Ben and Krista are Married! Sneak-peek

May 23, 2009 Ben and Krista were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at Spring Grove Park in Hudsonville. The forcast called for rain between noon and three, guess what time the ceremony started. Yep 1:30, right in the middle of the forcasted rain...great huh. The skies were cloudy and rain threatened throughout the morning. Ironic that in my meeting with Ben and Krista a few weeks back I told them that I have never had a rained out wedding...I promised their day would be perfect. So as the day began, people hustled to get set up and pictures began we all said a little prayer to God for sunshine. The rain clouds rolled in and we were all a little nervous but God had a special blessing for these two. As we began pictures of Ben and Krista, the rain clouds rolled away and sunshine poked through the clouds. It was as if God smiled down on us, Ben and Krista pledged their love before God, family, and friends and the day turned out perfect...still no rain outs for me yet! Thanks God :) In the meantime as I continue editing here's a quick peek of what is to come later.

Dave and Katie are Married! Sneak-peek

On May 22, 2009 Dave and Katie were married! It was a gorgeous day and Katie was a GORGEOUS bride. She was soooo photogenic I can't wait to go through their pictures, I know there are going to be some fantastic photos. For now here is a quick sneak peek to tantalize your taste for wedding photos.

Nick and Lindsey are Engaged!

A few weeks ago I was delighted to shoot a downtown GR engagement session for Nick and Lindsey, who will be married in late August.  Nick kept us all laughing with his goofy faces and silly antics from the first frame out of my camera to the very last.  I love how he made Lindsey giggle and laugh... I think she might love that too :)  I adore photo shoots with silliness, laughter, and love.  Guys, I loved watching you two interact in front of the camera.  You have so many great moments of sweet embraces to genuine smiles and I love your photos!  I can't wait for your wedding, I'm expecting all the same silliness and joy for your special day.

Lindsey, you have stunning eyes.  
I don't know what Lindsey whispered in his ear but based on this photo it had to be something good.
To wrap it all up we had a little dance session on top of the hill.


And to close with my all time favorite sun flare shot.  I heart sun flare!

Jeff and Amanda are Married! Sneakpeek

On Saturday, May 16, 2009 Jeff and Amanda were married at the First Baptist Church in Middleville.  This wedding was a little extra special because Amanda is my husband's cousin.  It was exciting to not only spend the day shooting, which I love, but share the day with so much family.  It never hurts to have my husband nearby to give me a quick glance with an encouraging wink.  

Amanda, you looked gorgeous...and Jeff, you weren't too bad yourself.  Here is an image I caught at the last moment of the day, probably my favorite for the year so far.  Come back for more soon!

Moses and Julie are Married!

Julie and I happend to hook up this past winter through another one of my spring brides...thanks Katie :)  Moses, Julie, and I headed out to Ann Arbor for an engagment shoot in January (burrrr) but we had an awesome time.  We went to all their special date places, they bought me a loaf of bread at a really cool cheese and wine shop (yep that's right, they bought ME..the photographer.... a loaf of bread how nice is that!).  I knew from the first moment I met them that they were awesome people.  After their engagment shoot they launched a website (with their sweet pictures) and shared their love story.  To be perfectly honest, no lie here, I was sooo touched that I teared, yep, I can't deny that I get so emotional over love stories  and their story was so incredible.  I thought that as I share the images from their wedding day it would be so awesome to share their love story with all of you.   The intense emotional and overwhelming joy of the day is so much better understood with their love story so without further ado here it is

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Our paths crossed in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan, where we both went for college.  We went to the same church, but we didn't really talk to each other. Moses just knew Julie as 'Sandy's little sister,' and Julie just knew Moses as 'the Business School legend with a quirky personality and incredible drive.'

We ended up on a mission trip to Kenya in the summer of 2002, but still weren't aware of each others' existence. But that all changed the following year, when we were paired up to lead a bible study group for college students. Moses' fell in love, while Julie... didn't. 

They went their separate ways, but in the summer of 2006 ended up on another mission team together. Julie's heart began to open up for Moses, and he jumped on the opportunity to ask her out! She thought and prayed about it for months, but felt like she wasn't ready at the time, and said no.

So they went their separate ways again, but Julie began to realize that she'd said no to the right guy. She began to fall in love with Moses during a time when he thought the story was over.  

Thanks to Moses's die-hard perseverance, though, he didn't give up. In the fall of 2007, he put everything on the line and asked her out one last time.  He read an excerpt from an email that he'd written to his pastor the last time Julie said no to him:

'As I pray, I really don't get a sense that this story is over. It may be that God may want me to approach her again in 6 - 12 months. I am open to this, especially if I can come to grips with saying that she's worth putting myself through the embarrassment of asking again and waiting on this again.' 

This time, Julie said YES, absolutely, YES!!!  To which Moses said, 'Um...Uh...buh...uh...'

And the rest, as they say, is history. 

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Julie is so incredibly beautiful and delicate.  I just loved how she looked in this light as she delicately answered the phone. 





Told you she looked beautiful

Mom's first look of Julie was so sweet, I love this expression.

This was another incredibly emotional moment, Moses and Julie saw each other for the first time.  I teared up, I couldn't help it, thank goodness for auto focus!

This little guys was pretty stinkin cute...
they were quite the show as they walked down the aisle together.

The vows were also a really emotional part of the ceremony.  Moses was so glad to FINALLY  be standing at the alter marrying the love of his life :)
It was quite the first kiss, love this triptych






Thanks so much to you both Moses and Julie.  Brooke, Gen, and I had an incredible day not only shooting pictures but interacting with everyone and enjoying the party.  Good luck to you in your journey together, may God bless you immensly.