Marci Curtis - Wedding Photojournalist

Case of the Mysteriously Fuzzy Blog Photos!

2011-12-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

Hi Gang,

I'm wracking my brain to figure out why all my photos have suddenly and mysteriously all become pixelated and fuzzy looking. They were beautiful last month and the look pretty crummy this month. They really are lovely, large and totally sharp! I'm trying to figure out how to fix the problem and hopefully before too long the images will be restored to their previously beautiful quality. Thanks for bearing with me.

Detroit Golf Club Wedding Reception

2011-10-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

Here are my faves of the day from Melissa & Bob's wedding and reception at the Detroit Golf Club. Loved their playfulness and care for each other. Also loved their band, the Good Gravy Band.

Pick of the Day Snapshots! Greenfield Village Wedding

2011-10-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Greetings, Blog followers! I've fallen hopelessly behind in my blogging as the wedding season and senior shoots are keeping me super busy, so I've decided to start doing really short entries and calling them "Pick of the Day". They may not be representative of the whole day, they probably aren't the couple's favorite shots, but they're fun, different and they're meant to showcase things I love to pick up on during my day. So here they are!

Meghan and Andrew wanted a low key, family oriented wedding they could fly in for, do it their way and enjoy their day at Greenfield Village before their reception. They'd gotten married the week before and were hosting a Greenfield Village wedding reception so all their family and friends could join in their celebration. I've shot 5 or 6 "after weddings" this year.

What NOT to say at the altar!

2011-08-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

I overheard this story from my groom at last week's wedding. He sees his beautiful bride walking down the aisle towards him. She sees him and bursts into tears. The first words out of her mouth when she reaches him? "I can't do this." His heart lurches; his stomach tightens; he breaks out into a spontaneous sweat. He boldly asks for a clarification. Her answer? "I can't cry in front of all these people". So brides... before you stop your husband to be's heart... choose those first few words carefully!

Wedding Day Tips for Michigan Wedding Couples!

2011-07-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here are a few wedding day tips for my Michigan wedding clients! Orange barrel season is in full swing! Drive the route you sent out to all your guests a week or two before the wedding to make sure all the maps and directions you gave your guests still apply. If detours or delays are there, let your guests know. The quickest way to post updates is either through a wedding website, or ask your guests for their e-mail address when you ask them to RSVP. You'll save them and yourself a whole lot of stress!

Also, because we had an unusually wet spring, mosquitoes are extremely abundant and hungry this season, so don't forget your bug spray. Have a couple of heavy duty varieties for your guests if you're planning on having any part of your festivities outdoors - you'll all be more comfortable in the long run.

And lastly... I've seen a big trend this year to switching to table to table receiving lines to greet the guests once the reception starts. Be advised that this usually takes well over an hour to make a circuit of around 10 tables! Often this leaves your guests with not a heck of a lot to do and some will give up and leave as the hour grows late. Instead, consider greeting your guests as they enter the hall for the first half hour of the time you wrote in the invitation. This works especially well if there is a gap between the ceremony and the hall. Once the half hour is over, you're free to start the reception in earnest including a grand entrance. If your guest arrive late, then the onus is on them to seek you out to greet you!

Troy High Seniors are done!

2011-06-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Chris! All of Troy High Michigan seniors are finished with school and ready to head off to college. Now is a great time to get your senior pictures taken in Michigan since our heavy rains are leaving our grass nice and green and the heat waves haven't kicked into high gear yet! So book now before we all get hot!

Latest Wedding Fashion Trends 2011

2011-06-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

There is a new trend out there for the wedding fashionistas and Kate Middleton has nothing to do with it!

I shot two weddings back to back that both featured the bride in a knee length wedding dress. Both brides relished their fun, sassy and easy to wear take on their wedding dresses. I have to say, I love this new trend. I hadn't seen a short wedding dress, well... ever! And to see two in a row seemed like enough for me to share this latest wedding fashion trend with you all.
No worries about dirt, no enlarged posteriors, no need for a bridesmaid to corral the dress. Very cool indeed!

Another trend I'm seeing is brides using their shoes as their primary accessory. This started a few years ago when brides started wearing shoes with accent colors. My bride a few weeks ago choose Jimmy Choo shoes as her only bling and my second bride showed off her fabulous 4 inch heels. Maybe brides have been sporting super fashionable wedding shoes for ages, but this is certainly the first time everyone's been able to see them!

Troy High Senior Photos

2011-05-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Troy High senior Kristin who will be heading to University of Michigan this year! We completed our outdoors shoot just before the clouds let loose.

New to Me Cool Site!

2011-04-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while something will show up in my spam folder that I can actually use! I was contacted by Thumbtack to showcase my business as a Michigan Wedding Photojournalist. The site appears to be an Angie's list for people who don't like to have to sign up in order to access their site. They also review my photo services and appear to be very user friendly (which Craigslist just isn't!). So if any of my former clients want to send in a review, I'd love it!

Ambassador Magazine Spread!

2011-04-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

Isn't this neat?! I love that Ambassador Magazine included Katie and John's story as part of the article featuring my St. John's wedding photography. It's always nice to get some press for myself and for my clients... pretty fancy/schmancy wedding announcement, wouldn't you say?! Congrats to Katie and John!

Masonic Temple Wedding Photos - Nicole and Steven

2011-03-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Baby K at 2 weeks!

2010-12-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

I LOVE shooting babies. Somehow that never sounds quite right! It's always such an incredible pleasure to see my wedding couples a few years later once they start having babies. This couple live a long ways away, so I set up my own studio, turned up the heat to 90 degrees hoping to eventually sleep the newborn... which she never did! She was wonderful... absolutely wonderful. My favorite newborn baby photo from the day is one where she is scrunched up, naked and reflected. If you look carefully, you'll see why she's so peaceful... she's peeing! Enjoy and thanks Amanda & Greg 2006 for sharing your pride and joy!

Lake Orion Backyard Wedding ~ Stephan & Patrick

2010-11-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

Stephan & Patrick lucked out big time with a beautiful day for their outdoors Lake Orion wedding. It had everything I love about backyard weddings; homemade and personal touches, beautifully handcrafted gifts and lots of love! My very favorite thing about weddings that take place in backyards is that it requires a group effort and that group participation means everybody's invested in making it a grand event. The more people who help, the more people seem to love the event they helped create. Stephan & Patrick certainly did more than their fair share of the work that day, but I loved that they were able to relax and enjoy all the love they got back from their friends and family. Hopefully that comes through in all their wedding photos. I loved the jumbo sized fireworks... gotta love what google can come up with! If you'd like to see more wedding photos from Stephan & Patrick's Lake Orion backyard wedding, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Greystone Golf Club Wedding Photos - Kristen & Rob

2010-10-26T09:13:00.001-07:00

Perfect weather, perfectly hilarious ceremony and Greystone Golf Club was the perfect place to host Kristen & Rob's wedding. I hope you can gather from just these few photos how much fun Kristen & Rob had during their wedding at Greystone. If you'd like to see more wedding photos from their outdoor Greystone Golf Club wedding ceremony, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com!

Beth & Alex's White Lake Oaks Wedding

2010-09-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Father, forgive me for I have fallen hopelessly behind in my blogging duties!
This may be the last of my super long wedding postings. I know, I know, I think I said the same thing about a month ago, but I've realized what could I possibly have to show when I get around to updating my wedding website in "off" season if I've already posted everything here?! So Beth and Alex got married in a wonderful methodist church in Clarkston. If any of you are blog stalkers (and I know I do have some!), can you figure out from last year's photos who Beth's cousin is? Hint.... same wedding location and they both used White Lake Oaks for their wedding receptions! I think I have that couple pop up here or on my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com. Can you figure out who they are? I love this church, love the reception hall and love their DJ, Mary Anne Ross from Mary Ann Productions. I don't get to work with her as often as I'd like... she always does a great job. Thanks and congratulations on pulling off a great party Alex & Beth!

What a babe!

2010-09-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

St. Johns Inn - Katie & John

2010-09-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ah... my last installment of the McBride family (insert sniffs and sighs)! I've had SO much fun with this family and if you care to look back to last July to see Shannon & Jesse's wedding and this past April to Katie & Mike's wedding you'll see I've been so blessed to spend a lot of time with this incredible family! Katie got ready at her house, then we headed over to see what John and the boys were up to at St. Johns. The ceremony was in St. John's chapel and their reception was in the Atrium at St. Johns Inn as well. Because this family is huge and fun and slightly crazy, their extended family decided to create their own family dance to "Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night" (is that the real name? I'm not sure!) and filled the entire dance floor with young and old who danced to a fabulously choreographed dance. So cool, so fun and as always with the family... so unique. Love the love they all provide... it's contagious! Kurt from Mike Staff Productions DJd and everybody and I mean EVERYBODY had a blast! To see more wedding photos from this St. Johns Inn wedding, please check out my other site at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Destination Wedding -Chicago with Lindsay & Mike

2010-09-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

The wedding for Lindsay & Mike in Chicago was one I'd looked forward to all year. If you look in my banner of jumping bridal party, you'll find Lindsay in there. She knew as soon as she got engaged that I was going to be her wedding photographer, even if that meant having me come out to Chicago as a destination wedding photographer! Despite sweltering heat, a massive thunderstorm that flooded much of downtown Chicago, the skies cleared up, and we stayed in the shade as much as possible so the 98 degree heat didn't bother us too much and we were able to shoot some amazing photos from their hotel's patio including getting some of the set from Transformers 3 (you can see more of this at my other blog, www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com).We headed into the beautiful, very dark and impossible hot Holy Family Parish Church in Chicago which I was able to light enough so the photos would look like what your eyes see... something that was a great challenge and I was happy with the results! We then headed next door to St. Ignatius where Mike had gone to school for the elegant wedding reception. Good times had by all490

Catherine & Eric's Grosse Pointe Wedding Photos

2010-08-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

If you follow my blog on a regular basis, you might notice that a couple of the photos from the Lochmoor Country club in Grosse Pointe Michigan look very familiar. I try very hard not to repeat myself, but one of my favorite photos from one of my favorite couples last year was way too irresistible to pass up during this shoot. If you look back to last June, look for a very familiar bride to see if you can spot which bride is Catherine's cousin! July this year was a wonderful and unique month for me. I had five couples in a row where I knew them as some of their guests because they were related to or had been in a wedding party I'd shot in the past year or two. There is something so fun and magical going into the day and seeing happy, familiar faces around you. If you're on your toes and do follow my blog, you may be able to spot the brides from previous weddings. Hint for Catherine's cousin... while she didn't get married at the Our Lady of the Sea Catholic church in Grosse Pointe, she did go to a park in Grosse Pointe for photos and we did take full advantage of the grounds of the Lochmoor Club in Grosse Pointe. As you can see, we had wild weather, very dramatic skies and a 15 minute downpour where we all stood under a gazebo singing first rain songs, then sunshine songs.

Catherine's dad reacts as his next oldest daughter catches the bouquet. Nothing like finishing one wedding and having your daughter catch the bouquet. The Vaughns are a fairly large family, so they may be at this a while!!!

Erica's Northville Senior Photos

2010-08-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of Erica's wonderful senior photos!

Scott's Senior Photos

2010-08-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

It's senior photo time!

Katy & Phil - Royal Park Hotel Wedding

2010-08-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

Sneaky grab there, Phil!

Check out these fun wedding photos from Phil & Katy's Royal Park Hotel wedding in Rochester, Michigan. It was a daytime wedding with lots of fun, tons of cute kids and lots of memorable moments. I decided this blog would be about the wedding from the kid's perspective! I'm so hopelessly behind in my blogging, so forgive the brevity! To see more wedding photography from this Royal Park Hotel wedding, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com!

Ear Plugs As Wedding Favors????

2010-08-09T01:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Every year it seems that the music at weddings gets louder and louder and louder. Now granted, I'm usually parked in front of the speakers for several hours during the reception capturing dancing. I'd rather be blasted than have the speakers be in the photos. So I've lost about 20% of my hearing over the years of parking myself in front of deluxe sound systems. So... if I'm going deaf, why does the music seem to keep getting louder?

Several years ago I started wearing quick, easy to put in ear plugs. I can still hear what people are saying perfectly, but it does cut out the harmful levels of sound. Last weekend I lost my beloved plugs and paid the price with ears that are still ringing some 36 hours later. I went online to fine some replacements and was amazed to see they sell them in bulk!

The most common complaint I hear by far at weddings is that 50% of the guests that would like to socialize during the reception and they simply can't. So they head to the lobby, outdoors or give up and go home. They'd like to stay, but noise (even nice noise) at that volume is just plain uncomfortable for a lot of people.

So I started wondering if couples gave out earplugs by the guestbook, in the bathrooms or on the tables as fun giveaways, how many of their guests would not only use and appreciate them, but might actually stay for the party a bit longer!

It's not a reflection on your DJ or their choice in music, it's just that lots of people don't like really, really, REALLY loud music for hours on end!

Waldenwoods Wedding - Matt & Angela

2010-08-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Matt & Angela wanted a nice, simple family wedding and they got that AND a beautiful day to boot! Their wedding and reception were at Waldenwoods near Howell, Michigan. It's on a camp ground, which doesn't do it justice at all. It's got a nice lodge and some nice old estate type buildings and the ceremonies typically take place out next to a lake. The staff at Waldenwoods has gotten better in recent years and now hold back any campers or onlookers so they don't come trotting and gawking through the wedding ceremony site. I loved Angela's 90 something year old grandpa who was confused a bit about the huge birthday party he thought he was attending, but he loved the chocolates on the table and all the fuss everybody made over him! Congratulations, Matt & Angela. For more Walden Woods wedding photos, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Penna's Wedding Reception, Bloomfield Hills Wedding Meagn & Ryan

2010-07-16T07:43:00.001-07:00

Megan and Ryan got married on one of the warmest Saturday's on record, but it didn't rain as it seems to have threatened to do every other Saturday this wedding season! They were married at St. Owen's Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills and we went to the Macomb County office park which has a nice pond, much need shade and not too much competition for wedding photos (there were three couples in total). We then went on to Penna's in Sterling Heights for the wedding reception. Megan hopes to someday be an oncologist and I hope she's super successful in her ventures. Ryan, well, he's a rock star in my eyes... he's got the toughest job in the world working with juveniles who aren't exactly happy to be where they are, if you know what I mean. Best wishes to both of them. If you'd like to see more photos of their silly wedding party (LOVE the playful ones!), please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Kalamazoo Wedding - Leslie & Joe

2010-07-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

Leslie & Joe's Kalamazoo wedding was a blast. My daughter Skye came along to run the photobooth and we were able to get lots of shots all over Kalamazoo and also at their favorite spots on Western University's campus. I'm not sure all their guests and parents knew we'd be leaving for an hour (I hadn't know this myself!), but their downtown Kalamazoo Michigan wedding was a blast. I particularly love the photos taken in the fountain at Western University. This bridal group had lots of fun ideas and were up for anything! LOVED them! If you'd like to see more wedding photography from this Kalamazoo wedding at Western University, please check out my other blog at; www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Greenmead Wedding photos of Bryan & Lindsay

2010-06-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

So the thing that made Lindsay & Bryan's wedding at Livonia's Greenmead completely unique is that they'd been married for about a year before their wedding! They also had no officiant to perform their wedding and did those duties themselves. They also choose the BEST caterer in the world, Zingerman's and they played the entire day by ear. Yeah, let's skip the dancing... hey, wanna go take photos now that our guests have gone? Loved their cool spirit and so happy their initially soggy wedding day ended up being a great day to wedding photography!

Divine Child Wedding, Dearborn Country Club - Nate and Clare

2010-06-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have to blog about yet another stormy wedding! This had surely been the most bizarre and unpredictable weather we've had in many, many years. Clare understandably didn't want to take photos outside since it was raining off and on all day and she didn't want to ruin her dress. When we caught a break in the weather, I took a few photos of Clare and Nate at the Dearborn Country Club, but after dinner I saw the gloomy, doomy, super theatrical clouds rolling in. The difference between the photos of the flower girl and Clare are about twenty minutes apart (that's how long it takes to move brides and grooms from point A to point B in a reception hall!). l loved the dramatic blue. The clouds let loose a few minutes after photos to thoroughly drench the country club, but not us! So if you ever worried about the weather, let the photographer take care of your timing so you can still get cool photos without having to do the worrying yourself. For a few more photos from Clare and Nate's Divine Child wedding in Dearborn, check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Country Club of Detroit ~ Kiera & Alan

2010-05-24T11:15:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I promised to keep my blogs about relevant things so you can use them for tips at your own wedding. Here's today's tip; find out what your church's rules are for your photographer. Some of the pickier ones are sending them out to the photographers ahead of time to give us a head's up... we're the picky people. Christ Church in Grosse Pointe is such a church. Beautiful, old, full of traditional Episcopalian rules. Their services photo rules have been in place for at least 40 years! They e-mailed me their rules which were all written in churchese; all narthex, liturgy, sacristy, etc, etc. I wrote back explaining that I would love a translation into English so I'd understand the rules. They thought I was joking (I wasn't!) and would fill me in once I arrived at the church. Four church ladies later, it became clear I wasn't allowed to set foot past the doors of the church. The choir loft via the lobby... yes. The actual church... no! I asked their priest, Lisa and she said she was fine if I popped in the side door for a different angle (so long as I didn't go in the sanctuary). The old biddies were having none of that despite Lisa's helpfulness. So I watched helplessly as the ceremony proceeded without me. Sure, I got the entrance from above and the kiss, but not a lot of variety or interesting shots. What bothered me most, though, was that Alan and Kiera had been led to believe I would be allowed in the church. Everyone (but the old church biddies) seemed surprised by the news that I couldn't be in the church. Even throughout their rehearsal the night before they were led to believe I could and would be there. So to avoid disappointment, try to find out what exactly the church's rules are and don't assume just because you're a fourth generation parishioner that you'll get special treatment! The Country Club of Detroit is a grand old building that's tough to shoot in to do it justice, but it's elegance and the outside of the building more than make up for any difficulties it has inside... word to the wise... don't rent their "guest suite" for your wedding night... it features rock hard twin beds... not the height of romance! And that's straight from the groom's advice list! For more photos from Kiera and Alan's Country Club of Detroit wedding, please check my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com!

St. Hugo Wedding - Kara & Jim

2010-05-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

So many high school sweethearts this past year... amazing! And we're not talking about couples that are 18, either. These are couple's who've been together all through their college experiences, sometimes separate college experiences and often beyond. And yet, they still end up together through it all. This wedding had it all... high winds, stormy weather, abnormally cold weather, burst of rain and hail (we missed that part!). Didn't phase Kara a bit! I've decided to quit gushing about my brides and grooms during my blogs. Turns out, I like them all and waxing poetic about each and every one of them might get a little boring for everybody reading, so I've decided to impart wedding tips that I see either from the wedding day, or wedding tips I've gathered along the way, or critiques of locations, other vendors (still hate that word), or anything else that might make other people's wedding day's go a little smoother. So other couples take note; Kara & Jim didn't let potentially the nastiest weather I've seen in years bum them out at all. Instead we had the weather work for us and we were rewarded with an extremely rare rainbow that we were able to see the beginning and end of! Their wedding was at St. Hugo's in Bloomfield and their reception was at Paint Creek Country Club. This place is pretty far off the beaten path in the Lake Orion area, but Kara and her family were raving about how wonderful the staff treated them during their wedding reception planning. I'm always pleased to hear when my clients are happy with the flexible service they receive. Too many wedding halls treat their clients like they're doing them some sort of favor by letting them use their facility. Paint Creek let them drop off their stuff a few days beforehand, helped them set up, said "yes" to just about everything they wanted and were extremely gracious throughout the event! If you'd like to see more wedding photos from my St. Hugo wedding and the reception at Paint Creek, please check out my other blog at; www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Detroit Zoo Wedding Photography - Kristen & Mike's Wedding

2010-05-14T12:36:00.001-07:00

Kristen & Mike had another potentially nail biting weather issue, but the rain and freezing temps held off until after their Detroit Zoo wedding. She'd already decided to not try to take wedding photos at the Detroit Zoo, but to stay at the Butterfly Enclosure where their wedding ceremony was held. Just as well, since the weather was definitely NOT cooperating! I just love how go-with-the-flow my wedding couples are. I don't think we've had a decent or seasonally corrected Saturday yet this year and every single one of my couples has shrugged and been happy to get ANY photos outside. Love them and their attitudes. Since nobody can control what's going to happen outside, they just hunker down and have a great time. If you'd like to see more Detroit Zoo wedding photography, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com!

University of Michigan Wedding Photos - Mike & Katie

2010-05-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

Katie & Mike had been meticulously planning their wedding for more than a year and were prepared for every contingency, except perhaps a very, very slow make up artist. Needless to say, all the waiting and planning just made for an even more dramatic entrance by Katie (I thought the theater gang might give her a standing ovation or at least a round of applause!). I was suffering a severe case of whiplash along with two other wedding party members who had all been rear ended in accidents during the week! I loved all the spontaneous goofiness from all the wedding party. I was an interesting mix of theater people, family (whom I knew) and law school folks. They had a blast one upping each other for silliest photos. When they hung Mike off the side of the church, I was laughing so hard, my camera was shaking! Everybody was super sweet about helping me schlep my heavy load to the University of Michigan's League where the wedding reception was going on. Great time had by all! If you want to see more fun photos from Mike and Katie's University of Michigan wedding, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotograher.blogspot.com!

St. John's Inn with Lara & Danny

2010-04-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

Surprise Engagement Pictures!

2010-03-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

I've never done a paparazzi style surprise engagement before.

The groom to be, Herman, wanted to make sure he had plenty of photos of his engagement surprise. The only hitch was that he wanted me to get lots of photos of the two of them together (and the bride to be, Monika, doesn't like having photos taken), without tipping her off that he was going to ask for her hand in marriage. So how does a photographer sneak around in a Casino and try to get photos of a surprise engagement? Not easily! This required a lot of pre planning on Herman's part, a coordinator to sneak up to their hotel room and decorate the place and me to play the part of an incompetent casino photographer. He wanted to surprise her with an engagement ring on her birthday just after midnight. I arrived at the Casino for a check in and security clearance. I was then escorted to the restaurant where they were dining. After the manager came to retrieve me and showed me to their table, I started in with a patter about how I wasn't a real photographer, the real one went home sick three hours ago and they were making me fill in. I kept making photo "mistakes" in order to get as many frames out of the deal as humanly possible. I was prattling on and on, clicking the whole time with "Well, that doesn't look right", and "I don't think that's in focus at all!" type remarks. I'd told Herman I would be playing this role since I didn't want him freaking out that he'd hired a bozo of a photographer!

After going up to their hotel room to get photos of the room and all the decorations Gayle, from Events To Envy had set up, Herman texted me to say he was in the bar. Another security escort dropped me off at the bar where I shot photos of Gayle and her mom as well as Herman and Monika. She's had enough after four frames.

Then I waited and waited and waited. Seems it was harder than Herman thought to get Monika away from the roulette tables! He feigned exhaustion, yawned a lot and suggested they head up to the room. I followed closely behind. He didn't want photos of the actual moment, but wanted me to come in as soon as she'd said yes. The challenging part was getting her to understand why the crummy Casino photographer was now in their room. When he explained he'd hired me, she said, "But she's not a good photographer!". So I guess she did buy it hook, line and sinker. With her sparkly ring and a 1,000 watt smile, we ran around the lobby getting photos since as you might know by now... Casino's are NOT into having photos taken on their premises!

Lindsay & Brian's Embassy Suites Hotel Wedding

2010-03-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

I’d met Lindsay and Brian last summer at Lindsay’s cousin’s wedding. If you look back through my blogs to the end of August, you’ll find Colleen and Adam’s wedding. You’ll notice that there is some overlap in the cast of characters, especially on the dance floor! They got married and had their reception at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Livonia, Michigan. The ceremony took place in the atrium, which is a nice setting for a wedding. The ceremony was scheduled to begin at 5:00 and since it starts getting dark in earnest around 5:10 in Michigan, I started to sweat the light change immediately. It became obvious to me that we were going to start the ceremony in the light and end it in the dark. I’d just purchased a portable power source and was able to press that into service half way through the ceremony since it was getting much, much too dark to get much out of the ceremony using ambient light. So that’s my lesson for today’s wedding photo blog. Have a back up light source in the wings and ready to rock and roll in case the light you were counting on fails you! My favorite DJ, Dan Nichols, from Michigan wedding DJ was there and my daughter Skye ran the photo booth which got so rowdy I thought they might be drowning out the music! Turns out Brian’s family decided to challenge each other to see who could be the LEAST appropriate in the photobooth. I’m posting the G rated photo booth photos here. If you want to see the R rated Michigan photo booth photos, you’ll have to check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.com. Lindsay and Brian own the X rated ones and can probably use them to bribe their relatives for years to come!

2010 Bride's Choice Award Winner!

2010-01-19T14:43:00.001-08:00

Hi Folks! Great news! I just found out I won the 2010 Bride's Choice Award from Wedding Wire. It's based soley on bride's input and their rave reviews, so thank you all my wonderful brides AND grooms for putting my name out there!

White House Wedding Chapel Wedding Photography - Katie & Shane

2010-01-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

I met Shane standing in 11 degree weather waiting for the White House Wedding Chapel in Warren, Michigan to open their doors to the couple. The White House Wedding Chapel runs a very tight schedule and they will NOT let you in their doors even 30 seconds early, so you’ve got a half hour to get the bride and groom in the doors separately along with all the floors. It’s not that it isn’t a very nice place to hold a small wedding service, it’s just the folks that run it, Lavdas, are running it like a business transaction. Getting a bride in the door without seeing her husband to be, getting dressed and ready to walk down the aisle in less than half an hour is a pretty tall order! They also have brides make their grand entrances from on top of the staircase which is a challenge for me since there are exit signs and emergency spot lights right at the top of the stairs as well. Traditional brides and bridesmaids wearing full length gowns have real troubles negotiating stairs, so if you’re planning a wedding here, don’t worry too much about buying into their whole grand entrance thing. More than half your guests won’t be able to see you walking along the balcony because they are underneath it and have an obstructed view.
Now back to Shane and Katie. Anybody who hugs me when they first meet me gets a thumbs up... even if he was perhaps just seeking body warmth after standing outside checking the doors of the White House Wedding Chapel to see if they were open yet! Katie’s mom, dad and sister did just about all of the wedding planning since Katie and Shane live out of state. Katie sobbed happy tears through just about all of the wedding ceremony and we got free entertainment from the little ring bearer dudes who played pretty much non stop throughout the whole service. With sun streaming in through the windows, it went along perfectly with the warmth we were feeling from the atmosphere the couple created.
Afterwards we piled into the limo, which I believe is part of the White House Wedding Chapel package, and headed downtown. What to do on a freezing Michigan wedding day when you’ve got three hours to kill? Well, Katie’s uncle used to work at the Belle Isle Conservatory, so we went there. Turns out it was tolerably warm, nicely decorated, not crowded and it’s free. This Detroit based wedding photographer hadn’t been here and didn’t know this little jewel was out there available to my winter wedding couples who are looking for a nice place to shoot where they won’t freeze to death. So, if you’re looking for a nice Detroit place to shoot wedding photos, go out to Belle Isle. Sure beats freezing to death! And that’s what Katie wanted to do next. Not wanting to subject all her family (who were her wedding party) or the kids to Michigan’s 15 degree below zero temperatures, she did, however, want photos of herself outside. We’re talking about a woman in a strapless wedding gown in Arctic temperatures. So we made a very brief stop at Comerica Park (the tiger has a coat on... no such luck for the bride!) where I tried out my walking together shot with a super busy Comerica Park background. Then we went back to Belle Isle as the sun set for another attempt of the motion picture with Detroit in the background. We were at each of these locations for literally two minutes. No time for redos, or “try this”, or “maybe if we”... these were quickie pit stops and for what we put into them, I’m pretty darn happy! My favorite shot was from inside the limo as we drove over the Belle Isle Bridge you can see Detroit’s skyline out the frosted window of the limo.
We got to the reception where DJ Sean McDonnell from All Night Entertainment kept things moving. He is such a nice, gracious man and he gives his couples wonderful service and experiences. He’s attentive and thorough and very easy to work with. Katie cried through most of her dance with her dad, which was very sweet to capture. I think you can see from all the photos what wonderful parents Shane and Katie will be. They’re expecting their first child in 5 months and I thought it was neat to see how much they enjoyed surrounding themselves with their nieces and nephews all nice long. For more photos from this White House Wedding Chapel wedding, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.com.

Henry Ford Museum Wedding Photos - Mark and Rebecca

2010-01-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a cool optical illusion... are they walking up or down? How Escher is this?

I was welcomed at the Dearborn Hotel door with a hug and oohs and aahs from Rebecca’s wedding party admiring my dress. There is something magical about seeing a group of women all plopped around the hotel room, eating, chatting, fixing and fussing... all while the groom is sitting in wait next door. This wedding was very deja vu for me. The couple the previous weekend had very similar names (Rebecca and Marty), they were getting ready in rooms I’d shot at a month ago and they’d wanted to get married at a location I ended up shooting at over Thanksgiving weekend. So I love how while lots of similarities were there, all the dynamics were different from all the weddings I mentioned. The only similarity is that we once again went outdoors for our group shots and formals. We’re talking about the middle of December in Michigan. Taking winter wedding photos when it’s officially cold is not exactly a picnic. I always try to play it by what the bride wants/can stand! Once Rebecca called uncle, we went in, warmed up and stepped back out for a few shots. We had plenty of time to not only get wedding photos at the Dearborn Inn and use all their quaint, cottage backgrounds, but then had lots of time to head to the Henry Ford Museum for wedding photos before the ceremony began. This is definitely a case where having Rebecca and Mark see each other before hand meant they shared their special moment (with me, of course!) and we were able to take full advantage of their being able to see each other before hand. Did that diminish the emotion of the wedding? Not at all! In fact, this one was a three hanky affair! The ceremony took place in a location they hadn’t quite agreed to.... in front of the Lego castle exhibit. I tried to minimize it as much as possible since Mark thought he should have only have to have giant Lego signs in his wedding photos if Lego duly compensated him! My extra portable light came in handy once again. It’s absolutely essential when shooting large, pretty, poorly lit venues. It was needed for Detroit Institute of Art wedding photos a couple of weeks ago and it was needed again at the Henry Ford Museum as the natural light faded to darkness. By the way, Henry Ford Museum weddings have the best food hands down of any venue I’ve ever worked at. I’ve only shot here a few times, and while I always eat well (gone are the days of rubber chicken and over boiled corn), this place that ostensibly served corn dogs by day, serves the best banquet food by night. Every single guest mentioned the food and stuffed themselves silly as a consequence. So thanks for the extra pounds I gained a few days before x-mas, Rebecca and Mark! If you’d like to see more wedding photos from Mark and Rebecca’s Henry Ford Museum wedding photo album, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Becky & Marty's DIA Wedding Photography!

2009-12-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

Becky and Marty are a wonderful, warm couple who are loved and adored by everybody who meets them.
We took photos (as per special request... I don't think this is something just anybody can do... they were after all,
a magic couple!) at the Detroit Institute of Art. I couldn't find any other DIA wedding photos or any wedding photography
from the Detroit Institute of art on the web at all for that matter! So here are a few of my favorite wedding photos from
their incredible wedding.

Jason & Julie's Royal Park Hotel Wedding

2009-12-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

Here are Julie and Jason seeing each other before their wedding ceremony. They laughed, they cried... they kissed!

This was my favorite "found" moment of the day, although I also loved the photo above!

48 degrees and sunny at the end of November? Are you kidding?! Loved this couple. From having Jason drop his pants within five minutes of meeting me to having Julie actually laughing when I came back upstairs singing, “I saw London, I saw France, I saw Jason’s underpants”, I knew I was in for a great ride on their wedding day. Here’s where I’d like to take the blog... instead of just gushing about my brides and grooms (which I just might not be able to avoid since I do seem to end up really, really loving them), I was hoping to make them a bit more instructional. Sort of a pros and cons of the day. Not to expose things that went wrong during the day (since all of us have had things go a bit cafluey on our wedding day... it’s the nature of the day!), but so that I can share things I’ve experienced so future clients might be able to take away things to make their own wedding planning easier, more informed or at the very least, avoid something that could easily be avoided. Today’s “wedding lesson” is one I only get the honor of seeing only a few times each year. Although most of my wedding clients are pretty independent thinkers and like to put their own unique stamp on their wedding day, most of them still do not want to see each other before they walk down the aisle. I’m talking something like 90% of them, maybe even higher. I don’t think it’s superstition, since most of these couples have chucked out all wedding things that smack of wrought tradition. No, I think they just want the element of surprise... the big reveal. What they don’t know is that it also tends to crank up their stress levels and emotions. And that it’s all avoidable. I’ve seen some of my most calm and blasee brides completely morph as the hour to walk down the aisle gets closer. Think about it ladies.... you’re up at the crack of dawn to get your hair and sometimes even your make up done. Then you have to sit around and kill 6-8 hours until the actual ceremony. The one person who knows you best and will set you back to an even keel is the one person you banished for the day. This is the one day most people stay away from the one person who knows exactly what you’re going through. The one person who can make it all better with a quick smile, a reassuring hug and simple words of encouragement; your best friend. The one you’re going to marry. Some of my favorite life moments have been watching a bride and groom meet in private (with me watching, catpturing it all and trying not to be too stalker like) for the first time once they’re dressed. There are just a myriad of things you can do in that private moment that you simply cannot do when you’re an aisle length apart, things you cannot say once you get to the front of the altar, releases that can’t be expressed in public. I’ve seen more touching, heartfelt and romantic things during these pre wedding meetings than I’ve ever seen at the “big reveal”. Groom who run their hands all over their bride’s beautifully beaded gown, girls who squeal like school girls when their prince charming rounds the corner, grown men who melt into tears of joy when they see their future coming to greet them. It is a moment. A rare and touching moment. They don’t always make the very best photos, but they will undoubtedly serve to bring the couple right back to how they were feeling when they saw each other for the first time. Their reactions are so authentic and over powering, it really is such an honor to be a fly on the wall to witness this truly blessed event.
If you’d like to see what I have to say about lighting candle light wedding services and more photos from this wedding, check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.com.

Reza & Dawn's Dearborn Inn Wedding!

2009-11-29T11:53:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-21T06:51:00.001-08:00

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.

Sam & Dave

2009-10-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

I’d had a lot of contact with Samantha (or Sam as she’s known to just about everyone) before the wedding, yet we’d never actually met! I got there early since it was in Adrian and since I’ve been paranoid about all those orange cones all over the state of Michigan, I gave myself plenty of cushion time. Sam is hilarious. Anything and everything the comes into her mind shows up on her face, so watching her navigate the treacherous waters known as getting into your wedding gown were pretty funny. They also had a ham of a flower girl who seemed quite convinced the day was really about her! Dave was pretty laid back, go with the flow kind of guy. I was pleased I could light the gigantic Adrian College Chapel with my lights bounced off the ceiling. It was a dark day with threatening weather with dark approaching quickly and I was able to make the church look just like what your eye was seeing so you wouldn’t miss any of the details. The reception was just down the square at what is probably usually called Adrian College’s student union, but had a fancy, shmancy name instead. Nice DJ, good food, loved the individual cakes at each table and everybody who wanted to got to dance. Sam wanted a sparkler send off, so they left while there were still guests and that effectively ended the celebration. If you'd like to see more fun images from Sam and Dave's Adrian College wedding, please go to my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Sarah & Jeff

2009-10-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

Great, fun couple. Full of lots of artistic energy and they made just about all of their own details. Jeff is an artist and had lots of ideas to personalize their entire wedding day. They pretty much kept the traditions they liked, chucked out a bunch and made some new ones up (like break dancing at the wedding reception!). This is the kind of couple that everybody who comes in contact with them feels like they’re one of their close friends after about two minutes! I loved the wooden squirrel cake toppers he made along with fantastic save the date cards (which I posted a few months back) and invitations. Everything about this wedding was theirs alone and I got to cover the wedding along with about a dozen other photographers which made for a very familiar feeling for me. It was just like the good old days of covering presidential candidates for the Associated Press back in New Hampshire. The more the merrier, I always say! Thanks for a great day! If you'd like to see more of my favorite images, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Bridget & Brian's White House Chapel & Andiamo's Wedding

2009-10-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Both Bridget and Brian share an affinity for details. I've never seen so many useful ziplock baggies with ALL the essentials in it! The White House Wedding Chapel runs a tight ship... you can't come in a second before you're supposed to and you start getting the "you need to leave now" about 5 minutes before you need to. That's fine... they've got a very tight schedule to maintain, just don't tell all your couples, "we're doing this for you because we like you so much". Doing what? Letting us in when the contract says we can be there? Pah-lease! No fake nicities please. Oh, and fix your entire wall of outlets that don't work. You're only two years old and to not be able to plug in supplemental lighting really makes it tough to light the place. Okay, enough moaning. Brian and Bridget were great, the wedding went off without a hitch. We were able to get into Bridget's super secret work place and have a guided armed escort watch us while we took photos underneath the sign where Bridget and Brian met. I can't post any of those photos cause apparently I was privy to a LOT of really cool secret stuff. Personally, I did notice Canadian geese AND some orange construction cones, and since we have lots of those here in Troy, I'm feeling pretty special! Okay, so the reception was at Sterling Heights Andiamo's. Great food, fun crowd. Grandpa paid me a wonderful compliment, slipped me a $20 tip and proceeded to make me his photo slave the rest of the night! Thank God he was just about as cute as the Dickens! Now here's where things got a bit Dicey. My very own "Best Sports Award" of the year goes unquestionably to Bridget. Brian's Swiss German boss decided to integrate his favorite Swiss German tradition into the wedding. Now I've seen this twice before (oddly both this year!) at German weddings and since I lived in the French part of Switzerland, I can assure you they DON'T do this there! Brian pretty much had to go along with all of this since his very cheerful boss has obviously planned this out well in advance. The only hitch is that the log his boss brought along was about four times the diameter I've ever seen before. This was a tree, not a log. Bridget, bless her heart, went along with it forever with a big smile on her face. Both the boss, the groomsmen AND the groom were sweating buckets trying to saw this tree. It symbolized that sometimes couples have to work together in order to reap the rewards of marriage. Yeah, but not for a very stenuous 20 minutes! Bridget kept smiling until she gave one short "oh brother" look. What sports they were! Made the rest of the night go by easy peasy! Kudos for NOT losing it, Bridget and Brian! If you'd like to see more photos from this wedding, check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Sarah & Jonathan's Detroit Athletic Club Wedding!

2009-10-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

I finally got to meet Sarah a few weeks before the wedding. She's calm, super organized and both she and Jonathan are very musically inclined. They had some fun, interesting photo requests to the day and a full choir serenading them both before and during the ceremony. They are a very calming couple, very precise about what they want, but also very easy going... a rare and nice combo! The Tigers have played a big role in their romance and I was sorrier for them that the Tigers lost the game that day! If you'd like to see more photos from this DAC, or Detroit Athletic Club wedding, click on over to my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

John & Christine at St. John's Inn in Plymouth Michigan

2009-10-14T07:53:00.001-07:00

Christine and John were loads of fun. Being a Friday wedding with questionable weather, we did as many photos ahead of time (even though they were apart) because I was worried we'd get bombarded by rain if we waited. The guys were hilarious. I haven't shot that many silly, goofy guy photos in a long time. They had lots of ideas and I think we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves shooting those. So much for deer in the headlight looks I often see if we try to get photos beforehand! Turns out the rain backed off after the ceremony, but since we're heading into serious fall, we lost our daylight very quickly, so we didn't spend too much time outdoors after all! If you'd like to see more photos, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com!

Rob & Monica's Livonia Wedding and Meeting House Reception!

2009-10-14T07:41:00.001-07:00

I love the photos taken at Monica's childhood home where the dress is hung up and I was able to put her in the same spot. When we walked back in her doorway, I saw her reflection in this cool antique and somewhat distorted mirror. Rob (or Bob depending on which family member you talked to) was hilarious as was his brother. I loved that all Monica's hard work and planning paid off and that she was able to really get down to the business of enjoying her wedding day. Great families, lots of fun. I've got more photos from their Livonia St. Michael's church wedding and their Meeting House reception in downtown Plymouth, Michigan at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Charlotte & Sean's Westin Airport Wedding

2009-09-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

What better place to have your wedding when most of your friends and family have to fly in for it? The Westin Hotel... of course! Conveniently located at the metro Detroit airport, it's just about the easiest thing to do. I truly felt honored to be part of their day. Charlotte's best friend and co maid of honor, Kim, is a wedding planner. So to have them pick me to be part of their day felt very special. The Westin is indeed a beautiful location, but technically it's also one of the most difficult to shoot in. The ceremony takes place in the atrium against a backdrop of huge bamboo and behind a reflecting pool. It's very romantic, but it's also very, very dark... even on the brightest of days. So you have to master blast from various balconies which is hardly subtle, but that's what it takes in order for it to even remotely resemble what it looks like to the naked eye. I love the shots at the reflecting pool. Both Charlotte and Sean where very laid back and very appreciative of everything all their friends and family did to help things out with the ceremony. I loved the ring shot so much, you'll see two different variations on my two different blogs. Check out the other one at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Nikole and Eric at the Finnish Center

2009-09-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

Super nice couple and great wedding party... especially the ever helpful best man, Prashanth. Their wedding day was full of coincidences... I drove past my bride’s house from the previous Saturday (I’d addressed the envelope earlier in the day) and since it’s in the middle of nowhere, I thought that was interesting. Then Nikole had a succulent flower in her bouquet (which strongly resembles a little artichoke). I’d never seen that flower before, except that my bride from the previous evening had given out potted versions of the same plant as their thank you gift to guests! Should’ve played the lottery that day, I guess! Their florist, by the way, was the most professionally dressed florist I've encountered and I loved the bouquet she created for Nicole. She's Janet from Floral Verde, so check her out.We took photos in what Nikole described as “a swamp” which was a lovely nature center in Novi. I couldn’t help but to refer to Eric and Nikole as Fiona and Shrek as I took photos in what was truly a swampy bog! Good sports and speaking of good sports... all the wedding party was pretty happy and fired up since UM beat Notre Dame. It was a true blue wedding... right down to the subtle wedding party colors. I got to work with one of my favorite DJ’s, Sara Gharacheh from Platinum Mix. I also have to give a shout out to the two little ring bearers. Not only were they cute (we’re talking mini Brad Pitt cute!), they were sweet, well behaved, funny little guys who had everyone at that party mesmerized. Totally adorable. I give 90% of the credit to good parenting. They were funny little angels all night long and their dance floor moves created more great crowd shots that anything I’ve seen before. Are they for hire, perhaps??? Looking to see more photos from this wedding? Try my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Annie & DJ’s Flat Rock Wedding -

2009-09-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of the most uniquely themed weddings I’ve ever been to. Annie works at the zoo and collected hundreds and hundreds of peacock feathers over the course of a year (they shed their entire tails yearly... did you know that?). Not only was she artistic and detailed oriented, so was the groom, DJ. He hand drew the maps to the wedding that were cool and perfect. She made all the boutonnieres, hair pieces, and bouquets using flowers, twigs and peacock feathers. DJ made the center pieces in the hall using branches, lights and gel water balls... very cool, very pretty and very unique. Annie also made several hundreds of origami purple orchids that were in the flowers and center pieces. Really well done and such a cool personal touch.
Annie’s Dad is a photographer, a very nice, laid back photographer, so while he was shooting whatever he wanted throughout the night, it was funny because he was the one person who always knew where I was! The photo booth went over like gang busters and the wedding party handed out glow sticks to everybody which made for a cool effect on the dance floor and throughout the reception hall. Most of the guests kept their glow stick decorations pretty g-rated, but a few got, well, shall we say... creative? DJ & Annie were also my first couple who wanted to take advantage of a really big rock at the Flat Rock Community Center (think lodge, not YMCA) and Annie actually climbed the thing! Fun couple, easy to work with and I’m pretty sure they were rocking well into the wee hours of the night!!! I have lots more photos at my other blog, www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com!

Phil & Jenefer ~ Cobblestone Farms wedding in Ann Arbor

2009-09-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, folks... my spell check IS working! That is indeed Jenefer. No they don't make allowances for creative spellings! Phil and Jenefer got married in the same church his parents were married in way out on the outskirts of Ann Arbor. The beautiful hundred year old church was a beauty to shoot in. After being together for over ten years, everybody was happy to be included in this monumental occasion. While I have very nice shots of the ceremony (posted on my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com), I had so many hilarious shots of the three kids at this wedding that I HAD to post those. Glad Jenefer agreed with me that these kids were slideshow worthy... in fact she said she's going to dig these photos out for their weddings! So most often a wedding ceremony is about the bride and groom, but every once in a while, they get great competition with a kid or two or three who seems to inspire a nose picking chain reaction! The reception was at Ann Arbor's own Cobblestone Farms and the caterer was my all time favorite, Zingerman's Catering headed by their fearless leader Paul. Always great food, always gracious, accommodating AND I love the mutual admiration society we've joined! Jenefer and Phil had a couple of really unique things about their reception I'd love to share with you. Their favors were giant poppers, which they all opened together. Five of them held rings which the guests could trade in for a prize. They also were filled with silly paper crowns which all of the guests dutifully wore all evening long! Phil also wanted to have his bride's all time favorite song played... "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" as a sing along. To honor their grandparents, they cut a Bill Knapp's cake (which was one set of Grandparents favorite cake) and they had Zingerman's make their grandmother's "famous" german potato salad recipe as one of the things served with dinner. I loved the personalized touches... very unique way to pay homage to their families.

Senior Photos!!!!

2009-09-07T16:56:00.001-07:00

It took me WAY too long to do this, but I've finally gotten the opportunity to update my seniors photo web pages. Come check out the extremely cool new slideshow featuring Oakland County's most awesome seniors!

Colleen & Adam's St. Johns Inn Wedding

2009-09-05T08:08:00.001-07:00

Colleen and Adam got hitched on a wonderfully cool and overcast August day. Really fun family to hang out with. Lots of great wedding party folks and I loved Adam's sentimental side. He was totally into each of the moments of the day. A couple of things made this a unique wedding. For one, camp call outs, songs and antics were prevalent throughout the evening. Colleen and Adam met as camp counselors at Special Days, a Michigan camp for kids with cancer and their sibling. Their toasts and tributes were touching, poignant and really showed the bonds that were created out of love.

Genevieve & Chris's Ann Arbor Botanical Gardens Wedding

2009-09-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

AND SOMETIMES IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SHOES!
So if you’re a couple planning an outdoors wedding in the middle of August, you’re probably execting hot and sticky weather, right? Well, try 62 degrees and overcast on for size! The men in Chris’s wedding party were VERY happy guys indeed. Great three piece tux weather and Genevieve, who had gotten all of her worrying and fretting out of the way beforehand, relaxed in her very cool red shoes and just let the day unfold. Even though it looked like it might be threatening, it didn’t rain a drop. I loved that both Chris and Genevieve were really excited about having photos taken... they wanted lots of photos of the two of them together and while they had some special places they wanted to visit, they were truly up for anything... hence ending up face down on the working rail road tracks at the reception at the Gandy Dancer in Ann Arbor. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Genevieve’s mother hand made her wedding dress... her masterpiece as she called it. I can’t ever remember seeing a hand made dress that was made with such incredibe tlc. It was beautiful and fit Genevieve to a “T”. I also loved Chris’s family of endlessly tall boys. Great crowd. I also got to work with Blake, one of my favorite videographers and a cool DJ I’d never worked with before. For a less shoe oriented take on Genevieve and Chris's wedding, please visit my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com

Yay! I made my photos bigger!

2009-08-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

For me, bigger is ALWAYS better and the shrinky, dinky photos have always annoyed me to no end. So I finally figured out how to make the photos nice and big. Only problem is that sometimes the resolution looks great and sometimes is looks fuzzy or pixelated and I have no idea why! So please know the photos are neither out of focus or low resolution! That's the next thing to tackle!!!

Anne Marie & Chris - Grosse Pointe Academy Chapel

2009-08-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

I’d e-mailed quite a bit back and forth with Anne Marie and I loved her right away since she initially contacted me a year ago asking if I’d ever shot a wedding at the Grosse Pointe Academy. It turns out the night I got her e-mail, I’d not only just returned from shooting a wedding at the Grosse Pointe Academy Chapel, but the bride at that wedding was also named.... Anne Marie! So two major coincidences later, I was booked! We had fabulous weather. Turns out while the rest of Michigan was roasting, we were fine down by the water. Even the boys seems a-okay in their three piece suits. With a wedding party clocking in at 24, I want to say... what a cooperative group of people! If you’re going to have a huge wedding party... hire these guys. They followed my limited instructions, were eager to listen to and please Chris and Anne Marie and they were really upbeat. Just my kind of group! After the full mass ceremony we were able to scoot over to the Three Mile Park in Grosse Point for some VERY fast group photos on their boardwalk. Then we headed over to the reception site, the Lochmoor Club. Anne Marie had scoped out the whole golf course earlier so that she, Chris and I could nab a couple of golf carts and tool around all by ourselves during some of the cocktail hour. What bliss! We stopped where she wanted and was super receptive to my suggestions (which are always made on the spot and have to do with great light, unfettered backgrounds as well as composition). After we’d toured the better half of the course and zoomed all over the place willy nilly, we headed into the hall. A short while later during dinner I went to start editing for my best of the day slideshow and my heart stopped and my stomach lurched. My small digital card wallet was missing from my camera bag. That meant all of my cards from before the wedding through most of the formals were GONE. I was pretty sure they must have fallen out at one of the three spots I’d been rolling around on the ground on the course.... but holey moley... we’d been EVERYWHERE. And what if it wasn’t there... what if it had fallen out back at the park when I’d last changed cards? Needle in a freaking haystack. The manager calmly said he’d send someone out to look. We were losing light fast at this point, they had no idea where I’d been or what exactly they were looking for. I decided I had exactly 10 minutes to spend trying to retrace my steps. I fled to the nearest caddy, heart pounding and he gallantly, calmly said he’s be happy to find whatever I was looking for. If we hadn’t found it in 10 minutes, he said he’d keep looking. We zoomed like a bat out of hell all over the place. Wasn’t in the first spot I’d army crawled. Heart starts lurching. Wasn’t on the second hill I’d rolled over on... now the nausea is really starting to rise. I said a quick prayer and ten seconds later we rounded the spot to the third location and there is was!!!! Nobody would’ve found that thing until the lawn mower ran over it... of that I’m sure! So thanks to a GREAT caddy named Eric, we were back within 7 minutes. Still too nauseous to eat, I quickly edited my slideshow before the band started playing. I let Anne Marie on the chain of events and have now permanently changed where I store my cards! Never again! The night ended with merriment, great dancing, lots of family fun and a nice pack of Tums totally consumed by yours truly.

Shannon & Jesse ~ The Henry Ford Estate Wedding Photos

2009-08-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

With Michigan roads being what they are, I arrived early at Shannon’s Northville home a wee bit, lotta bit early and was able to watch all the comings and goings of the day.... all the bridesmaids coming, the mailbox going (as the limo ran it over!). My favorite part of the day is just seeing that transformation of the bride from regular chick (with spectacular hair!) to the fairy tale bride. It was a great way to get to know Shannon’s family a bit before heading off the watch the guys getting ready. Now there was an entirely unfamiliar scene at the hotel with the guys. They were taking turns ironing, yes, ironing their handkerchiefs when I got there. It was so methodical and surreal to watch all these grown men being so meticulous! Needless to say, we got some fun photos before I made my third stop to the Henry Ford Estate in Dearborn, Michigan. This again is one of my favorite places to shoot. It’s a lot of schlepping for me, but I love the surroundings, the old building and like Addison Oaks, the Henry Ford Estate also has a great, attentive staff. They’re always hustling around, yet invisible at the same time. Very attentive and intuitive. The place is gorgeous and again we had fabulous weather and were able to take some great shots before the ceremony. Jesse’s grandfather is German, so they did the traditional log cutting ceremony after their kiss. It’s supposed to signify their ability to do a difficult task together as husband and wife. I’ve only seen this done once before (and they cheated a bit with something that more closely resembled a twig!). Lots of fun to watch and photograph. My slideshow was playing in the room between the dinner and the dancing. All 140 guests stopped into that room to watch the show. Great reactions from everybody... so much so that my night ended with the maid of honor chasing me out the door to see if I had her date available! Jesse and Shannon danced perhaps the most memorable first dance ever... a finely choreographed disco number that had everybody on their feet. Great fun! If you’d like to see more photos from this Henry Ford Estates wedding, please check my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com! I would be remiss if I didn't mention Shannon's florist, Carol Fitzpatrick from Happiness Is... The Little Flower Shop in Farmington Hills, MI. Shannon wanted to create bouquets featuring Michigan flowers and Carol created stunning, colorful, one of a kind bouquets. Shannon's alone had something like 23 different flowers native to Michigan. Unbelievable flowers!

Jennifer & Rick Get Hitched at Addison Oaks

2009-08-05T07:13:00.000-07:00

Yay! Finally a wedding day where all the weather Gods didn’t feel like antagonizing the bride and groom! Great weather for my wedding at Addison Oaks (located north of Rochester, Michigan in a town called Leonard, which I’m pretty sure no one’s ever heard of!). At Jen & Rick’s request, I got a few of the photos out of the way beforehand. I don’t usually like to do too many of these because it usually adds to the pre wedding jitters trying not to run into each other, but both Jen & Rick weren’t terribly nervous about that and I only got a few images where you could see the countdown (“I’m getting married in 45 minutes!”) going on in Jen’s face. I figure those will be fun to spot later on and we had great light to work with and Jen was wonderful about plopping on down on the freshly cut lawn BEFORE her wedding! Great group of family and friends... we got a lot of teasing going on. I also got to work at one of my personal favorite locations and with my favorite dj, Dan Nichols (michigan-wedding-dj.com) who just so happens to be a fellow Michigan grad with a BGS. I always know the party is in good hands. He’s perceptive and he really gets the party going strong. It’s sort of magic, but it works every time! Thanks for throwing a great party and thanks for the great weather!!!! If you'd like to see more photos from Jen & Rick's Addison Oaks wedding, please check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.com. Thanks!

Rachel & Andrew’s Cherry Creek Wedding in Shelby Township, Michigan

2009-07-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

"Just a minute, folks... I'm not quite done yet!"

Sometimes, both the bride and the groom are pretty darn playful!

And sometimes the groom is just plain silly!

I really do hate to sound like I’m cutting and pasting my wedding blogs, but really.... what is up with this weather!!! Each and every Saturday is moody, broody and would give most couples the willies! With thunderstorms predicted and downright gruesome clouds moving in half an hour before the ceremony (I know... this all sounds hauntingly familiar!), neither Rachel nor Andrew gave the thunderclouds more than a cursory “gee... I hope it doesn’t rain” sort of off hand remark! Ten whopping raindrops later, it blew over, the sun came out for the entire ceremony and as soon as we started taking group shots, in rolled more gruesomeness (nothing like making a group hustle like an imminent downpour!). Again, those blew away and we were left with gorgeous, puffy and cool clouds for an awesome portrait! Andrew is SUCH a ham, so ridiculously silly (as were all of his groomsmen... go figure!), I’m sure all his high school students love him! Rachel was very glamorous and once she got into it... loved playing to the camera and the camera sure loved her right back! We moved into Cherry Creek’s banquet hall which is a beautiful venue in all seasons and easy to photograph to make it look as gorgeous as it is. My only beef (and lack, thereof!) with Cherry Creek is that they treat their vendors very, very shabbily. They insist couples buy us dinner and then give us what ever is left over (always seems to be chicken stuffed with the mushrooms that I’m allergic to... and never the mushroom free beef!) and always serve us last (which is tough when your food arrives just as the bride and groom are ready to rock and roll!). The management acts like we’re totally in their way and putting them out. Most often halls know we’re all a team with the same goal... making the day 100% smooth and fabulous for our bride and groom! I suppose it really doesn’t matter how they treat us as long as the bride and groom are treated perfectly. Then it doesn’t matter. I just know when I pull up to Cherry Creek that I’ll be pulled six ways to Sunday by the staff and treated like a third class citizen. I’m hoping all of this never, ever rubbed off on the bride and groom and I don’t think it did... they seemed to be having a GREAT time! If you'd like to see more photos from this wedding, check out my other blog at www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com.

Watch Those Fake Eyelashes, Ladies!

2009-07-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Brides & Brides to Be.... I know it is all the rage to have false eyelashes applied for your wedding. They're long, they're thick, they're gorgeous and they're also really heavy on your lids! It took me an inordinate amount of time to figure out why SO MANY of my brides were excessive blinkers this year. I'm chucking out over half my photos from some wedding simply because the bride either has her eyes closed or looks very, very sleepy. Turns out, in each of those cases, the brides are wearing fake eyelashes which are literally weighing their eye lids down and making them blink much more frequently. So a word of caution to all you would be doe eyed ladies out there. Try to get used to wearing them well before your wedding (can you really build up eye lid muscles I wonder?) or try several more coats of mascara before you plunge right into the extra layer of lashes! You'll have 100% more photos to choose from and that's a pretty good reason to lose the lashes!

Can you top this????

2009-07-24T13:54:00.001-07:00

One of my brides for next year sent me this and it's hilarious! Anyone game? I think they've set the bar for grand entrances! Take a peek...... and enjoy!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEi N0

Photographer's Lament....

2009-07-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a little heads up to all brides... when you've hired a photographer and want to meet up before the wedding to go over your plans, DON'T bring sample of other photographer's work as examples of "styles and photos you'd like us to take". I know you're just trying to show us what you like and by all means, feel free to print out stuff from my site that you do and don't like, but I've always been under the impression that you hired me because you like MY style and the photos I take! Every couple is unique, their surroundings are different and the timelines are individualized. So it seems a little odd when a bride who is having an outdoors country wedding shows me photos she loves that are taken indoors at a posh museum. If you see photos taken from the location you're getting married or the reception hall, I'm okay taking a look at it for inspiration. I just get worried that brides are setting themselves up for disappointment when I can't possibly recreate what they've shown me! So if you've already hired us, know that we're going to do everything within our power to create our own wonderful, one of a kind images that are totally skewed to reflect YOU and your wedding party!

Amanda & Brian’s Detroit Wedding

2009-07-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

Amanda and Brian have to be just about the luckiest couple ever. They got married at the beautiful, old and non air-conditioned First Congregational Church in downtown Detroit and it was a nice and cool 68 degrees. We got some of our photos beforehand (with a huge wedding party, plenty of time and decent weather it was an opportunity I just had to take). About half an hour before the ceremony these huge, ominous clouds started rolling in which would’ve ruined Amanda’s grand entrance, but the dreaded rain never materialized. What a bizarre streak of Saturdays with potentially horrible weather we’ve had. I think we’ve had one worry free Saturday this entire wedding season... weird! Anyway, the ceremony was super quick (they’d kept in mind that it certainly could have been 90 degrees in the church) and we finished up our photos pretty quickly. They had two cheeky little boys in the wedding party and decided to let them where nice polo shirts and shorts and sandals. They fit right in and were very comfy in their cool clothes. I think some of the groomsmen would’ve liked the option to wear the same! Their reception was at the Sterling Inn in Sterling Heights. Another wedding party arrived at the same time, so we think that’s why dinner took a whopping hour and a half to serve family style. The staff was really hustling and sweating, but I think the kitchen staff was overwhelmed with two huge weddings being served simultaneously. Needless to say, we got everything fit in before the videographer and I needed to leave. I just wish Amanda hadn’t had to worry about those details on her wedding day. She and Brian were so much fun and really enjoyed their day! I'm pretty sure their relaxed and fun natures come through loud and clear in the photos! For more photos from this wedding, check out www.themichiganweddingphotographer.blogspot.com

Stephanie & James wedding at the Whitney in Lovely Detroit!

2009-07-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

I officially got to meet Stephanie last week at her boudoir shoot the week before the wedding. She was surprising James with the photos and flew into Detroit early just so she could get these done in time for the wedding. Needless to say, I’ve never had a groom thank me for their wedding gift quite as profusely as James did! I hadn’t been back to the Whitney in downtown Detroit in several years since they’ve remodeled. I love the new brighter, non pepto bismol colored walls, but apparently many things remain antiquated; no working elevators, very inadequate air conditioning (it was over 90 degrees on the third floor where the ceremony took place) and their manager wasn’t responsive to the bride’s e-mails or calls and didn’t show up on the wedding day, much to their chagrin. That aside, the day of staff was very helpful and attentive and Stephanie was able to pull off her dream wedding which included a friend performing the ceremony who was ordained online and their wonderful place card markers which had a photo of every guest in a small photo holder/coaster. Very cool! Skye ran her photo booth in the “music room” and Stephanie and James provides a whole bunch of great hats and wigs to liven it up!

Dan & Debbie - Adat Shalom Synagogue Wedding -

2009-07-12T15:44:00.001-07:00

This had to be one of my most laid back, go with the flow couples I’ve had in a while. One of their friends, Rabbi Hearshen (who is a dead ringer for actor Michael Cera) performed the ceremony and kept it informative, and provided key moments of humor (by calling Dan’s mom the wrong name not once, but twice which brought the house down!). It’s nice to see a couple take such good care of each other and see them surrounded by such a supportive family. Skye ran the photo booth station at the reception which entertained the kids and helped out with family group photo needs. Thanks for letting us be part of your journey and best of health to you both.

Jim & Christie - Walnut Creek Country Club Reception -

2009-07-12T15:41:00.001-07:00

Christie and Jim’s wedding took place in the wonderfully new and totally photo accessible Oakland Community Church in Farmington Hills. Lots of nervous jitters on Jim’s part and that’s always fun for me to key in on the person who is most not like themselves just before the wedding. They chose to show a wedding slideshow prior to Christie’s grand entrance which led to lots of laughs and tears. It also seemed to pull Jim back to the moment of the day and I could see him starting to relax just by watching the photos of their lives. Afterwards we commandeered golf carts at the Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Michigan and took wedding party photos out on the golf course. The most hilarious moment came when the girls wanted to pick up Jim. Not exactly sure what to do, they promptly dumped him headfirst (he’s okay, folks!) once they couldn’t quite get it. Needless to say, Christie was quite a sport when the boys then wanted to lift here up! Her brother kept her from the same fate! As the wedding photographer, I often ask for wedding party input for group photos once I’ve got the standard shots out of the way. This group was young and vibrant and gave me a couple of great wedding party jumps! The day ended with a live band performing fun, classic rock tunes that kept the place hopping well into the night.

Laura & Ryan's Clarkston Wedding Photos!

2009-06-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

It’s always fun to hang out with a couple who are young, and way into each other. The looks Ryan gave Laura all day long would melt anybody’s heart. The Clarkston couple got married in their Methodist church, a cute and interesting church to shoot in. They had a beautiful room for Laura to get ready in (can you believe that window light???). The boys got ready in the teen room - complete with a wii to keep the boys occupied! Afterwards we went to the White Lake Oaks Golf Course for some funky photos to show off their spunk (they jumped twice and ended up with two really cool photos!) and Laura’s cathedral veil. Loved watching Laura interact with all her younger sisters and her dad all day. Ryan and Laura have been together for a long time despite their youth and have been through a lot together. Their patience and connection were really wonderful to witness.

Jen & Nick's Kensington Wedding in Troy and Indian Springs Metro Park Reception!

2009-06-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

I’m beginning to feel like a broken record, by I once again had a bride and groom who didn’t seem phased at all by the pending doom and gloom clouds gathering all Friday long. Jen had planned out some cool spots to take photos (like the Birmingham Historical Society) as well as a cool hill at their reception site at Indian Springs Metro Park. Not even a drop of rain before the biggest downpour in the history of weddings. I really thought my car might float by the reception hall after a few hours! This was also a rare experience for me in that the day went by way too quickly. I know this is fairly typical for the bride and groom, but when someone mentioned the time, I swore they were kidding. The whole day sped by too quickly, even for me! Cool guests, cool and well prepared bride and groom. The whole wedding was well planned, well designed and well executed. I’d never shot at the Kensington Church in Troy. Their chapel is better built and lit than most stages in the U.S., so shooting with great access allowed me to get some really cool and different ceremony shots. The Environmental center at Indian Springs Metro Park is place I really wish we could’ve carved out more time to explore and shoot at. I would say next time... but that just doesn’t sound right!

Coolest Save The Date Card EVER!

2009-06-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

I get beautiful stationary, some very special, some very funky wedding invitations on a fairly regular basis. What can I say? My couples tend to be creative and unique people. This save the date card blew me away. My groom to be, Jeffrey, is an artist and he designed and executed this 3-D piece of art. Cut outs and vinyl are his playground. I wanted to share this with you. If you're ever looking for an easy going, artiste, Jeffrey Karolski is your man! Can't wait to see the actual invite from Sarah & Jeffrey! Another cool feature on this puppy is there is a teeny almost flat magnet in the round flat that served to hold it closed. Works like a charm. Think I'll have this one hanging around a long, long time!

School's OUT!

2009-06-18T18:29:00.001-07:00

Happy Summer, everybody! I know most of you have been out of school for a while now, but it's great to finally have my family home with me. This is my favorite time of year when everybody starts hanging out together, weddings are in full swing and nobody's started complaining because it's too hot! So now is a great time for all you official high school seniors to make an appointment before we all get swept up and away with our summer plans!

Ashley & Travis's Grosse Ile Wedding in Michigan

2009-06-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Planes, trains and automobiles anyone? Okay, so we didn’t go on a train, but a boat! With thunderstorms predicted all day and knowing we were planning to spend a lot of it outdoors, I’m pleased to report that once again, it didn’t rain on my wedding! It’s only rained during a handful of my many, many outdoor weddings, so my streak is still holding! The major overcast weather didn’t phase Ashley or Travis even knowing that so many of their plans would have to be scrapped if it did start to rain... very cool indeed! This Michigan wedding took place out on Grosse Ile in perhaps the darkest church I’ve ever shot in. Turns out despite multiple queries to the “church ladies”, they didn’t have ALL the lights on after all (which the priest discovered afterwards)! Oh well, still photographed some fun images during the service. Travis is really into photography and I caught him checking out what I was doing, how I was doing it and what I was getting throughout the day! Got to ride for a while in an antique car (a Packard? a Hudson?) before roaring off in a speed boat. We were trying to kill some time outside in anticipation of a fly by from an old bomber since Travis is in the air force. Sorry I don’t have all the makes and models... not much transportation junkie, I’m afraid. The old bomber made smaller and smaller circles over the Grosse Ile Yacht Club. This was a tough one for me because in order to get Travis, Ashley and the plane in the frame, the plane appears much smaller than it actually was. In one frame a bird flying by appears to be bigger than the bomber! Still... it’s a cool memory... one that will be treasured for a long time. Ashley’s dad really started the waterworks during his toast and speech. Not only is Ashley getting married, but they’re moving to Alaska where Travis is stationed... a tough adjustment for any family, I’m sure. Loved, loved, loved their DJ, Craig Martin from Mystro’s Entertainment. I hadn’t worked with him before and he’s a real pro, easy going, helpful AND he kept track of me and what I was doing and needed (most DJs aren’t particularly interested in what I’m doing!). Fun family, great emotions. Hope Travis can steal a bit of my photographers skills from watching me so closely all day long!

Emily and Brian’s Macomb, Michigan Wedding

2009-06-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the church with plenty of time to get lots of getting ready shots of the bridal party, the ladies oohing and aahing over the flowers, the dresses, all the details. It’s always great when everything looks just the way the bride wanted it to. It’s always such a bummer when something doesn’t quite come out the way they anticipated. What struck me at this wedding was how joyous it was for everybody. Everybody cried... pretty much the whole day. Happy tears... lots of happy tears... well, until the Red Wings went down in flames on the final game of the Stanley Cup! I loved that Emily’s mom AND dad were both really emotional and supportive. Brian was pretty much grinning from ear to ear the entire night surrounded by his fun, goofy and sometimes inappropriate (yes, you, Steve!) groomsmen. Everybody seemed to gel together really well. I thought the poor DJ might have trouble getting this group dancing when there were still four couples out dancing during the anniversary dance when he called out “Fifty years or more”. Nope, no problem... this group ALL danced and wormed boogied like there was no tomorrow!

Ben & Sarah's Henry Ford Estate Wedding!

2009-06-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

Many, many of my wedding couples are from out of state. That’s almost become the norm for my couples. But Ben and Sarah were not only from out of state, but from out of country. They are currently working in Geneva, Switzerland (where I spent five years in high school!), so all of their Henry Ford Estate wedding was planned long distance. Neither set of parents are local to the Detroit area either, so they really had to rely on family and all their professionals to help pull it together. Kudos to the Henry Ford Estate work force. Not only did they step in to make executive decisions to make it all happen behind the scenes, they were polite and friendly not only to Sarah and Ben, but to all of us working there as well. It’s a very special place indeed that treats us as nicely as they do the bride and groom, so THANK YOU Henry Ford Estate staff - you are AWESOME! They also weren’t even phased by the huge and ominous clouds that got darker every minute we got closer to the ceremony and just went with it! One of the decisions I loved about this wedding was to keep it small. Sarah and Ben stuffed everybody silly with the tastiest hors d’oeuvres ever, a great dinner, and a dessert tray that wouldn’t quit. That meant there was plenty of room to move around the dining hall and the dance floor. Skye set up the photo station in the hall against this funky wrought iron wall in the main hall and people knocked themselves out to get the most original and silly photo booth photos ever! We debuted our hats at the photo station and that went over really well. Okay, so now I’m outing you, Sarah... but I thought one of the cutest things I’ve ever heard at a wedding was when you turned to me as wondered aloud if the DJ could make an announcement so all the guests would face the wall while you had your first dance! I hope I was able to capture your innate beauty, shyness and joy in all its glory. In spite of being the center of attention (hard not to do, since, well... you’re the bride!), you seemed to have the BEST time!

Bill & Wendy at the Henry Ford Museum

2009-06-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

5/30/09 When Wendy’s funky and hip invitation came in the mail, I knew every detail had been attended to. Turns out her mom designed the cool invites and helped oversee a lot of the planning. Wendy isn’t what you’d call a girlie girl, which could throw a bride totally off. What I loved is that she seemed as comfortable in the white dress, the hair and make up as she is on the lacrosse field (she’s a coach... this isn’t some totally random reference). She and Bill met at the clocktower at the Henry Ford Museum before the wedding and shared a well documented, yet intimate first moment together. Then, at Wendy’s suggestion, we went traising around the Greenfield Village for a while before heading back to rest tired feet and to see what the iffy weather had in store for us. Looked pretty gloomy doomy there for a bit, and again... the antithesis of most brides, Wendy didn’t seem to notice or care that it started to look pretty stormy. After everybody rested up for twenty minutes before the ceremony, the sun came out... providing one of the best Saturday outdoor wedding weather I’ve seen in years and I loved that neither Bill nor Wendy were worried one bit. Just going along with the flow of the day. The reception was in the museum itself (a first for me) with all the exhibits. It’s a gorgeous location with lots to see... so much so that I thought all the guests had left early. Turns out they were exploring the museum to their heart’s content. Nice, gracious and relaxing couple... just my kind of folks!

Erin & Mike - An international affair!

2009-05-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a destination wedding... to Windsor! Okay, so that’s closer to me than say, Ann Arbor, but still, it is international and we did need our passports! Erin was perhaps the most prepared bride ever and she and Mike were able to have their ceremony outdoors despite rain in the morning. We were also able to navigate the weeds and trash at the parks along the river (the city of Windsor has been on strike for two months and it’s a bit of a jungle down there) for some cool water front shots. Hula hoops provided endless entertainment for the kids during dancing and Skye debuted our frames props for the photobooth with roaring success!

Janeiro & Ronnie

2009-05-30T07:29:00.001-07:00

For a day that started out getting a moving violation ticket, this ended up being a great group of people who not only celebrated their good fortune of being together, but surrounded themselves with great friends and family. I don’t ever remember people clapping when the wedding party started coming down the aisle. I also loved the church coordinator, the bridal party was gracious (literally holding me while a balanced on top of a very skinny bench) and we bonded over sweating ourselves silly in the limo with no air conditioning (do any limos ever have air conditioning that works?). I had so many people come up during the reception to tell me what a great job I was doing, I was blushing by the end of the evening. One or two is pretty normal... but thirty? That was awesome. I was my uber embergency bridal kit came into play when the fairly inexpensive garter I’d purchased earlier this year was needed. “Saving the Day” was a kick! So thanks for embrassing me so fully into your newly formed fold!

Playing with Technique

2009-05-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's just fun to try something new and learn a new technique. Of course, I could never try this out while on assignment... there was a lot of fumbling "ums" and "ers" involved... things that need to be second nature and just weren't yesterday! So with two lovely volunteers... Skye and her boyfriend, Joel... I've added a new thing to try with my couples!

Owen!

2009-05-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is to see my wedding couples again and this time, we met three years later to shoot a new family portrait with their 7 month old, Owen. Not only is he THE most adorable kid on earth... he smiles on cue (and for me!) letting me get tons of great shots. He’s just about the easiest kid I’ve ever shot (my own included). I’m not saying he loved every minute, but one Cheerio in an hour and a half was pretty much all he needed to keep a smile on his face!