Erika and Scott are engaged!

I've been so excited to finally get this session posted. It's not everyday that I have the chance to get out of Michigan and shoot somewhere new, especially not in my favorite city Chicago. I grew up in Chicago, and had always planned to move back after college to start my career, obviously God had different plans and with no complaints. I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams, here I have found my husband and home. I proudly call Grand Rapids my home but sometimes I miss my favorite city, so when Erika and Scott tossed out the idea of doing their engagement session there, I jumped at the chance to head back and shoot. We stopped and some of the best spots in the city...though I forgot about the awesome afternoon Chicago traffic...let's just say I was a little late for our session. Thank goodness Erika and Scott were so understanding, plus extra bonus...we had a chance to see the city at night and shoot a few night time pics against the night skyline.

If you know me you know that I am TERRIFIED of spiders, (Kurt can tell you some funny and embarrassing stories about my phobia) I wouldn't have gone near this fence but thankfully Erika and Scott are way cooler then me because these spider webs looked pretty sweet with the light shining through from behind.

perfect end to a perfect evening, thanks guys for getting me out of Michigan for a sweet shoot, looking forward to wedding day!

Suzi and Tanya trash the dress

Over this last summer I had such a fun time shooting Suzi and her sister, Tanya, for an urban trash the dress session. Suzi was one of my past brides who was married back in January. Though her wedding was beautiful, the weather was certainly not ideal for outdoor portraits so I was really excited when she not only contacted me to put her dress on again, but decided to come back from Arizona with her sister to do it with me! It was a big bonus that they brought a ton of props and accessories and told me I had free reign. These girls are such troopers, the day of our shoot it was 95 degrees on the fourth floor of my warehouse studio with no air...holy hot!! We had so much fun, it gives me to itch to do this more! Thank you so much girls for giving me the chance to do something so different and for being such great models, seriously these girls worked it out .. and it doesn't hurt that they're gorgeous! :)

*** side note**** though Suzi and Tanya were both up for trashing their dresses... (because they are awesome) both girls chose to wear their mother's wedding dress for a few photos and we did NOT trash that dress. It is possible to do a really fun trash the dress session WITHOUT actually trashing any dresses...just in case you would like to try this but really want to keep your dress :)

We tried some with mom's veil, love!

mom's veil again, gorgeous.

Tanya had a vision for a shot with her immersed in water, it's harder then it looks, especially when the water is freezing!

.... so worth it!

October Wedding Sneak Peek Marathon!

SOOOO many amazing fall weddings, ahhh gorgeous overload. I've been so busy this post is long overdue. Since I have so much editing to catch up on and fabulous brides waiting for their images I'm going to keep the writing part of this blog post short and sweet. I hope this winter after I get caught up to share more stories and images from each of my amazing clients.

Oct 2, Brooke and Matt married in Holland

Brook had a surprise Zumba dance for their guest, Matt was a good sport and jumped in....Let's just say he got an "A" for effort ;)

October 16, Katie and Joe were married in Grand Rapids amidst the gorgeous fall color backdrop with an awesome reception at Stonewater Country Club

Oct 10, Kathy and Ely had a beautiful, heartfelt, and intimate ceremony at the Bay Pointe Inn with a summer-like fall day of 70 degrees and gorgeous blue skies.

They had an adorable candy buffet with candy favorites from each member of the family, Kathy, Ely, and their three precious children Bella, Sloane, and Nolan.












Then we went out to a field for sunset, eeeeeeekkk, when a bride says..."sure Phrené, whatever you want to do, I trust you" ... I get so giddy.






Oct 23, Reneé and Tony were married up north at a fabulous Michigan destination spot, The Homestead Resort. The fall colors were INCREDIBLE, and despite the crazy Michigan weather it was a gorgeous wedding.

Reneé had so many beautiful details, some of which were heirlooms her grandmother wore at her wedding.

This was quite the exciting party, I just had to include a few moments.





Oct 30, Stephanie and Aaron were married at Calvin College and again some amazing weather for late fall in Michigan. I LOVED her peacock feather details.

I love her sister's look at Stephanie as they began their vows

Whooooo! MARRIED!