Monthly Archives: January 2012

nicole + cliff

After just a couple emails, I knew I couldn’t wait to meet Nicole. We quickly set up a coffee meeting to chat about plans for a May wedding. As we sat next to the fireplace at the cafe, Nicole shared all the details about the wedding venue and colors, DIY details and flowers… but more importantly, she told me all about Cliff – her fiance! Nicole glowed as she told me about their love and their adventures together and with each story, I couldn’t wait to meet him!

We made plans for a wintery engagement session. Since the date was set for mid-January, we were pretty convinced we would have a beautiful winter setting with perhaps a couple inches of snow, maybe some sun… maybe some flurries. Well, Michigan’s winter weather hasn’t been very normal this year, but we did have snow for the shoot! Despite the blizzard-like conditions, the three of us had a blast wandering around downtown Holland. I loved that we were even able to incorporate a few of their favorite pastimes into the session (thanks to Butch’s Drydock and Velo City Cycles!). Nicole and Cliff were so awesome and totally had great attitudes the whole time – it made for a very fun afternoon. As we ended the session, Cliff’s son, Cam, was able to stop by for a few fun portraits, as well! Check it out…

Nicole + Cliff love a good glass of wine… and Butch’s made for the perfect setting for a few pictures (and to warm up for a bit! :))
These two are avid cyclists… so we had to stop by Velo City Cycles for a bit!
Cam joined us for the last bit of the session… which was an absolute delight! He is hilarious!

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dan + sarah – grand rapids, mi

I could feel the excitement and joy as I entered the church. Not only was it the day Sarah got to be the bride, but more importantly, it was also the day she was becoming Dan’s wife. Laughter filled the air and [happy] tears streamed down cheeks as everyone prepared for the union that was about to take place.

From the pastor’s message to the stories I heard from friends and family, to the few hours I was able to watch them interact – it was clearly evident that these two are meant for each other. Dan + Sarah possess a deep care, respect and love for one another and being a witness to this occasion was truly an honor.

Congratulations, you two! Many, many blessings on your marriage journey!
Sarah had two pairs of shoes for the day. The flats above for inside and these awesome boots for when she was outside! (perfect for our portrait time!)Sarah also had her ladies bring two pairs of footwear – brown boots for outside and black heels for inside. Again, very wonderful idea for keeping warm during outside portraits :)

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emily + andrew

I am SO excited for what 2012 holds… and the awesome couples I get to work with this year! One of those couples is Emily + Andrew. These two are just really great. We met up a few weeks ago when they were in town for the Christmas holiday. I loved the time we had together to get to know each other more, talk about life and hear all about their wedding plans. They are currently living in New York pursuing further degrees and dreams, but even from planning long-distance, their Michigan wedding is sure not to disappoint!

The weather definitely didn’t give us the typical winter snow we were hoping for, but Emily + Andrew were totally up for the adventure of a drizzly, chilly session. I love the way their outfits, the settings, the dreariness and their love came together PERFECTLY…

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bryce + sarah – plymouth, mi

Well, folks… it’s the beginning of the end of the wedding 2011 season. Yes, I know… it’s January… but I still haven’t shared my December weddings with you! I’m embarrassed by how long it has taken me – I hope the photos make up for my delay, though!

To start, I have the beautiful nuptials of Bryce + Sarah at the Inn at St. Johns. You may recognize this couple from their late summer engagement session at Cranbrook. Since our first coffee date together, I had been not only excited for the wedding, but also for the two of them to get married! :) These two waited a long time to become husband and wife and it was awesome to witness them tie the knot! Their day was a perfectly romantic, intimate celebration – filled with love, joy, lots of family and friends… and even a surprise dusting of snow. What a wonderful winter wedding!

Bryce + Sarah – I’m so happy for you both. Thank-you for allowing me to be a part of your story! Enjoy the preview…

This was my first ceremony at St. Johns. What an amazing chapel!

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rachel + jonno

I was painting my nails on the bathroom floor of my parent’s house (stick with me ;)). It was Thanksgiving morning and the house was quietly preparing for the afternoon’s events. Jonathan stayed close, even though he hates the smell of nail polish. All of a sudden, my phone rang.

“Jonathan, my phone is in my pocket, could you get it for me?” Rachel was calling… which wasn’t out of the ordinary, but we had been hanging out the night before, so for her to call me less than 12 hours later, I was a bit suspicious. He quickly handed me the phone and after a few minutes of small talk (she always drags out important news!!), she said, “I just sent you a picture text, you should look at it.” There, to my delight, my surprise and my shock, was a picture of Rachel with a diamond on her left hand. Jonathan, of course, knew this was coming and smiled as I tried to figure out how to cry and laugh and speak at the same time…

Over, the past 7 years, Rachel has become one of my best friends. We met in college at GVSU and finding we had similar values and interests, ended up spending most of our free time together. My husband, Jonathan, has known Jonno (whose real name is also Jonathan) almost his entire life (literally). These two are responsible for some of our best memories and have walked through some of life’s deepest trials with us.

Luckily for us, in the past year, Jonno + Rachel have fallen in love, gotten engaged and are making plans for their April wedding – aww yea!
The fact that one of my best friends is becoming a wife? AWESOME.
The fact that she’s marrying my husband’s best friend?
EVEN MORE AWESOME.

Words seriously can’t describe what a blessing these two are to us… but hopefully I can come up with at least a few words for my toast ;). Rachel + Jonno, we love you both dearly, we are so excited for you two and cannot wait to be married-couple-friends!! Yay!

And now, here are some of the results from our chilly December day together…

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