Caroline & Dave's Wedding Portraits

I know this is pretty unheard of on my blog, but I loved so many of the creative portraits that we did at their wedding that I'm making a separate post for just the posed shots!! Caroline & Dave wanted a lot of artistic portraits, and they had some awesome locations to work with, so I we pretty much rocked it out!! While I'm at it, I'll throw in a few standard portraits as well just to show you that I do take them when requested. Let's start with the traditional and end with funky..

A touch of Chicago skyline...


Happy & sweet...




Your standard, front of the church shot...


Face framing..


Kinda candid, but not really...




Bridal party silliness...


Background romance...


I like to move it, move it...




The dramatic staircase shot...


A more relaxed version of the staircase shot...


From badass...


To backlit...


An experiment in attitude and awkwardness...


C-c-c-cold...


Warm..


Last but not least... Cover Girl! Work it girl, do your thang... if you haven't noticed... Caroline is FIERCE!! Tyra would be proud. ;-)






I have a feeling I'll be seeing many more flying veil shots after this!

WPJA Action Winner

I'm honored to have another image place in the Wedding Photojournalist Association!! This is from the Q1 2008 contest (I didn't submit anything for Q2.. but there's always Q3 & Q4!) and was taken during Caroline & Dave's wedding, which I'll be blogging about next (sooo many awesome photos from that wedding)!! I love that WPJA actually includes judge's comments (sometimes), which you can see underneath the image! Thanks to Dave and all of his guys for giving me an award-winning moment to capture!!

GREEN IDEA: Suit Recycling

Alex (the hubby) and I have been fans of the excellent service of Men's Wearhouse ever since we used them to supply the vests and ties for our wedding (our groomsmen used tuxes they already owned from being musicians... but that's a different kind of suit recycling!)

(Yep, that's us!! I can't believe it's going to be 5 years this October!)

So, I was naturally interested in a post I saw on Vintage Indie Blog that said Men's Wearhouse is doing a National Suit Drive for the months of September and October! Here's why it's more awesome than taking your suit to Salvation Army...

"A Second Chance
For many unemployed men, a new suit is the first step toward a second chance. During the National Suit Drive, every one of our over 550 stores will be collecting gently used professional attire to benefit at-risk men and youth transitioning into the workforce. All clothing we receive will be distributed throughout the community by local nonprofit organizations.

How It Works
Simply visit your nearest Men's Wearhouse store during the months of September and October and donate professional clothing, such as suits, sport coats, slacks, ties, and belts. All donations are tax deductible, and participants will receive a coupon for 10% off* their next Men's Wearhouse purchase as a special thank you. Plus, we'll contribute a new dress shirt for every suit we receive." - National Suit Drive website

I know Alex has a few suit pieces that he's outgrown since college, and he'll definitely be able to use the discount toward something like a new belt or dress shirt. Who knows... an old suit just might end up being super stylish threads for a retro-indie guy like Joce (who snagged his amazing tweed suit from a resale shop!)

LOVE IT: Wisdom

I found this through my friend's blog and had to share it here because I love it so much. It's inspiration for the soul. Click on the box to see the video in a new window...

Mary & Matt's Detroit Public Library Wedding

I love libraries and historic buildings. So, when Mary told me that there was a possibility her reception would be held at the gorgeous and historic Detroit Public Library, which I used to roam in wonder as a child... I was so excited that I squealed like a fat bellied pig!! I absolutely love photographing weddings and receptions in non-traditional, unconventional locations! It's pure inspiration!!! I'll get back to that later. First... some candid images while everyone was getting ready...


Can you believe those lashes are natural!? Those could be dangerous!!

Mary's sister is the music teacher for the church- so all of the girls were able to get ready in her music room. Shortly after moving the piano so it would be out of the way, the sisters burst into a rockin' version of Heart and Soul...


Their wedding colors were mostly black & white (graphic designs by Mary) with little touches of pink, including pink champagne!


I'm always looking out for little moments like this. ;-)


This feels like it could be a scene from the Three Stooges... "You missed a spot! Just one more snip..."


A few moments of prayer before the ceremony...



The ceremony was held at the beautiful and historic Iroquois Ave Christ Lutheran Church in Detroit, MI. I just looooove how much storytelling there is in this image and the fact that you can see so many different expressions on the faces of the guests as the flower girl walks down the aisle...


Just before Mary walks down the aisle with her father, I turn around to see Matt's reaction, but am also intrigued by the reactions of the minister and the best man...


The new Mr. & Mrs!!!


Maybe the ring bearer wanted to do it all over again?? I love the combination of the shadows and scattered petals here as well as the way that the light outlines the guests...


Mary & Matt wanted lots of creative (posed) shots... so, in rare fashion, I'm going to show you tons of posed images!!




Traditional rules of photography tell you to watch your backgrounds and avoid making objects come out of people's heads. Well, when Mary walked by this painting- I suddenly saw her turn into a butterfly... and it was perfect!! Some rules are meant to be broken. ;-)

This was not posed... it just cracks me up!


This year I have seen more wedding parties playing up their grand entrance than ever before!! Work it!!


The view from the front....


... and the view from the balcony that I crawled out of a window to get on. Notice the reflection of the sky and the DIA across the street? In order to capture what was happening inside, while lining up the reflection on the outside, I used my body to block the reflected light allowing the light from the inside to shine through the window... yeah... I'm S-M-R-T smart! HA! ;-)


This photo might scare some librarians- just imagining one of those books accidentally making a graceful fall onto a slice of frosted cake... it just makes me really hungry...


Speaking of cake... I've also seen many more cupcakes this year instead of full size cakes!! Yummmayyy...



OMG- this guy seriously ROCKED THE ROOF OFF!!! I have to admit that as a flute player in a former life, I never really cared for clarinet players... until I heard Dave Bennett turn my world upside down!! I wasn't the only one!! During dinner, people actually gave him a standing ovation!! Do you know how rare that is at weddings?! Seriously! He's also a great singer and plays a mean Great Balls of Fire on the keys! If you're looking for a tight jazz ensemble that can also swing.. definitely talk to Dave!!


A little first dance action... (and the bustle that took nearly 30 minutes and 4 girls to bustle!!)


Way to go Matt! The ladies loooove the big dip!

Girls really just want to have fun!!


Yummmayyy...


Mary & Matt snuck away from the reception for a little library lovin'... caution: HOT!!




Mary & Matt - could you be any more awesome?! Seriously! I had wayyy too many favorites to blog- and I couldn't even cram all of my favorites into the slideshow!! Thank you for hiring ME to photograph your wedding!! I'm truly honored- and the day was absolutely perfect. I can't think of a single thing I'd do differently. ;-)