:: Lauren & Brian ::

   The first time I met Lauren & Brian I felt like I had known them forever.  We chatted a bit about what the feel of the wedding would be... and they both comment at the same time... LAID BACK and SIMPLE.  Perfect!  We nailed down some of the details that day and settled on a date for their engagement pics (seen here).  During their engagement shoot I really got to see their fun loving personalities come through, not to mention how deeply in love these two are!!  It's refreshing to see love like that.  Sweet, simple, undying love... can't get much better than that!  

   The day of the wedding started out with Brian and the groomsmen making me laugh hysterically as each one of them let out their personalities.  Brian and Lauren chose to not see each other before the ceremony so Brian decided that instead of being locked in his 'room' till the ceremony that a coffee run was in order.  While he and the boys were out gettin their caffeine fix Lauren and the girls had their turn in front of the camera.  Of course, watching in the pews were all the aunts and girlfriends and moms all looking on with huge smiles on their faces.  

    Brian's face was priceless as his beautiful bride walked down the aisle.  Another sign that these two were a match made in heaven.  The ceremony was beautiful, simple and very unique.  Instead of lighting a unity candle they molded the first minutes of their lives together with modeling clay.  What a cool idea!  After the ceremony B & L wanted a few pictures of the big families and then we all went over to the reception. 

   Now, anyone knows that a reception with a chocolate fountain pretty much rocks!  Not to mention cookies, fruit, cake, candies and cheesecake.  The maid of honor and the best man rocked their speeches and definitely made the entire room laugh and cry.  I've never heard two more heart-felt speeches in the 5 years i've been shooting weddings.  Very awesome to hear such love and support from the people you chose to stand next to you on your wedding day.  

   After the reception we headed over to a park and spent some 'alone time' with just B & L.  I love seeing them interact with each other while they had their special moments.  Seeing the love in their eyes and the care free attitude was breath-taking.  After a while the bridal party met us in the park for some more laughs.  Even though at this point it was starting to rain we still managed to get some awesome shots!  Like I said... HILARIOUS wedding party!  

   Close out the fabulous day with a catered dinner to the Bride's home, surrounded by their closest family and friends = quite simply the best wedding I've ever shot.

   Thank you Brian and Lauren for a fabulous day, may God bless you and keep your marriage in his hands.

 

:: Who can resist two of THE CUTEST flower girls ever!! ::

 

:: I love capturing the special moment of Dad walking his little girl down the aisle ::

 

:: this captures these two to a T .  Always giving each other funny faces and goofing around ::

 

:: just having a moment . can't even tell it's starting to drizzle at this point ::

 

:: one of the most fun wedding parties i've ever photographed ::

 

:: groomsman on the right... 'there's nothing left to hold' . bride... 'hold my pinky' HILARIOUS ::

 

:: credit for this shot goes to my fabulous assistant . hannah . no doubt i'll be recreating this shot for some other weddings in the not-so-distant future ::

 

:: Today's song of inspiration :: Lady Antebellum -- Just a Kiss ::

Fine Art Hobby

Aside from portraiture and weddings I love to do landscape photography as well.  I just figured I'd share a few of my favorite shots that I took last year.  Enjoy ::

 

:: Today's song of inspiration :: Why Wait for Summer -- Walker Hayes ::

Just an all-around CUTE picture

The last week has been consumed with editing.  And while it's not my most favorite thing to do I'm learning to love it.  I got a new program called Lightroom and it's phenomenal :D   (I firmly believe that smiley faces should be used for punctuation :D)   Anyways.... moving back to the post, I love making lasting memories for family to cherish for years to come and pictures like this one only help make my editing days better!  

Seriously can you get any cuter than these two :)  Enjoy a taste of what I get to see everyday.

:: Today's song of inspiration :: Life Ain't Always Beautiful -- Gary Allen ::

Alicia & Kenny :: Wedding

Last summer I got to know Alicia and Kenny through a friend of mine.  I had the pleasure of shooting her son Ashton one amazing fall afternoon at a park in Grandville.   He was so cute and curious the whole time.  Alicia and Kenny had brought a very large pumpkin along for him to play with in the leaves.  The photographs from that session can be found HERE and HERE.  

A few weeks ago Alicia & Kenny decided a small, intimate wedding ceremony at the courthouse was the next step in their lives together.  She called me up and asked if I had that friday evening open to help them capture their special day.  I had a session that afternoon but had the evening free so off to the courthouse I went.  They had a short, very sweet ceremony surrounded by their closest friends and family, shared a nice dinner at Olive Garden, then shared the moments after their wedding with their family down town Grand Rapids overlooking the river.  

We couldn't have asked for better weather (except the wind was a little chilly.)  But we created some awesome pictures for them to cherish for many years to come.  Enjoy!  See the rest at Aphotography!

Huisjen Family

 I always love it when families call me up and say 'we got your name from a friend of ours that has had their pictures taken by you.'  Warm referrals are an awesome say to generate not only business but amazing opportunities to create lasting memories for families that I might have never known had that warm referral not been passed.

I had the pleasure of photographing the Huisjen family for the first time last week.  What a fun bunch of people!  Thank you guys for making me laugh for the afternoon.  I hope you like your sneak peek.  The rest will be up on my website in a few days.

 

 

:: Today's song of inspiration :: Watching Airplaines -- Gary Allen ::

Spring Cleaning

Spring... :: birds chirping :: warmer weather :: rain :: flowers :: green things popping up :: blue skies :: kids running around :: energy :: softball games :: ice cream :: lemonade :: ... Spring

What says spring time more than blue skies and spring cleaning!?  Today I took the time to declutter and organize my entire studio.  My closets, my computer cords (I HATE SEEING CORDS), my hard drives etc.  Gotta say that I'm not much of a cleaning person but it sure did feel good to get it done.  Yesterday with the 80 degree temps outside I definitely got a taste of summer weather!  Makes me wish it was already summer so that I can get outside and create some awesome memories for my clients this season.

I am so blessed to have such great clients already scheduled this year and looking forward to booking many more in the next coming months.  Be on the look out for some great new specials and giveaways that I'll be announcing soon!

::Today's song of inspiration :: We Rode in Trucks -- Luke Bryan ::

Blue Dress Barn

On a daily basis I spend a bit of time looking at other photogs work on line and reading up on the latest blogs from other great photographers all over the US.  The other day I came across a local area photog that I'd never seen before and started looking through their online galleries.  I found myself returning to one picture over and over again, only to realize that right on the sign in the photograph said "Blue Dress Barn." 

So being curious little me, I decided to see where this fabulous barn existed and if it was close I could add it to my shooting locations.  However, it is in Southern Michigan near St. Joe.... so a bit too far to be a regular shooting area for me.  But, upon looking through the galleries online found HERE I realized that this barn would be the perfect location for a wedding (mine of course when the time comes).  I just love the flowers and the open barn with the wooden beams.  Classic country style barn = perfect wedding location for me!!!

The quaint touches of old wooden signs and the white chairs coupled with the idea of dancing the night away in the old barn sounds like the perfect night to me. 

Picture credit bluedressfarms.com

:: Today's song of inspiration ::  Love Don't Run -- Steve Holy ::