You all may remember Cara from her earlier bridal session which we posted about a few weeks ago.  Her wedding took place on June 20th on the west side of the state.  Her ceremony was in Dowagiac, MI (a place I can now both spell and pronounce) and her reception was  in St. Joseph, MI.  We love visiting the west side of the state – the coastline is so beautiful there!  Forgive me for being a little short on words in this post – there’s just SO many photos to post! 

The ceremony took place at the beautiful Sacred Heart of Mary, a registered Michigan Historic Site.  It was the perfect storybook church and just down the street from where Cara’s parents live.  The grounds surrounding the church were lush and gorgeous and filled with mature, moss-covered trees.

Here’s the handsome groom, Nick.  Cara & Nick met in the most awesome and unbelievable way.  I am going to save the story for the end of this post though, so you have to keep reading!

And here’s Cara, looking all kinds of gorgeous, working it in front of the church.  I seriously could have taken pictures under that tree all day, it was so beautiful.

Married! 

How cute are they?!?! 

After the ceremony, we followed the bridal party to the beach to get some photos by the iconic St. Joseph Lighthouse.

After the beach, it was time to get the party on over at  The Heritage Museum and Cultural Center, in downtown St. Joseph.

These two knew how to party, let me tell you!  The reception was a blast! We saw some gravity defying dancing….and at one point Nick’s brother took a running leap and belly-flopped onto to the floor.  I bet that felt good the next day! 

I loved this whole little sequence with Nick’s brother.  We love to take pictures of people taking pictures!

See this couple here?  This is Donna & Paul – who’s wedding we’ll be photographing this fall.  ON A YACHT! 

Okay, so I promised an epic “how they met” story, right?  In college, Cara and her girlfriends went on a road trip to Chicago.  At the same time, Nick and his friends decided to also go on a road trip to Chicago.  You know how you always pass the same cars over and over again on a long trip?  Well, they kept passing each other – and checking each other out.  Finally, one of them decided to start a conversation, via Post-it Notes held up to the window.  They got each other’s numbers, and met up in Chi-town.  Only to discover they  both attended Western Michigan University, and had loads of other things in common.  So from one simple 3 inch square piece of yellow paper, a connection was made and a marriage was born.  Pretty cool, huh?

Finally, I wanted to close this post with this lovely shot of Nick & Cara looking out over Lake Michigan.  Thanks so much to both of you.  Your families were warm and wonderful and we had an excellent time documenting your wedding.    We wish you both much happiness in Tennessee.

We’d also like to thank Christie from Outstanding Weddings & Events, who was the event coordinator and  helped keep things running smoothly.

Okay, so you all know the drill!  Help Nick & Cara win a free 8×10 or 11×14 by leaving a comment.  Everyone who enters also has a chance to win a $10 giftcard.  To see the fine print, go here.

Related posts:

1. Wedding Preview: Valerie & Nick
2. Valerie & Nick’s Wedding – Detroit Wedding Photographers
3. A Detroit Bridal Session with Cara | Detroit Wedding Photographers
4. Married: Elisha + Brian