Jennifer and Joe got married at the always fabulous Frog Pond Village near Traverse City.  We were so excited to work with Jennifer and Joe after getting to know then and also excited because we love photographing at Frog Pond.  We were also excited because we had plans to photograph a day after session up along the Mission Penninsula with Joe’s convertible Lincoln Continental. 

We met up with Jen and Joe at the rehearsal on Friday night.  The food was excellent and it was great to get to know their friends and family a bit before the wedding.  Joe gave Jen a beautiful pair of diamond earrings that she had pointed out to him and Jen gave Joe a photograph of her holding a 5ft. Texaco sign (just like the one his grandfather had) since it was too large to bring the actual sign.  She and her mom drove to Canada to purchase the sign for Joe and had quite an adventure. 

While the wedding day was beautiful we enjoyed the day after session so much!  It’s so nice having time to spend getting amazing portraits of the bride and groom without the pressure of time constraints.  We spent some time outside of the Chateau Chantel and purchased a few bottles of excellent wine.  We had some pretty funny things happen throughout the day but instead of going into detail I will just say that I got to see a tatoo that I had not seen previously…

Jennifer and Joe – we hope you know what a wonderful time we had getting to know you and working with you.  We wish you all the best and are looking forward to seeing you soon!

To see more photographs from Jennifer and Joe’s wedding visit Steve’s blog. 

We met with Colleen and David last winter and liked them immediatly.  We were excited that they chose us to photograph their wedding and invited them to the studio to do a quick engagement session so they would have something to use right away.  Colleen called Steve in January crying on the phone.  David had just gotten called up for active duty and would be leaving for Afghanastan in just a couple of weeks.  They decided to get married before he left and hoped that he could get leave so that they could still have their August wedding. 

Thankfully things worked out and David was able to come home and celebrate his marriage with a second wedding as they had planned from the beginning.  Thanks so much Colleen and David for allowing us to be a part of your beautiful wedding day.  We are praying for David’s safe return in February!

To see more photographs of Colleen and David’s wedding visit Steve’s blog.  That’s Colleen with Steve in the first photo – love it!

 Can we say simply amazing!?  Linnzie and Chris are chefs from the Chicago area who decided the best place to get married would be at Chris’ family cottage in Saugatuck.  The backyard wedding was perfectly planned and beautifully executed.  Linnzie and Chris chose The Journeyman restaurant from Fennville to cater their wedding (which says a lot since these guys are chefs themselves).  When we got to the cottage at 11am they were already roasting the pigs. 

Chris and Linnzie chose not to see each other before the ceremony so when Linnzie appeared and began walking down the aisle Chris was overcome he was so excited.  After the ceremony we were able to get through the formals quickly and whisked Linnzie and Chris off to the beach for a while. 

When we came back there were wonderful bread, cheeses and meats for appetizers.  As dinner was being served the thunder began sounding in the distance.  The spread of food was amazing and delicious.  As dinner was being served Linnzie’s friends brought out the wedding cake layer by layer and assembled it.  What a work of art!  Vanilla bean cake with caramel crème brule filling.  Divine!  Plus Chris got Dirt Cake for his Groom’s Cake. 

After dinner Linnzie and Chris cut the cake and then shared their first dance on the lawn.  Everyone enjoyed the rest of the evening enjoying the cake, wine and dancing in and out of the rain.  Thanks so much Linnzie and Chris for including us in your beautiful backyard wedding. 

To see more take a look at Steve’s Blog

 Kristin and Graham’s Wedding – August 15^th, 2008

We had a simply amazing day with Kristin and Graham.  Michelle Torno from Memorable Events by Michelle did a fantastic job with everything and it was a pleasure working with her.  Kristin and Graham chose to see each other before the ceremony so we had tons of time to get great formals and some fun photos of the bridal party too.  After the ceremony, performed by Kristin’s grandfather, the newlyweds sped away in a custom build GT with us chasing after them to get more fun photographs.  We did some photographs of the bridal party at Sunnybrook Golf Course and enjoyed the beautiful decorations and a great meal.

Thanks so much Kristin and Graham for letting us be a part of your wedding day!

Take a look at Steve’s Blog to see more

Steve and I have known Holli and Jason longer than any other couple we have worked with and I spent almost the entire day holding back tears.  Holli has done design work for us over the years and she and Jason have been some or our sons favorite babysitters.  We have had dinner with them many times and love them dearly.  As happy as I am for every couple we work with I think this was the happiest I have ever been at any wedding.  Holli was just radiant and all smiles all day. 

I remember meeting Jason for the first time at Holli’s sister Anya’s wedding.  I remember Holli waiting patiently (and sometimes not) for Jason to propose.  I remember Jason reading the Veggie Tales book to our son in each characters voice and laughing.  I remember Holli in her adorable winter hat, scarf and mittens and Jason eating tons of Steve’s homemade chilli. 

We love you both so very much and look forward to watching you grow in your marriage and do great things together.

To see more photographs from Holli and Jason’s wedding please visit Steve’s Blog.

Steve and I have known Sarah for years (she sang at our wedding so she’s extra special to us) and have been so excited for her over the last several months.  When Sarah called to tell us that she was seeing someone and that it was serious (very serious) we were overjoyed for her and couldn’t wait to meet Alex.  When we finally met him in April we liked him immediately. 

Their wedding day was beautiful but breezy so we didn’t spend a lot of time outdoors.  We were excited however when Sarah and Alex agreed to take a few minutes after their reception to go to the beach with us once again and I think we got some of the best photographs of the day.

We have enjoyed watching Sarah and Alex as a couple and wish them a happy and blessed marriage.  We love you guys!

To see more photographs from Sarah and Alex’s wedding please visit Steve’s blog.

We knew we were in for a fun and relaxing weekend and Beth and Dave’s wedding yesterday was just perfect.  The wedding took place at Michillinda Lodge in Whitehall on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.  The weather was amazing, blue skies, white puffy clouds, 75 with a breeze – perfect!  Beth and Dave wanted to have a wedding that would be fun for all of their family and friends and they did an amazing job.  The food was excellent and instead of cake they had doughnuts from Dave’s favorite bakery in St. Joseph.  Beth and Dave kept everyone dancing and took a break at sunset to do some photographs on the beach.

Beth and Dave – we hope you know how much we have enjoyed getting to know you both.  We wish you all the best.  Have a wonderful time in London and Budapest.  We can’t wait to see your photographs from your honeymoon! 

To see more photos from Beth and Dave’s wedding be sure to visit Steve’s site.

Steve and I photographed Sara and Ryan’s wedding this weekend at the beautiful Lawton Community Center.  I hadn’t had a chance to meet Sara and Ryan before the wedding and was so happy to finally meet them and get to be a part of their wedding day. 

When we arrived Sara was having a bit of a hair crisis but I think you’ll agree with me that she was a beautiful bride. Sara wore the necklace her mother wore at her wedding and a beautiful lace gown with a cathedral veil.  Steve got a wonderful shot of Ryan seeing Sara for the first time that really captures the moment.  To see that photograph and more visit Steve’s site.

Steve and I will be photographing Amy and Mitch’s wedding next summer at their church with the reception following at Windmill Island.  These two are going all out with a Dutch themed wedding and we can’t wait to see all of their ideas come to life.

We had a great time walking around Holland with them and then walked onto Windmill Island (thanks Alisa) to finish the evening.  We had some good laughs walking onto the island because there were patches where there were swarms of bugs.  Ugh!  But it was worth it and it was really funny!

Thanks for the birthday wishes!  Steve took me out for a fantastic dinner and a walk to a coffee shop we used to visit when we were first married.  It was a great evening.

Our Open House was a huge success thanks to all of our family and friends that came to support us.  Thanks to everyone who came and visited.  I snapped a few quick photos to commemorate our new venture and our friend Tracy (who came all the way from Traverse City) took a nice photo of Steve and I.  She also has some photos from the Open House on her blog if you want to see a few more.

Thanks so much to Picket Fence Floral and Design, Via Maria and DeBoer Cafe and Bakery!

Oh, and just so ya’ll know, today is my birthday.