Terre Haute, Indiana

My husband and I just returned from Terre Haute, IN, where he was hired as an Assistant Professor at Indiana State University. Our plans are to move mid-August, just before he begins teaching. I will stay behind until my wedding contracts are fulfilled, and will still be available for travel back to Michigan. I will definitely miss all of the wonderful people that I've met here in the Detroit area, but I know that I will be back often to visit with my family and friends.



Terre Haute is an interesting town with a lot of unrealized potential. Because of its location, it has become the chain-store shopping mecca for the surrounding counties. Its central location also puts the residents within a few hours drive of several major cities including Indianapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Louisville. Yet, Terre Haute is a destination in itself, and after our trip these last few days- I'm beginning to see just how great this little city really is.





In the short two days that we were in town, we ate at several unique local restaurants with excellent food & service, visited a few art galleries for student, local, and national artists; toured a few historic buildings, attended an art soiree fundraiser, enjoyed a $3 movie at the historic Indiana Theatre, and even got to see a hometown Detroit band called Bump, perform at the Verve in downtown Terre Haute.


(Clicking on this image will take you to pictures of Bump at the Verve)


I'm really looking forward to all of the possibilities and potential that this small city holds for its residents and surrounding communities. I can't wait to be a part of its growth and development. We met so many wonderful people in two short days that I can't wait to return at the end of the summer. Click on any picture for a short (and insufficient) picture tour of downtown Terre Haute, IN.

Danielle & Brian Engagement

What started out as a simple task of taking engagement pictures at the Joe Louis Arena, turned into a story that Danielle, Brian, and I (as well as two other gentlemen named Louis and Kimothy) will never forget. Since Danielle & Brian are big Red Wings fans, we decided to park at Greektown Casino for some free downtown parking and hop on the People Mover for a ride over to Joe Louis Arena. When we arrived at the Joe Louis stop, we innocently stepped onto the elevator from the People Mover platform, even though the gentlemen already inside the elevator seemed to be confused as to why they were not on the ground level. The doors close. We wait. We don't feel any movement. The doors don't open. We push buttons. We push more buttons. Pushing buttons, pushing buttons, pushing buttons... nothing happens. We are trapped in an elevator. GREAT!



Now, this wouldn't be too much of a problem except that I like to schedule engagement sessions to take advantage of peak lighting hours and I do not plan in extra time to get stuck in elevators! We pushed the little button to call someone and an operator answered, saying they'd send someone in 10 minutes. Well, 10 minutes isn't so bad. Ten minutes pass and no one comes, no one calls. We push the button again, the same operator answers again...
"We're stuck in an elevator by Joe Louis Arena, is anyone coming to help us get out??"
"We've sent someone, they should be on their way there in about 10 minutes."
"That's what you said the last time.."
"I know, he's still on his way."

Now mind you, I have a job to get done here and time's a wastin'! Unfortunately we were a little more inhibited due to the fact that there were two other gentlemen in the elevator with the couple and I. The gentlemen were... not thrilled to be stuck in an elevator with a photographer who's asking a couple to kiss in front of them! HA! Kimothy, was on his way to work at Joe Louis arena- and if you happen to come across this loveable guy, tell him I said Hi and I hope his mother is doing well (whom he called on Danielle's cell phone while we were stuck in the elevator). Louis, well.. he's a very private person and preferred not to give us any personal information whatsoever- in fact, he only introduced himself after being in the elevator together for about 45 minutes.



So, I don't have a modeling release for these extra gentlemen, but I have to take some pictures of the couple in case we don't get out before the sun sets. The poor gentlemen had to move to the corners of the elevator so they wouldn't be in my shots and the lighting was horrible, even with flash, the gray walls were just eating up all of the light. Needless to say.. not the ideal location or lighting for an engagement session! To top it off, my husband called while I was in the elevator to tell me that he got hired for his first full-time professor position- which meant that we would be moving to Indiana in the fall. How ironic that I receive a life-changing phone call while stuck in an elevator!

Finally, after an hour of waiting in the elevator, and many calls to the people mover operators, we get out. At the very moment the doors opened, I caught this picture of Danielle which says it all... what a relief!!



Luckily, we still had a bit of sunlight left to do pictures around the arena and in front of the hockey wall of fame. When we got back onto the people mover, can you guess what we didn't take up to the platform?! I also got some fun shots in the people mover and still caught a little bit of sun-kissed closeups. Click on any of the images to view Danielle & Brian's Engagement Session.

Jen & Chris' Wedding

Jen & Chris were married at the Candlelight Wedding Chapel & Hall where they had one of the most unique themes I've ever seen!! You guessed it- NASCAR! Now, before you make any judgements (because I KNOW what you're thinking), consider how carefully this theme was thought out and how much work it must have taken to pull it off...

How often does the groom actually get to have the wedding of HIS dreams? Most guys have to suffer through the girlie flowers and maybe even strut a flashy pink tie all for the love of his bride-to-be. Not this groom- I think he may have even done more of the decorating than the bride (but I'm pretty sure it was an equal effort)!

First, let's start with the wedding logo and centerpieces: a converted Nextel Nascar logo, custom designed by the groom with their names and wedding date! Not only did he custom design the logo, but look closely at the car.. ALL of the decals you see were custom designed and printed by the groom. I don't know much about the cars or drivers, but I also think that the other advertiser logos on the cars are accurate as well! (A little tip he shared about DIY decals- let the ink dry for a day before attempting to put them on anything.) Now honestly girls, how many guys are THIS dedicated to the centerpieces for YOUR wedding?

Second, the table numbers and color scheme: people are always looking for unique and creative ways to distiguish what tables guests should seek after picking up their placecards. These table numbers, were not just any numbers... each number represented the car that was in the center of the table. To keep a simple color palette, they choose black and white with splashes of red and silver. They could have gone overboard with checkered print, but instead it appeared subtlely in the silver bouquet ribbons and on the rotating platform for the model cars.



Keeping with their black & white color scheme, they also had a "tiered cake" made of Hostess Twinkies and Cupcakes. Even though they decided not to "cut the cake", I think that cake disappeared faster than any other wedding cake I've ever seen! I mean come on, who doesn't like hostess chocolate CUPCAKES?! Mmmmm... creamy filling... :P

Of course, this couple wouldn't be seriously die-hard NASCAR fans if they didn't have the ultimately NASCAR souvenier... an original, used, NASCAR racing tire (which was used as a card holder on their gift table)! Here's what Jen had to say...
"The tire that we used for the cardbox was one that we bought at MIS last summer. It's actually a race-used tire. Chris's dad made the stand and the wheel part of it w/ the card slot."

The best part of the wedding was that everyone had fun- and that's what makes a wedding great!! Click on any image to preview their wedding day in pictures.