HI! I'm working!

We have some down time between the ceremony & reception, so here's a photo of me & Kelly working... well... uh...

PS. This is STRAIGHT out of camera - no sharpening, no color correction, no extra contrast.. I'm sure most people would be happy with it... but I look at it and see tons of little things I want to do to make it better. Oh well, I thought you'd enjoy seeing what one of my images looks like straight from the camera.

Katie & Matt's Wedding

Katie & Matt are the picture perfect, storybook couple. They've known each other since first grade and have spent their lives growing up together. All of their experiences over the years have led to them developing a deep friendship and authenticity with each other that takes many years to develop for a lot of couples. Even though they're "all grown up now", they have a love that is playful and silly, while also being thoughtful and deep. There were so many little things that made their day special, I had a really hard time deciding which ones to share here!!


Pictured above: Katie's mom & sister, but I probably made that a little obvious, right?


Sometimes I'm a fly on the wall, and sometimes I'm a fly in your armpit! I think this is my favorite zipping-up-the-dress picture EVER!!


A ummmm... trick lighter. I love her shocked-surprised-disgusted-amused look! How did she get all of those emotions in one face?!?!



Awwwww... poor dog couldn't attend the wedding... I know, I'm sad too.



Their ceremony was held at the beautiful Gary United Methodist Church in Wheaton, IL.



They had a bubble exit from the church and I must say, their guests were GREAT bubble blowers- there were bubbles everywhere! Do you know how hard it is take a picture of a moving, transparent, reflective object?!?!?! Try it sometime and then send me your picture!


You know, for a couple of high school teachers who are supposed to be role models, they sure do break the law a lot!! First jay-walking and then going the wrong way in a one-way?! Crazy rebels! Just kidding.. I'll take the blame, I'm such a bad influence. ;-)

WARNING: Cheesy wedding party poses ahead!



This was definitely a first for me! Matt, the dedicated History teacher, wanted to replicate the classic ape-to-man evolution chart!! Matt- I hope this ends up in your classroom somewhere!! Your friends must realllllly love you if they're willing to act like apes for you!!

Their wedding details had a bright and pretty palette of pinks, corals, and yellows...



Instead of a guest book, they made a quilted wall hanging for their guests to sign. I may be just a bit partial to the idea since we did the same thing for our wedding!


Their reception was at Bartlett Hills Golf Club in Bartlett, IL. For the budding photographers who read my blog... this looks like an easy, straight-forward picture, right? Here's what makes it a technical challenge: it's backlit by natural light, which is stronger than indoor lighting, and the window acts like a big mirror. How did I balance the indoor and outdoor light while not getting any flashback from the window? First I metered for the outdoor lighting, and then I metered for the indoor lighting to figure the difference, then used the flash bounced up and to my left into the angled ceiling to create a soft directional light that wouldn't reflect off of the window. Yeah, I'm goooood. ;-) Actually, the reason I choose this picture was because it reminded me of DaVinci's Last Supper.


Speaking of supper.. I had the VERY lovely privilege of sitting with a group of Matt's Civil War Reenactment friends!! OMG, I felt like I was attending a stand-up-comedy dinner!! I laughed SO HARD that I ended up with cheek cramps!!


Katie, an English teacher, received the perfect literary gift from her sister during the maid-of-honor toast: an educational book to help Katie learn about some of the joys of waking up with the man of her dreams every day... HA!!!



*sigh* Can't you just feel the love? They danced to the classic, Glen Miller's Moonlight Serenade.




OK, enough of the mushy gushy love stuff... these people love to party!!!



When that bouquet came flying, you can bet I didn't want to be in THEIR way!!! ;-)

My favorite image from the entire day... niiiiiiiiice....


Katie & Matt - thank you so, so, so, so much for making me your wedding photographer!! There were so many smiles and tears- it was all just so beautiful and moving. I only hope I was able to capture all of those wonderful feelings for you!! Please have lots of super cute babies so I can visit again soon!! PS. Katie- feel free to fix my poor grammar and/or spelling!!

Wedding: Chantel & Paul

Chantel & Paul blew me away with how much of this wedding they did on their own! How they managed to do it all without being completely stressed out, mystifies me. I think I'll only be able to scratch the surface, but I tried to capture images of as much as I could. They were married at the beautiful and quaint Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church in Spring Arbor, MI.



The flower girls were simply adorable, even when they weren't at their happiest.


Chantel & Paul decided to see each other before the ceremony in order to get all of the posed images out of the way. They had a LOT of guests attending (300+?) and didn't want to make people wait after the ceremony too long before eating. I love that grooms get a chance to express themselves when they see the bride privately... maybe they feel more comfortable without everyone watching them. (Or maybe I'm just totally biased and would love it if everyone did this!!)


After we did the typical family portraits indoors, we headed outside for some more interesting shots with the bridal party and just the bride & groom. As we were walking, I heard this *chink*chink*chink*chink* and couldn't figure out what it was until I noticed that one of the groomsmen had spurs on. Later on he ditched the spurs and donned a cowboy hat instead. Niiiiiiiice.


Just in case there were any doubt that we were on the Spring Arbor campus, here's the landmark of proof!


I think the best moments happen when people think I'm done taking a picture! HA- these girls were so fun! Aren't their eyes gorgeous too?!


So, there are a lot of DIY brides out there who make their own invitations, arrange their own flowers, and maybe even make their own cake, but have you ever heard of someone growing and entire plot of sunflowers in the HOPE that they will bloom for their wedding day!? Well, that's what Chantel & Paul did. They planted their own seeds and grew their own little sunflower field. I'm still in awe.


The ceremony was beautiful, and very moving...

(some people are against taking pictures during prayer... if this is the case for you, please let me know in advance... otherwise, I see it as an opportunity for emotional moments like the one above)



One of the things that was really important to Chantel & Paul was a group picture of all 300 something guests. So, right after the ceremony, I BOLTED up to the sound booth in the balcony to get set for the huge group shot. We worked it out with the minister in advance that after the bridal party made their exit, he would ask the guests to remain in the sanctuary and move toward the center aisle for an entire group shot to be captured from the back of the church. I had the bridal party walk back in and stand in front of everyone so they were the most visible. This church had a nearly perfect set-up for this shot, especially with the wide open row in the middle! I took a few lighting test shots while everyone was getting into place, and then fired two rounds of continuous mode shots (just in case of blinks). I'm really impressed with the results- especially considering this entire room was illuminated with just one little on-camera flash with a lightsphere attached!!!

(click here to see what it looked like without the flash)

Note to all men: at some point you will need to hold a woman's purse. This may also be a cautionary reason why you might want to take an interest in the purses your girlfriend or wife may be purchasing... "Honey, should I go for the quilted pink paisley or the black leather?" Obviously this man chose to NOT offer his opinion... he he he... doesn't he sport it well though? I have to give him props for pimping it like it's his own man-bag!


Back to the DIY stuff... so, on top of GROWING their own sunflowers, they also SMOKED their own brisket!! I think they said they were smoking it the entire day before the wedding! With enough to feed 300+ people?! Wow. I'm not sure if the strawberry topping was homemade, but I loved that they had it to serve on top of the cake slices!! Too bad I didn't get to try any! It sure did look good though!!


I think the best man gave more of a Roast than a Toast! He told some great stories and had everyone rolling with laughter!


The first dance... with a little audience...


I think Paul will make a great daddy... just look at him with those girls! I think I know who he learned it from too...



When you know a lot of kids will be attending, you have to find things to keep them occupied. Dancing is one thing (if you don't mind playing a lot of songs that kids can participate in), coloring books are another (which Chantel & Paul had), or you can just pick a place like the Marshall Activity Center that has its own arcade!! How fun is that? However, it still couldn't keep one kid from getting caught red-handed in the cherry tomatoes!!! The look of guilt here just cracks me up!


There's always one guy who loves to steal the show on the dancefloor... and this was that guy!!


Name that tune!


I think it's someone's bedtime...


If you actually read all of this, CONGRATULATIONS (you must really like me)! Please take a moment to leave a comment about which image is YOUR favorite (and if you say why, that's fun to read too!) Chantel & Paul will receive a free gift enlargement (8x12) of the top pick!! (and if they don't like it, they can give it to someone who will!) The winner will be chosen next Friday- which means you have one week to vote and to get everyone you know to vote for your favorite! I can't wait to see how this turns out!!!