Laura & Ryan's Clarkston Wedding and White Lake Oaks Reception

Laura and Ryan’s connection to each other was palpable all day long. Both have great support systems outside of each other, but you could just tell they were in a world all their own whenever one of them spoke to the other. They’ve been together for a long time, despite being young and have seen a lot in those years to know they are meant for each other. The looks Ryan gave to Laura all day long would melt anybody’s heart. The ceremony was in Clarkston and the reception was at the White Lake Oaks Golf Course. One of the funniest things during the ceremony was when Laura wiped her lipstick off Ryan after their kiss! Laura wanted a shot with her beautiful cathedral veil and I think we were able to succeed. We also had a group of “jumpers” and I was able to get two pretty cool shots in the two tries they made! Check out my other blog on my main site to see other photos from this wedding!

Nick & Jen - Troy Wedding and Indian Springs Metro Park Reception

With forecasts of gloom and doom, Jen & Nick cheerfully went about their wedding day as calm and well prepared as can be. No worries that the mother of all storms would hit later that evening. We didn’t get a drop of rain when it mattered and nobody needed to swim to their vehicles after the reception, so no worries!

The wedding was held at the Kensington Church in Troy which is the best designed church I’ve ever seen for photographers. Easy access and great lighting made my job much easier than usual and let me spy on Nick and Jen a bit more than I normally can. The reception was at the Indian Springs Metro Park which was a great spot with lots of photo ops and we just ran out of time (unusual for me) before we could take full advantage of all the place had to offer. This day will always stand out for me because the whole day went by in fast forward. I’m used to the pace of weddings and this one just flew by in record time! Skye set up her photobooth and all the guests came to play in it. You never know how silly and creative your guests are until you see the wacky things they do in the photobooth!

Save The Date Card!

I'm often impressed by how creative my couples are when I get their wedding invitations. Check out this save the date beauty from Sarah & Jeffrey. Jeffrey's an artist and created this 3-D cut out masterpiece. For once, my photo isn't doing it justice. It's just about the coolest thing I'm ever seen! Can't wait to see the actual invitation!

Travis & Ashley's Grosse Ile Wedding in Michigan

I was super impressed that Ashley was totally calm about the crummy weather forecast and ensuing heavy duty overcast skies throughout her wedding day. She’d planned a lot of cool things to happen outside and didn’t seem at all rattled that her plans might have to be scuttled at the last minute. Guess that’s faith! Not a single drop of rain! So we were able to ride in the antique car, a speed boat, and wait outside for the surprise fly by from a WWII bomber (I think... sorry... I’m not a transportation techie!) all without a single drop of rain! Ashley’s dad really moved the crowd with an emotional toast to his precious daughter and his new son in law whom he called his hero. Sending his daughter off to Alaska where Travis is stationed is his leap of faith. This Michigan wedding photographer's little heart went pitter pat when for the second time in as many days, FOUR couples were still left dancing the anniversary dance when the DJ called "50 years"! How amazing a testament to love is that? That's a lot of good karma to bring to a wedding. I've never seen that at a wedding and to have that happen back to back weddings is simply amazing! A lot of these wedding photos are of Travis goofing off and being silly. Most often my faves are of the bride... tonight they just happened to catch Travis hamming it up and having a blast! I wish them both bliss in their Northern adventure together.

Emily and Brian’s wedding at Tina’s Country House in Macomb, Michigan

Friday weddings can sometimes be poorly attended and I felt kind of badly that Emily and Brian had to compete with the final game of the Stanley Cup. It’s always nice to know that a couple ranks much higher on their friend’s priority list than some old hockey game where the home team is the favorite! First their church wedding in St. Clair, then reception at Tina’s Country House in Macomb were packed to full capacity and everyone was very intent of having a GREAT time. Even when the DJ stopped announcing the score (always an ominous sign!), nobody seemed to care. Great vibe from this loving couple and I loved the non stop tears between Emily and her Dad. Thanks for a great day!

Sarah & Ben's Michigan Wedding at the Henry Ford Estate

The only thing more challenging than planning a wedding out of state must be planning a wedding from out of the country! Jetting in from my old stomping grounds (Geneva, Switzerland where I went to high school), the staff at the Henry Ford Estates swooped in to make sure everything went like clockwork for Ben and Sarah. They even managed to hold off what looked to be shaping up to be the storm of the season (which dropped five droplets and miraculously dissipated!). Great food, lovely, sweet couple who I got to spend more time with than usual since we were able to get some shots before the ceremony as well as after. Skye debuted our box of hats at the photo booth station which was very well received. All of the guests seemed to on up each other for silliness and originality... always a plus when you’re dealing with a photo booth at a wedding! 

Wendy & Bill at The Henry Ford Museum

Did you know you can get married at the Henry Ford Museum? Turns out you can! And it’s a spectacular spot. They open up the whole joint after all the guests leave, so we had access to lots of great spots, including Greenfield Village. So gorgeous surroundings everywhere, but I was also lucky to have a very willing bride and groom who set the agenda of what they wanted to do and tagged along documenting their day. Other than the groom getting sore feet (better than cold feet!), both Bill and Wendy seemed to enjoy their day and when they saw each other for the first time before the ceremony, it was really touching. You know when people just lock onto each other's faces like there is no one else in the room? They had a lot of that going on all day long.