BJ & Allie // Grand Rapids Wedding Photographer

This job keeps me afloat sometimes. If you follow me on Facebook, it's no secret that we've had a few rough years but it was all finally coming together this summer. We figured out all of the health issues for the most part, finally decided to move back to Michigan for good so I could be close to my family and the first house we went to go look at was our dream house. It was a short sale and it fell through. It came back on the market sooner than anyone anticipated so we jumped on it again. We were 3 days from closing when we got the news that they discovered half of the house was sitting on the wrong lot.

This wedding was the day after we found that out. The next wedding I'll be posting was the day I got the email saying everything fell through, they killed the deal and took the house off the market. There's no way to really explain how bad that hurt losing that place. It wasn't just a house, it was everything I imagined for my life. I'm home most of the time so where I live in a large part of my world. Saturday's were the only thing I looked forward to at that point.

I bring this story up because people have a great power over us, even people we don't know. Weddings give us the great opportunity to connect to people easily. This family and their friends were so happy and so kind that I was overwhelmed all day long. The weather turned out awesome and Allie's mom did an incredible job on all the details and was just the sweetest woman. I was in the midst of their joy and it's impossible not to be happy alongside them. Smiling and laughing all day with truly wonderful people does wonders on someone feeling broken inside. Being a beautiful person on the inside matters so much in ways you may never realize. It impacts people around you that you don't even really know.

I'm so grateful to have been there to witness an amazing couple and their families and friends all joining in to celebrate them. It was such an excellent reminder of what's important in life. As much as my heart is still broken over the idea of my life that I built up for that beautiful home, it's family and being married to someone that you adore that is important. Those things are so much greater and this wedding was a wonderful reminder of that for me.

I don't remember what was going on here, but I enjoy pretty much everything about these expressions, haha!

Let's take a moment to pause and applaud Allie's mom, Kathy, for the amazing job on all these details. Everything was perfect for a backyard wedding and it's amazing she goto t all done in just a few months. Not to mention, she is a joy of a human. From the first phone call with her about the wedding I knew it would be great since she was so nice and spunky. :)

These heaters were a brilliant idea. All of the women (including me) swarmed to them for warmth like moths to a flame. This woman in particular was lovely to chat with and was smart enough to bring leggings. I was very jealous!

What a perfect way to end the night. Michigan is so great sometimes. :)

Jake & Waylon // Muskegon Family Photographer

This is Jake and Waylon and they just turned one! I've shot plenty of one year olds, but may have underestimated two. Their mom deserves about a thousand awards a day to keep up with these two all day long. Just in the short time I spent with them during the session my head was spinning a little trying to keep up with them! So often I wish I had a photo from their perspective though. It's me in the middle surrounded by all their loved ones with toys, happy faces and dancing around to entertain them. The wonderfully embarrassing things parents and grandparents do for the little babies they love. :)

Haha! This one cracks me up. The different moods and personalities of these two is hilarious.

And lastly, this super serious one. He means business!!

Erica & Andy // Traverse City Wedding Photographer

The saying "happy wife, happy life" came to mind when I sat down to write this blog and I think Andy has a pretty happy life ahead of him. Erica is just a happy, kind human being and I think those are the best kinds of humans. Andy complemented her personality so well and it was such an amazing day to be a part of.  Years ago, Ryan and I shot Mary's (her little sister) senior pictures and it makes me feel super old to see Mary all grown up. I also want to publicly call dibs on shooting Mary's wedding right now because she is a hilarious delight of a person. The fact that both girls are so sweet is no surprise, they come from such a great family.

This was the first time I've shot at the Traverse City Yacht Club and it was just breathtaking. The view from the back lawn was incredible and I had a hard time believing it was real.

This picture cracks me up every time I look at it. Mary had to walk away because her happy tears were gonna mess up her makeup. If I'm remembering correctly, I'm pretty sure she said "I can't even look at you!" which I find hilarious haha

I love informal photo with parents. I feel like there is so much more life and authenticity to them over the standard look at the camera and smile ones. I do the regular ones, of course, but these are always my favorites.

I am always noticing teeth now since I've had an insane amount of dental work done this past year so I was complimenting Erica's amazing teeth and apparently she JUST got her braces off like a couple weeks before the wedding. What a great surprise and they obviously did a great job because her smile is incredible!

There is always one image during a bride and groom session that just takes my breath away and this is it. It's the shining glory of the portraits for their wedding if you ask me. I kept screaming the word whimsical at them uncontrollably, hahaha

This Guy! Haha there is always one groomsmen who gets the most attention and he's the one. Typically, "that guy" ends up being a jerk by the end of the night when he's wasted but that was not the case here. This guy was just funny and free spirited which is a great combination. Unfortunately, he got his suit a little dirty but how is it possible to resist picking up that big chain? Totally worth it if you ask me :)

I'm gonna say it, I think this is one of my top 10 favorite bridal portraits in my portfolio.

Mary's speech might be in my top 10 of best bridesmaids speeches ever. She is so blunt, honest and funny but still very sweet. It was great!

And then we ended the night with this band! They were great and I so very much enjoyed all the crazy lights outside. The whole evening had such a great vibe to it.

As I was getting ready to take off for the night and saying my goodbyes, I realized I only took simple ring shots and nothing glitzy! Erica loves all my sparkly shots so thank goodness I remembered! It would be a travesty to have me shoot your wedding and not get a glittery ring shot.

It was an absolute joy to photograph such lovely, joyful people. Every wedding I shoot fills me up and I live on those great memories until next wedding season comes around again. Outside of my family and Duma, there is nothing more I love about my life than photographing truly happy people.

Jayde & Andrew // South Haven Engagement Photographer

You know what I love? I love people who enjoy each other. Five minutes into the session, they had each other laughing and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the evening. After almost 10 years together, still being able to make each other laugh with such ease is a wonderful thing. I think laughing together makes us closer as humans and also puts people at ease which is why I love it so much. All of these smiles are real in these photos and the way they look at each other isn't something we could manufacture. Simply by being themselves and finding comfort and joy in one another allowed us to just do what we do and it was a super great experience for us as well. This did not feel like work, thats for sure.

So..funny story. As this peaceful, sorta private, beautiful image was happening on this hill, down on the main part of the beach someone was taking photos of a few boys for their senior photos. No big deal, right? Well...they were all belly flopping in the sand. My question is #1, why would anyone want to belly flop into sand? (ouch!) and #2, Why take photos of sand flops? Well, that distraction was funny and weird to watch, but still not enough to break their focus because THIS happened! AHHH it's one of my many favorites! It feels sneaky, and I like sneaky.

I hope everyone really enjoys the shot below because I got a stick literally stuck in my butt in the process of taking this photo. Those pretty little grass things look nice but they are sharp and out to kill.

I was sorta bummed when the sun went away and this HUGE cloud rolled in right at the beginning of the session because I was worried we wouldn't have a cool sky for sunset photos on the beach. Lucky us because this stormy sunset cloud is awesome.

We all know how much I love shooting jewelry and stacked engagement rings is a first for me and I LOVE THIS IDEA. She told me she gets 2 more at the wedding as well. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Jayde has such awesome taste. Everything she wore was amazing and I wish I had it all. It was eclectic, layered, cute but sophisticated which I think is perfect. Then she tells me about the stacked rings and I was just thrilled.

We had such a lovely time working with these two and it's the best part of my week to work on photos for people like this. Seriously, it's what I look forward to most in my life. It's always such a rush to get the shots and then when we cull it down to the best ones, looking at the full set of two people so happy together is just what it's all about and it's an honor to be a part of it.

// BONUS FUN THINGS! //

We recently upgraded our iPhones and Ryan can't get enough of the slow motion capabilities and the new hyperlapse app. These would be better if I did something cool with them or had more clips so I could string them together, but oh well, maybe I'll do things like that in the future. I'm always just too focused on taking photos and don't make time for stuff like this usually but Ryan's on top of it! :)