If you are a casual visitor to this blog, you may be under the impression lately that all we shoot is engagement sessions!  I have been a very, very, bad blogger, and I apologize.  I’m quite behind on my wedding blogging, mainly because wedding posts tend to be HUGE, and very time-consuming, and it’s just so much easier to throw up a “quick” e-session.  But rest assured, YES, we photograph weddings.  And we’ve done a lot so far this summer.  And with a bit of luck, they will start showing up on the blog much more frequently.

That said, I invite you to settle in – you may want to grab a cup of coffee, or possibly a snack, because this is a long one!    Heather & Tom’s  April wedding was nothing short of amazing.   I know that’s a word that gets thrown around a lot, especially on wedding blogs, but it’s appropriate here.  They chose a magnificent location – River Birch Lodge, in Hartland, MI – which is rustic and beautiful and completely fitting for a couple who loves the outdoors and lives in Colorado.  And they had the most lovely details to compliment the setting, including a lot of handmade, DIY touches that really set their wedding apart.

Heather wore a Nicole Miller gown, and her jewelry and gloves were vintage.

Her earrings were handmade to go with her necklace and other accessories.

Heather’s engagement ring was custom made, in clay, by Tom and then cast.  I believe Tom made the bands too.  (Random Trivia: This is the second couple we’ve photographed at River Birch Lodge who made their own rings!)  Aren’t the beautiful?  They are sitting on a sweet little package of tree rings that served as a favor for the guests.

How handsome is this groom?!?  We love when we can photograph the groom getting ready as well as the bride.

Heather’s accessories were gorgeous.  She has amazing style.  And because I know someone will ask, she got the birdcage veil on Etsy.  (Etsy has so many fabulous wedding accessories – whatever you can dream up you can probably find there.)

Heather, you are STUNNING.

Heather & Tom chose to do a First Look before the ceremony.  I am sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I cannot emphasize enough how fantastic First Looks are.  We always, always, get amazing photos, the couple still has their moment, and it makes for a much more relaxed day.  It also makes your timeline a breeze, as your photography and formals can be completed before the ceremony, so you are free to enjoy your reception and spend time with your guests afterward.

…And that is why you do a First Look! 

Married! 

River Birch Lodge is an intimate venue, with a sprawling layout, and lots and logs of rustic details.  Picture a log cabin you’d find after driving up north for 5 hours, except it’s within an hour from Detroit.  The home is full of fantastic architecture and details, including an arched door imported from Europe, supporting beams made from real tree trunks and two fieldstone fireplaces.  The lodge also serves as an Inn, with a master suite and guest rooms to sleep up to 20.

The wine in the photograph above was made by Tom’s late grandfather.  He made a bottle of wine for each of his grandchildren to open on his/her wedding day.  I thought this was such a beautiful idea.

How charming was their wedding cake with the love birds on top?  The orchids on the cake are the same kind that are on the side of Heather’s ring, and they grow natively where they live.

Heather & Tom surprised their guests with a choreographed swing dance – they were great!

Whew!  That’s it!

Heather & Tom – we had such a blast documenting your day.  Thank you!

If you’d like to help this couple win a print credit, please leave a comment below!   (details here)   If you’re a guest and want to see all the proofs, click here!

Alan may win the prize for Groom of the Year.  While the guys sometimes are assigned a couple tasks to help with the wedding planning, Alan planned EVERYTHING himself, while his bride-to-be was out of state in medical school.  Talk about a lot of pressure!  Due to Suma’s schedule, we weren’t able to meet her and shoot their engagement session until just a few days before their wedding.  So I can therefore share with you that Alan did a terrific job with the wedding planning – and the reception was amazing, but I’ll save that for another post.

We photographed their session throughout Ann Arbor on the U of M campus.  The law quad is always popular for photography (every time we go we see at least 2-3 other photographers there), but what I  like about shooting in Ann Arbor is there’s never a shortage of cool places to shoot, and I like to try to seek out something a bit different each time. So after hitting the quad, we just kind of wandered – luckily the weather was perfect for strolling the campus.

When we met, Alan shared with us that he was starting a photography business and we got to talk gear and geek out a bit.  He just recently posted his first weddings on his blog and they are beautiful!  Alan is relocating to the Atlanta area this summer, and any Atlanta brides would be wise to look him up.  We felt like we really got to know Alan, and are sad to see him go, but we wish him and Suma the best of luck with their new life in Georgia.

Meet Alex & Alex, or Alex² as we like to call them.  They met while working at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, where Alex-the-groom is the Harbor Master and Alex-the-bride was a life guard.  A little too often Alex’s binoculars strayed over to the pool area, and the rest is history.    Naturally, we had to shoot their engagement session there.

We had so much fun with this entire series!  Couples – if you have a unique idea or theme you’d like to try out for your e-session, please let us know! 

Thanks Alex & Alex for a great session!  We had fun and we are looking forward to your wedding!

Oh! I just thought of another similarity – both had photo shoots at Comerica Park.  (Our other Kami went there on her wedding day!)  Does anyone else think these two girls need to get together and hang out? I know I’m getting off on a tangent, but it continues to amaze me how many of our current clients keep telling us that they recognized someone else on the blog – an acquaintance from high school or a former co-worker, etc.  It’s happened at least 5 times this year so far, isn’t that nuts?

After meeting at Comerica Park, we did a little exploring in the vicinity and found this:

I LOVE this photo.  :)

From the heart of downtown, we jumped back in the car and ended our session in Eastern Market.  Eastern Market is full of all kinds of gritty textures, industrial decay and well, terrible smells (gotta be honest!) but it makes a great photographic backdrop.  This particular alley that I dragged them in was especially gross – and I have to thank them for trusting us and going with it.  I mean when else are you going to be able to hang out in a grungy alley in a cute little red dress?  :)

Kami & Jeremy are getting married in September and we can’t wait! Thanks to both of you for a very fun session.  :)

I’ve been so remiss in my blogging again.  We are finding ourselves much busier than last year, which is a good thing, but it makes it hard to blog regularly.  I have so many fantastic weddings I am itching to post, but I still have a few e-sessions to get caught up on!  So without further ado, here are a couple of our favorites from Kathleen & Eric’s engagement session in Grosse Pointe.

Kathleen & Eric decided to do their session in Grosse Pointe, which was super convenient for us since live there.  We grabbed a quick coffee in The Village and then checked out a few GP landmarks.

Kathleen has been so fun to work with and is such a carefree, outgoing,  free spirit.  And while Eric shared that taking photos is not his favorite thing – which is true for a lot of people, myself included – he was a great sport about everything.

Kathleen & Eric were married this June and we are just finishing up their wedding images right now.  Their wedding was a lovely, laid back event, with gorgeous details and flowers, and ended with a very fun surprise!  Anna from Two Foot Creative was their event planner and she did a great job.  I’ll say it again brides – you owe it to yourselves to have a coordinator for your event.  It makes such a huge difference!

A small eternity ago, I posted a sneak peek to a bridal session we did at the Westin Book-Cadillac in Detroit featuring Meredith, one of our brides from last year.  I figured it was about time I shared some more images.  So, here you go….FINALLY!

Note to the photographers reading this – for this image and the two below, our main light was an alien bee strobe with a beauty dish.  This was our first time taking the beauty dish out to play and I really loved the quality of light coming from it.  I’m eager to play with this some more….brides…are you listening?

Meredith’s make-up was done by the wonderfully talented DeVawn Testagrossa (check out her new website!)  We’ve worked with DeVawn several times now.  She’s done a few of our previous brides’ make-up and she’s doing our next bride’s make-up this Saturday.  Airbrush make-up is a no-brainer for your wedding day.  When done properly, it’s light, water resistant, and lasts all day….and let me tell you, it makes a HUGE difference in photos.  With the resolution of cameras today and the super-sharp lenses we use, believe me, when an image is zoomed into 100%, I can see every make-up flaw imaginable…and when DeVawn does her magic it’s truly, truly flawless.  She’s not paying me to say this, I swear. If you are getting married this year, you need to go pick up the phone right now and book her.  Seriously.

We were able to shoot in two of the ballrooms at the Book-Cadillac, and then we went up, up, up to one of the penthouse condos.

Finally, I’m going to close with the image I originally posted as a teaser months ago, because I still love it:

I had to take a quick breather from editing though to share an image that caught my eye while editing Stacey & Fred’s wedding.  Their wedding was beautiful and we’ll be posting their slideshow and proofs shortly.

Until then, here’s a teaser:

Model:  Lindsey Nartker [Lindsey Nartker Designs]
Make-up:  DeVawn Testagrossa [Airbrush Michigan]

I stumbled across these images a few days ago and realized I had never blogged them.  Last year we participated in a local workshop with several of our fellow photographer friends for three days of model shoots.  One day was devoted to bridals, and Lindsey Nartker and her husband agreed to model.  Our friend DeVawn created a very edgy look that worked well with the grungy warehouse that was our set.  It’s always fun when we can work with other vendors outside of a wedding.  :)  Shoots like these are a fun way to recharge our batteries.

Andy did the post-production on the one above.  I think it’s epic.  We have to print this one up big for the studio.  :)

If you like this look and want to do something similar, consider adding a “Day After” session to your wedding package.  An extra session allows us to capture images in a location that would be impossible to get to on your wedding day due to time restraints.  For example, maybe you are planning a sophisticated downtown wedding, but you’d also love to get some pictures in an overgrown field at sunset out in the country.  Or maybe you enjoyed a traditional, classic-styled wedding, but you want to let loose and do something a little edgier or fun.  Talk to us and let’s brainstorm!  There are no rules with Day After sessions – and don’t be put off by the name, you can schedule the session whenever, in fact we recommend you wait a few days after the wedding so you have time to rest.  :)

We were thrilled when Jee-Young and David asked if we could start their session at their house so we could photograph their dogs.  Nothing breaks the ice better than getting to play with pets.  Their pups were super cute too, and made me want a beagle even more.  (My neighbors have a beagle and I want to steal it!)

Take a look at this handsome couple:

They were a little wary of us at first, but a few milkbones later and they were putty in our hands.   Andy has perfected this kooky noise that commands the attention of the four-legged.  It tends to come in handy for stuff like this. 

From Jee-Young and David’s home, we went out to downtown Rochester for the rest of their session.  They looked pretty stylin’.

At first we were not seeing much that we liked in the way of backgrounds, but the more walked, the more interesting stuff we found.  I think Rochester just got put on our list of favorite places for e-sessions.

I was so excited when I spotted this old fashioned delivery truck.  It was the perfect vintage-y green color.  I had to get them to pose in front of it. 

Do we not get the best looking couples?  Jee-Young, you are so beautiful!  I’m so excited to see all our brides this year in their gowns.  They are all knock-outs! 

We spent the afternoon wandering around the U of M campus with them, where they both went to school.

Life imitates art. 

We wandered over to the UMMA which had this awesome wall that we became mildly obsessed with.  I think this is my favorite image from the day, though it’s hard to pick a favorite. 

U of M is so beautiful, I always kick myself for not going there.  I wanted to take a year off after high school and figure out what I wanted to do as a grown-up.  To get my parents and guidance counselor off my back, I applied to one school, and won a full academic scholarship w/o trying.  (I still don’t get that one, I didn’t even have to write an essay!)  So I ended up at WSU, which well….was pretty ugly back when I went there.  I never did figure out what I wanted to do as a grown-up….ended up with more college credit than a grad student and no degree.  That’s what happens when you change your major every year and attend school year round with no breaks.  You burn out and end up being 2 credits away from a minor in 5 different unrelated disciplines.  Let that be a warning to you! 

We ended up on the north side (I believe!) of campus where there is this cool landscape feature I’m going to call the Sine Wave Formation.  I have no idea if that is its real name or not.  Basically it’s a bunch of hills who’s bumps correspond to the sine wave.  Seeing as how one of my brief majors was mathematics and I did some algebra/trig student teaching at WSU, I thought this was rad.  (And I also pity the dude who has to mow that thing!)

Random West Park Trivia:  We book a disproportionate amount of math nerds and marathon/ultra long distance runners.   (And I mean math nerds in the absolute BEST sense of the word, because math nerds rule.)

Seeing as I somehow managed to get to the end of this post without stating the obvious, but isn’t Jessica SUPER CUTE?   We can’t wait until August!