Kim & Joe are getting married tomorrow!  We met up with them a few weeks ago at Mill Race Historic Village in Northville for their engagement session.  It turns out we picked the busiest day possible to be there - a mall photographer was having outdoor sessions, so there were photographers and families everywhere.  It was crazy!

When I saw the rich  colors in this building, I had this shot in my mind and I’m geeked that it turned out exactly the way I was envisioning.  I love, love, love these colors.

They looked at each other like this all day:

It seems like even when we don’t plan it, we always end up shooting by water.

Now I know three ring pictures are overkill, but trying to decide between these was like trying to pick my favorite kid.  Not that I have kids.  But you know what I mean.

That last shot was another one that I just knew what I wanted, and I got the ring situated just right and I was too short, even on tippy toes to get the shot, so I had to pass off to Andy.  He says I don’t give him enough credit here, so there you go - this is Andy’s shot!

(Honestly, the weird thing is that when I’m editing, I can barely remember who shot what.)

Cuteness overload:

Whew….blogged in the nick of time!  We are excited for your wedding tomorrow!

It pays to be friends with a wedding photographer.  Or in the case of Nicole & Jim, it pays to be the friend of a friend of two wedding photographers.  Jim plays in Caren’s band, who in addition to being a kick-ass friend of mine is also a kick-ass drummer.  We got a call on a Thursday night asking if we would shoot Jim & Nicole’s wedding taking place the next day.  Just a warning to the brides out there, this is what happens when you leave the groom in charge of securing the photographer!  Nicole had checked our work out months ago and told Jim to book us…..and I guess technically he did…..just 24 hours before! Hehe.

Nicole getting ready - I absolutely love this picture.  I took it, but Andy did an awesome job with the processing.

I am going to let you all in on a secret:  Jim and Nicole have been married for awhile, but they never got a chance to do it up right the first time, so they decided to take the opportunity to celebrate properly.  This didn’t affect the enthusiasm of the guests though - it was downright crowded around the altar, with many friends and family members clustered around the couple to take pictures and video.

After the ceremony we did some formal portraits outside.  There wasn’t time to travel to a secondary location, so we had to wing it.  Andy rocked out the groomsmen portraits while I concentrated on the ladies.

This adorable flower girl is the daughter of the bride and groom.

Before ducking inside for the reception, we had to do some “band” photos of Jim, Caren, her boyfriend Eric, and their bassist, Rob:

There is a whole slideshow of these photos here, if you are interested.

Back inside, it was time for the toasts:

How awesome are Nicole’s eyelashes in that picture?!?!

Dad toasting the bride & groom:

We decided to set up off-camera lighting on the dancefloor and got some beautifully backlit shots:

I loved their daughter’s reaction as she sat on the sidelines during the first dances:

This event was all about the party, so I have to include some dance shots.

The lady in the foreground of this picture just totally does it for me.  I crack up everytime I see it.

Finally, if you know me, you know I have a thing for the ring shots.  These are some of my favorite to date.

Both of these we actually taken at the deserted head table while the party was in full swing.  I think some of the guests were wondering what the heck I was doing.  I actually had the rings placed on the stems of their champagne flutes, but it’s so close up you can’t really tell.

Finally, I love this last one because it’s just so elegant and classic:

Jim & Nicole - thanks so much for letting us spend the day with you, we had a great time!  And thanks to Caren for referring us.

Want to see more?  Check out the slideshow from this weddding.

Eeeeek! Talk about a last minute affair! We booked Jim & Nicole’s wedding the night before! (Ladies, this is what happens when you put the groom in charge of something!) Hehe, seriously though, Jim & Nicole are friends of friends and when we knew they were in a pinch we had to help them out.

We’ve had a small computer meltdown here that has slowed us down a bit, so while we finish the rest of our editing, here are a couple of my current favorites:

This hankerchief was a family heirloom so I had to get a shot with the rings on it.  I really love the way this looks in black and white.   Instant classic.

Thanks Nicole & Jim for giving us the opportunity to document your day.  Your proofs will be up soon, I promise! 

This photo IS exactly what it loos like - A PROPOSAL! Meet Chris and Jess. Chris is the son of a good friend of mine, and this weekend my friend and I were participating in a local garden tour - she had her garden open, and I was exhibiting some photographs in it. During the day, Chris wanders in with the engagement ring. He announced that he was going to propose either that night or the following evening.

Naturally, I scooped the ring up and got some nice close-ups (which I really need to post later!) and started hinting that the trendy thing to do now is to have your proposal photographed. (Hint Hint.) I didn’t think my message was sinking in, but he later came back and asked if Andy and I would be willing to do to it. Well DUH, of course!

We were told the approximate time and location, and got there early to stake it out. We assumed we’d be shooting from a distance to remain discreet, and had our long lenses out. We waited. And waited. But we didn’t see Chris or Jess. Finally I see someone near the water, a bit farther away than were we had discussed. And he’s waving at us crazily. My heart dropped and my first thought was “oh crap, we missed it”. I was SO bummed out. We run over there and Chris comes up to us, just out of earshot of Jess and says “ok, I told her I surprised her with a portrait session for our anniversary, but I’m going to do it as soon as you start taking pictures”. Oh yeah, NO pressure there! We start scrambling, now our telephoto lenses are way too long since we are 3ft away. We play it up and start taking “test” shots and Chris immediately goes down on one knee.

Now let me just pause here and say that this really is a remarkable couple, and I’m not just saying that because it’s my friend’s kid. I don’t know all the details exactly, but Jess has fought off brain cancer twice. She’s had numerous surgeries and had to deal with stuff that no person in her 20’s should ever have to think about. Throughout all this, Chris has been by her side for 7 years.  They have an amazing connection.

We were very excited to get the opportunity to capture a proposal - I mean how often does THAT happen?!? After playing paparazzi for a few minutes, we excused ourselves and went back to Chris’ mom’s house - where a totally unrelated party was going on. We threw together a quick slideshow and by the time the newly engaged couple arrived we had it ready to go and playing outside so everybody could see the whole thing.

Congrats to both of you!  We feel so lucky to have been able to document this and we can’t wait to shoot the wedding!