happy friday everyone!!
in honor of this beeeautiful day…we share an equally beeeautiful wedding.

it’s friday night the night before the wedding. mindy and i walk up to the bonfire on the beach where the wedding party is partying. we’re not shy. but we’ve never met the bride and groom and pretty much had no idea who we’re looking for. just two names, chris and jessica.

“hello,” says mindy. “we’re the photographers for the wedding. we’re looking for the bride and groom ”
“that’s me!” says chris.

the chatting immediately begins and we rested easy. we were practically friends with them before we even knew who they were!!

the wedding was at bay harbor inn. and if you’ve been there, you have a glimpse into why we were excited to shoot this wedding. feels like another world. a stinkin’ beeautiful one! and the reception was at bay harbor’s golf course. it was our first time shooting there (i hear they actually just started hosting receptions and weddings in the last year)…let’s just say i hope it wasn’t our last!!

we also decided to shoot most of our pictures right on the grounds. partly because we didn’t really have the time to venture into the city. and partly because there was just so much good stuff to shoot on the grounds. but if you know us at all, you know that we love to bring in a little grunge, color, texture and urban decay. definitely no decay there.

but lo and behold…right down the street…was this AMAZING little building that was just about to be torn down. poor thing! so we just HAD to get some pictures there. [drool].

chris. jessica. posting this blog brought back so many great memories. when are we going to see you again???? in the meantime, here’s a few of our faves…

chicago has too many cool people in it!! there i said it.
once upon a time, we could drive there for a day, shoot a session or two and then drive home.
then we met tom and lauren.
how could we possibly be in the city and not try and get together with them every time we’re there?!

let me tell you how we met them….it’s a funny story! one of their co-workers, kelly von ebers (hi kelly!) commented on our blog so we emailed her.
after chatting back and forth a bit, we decided to do lunch next time we were in the city, ya know, just to say ‘hey.’
so on our way to lunch, kelly called and said she had work that had to get done and she wouldn’t be able to make it… but she had some friends that were engaged that we could connect with…
it was like an accidental blind date with tom and lauren!! and we fell in love with them right away!!

then they told us their wedding was going to be at the blue dress barn.
ummm…you had me at hello!!!

let me list the reasons why we love tom and lauren:

1. they’re hilarious!
2. they always tell us that they trust us and we can shoot whatever and wherever we want (let me hug you!)
3. it takes about 2 seconds to be in a great conversation with them … and it could last all day!
4. i’m jealous of how nice they are! (lauren, the way you greeted us and said goodye on your wedding day is easily one of my favorite wedding memories ever!)
5. etc…

loved the venue!
loved the party!
LOVED the people!
and we hope you LOVE the pics…here’s some of our faves

mark and kari…you got the look that we love to shoot! seriously. kari, something magical happens when you step in front of the camera. i can’t even describe what it is. but whatever it is, it’s sooo right. and mark, i only know one other guy that loves being in front of the camera as much as you do. which makes it a whole lot more fun for us on the other side of the camera for sure

and while we’re on the theme of things sooo right, it’s the two of you together. we’ve spent two days with you and nothing could be more obvious than how perfect you are for each other. so congratulations on a perfect wedding. and more importantly, a beautiful marriage!!

mark and kari were married in holland a few weeks back. this was actually our first time shooting dimnent chapel at hope…um…yes please!! beautiful in every detail. seriously amazing. the reception was at alpen rose restaurant just a few blocks away where the service was amazing and the flow through the different rooms felt very quaint and social. then there’s city flats hotel where kari and the bridesmaids got ready. and if you’ve ever been there before, then you know why we were so excited to do a bunch of our detail shots there. seriously, every city needs a boutique hotel [hint hint GR ]

and then there was the photobooth…nonstop! it didn’t hurt that the walls at alpen rose were covered with perfect props that may or may not have found their way into a few pictures!

mark and kari…thank you so much for inviting us to be a part of your day!! now, here’s a few of our faves.

ok. tim and sarah were too much fun. we just have to keep sharing
so without further ado…here’s some pics of their photobooth.

have we mentioned that we love shooting the photobooth? yup. love it.

this wedding was simply beautiful. beautiful people. beautiful details, venues, weather… and to top it all off – tim + sarah got married!

seriously…the architect behind St. Roberts in ada should get some kind of medal. and being in the two story imperial ballroom at the amway grand plaza for the reception, you can’t help but feel like you’ve gone up a few notches in class i could go on and on……

ok, just one more thing…. we were super pumped about the locations we had for the party shots and bride/groom portraits. this place was like a photographer’s wonderland, especially after thinking we’ve scoured pretty much every inch and back alley of grand rapids and discovered pretty much everything there was to shoot. low and behold, we were wrong! but the real credit for finding this fabulous location (named “heaven’s alley” in our GPS!!) goes to our incredible friend, lisa kae who found it while out scouting one day and was kind enough to share it with her friends. she actually told mindy that she might pee her pants when we saw this location and though mindy was super excited when we arrived….. she did manage to stay dry.

okay…… back to tim and sarah. you two are a classy act. from the moment we knocked on the doors of your rooms in the amway, it was clear that this was going to be a beautiful day. your wedding party was soooo nice. and fun. and respectful. heck, it wasn’t even hard to get everyone to look at the camera without talking for just a second for the party shots. that’s unheard of!!

oh…and i forgot to mention…easiest and fastest family pictures yet!!! talk about insanely cooperative and kind people….. the goodness of this day goes on and on…

so here’s a few faves that we pulled to tell your story….. ENJOY!!!!

mark and staci warned us that they were going to have a crazy party… but next time they need to really warn us! haha. no joke. this party was a party for sure and i’m pretty sure that just about every moment of the day was a hoot! which is why we’re featuring their photobooth in this blog post. we posted a few weeks back about how much we love shooting the booth, and this wedding was a perfect example of the crazy fun it can be.

but before we show a few of our faves, we simply have to say a few things. first, mark and staci, the two of you ooze kindness. here it is, the biggest day of your life and both of you were the most amazing hosts i’ve ever seen. at every moment, you were making sure that everyone had everything they needed and were having a great time. this speaks volumes about your character not to mention the household you’re going to have. without a doubt, i want to go to thanksgiving at your place!!!!

and without a doubt, one of our favorite times of the day was when mark and staci met for the first time at the place where mark proposed…a vintage one room schoolhouse beside a beautiful pond. could it get any more perfect to start your wedding day at the very place staci said “yes”!! it had also been raining all morning and was still drizzling a bit when staci started walking towards mark. but as soon as she started walking out on the dock, the sun burst through the clouds right on them. perfect moment!!!

mark and staci…thanks so much for inviting us to be a part of your amazing day. thank you for being such tremendous hosts. and thank you for throwing such an awesome party!!!

now here’s a handful of our faves that will help tell the story better than i can with words…including a sneak peek at one of the most fun photobooths to date!!

shoot a wedding for two of the most beautiful, friendly, fun and amazing people on the planet?? yes please!!

we’ve already gushed about how amazing andy + stacie are on their engagement blog post, so we don’t want to overdo it here so let me tell the story of their perfect day!!

when we arrived at the church, stacie practically ran us over as she welcomed us with the biggest hug and smile you can imagine. (someone was a little excited i think!!!) she then proceeded to introduce us to everyone, give us a tour of the stunning church, offer us lunch…. this bride was SOOOO excited about every moment of her wedding day!! and she had so much reason to be. from our first moment we stacie, we knew that everything was going to be perfect. and it was.

meanwhile, the guys walked from the amway grand to park congregational church strutting their style, taking only a moment’s pause to tour the GRPD swat vehicles (randomly parked along the way) and pose for a lineup shot as andy faked being arrested. then they tailgated outside the church till it was time to get inside and get married. they were cool. calm. did i say cool?!

following the picture perfect ceremony in this sanctuary that we’d love to shoot any day of the week, the whole party exited in the horse drawn carriage of horse drawn carriages. we’re talking party bus size here people…minus the neon lights of course!!! and though the rain held off for the party pictures, the drizzle started just as we were headed to do the bride and groom shots. now, one might think this would be an occasion to play it safe and look for cover…. NOT A CHANCE!! we had found our new favorite GR vintage location for shooting just the day before and andy + stacie were totally game, rain or shine. have we mentioned how much we love these two?!

their perfect day capped off with a stunning reception at the amway grand. jawdropping details. fall apart filet mignon (yes please). a party at our photobooth…and a packed dance floor all night long!!!

andy + stacie…you never stop doing it right. and though with everything in us, we loved every part of your day, what we loved the most was watching the two of you. you’re perfect for each other and we can’t wait to hang with you next time we’re in chicago.

now we pulled a few of our faves to better tell your beautiful story. enjoy!!!

there’s something magical about the first wedding of a new season. it just feels right having all the gear out again. and even though we’ve shot tons of weddings, it feels so new and exciting, making us all the more stoked for our weddings this year. we can honestly say that tim and megan’s wedding was the PERFECT way to kick things off!

to start…megan is simply the sweetest girl ever. we met for the first time just a handful of weeks ago in the studio. and the whole meeting, mindy and i kept steeling glances of agreement with each other about how excited we were to be shooting this wedding. megan’s love of all things purple, cute feet, rain boots and umbrella’s kept us on our toes, getting more and more excited about every detail.

then came the wedding day. and we met tim who defines cool. he seriously looks like a page out of a magazine. and he’s good at sports. and he’s really nice. my goal of the day was to find something wrong with this guy i came up empty handed for sure.

now if you live, anywhere in pretty much the continental U.S., you know that weather men across the country were busy forecasting all the rain, wind, tornadoes and hail this last weekend. but it turned out perfect! it rained a bit when we were inside. then stopped when we needed to go out. kudos to you, dear clouds…you did it just right! ok…there was a bit of wind and the rain was definitely taunting us, so we took it “inside” for the bridesmaids. but we’ll take it! and they nailed it.

megan, we’re holding you to your invitation to hang out sometime soon! we loved meeting your family and friends, and you two are simply amazing. congratulations on a beautiful wedding….and an even more beautiful marriage!! we couldn’t wait to share all of your pics, so we pulled some of our favorites. enjoy

it’s a good idea…getting pictures of your guests. who could argue with that?! i mean, mindy and i can’t even remember half of the people that came to our wedding. it was such a blur!

so yes. get pictures of your guests!!
now, the question is how you’re going to do it.

once upon a time, wedding photographers walked from table to table to get pictures of the guests. “ok everyone squeeze together… now smile!” this is crazy convenient for sure, but this approach has a couple fatal flaws. first, guests prefer not to have their picture taken while they’re eating. hello personal space. second, these pictures aren’t usually what you hoped for. the table is messy, grandpa has a napkin tucked in his shirt, and half the people at the table don’t even know each other but cheers to the photographers who first started taking table pics. you were visionaries….way ahead of your time.

then, came the cameras on the table. now your guests can take pictures of the fun moments at the table. and friends can pose with friends. what a fantastic solution!!! until that first guy decided to take the camera in the bathroom. you know what i’m talking about. and thus began the era of prank pictures that have been embarrassing the nice folks working the kodak printers at walgreens across america. and this is not to mention the rapid surge of red “demon eyes” that are classic for spoiling an otherwise great picture. and let’s not forget the added cost and work of paying for the prints when you get back from your honeymoon. but here’s to you white disposable camera… you had a great run!!

then came the photobooth!!! you remember them from your childhood days at the roller skating rink! pull the curtain, look at the blinking light and say cheese!!! BRAVO!!! guest pictures got their groove back!! and honestly, i’m not gonna diss the photobooth behind the curtain. they’re too retro and i had too many pictures of middle school crushes taken in them to say anything bad about them.

but…

we want to introduce you to the next stage in the evolution of guest pictures!! it’s still a photobooth…kind of. but say goodbye to cameras that take pictures when you’re eyes are most likely closed. and gone are the days of friends that were mysteriously cropped out of the picture. want to get a picture of your 20 friends from summer camp that came to your wedding? no problem. dying to try a pyramid with 6 (or more!!!) of your uncles? easy peasy.

we’ve been shooting photobooths 6.23 style for a year now. but in honor of wedding season starting in a few weeks, and all the crazy photobooths that are coming up, it’s time to finally show you some pics!!! so here’s a few of our faves as well as a shotgun video with tons of ‘em.

oh…and wait, did we mention that guests can download their images for free?!

now hold on tight…

marty and rachelle are simply two of the most beautiful people we’ve ever met. inside and out. we didn’t want to leave biggby the first time we met…we could’ve talked for hours. they are both so amazingly creative, thoughtful and kind. every time that we connected — whether on phone or email — we walked away with a smile on our face.

so imagine how excited we were to spend a whole day with them!!

one crazy fun part of this whole story, though, involved the fact that they had an outdoor wedding planned….in NOVEMBER! i’m not gonna lie here. we were in florida the week before their wedding and we were a wee bit nervous about what michigan weather had in store for us. rachelle kept telling everyone that it was going to be the most beautiful day ever…and it totally was!! no joke…it was like 60 or 70 degrees. you kidding me?! in november?! i’m pretty sure rachelle has earned the right to say “i told you so” for years to come!

we’ve been so excited to share these pictures! every detail was so perfectly crafted (we’re talking hand made owls here people!!), and all the friends and family were so crazy nice. the best weddings are those where every aspect of the day are a reflection of the bride and groom. that was totally the case here. artistic. thoughtful. and personal. marty and rachelle…you inspire us!! and we can’t wait for our next cup of coffee with you. and now….some of our faves…