Reza & Dawn's Dearborn Inn Wedding!

Okay, so after going on and on about the fantastic weather Pam and Dan got last weekend, somehow Dawn & Reza managed to top that and in the middle of November, none the less! The florist arrived and was lamenting the fact it was too bad they couldn’t move their Dearborn Inn wedding outdoors to the gazebo. I pointed out that the wedding wasn’t until 6:00 and it would be pitch black by then, so even though it was a balmy 70 degrees, I didn’t think anyone would enjoy the wedding as much! This was a fun wedding for me. I’d met Dawn at a wedding she stood up in a few months back. It’s always a treat to work with someone who know what to expect from me and knows they’re in safe hands. There’s a mutual respect right off the bat. Our only hitch was that I wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous day and wanted to take some photos of Dawn and the girls outside before it got too dark. We would have been fine light wise except getting make up on took about 45 minutes. This is pretty typical, it’s just that neither of us had put that into the schedule! So with light fading very fast and Dawn starting her internal countdown, we headed outside for some very quick photos. Dawn could’ve knocked me over with a feather when she asked if she and the girls could do a jumping shot! And so we did... pregnant bridesmaid and all! I headed off to find the too long ignored groom, Reza (his brother was sleeping in the room Reza was supposed to get ready in, so we decided to let the very jet lagged best man get some z’s instead of intruding for photos). By the time I got back to the bridal suite, it was time to walk down the aisle. A last minute panic had everybody rushing out the door. It wasn’t until after the ceremony started that I wondered why on earth both sides of the wedding party were so darn chatty DURING the ceremony. Lots of whispering, gesturing, giggles. Had no clue what was going on. Then I see the very last groomsman passing something down the line of groomsmen towards the best man... each of them smiling very broadly. Once the ring exchange started, I saw Dawn’s shoulders heaving. Her veil obstructed a good view of her face. I thought she was sobbing. Nope, turns out she was laughing uncontrollably! Seems their rings had been left back at the suite. The officiant pulled off her ring and the furthest groomsman had donated his ring to Reza for the ceremony. The officiant’s ring didn’t fit Dawn at all. It was funny that everybody who was standing up knew what was going on, but none of us watching could figure out just what exactly was wrong! The reception went really smoothly. Skye ran the photobooth with the full backdrop and props. Everybody had a great time. If you'd like to see more photos from Dawn & Reza's Dearborn Inn wedding and reception, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Pam & Dan's Grosse Pointe Wedding

Pam and Dan must be the luckiest people on the face of the earth. 67 degrees in early November? Are you kidding?! Talk about well connected! I skated in 30 minutes ahead of the ceremony (1 and 2 o’clock ceremonies often face a wee bit of a time crunch for my 8 hours of coverage) in Grosse Pointe at the Star of the Sea church (always makes me think they mean tuna fish... sheesh, advertising!). This is the first time I’d worked with Kate McClellan from Purple Clover (http://www.purpleclover.net) who coordinated the event. She’s great, very easy to work with and has the signature of a truly good planner... I never noticed she was there! We were lucky enough to be able to spend as much time as we wanted outdoors (until the sun went down!) before heading into the Grosse Pointe War Memorial for the reception. We'd been able to take wedding photos at a Grosse Pointe park, then on the Grosse Point War Memorial's beautiful grounds as well. I had the rare opportunity to get all of my editing done and the slideshow up and running before the guests started arriving. I’m so used to being the last person to get there, this was a real treat! DJing was Sara Gharacheh from Platinum Mix (http://www.platinummix.com), who always seems to know the latest crowd pleasers and is, as always, so easy to work with. Here’s a quick heads up for any couple actually reading the blog.... I’ve noticed this year couples have started to combine their dances. Probably it stems from them not wanting to be the center of attention for so long, or feeling they’re interrupting their guests attention for too long or something along those lines. Here’s a word of advice; the only song you should consider doubling up on is the mother/son and father/daughter dance. You may not realize this, but sometimes the dances are tricky for photographers. You’re moving, the lighting is dim and nobody’s been out there yet, so I’m dinking with the lighting to see where shadows fall, etc, the entire time you’re dancing. I’m also waiting for you to rotate (which some couples don’t do!), or eventually if I’m not getting the angle I like, I’ll have to scoot into a new position. If you share your first dance with your bridal party (which is what Pam and Dan chose to do, unbeknownst to me), I got about a whopping 60 seconds to get their photos done. Unless you choose an extremely long song, somebody’s going to get cheated big time and I really don’t want to do that! So if you do opt to double up on some of the songs, pick nice and long ones to ensure I can cover all my bases! If you'd like to see some more fun photos from Dan & Pam's Grosse Pointe wedding (including some really fun windy veil shots!), please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.