what was a beautiful and emotional day.

I love this moment–Olivia being helped into her dress by her three sisters.

After photographing a fabulous wedding on Friday I got to spend a little time on Saturday exploring my city—Lansing, MI. I have really fallen in love with Lansing and am so excited about how the city and changing. After biking the river trail and checking out the city market my friend Kate and I went to check out a very cool thing happening in the city at the Deluxe Inn. Not far from my house, the Deluxe Inn is a decrepit hotel that has unfortunately become a location for drug deals and prostitution. Recently a developer bought the land with the intention of demoing the hotel and rebuilding on the land. But before they knock down the building they invited thirty graffiti artists to come and transform the building from an eye sore to a public art space. There were some fabulous artists working on the building and a lot of Lansing residents came out to see the work and to encourage this kind of project in Lansing. I hope this project encourages more (permanent) public art projects in the city! To read more about the project check out this Capital Gains article.

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.