Kate + Dave's Wedding at the Henry Ford

A few weeks ago Grant and I drove out to Dearborn to photograph Kate and Dave's wedding at the Henry Ford. The ceremony took place at the beautiful white chapel, and the reception was held at the tavern a little further down the path. We had never been to Dearborn, let alone the Henry Ford, and we discovered over the course of the day what a gem this place is! It was so fun to explore a place full of so much history, and it suited Kate and Dave's classic style perfectly.


The guys enjoyed some pre-wedding Rock Band in the basement of the chapel.




I love this portrait. It showcases the classic style and beauty Kate carries with her.

It is so special to witness the emotion of a groom seeing his bride for the first time.




Grant's view:
My view:

While I went ahead to grab shots of the details of the reception, Grant took a walk with Kate and Dave to the village area where Kate works...


Aside from some mood lighting near the dance floor and the videographers' lights, the reception was entirely candlelit. A bit of a photography challenge at times, sure, but we loved the intimacy of the celebration, particularly for the first dance.


We actually were connected with Kate and Dave through this couple below. Mark is a good friend from U of M, and Caitlin works with Kate at the Henry Ford. We spent Sunday afternoon after the wedding with the two of them at the Henry Ford (courtesy of Caitlin's free employee-and-friends admission!), and then hopped down to Ann Arbor for pizza at a favorite local place. (Thanks for the fun afternoon, you two!)



And the tavern as we left it.

Apologies to everyone for our blogging delinquence lately! We have several shoots coming up as well as some business changes, so we will be blogging more often in the future. Stay tuned for the rest of Jena and Michael's engagement session!

Album Slipcovers!

Ever since we got our new flushmount sample album, I have been looking around for a way to present and carry it-- a presentation box, bag, anything! Naturally, an album is meant to be on display, but we felt like there should be something to keep it in when there's no space, or something to keep it in when you carry it around. Well I had heard about ChrysQ album slipcovers through an online forum, but Grant and I got to check them out for ourselves when we were in Las Vegas last month. We loved them! I ordered one once we got back to Grand Rapids and it came in the mail today!


We ordered a brown slipcover to match the brown-and-cream album, but she has several pretty fabric swatches to choose from.


I think the buttons are so fun, but they can also be ordered with a ribbon to tie the slipcover shut.

She did such a beautiful job! The stitching is so detailed, and I love the silk lining.
The designer, Christina, does such a beautiful job with these, and can even do completely custom slipcovers to match an aspect of your wedding. For now we are offering this as an album add-on, so contact us about pricing if you're interested!

Spring

As spring slowly works itself into our days (finally!), we're remembering the spring before we were married, how June could not arrive faster and then, suddenly, it did. Some of my best memories from that spring are the afternoons (like yesterday) when we couldn't not be outside, when you literally and figuratively get down to earth, when you catch up with yourself and your other half and soon-to-be spouse.

I got out my hard drive and found some pictures from a spring when we were dating and thought I'd share some. Nothin' fancy, but I really like 'em (and I'm sure the subject of them has something to do with it).

Our feet. Leandra and my first date was at this same park. We were walking some trails, and when we came to a big muddy patch, I hopped around it, but Leandra took her sandals off and walked through the mud. I thought that was pretty awesome. In case you couldn't tell, my feet are the large, flat ones.



... and then we got married. This is my absolute favorite picture from our wedding. Our good friend Darrel Yoder, did our photos, and we loved them. This one was about half-way through the reception, and the song was "To Make you Feel My Love" by Garth Brooks. I usually spend my days listening to Brit-rock and folk and Norah Jones, but sometimes, I gotta have some country. There's something spring-in-the-park-earthy to [good] country music that speaks in ways other music doesn't. I remember that at the moment this picture was taken, I was completely positive that there was no where else that I needed to be, my thoughts needed to be, my time needed to be, and no where else I wanted my lover to be than right where she was.

Oh, and the guy on the border? That's Cameron. You'll find his pictures a few posts down.
If you hate country music, Adele also sings an amazing version of To Make You Feel My Love. Highly recommended first dance/reception choice. You'll just have at least one teary photographer on your hands.

Hope everyone else is enjoying this spring weather!

Jena + Michael: Sneak Peek

Just a few from Saturday's engagement session of wonderful weather and wonderful people, Jena and Michael...


More coming soon!

Cameron/Caleb

Leandra and I drove down to Indianapolis a few nights ago to take some portraits of our best friend, Cameron, and his room-mate, Caleb to promote the recitals they'll be giving in the next few weeks at their university. Just thought we'd share just a few of our favorites, and the final poster designs we put together!

Cameron:
...and Caleb:


And here are the poster designs we made for them...

Tea

Leandra and I just thought we'd share a find of ours recently. Since the New Year, we both resolved to only drink coffee on the weekends. I had developed a 4 cup-a-day routine, and Leandra and developed a 4-buck-mocha-a-day routine, neither of which were very good on our bodies or wallets. So, we made coffee a treat for ourselves--only for weekends. On days we shoot a wedding it is definitely a necessity, but for lazy Sundays and wedding-free Saturdays, we've been having some nice, work-free coffee dates.

All's well and good for the weekends, and we're drinking a lot less money coffee. For the rest of the week, we've just started drinking a lot of tea. (And by a lot, I mean, a lot. Especially when this idea of ours first started.) Last week, we discovered Zhena's, which we've really been enjoying. It seemed like it was hard enough finding a coffee that was fair-trade certified, and teas are no different. Zhena's is fair trade and organic... and the price reflects it. (It also makes a lot of promises about aromatherapy, but as long as it smells "good," I'm fine. I don't expect any higher-enlightenment from tea aromas.) Unlike other fair-trade and/or organic teas though, the container is reusable and refillable with large refill bags that you can order online to help defray the cost a bit. On top of that, even though 30 cents a tea-bag is pretty expensive for tea, it's nothing compared to our previous coffee-shop fare. So, here it is, our favorite thing this week:

We bought the Chai and Earl Grey varieties, both of which are very good. What's that resting on top of our mugs? Well, those are Anna's Ginger Thins, the best thing to come from Sweden since Dancing Queen! The mug on the left was made by yours truly, but the one on the right was purchased at one of many kitschy road-side Bigfoot shrines in Northern California. I was there about a year ago for a little photo trip in Humboldt County, which was perhaps just as breathtaking but a bit more reality-based than some other trips that supposedly happen there. I love Bigfoot's nonchalance as he's walking across the mug, as well as an equally corny paragraph about the legend of bigfoot on the other side. Here are a few favorites from the (photo) trip:





The last one's Leandra's favorite, and it'll be going on our wall soon. I left the border off of them because I've enjoyed using them as my computer background--it's a nice change from grey Michigan winters--and thought I'd include a link to download full-sized versions if you'd like to also.

Here's one, two, three, and four. Enjoy!

Tagged!

This afternoon I realized that I got tagged for a little blog meme by Brandi Thompson. Thank goodness I don't read blogs first thing in the morning, or I think I might have chickened out of this whole thing! I'm not sure if Grant and I have yet posted pictures of ourselves on the blog (other than our profile pictures on the right), but I am taking the plunge.

Here’s what you do:

1. Sit down.
2. Take a picture of yourself right now. Don’t primp, just snap one!
3. Upload it.
4. Tag 3 people to do the same.
That’s all!

Our camera gear was tucked away in the closet, so I opted to use my oh-so-technical MacBook webcam.

Yes, I am sitting on the floor. The sun was pouring in through our balcony door today so I did my editing and e-mailing (and apparently, blogstalking) sprawled out on the floor. It was a perfect day.

I've decided to pass this along and tag the following people: Kelly LaBruyere of True Expressions Photography, Brynne of P. Brynne Photography, and Valerie of Richard Bell Photography.

Have a wonderful evening, everyone!

UPS Happiness

If you are anything like us, you love getting mail. If you are further like us, your mailbox mostly gets filled with junk. So for us, any bit of real mail is reason to celebrate. When we got a call today that UPS had dropped off a package of ours at the wrong address and that we could pick it up this afternoon, we got seriously excited. Our guestbook must have arrived!

After Meghan and Brad's beautiful engagement session a few weeks back, Grant and I decided it was time to finally get a sample of the photo guestbook we offer for weddings. It is a bound book of engagement pictures in a layout that leaves plenty of white space for guests' well-wishes. We love this idea! It is a perfect way to keep your engagement pictures on display, as well as to keep your guests' signatures in a special place rather than gathering dust in a half-empty book in the closet.

The book comes in red, black, or brown leather.


The pages lay flat to make it easier for guests to sign without holding the book open.






We will be sharing more samples with you in the near future. Until then, keep an eye out for the rest of Kate and Dave's wedding pictures!

Kate + Dave: Sneak Peek

Leandra and I returned yesterday from Dearborn, where we photographed Kate and Dave's beautiful wedding at the Henry Ford on Saturday. We wanted to share two that caught our eye at first glance. Look for a full post in a week or so!





Kate and Dave, we hope you're enjoying your honeymoon in the Bahamas!