Tim and Katie- Hillsdale Wedding

What a refreshing wedding. It felt like it was straight out of a magazine. Classy and timeless. Candlelit ceremony, dark romantic reception, rain… Wasn’t expecting rain in December… but you know what… I’m glad it happened… The indoor location that we chose to use was perfect.. it went with the flow of the wedding. It gave a classic old movie feel. I printed these photos to see what they would look like… I am in love with them. They look a spectacular in print… ugh… so happy with this wedding. The last wedding of the year always screams “encore”! Looking forward to their trash the dress session.

I couldn’t narrow this one down. With three photographers, this darling couple is going to have more photos than they can handle… I’m not in the business to overwhelm… but I tell you the truth.. I could not choose. I hope all my brides and groom next year are as cool as these two… they set the standard bar high.
My favorites:
Close and emotional families!
Katie’s sister, Sarah, studied her toast through out the day… She still cried when the time came. It was so sweet.
The entire wedding party trusted me in leading them in an unplanned photo shoot adventure!
I love the family member’s past wedding photos on the cake table.
The gifts the bride and groom gave each other. (Tim gets a high five for getting Katie a Nikon camera)
The candlelit ceremony.
Coffee bar with M&Ms (<—my weakness)

Thank you to Mitch Haarer (Mitch Haarer Photography ) (a lighting genius and just announced expecting baby number three!) and Emily Fisher (an inspiring photographer and a Bride to be!) For being my super awesome, hard working, talented fellow shooters!

See the rest here

A special thank you to
The Chicago Pike Inn and Hillsdale College for letting us take a few photos in their beautiful facilities!

A Saturday afternoon with my family

My little man a day before 4 months. I am noticing that I am not picky with my child’s photography as I am with others… There are no rules… I don’t look for the best light or best background or the best clothes or make him smile. I shot him where he napped… wearing what he slept in… in our messy bedroom on blanket laundry day… We all were sick and also wearing what we woke up in. I look through the photo boxes from my childhood and those photos are the same. I treasure those more than the photos my parents got at Olen Mills. I’m not saying props, background, and smiles are not important… It’s nice to see your child from someone else’s view and to have fun with it… I believe in taking photos that will help us remember the day we were all sick, how Daniel played with Perry, and how we didn’t have time to keep our house (or ourselves) tidy, and most importantly… how happy or little boy was when he woke from his naps. Let your baby cry when he is with Santa, get muddy, destroy your house, pick his nose… just be there with a camera in hand.

Justin and Meghan Engaged! Southern Michigan Photographer

You don’t eeeeeven know how lucky we had it yesterday…. DID YOU GO OUTSIDE!? It was like 50 degrees and sunny… for Michigan in January, that’s a big deal! It was therapeutic to be outside in the sun in midwinter, shooting a fantastic couple who will be getting hitched this year! For wanting snow pictures I think we agreed that the warm weather was even sweeter.

Justin and Meghan love to travel, cuddle, and playing chess. So for their engagement photos they brought a game that they played for an African trip, they cuddled… a lot, and they brought their chess board. I love adding symbols of love =) <——my symbol is cheese.

ENJOY!

see… we got some snow. =)

Max and Nina getting married!!!! McHenry Maryland Photographer

a little artsy fartsy stuff:

“Hello… Is it me you’re looking for… I can see it in your eyes… I can see it in your smile … ” Yeah… I have that song stuck in my head today.

I MISSED MY READERS!!! All three of ya.

So I have two weddings and two engagements to show you!
Yes… I am behind too.
Can’t help it…
I have an awesome little son and he’s just taking my time and making it precious.
myyyyy preeeeeeciouuuus….. can’t help myself!!! AHHHH!!!! I MISS BLOGGING!

I just spent some time in Maryland with my dear cousins! Speaking of missing…. i miss them. I am going to make a point to visit more often…. I love Maryland too. I think I found like three new places to live while I was there.
There was snow, and cold, and heated floors, and horses, and wine, and kid hugs, and gourmet food, and chicken in a dish. It was a good time.

One of the reasons we were in Maryland was MAX AND NINA are getting married and I had the pleasure of taking their engagement photos! I am just melting with joy right now! I bet you want to see these…. well…. here they are: ENJOY! Because I did.

Ps. No doubt they will have beautiful children… for real.

Had to share this… It was all kinds of cute:

Kody and Melissa Chicago Engagement

Yes, the title has the word Chicago in it… however… The city really isn’t their style. We went to Kody’s home town beautifully placed near woods, fields, meadows, and a water fall just outside of Kankakee. We started in a state park with a gentle low water falls… I immediately fell in love with this location… it reminded me of one of my favorite places in Upper Peninsula in Michigan where I hope to someday live. Sigh* Anyways… my favorite kind of couple: The ones that walk into freezing cold water in the middle of November for a great photo.

We ended at Kody’s home where I met his welcoming and charming parents and the visited the location of the wedding in their beautiful backyard. I am super excited about this…. I was wide eyed…My tongue might of been sticking out. =)

I also want to point out… Melissa makes an amazing spaghetti sauce… My husband liked it so much that I am afraid to buy the store bought stuff….
=)
Ladies and gents: Kody and Melissa.

Andrew and Melissa in Bath Michigan

I never get tired of looking at these two… They a expressive, compassionate, and really ridiculously good looking.

My favorite parts:
Melissa’s smile
The wedding party (fun and beautiful)
The communion (I must say that I was very lucky to view this emotional event)
The sharp get away car
The Sun set
The moment they had alone before their photos. I watched from afar…. It was like I was watching a romance movie…. or… it felt like creeping.

I know I will be seeing these two again in the future. Love them.

See the rest here

Ceremony: Hawk Hollow Chapel

Reception: Eagle Eye Banquet Hall

Videography: Amy from Life Stage Films Check out their who we are rap video…. pretty awesome

bling bling never gets old

I am so happy about this wedding!!! Can’t wait to share the last two weddings of the session… definitley went out with a bang!

Aaron & Ashley married

This was a special wedding for me. I shot Ashley’s oldest sister’s wedding back when I first started photography… I followed that one with her other sister’s wedding… Ashley is the youngest and the last to be married… which is sad because their weddings are the most fun.

I grew up with Ashley… The first time we met, Ashley and her sister were standing on one side of our driveway and my siblings and I were on the other… we stared at each other for a bit until one of us initiated play time.
From there on: we had play’s on their porch, ghost stories on ours, ghost in the grave yard, hide n seek, “mother may I”, a game called nightmare, we built go carts with other neighborhood children, roller skated, teased each other, and jumped on trampolines in hopes to kick a bat out of the sky.
I think If I was to ask her if she wanted to play hide n seek with me today, I bet she would say yes.

Aaron and Ashley married at their home. It was laid back and fun. The weather couldn’t be more beautiful. Aaron, you have a super wife… funny, understanding, and playful. Ashley, Aaron is one good looking man… With a kind heart and a n amazing smile! Perfection.

Check out all the photos here.

It took everything I had not to use a Michael Jackson song on this video…. It’s the thought that counts.

Drew, Jennifer, & Peri!!! Wedding at the English Inn

Fall colors.
Beautiful venue.
Emotional ceremony.
Lots of fun children.
Model like guests and party.
Undeniably gorgeous bride and groom.
AND an adorable little flower girl named Peri!

Yes! I met my first Peri besides my own! My husband and my Perry were able to join me for my first wedding since Perry’s birth! Peri approached Daniel, who was cradling our little 3 week old, and asked his name…
“His name is Perry.”
“That’s my name… he’s a boy!”
“Your name is spelled different.”
“oh….ok then.” Peri walks away with approval.

What a wedding to remember for sure. My husband and I still say “Hey, Perry!” to or little one. You see… My heart leaped every time I heard one of the children say, “Hey, Peri!” It was music to my ears! An unforgettable sound to a new mother.

Jenny and I never met before her wedding and I don’t know how we never did! We have similar interests. =) Maybe we will meet again in the future! I hope so!

My favorite part about this wedding besides…well… everything: During the ring exchange, Drew gave Peri a ring and a promise… she gave giggles… followed by lots of tears from the crowd… and myself. His love shines for her as if she was his own. He’s going to be a great addition to her life… as will she in his.

SO many favorites!

Fall Families with a side of Senior!

Fall is a busy season for photographers. I cut back this year because of Perry but not entirely… I selected a few families and a couple seniors. Here are the ones I shot in the last week! Peak of the season!