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…

WPPI 2010. and the junebug girls stole the show!
we first met them at a killer party they threw in the junebug suite at the MGM. the suite of suites. one suite to rule them all
then we roamed the tradeshow floor with them for awhile.
and then the chat on twitter. of course.

so we’re excited about junebug weddings. not just because they’re cool. but because they’re doing exciting things!
first, there’s the infamous “what junebug loves” section on their blog.
and then of course is the photobug blog and real weddings sections to satisfy your eye candy cravings.

and then…[drumroll]…came along their new “world’s best wedding photographers” section and “image gallery.”
click “world’s best wedding photographers” to see their top ten picks from major markets around the world (literally!). and then click on “image gallery” to browse some of the world’s best images by category (fashion, flowers, invitations, locations, etc…).

awesome. simply awesome.

and then, we’re not gonna lie…we’ve had kiddish grins stuck on our faces ever since junebug listed us in their “world’s best wedding photographers” for the chicago market check it out

thank you junebug for thinking of us. but thank you most for your amazingness!

so here they are. the one and only. junebug.

besides being so incredibly fabulous, what is something else about the junebug girls that we’d all love to know?

Every business decision we make is made to match our brand, and our brand is built on kindness. We committed to being kind, (which is different than being nice), in everything we do. Niceness can be saying you love something or support it when you don’t really mean it. Kindness is telling the truth, providing value and caring about the way you represent and treat other people in all your actions. We focus on the best in everything and everyone, and stay away from gossip and negative critiques. I guess you could say we live by the golden rule and the old adage,” if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all.”

give us the skinny on how you work together as a team:  who are the creative geniuses?  who keeps everyone organized and on task?  who steals the show at parties and loves social media?

Christy Weber, Kim Bamberg, and I own Junebug Weddings but I think of every woman on our team is a smarty-pants. Christy is behind the success of What Junebug Loves and so much more, she’s leveled headed, organized, and brilliant with the tech related aspects of our business. Kim is a gifted photographer who has shared her talent with Junebug all along the way. She has an amazing eye for beauty and detail and she’s been instrumental in making Junebug a visual treat. My sister, Sydnor, has played an integral part in our success over the last few years. She keeps everything running smoothly, from our bookkeeping to our marketing strategies and it’s really hard to imagine what we would do without her. We also have several new members of our team who are bringing new and brilliant ideas to the table everyday.
As far the parties go, just tell us when and where. We all love parties!

how excited are you all about launching your worldwide hotlist?!!!  how and when did you decide to take the plunge to go beyond seattle and southern california?

On a scale of 1 to 10, about a 90! Our new Photobug blog, image gallery, and World’s Best Photographers Hotlist are really an organic extension of what we’ve always done and what we really love. As formally trained photographers, we’re fanatics about gorgeous imagery and we truly adore the photographers that we are blessed to promote. I think if anyone would have told me in art school that we would be able to work with and have the support of photographers like yourself, Elizabeth Messina, Jim Garner and Jerry Ghionis we wouldn’t have believed it, but now we’re living a dream.

if you could do your wedding over, what is one thing you would change?

Seriously, I would hire a really good photographer. I got married almost 20 years ago and I didn’t even know there were great photographers like we promote on Junebug. I wish I had photos of that day that I could call art.

name one piece of advice that you feel is super-duper important for a couple to know when planning their wedding?

We suggest that couples take the time to really listen to each other about their hopes and expectations before they let a lot of people in on their plans. If they can agree on a style and up to five priorities each that really matter to them, it will help them stay connected and focused on the important things when outside advice and ideas come their way. Then, we suggest they take a light-hearted attitude about all the small things in the wedding planning process. After all, getting married and celebrating being in love is at the heart of every wedding and the rest is just icing on the cake.

let’s get to know your individual design style’s a bit more.  name your top 2 to 4 stores that you love to shop at!  (home decor and/or clothing)

Uh-oh! Let’s go to Christy our resident fashionista on this one. Okay, Christy says she loves A-Mano (http://shopamano.com/), a gem of a shoe and jewelry boutique in downtown Seattle, Gilt.com (http://www.gilt.com), the brilliant online sample-sale site for great designer deals, and Net-a-Porter.com (http://www.net-a-porter.com) for to-die-for splurges. For the everyday Ts and tanks that she lives in, she heads to American Apparel.

if you were a crayola crayon, which color would you be?

I love that you asked this question! I often refer to the feeling I get when I pick up my camera to the feeling I had as a kid when I got a new box of Crayolas. My favorite color changes all the time but today I think its sparkly magenta.

name something or someone that inspires you right now in life.

Honestly, the Junebug team inspires me every day, and I am always inspired by people who follow their passion, work hard, and stay grateful. My son’s tennis coach says “to be successful you have to stay hungry and humble”. I couldn’t agree more.

you girls have been friends for a long time and have very endearing relationships to each other, which is beautiful.  :)  describe one thing that you love about each other.

Blair – I love Christy and Kim like family, so I truly love everything about them, even on the days when they frustrate me, which are few and far between.

Christy – I love Blair’s huge heart. She has incredible amounts of compassion and empathy, and I’ve learned endless amounts about being a better person from her. I love Kim’s enthusiasm for life and for people. She is quick to give love and support and to show her gratitude in abundance. I’m so very lucky!

Kim – I love the way Blair and Christy know me so well. They can always tell if I need a hug, a laugh, or a shoulder to cry on.

you have just been informed that you and your family are being whisked away to anywhere in the world you want for 9 days…… all expenses paid!  where would you choose to go?

I would go to the Istanbul, then Budapest, and on to the Romantic Road in Germany. If the Junebug team was traveling together, Paris would be a no-brainier. We all love France and Kim and Christy speak enough French to get us everywhere we would want to go.

there have been many incredible additions to junebug recently….. is there anything else we should be waiting in anticipation for?

We’ve spent the last fours years expanding, so we’re turning our attention to improving what we’ve already created. Our business is built on relationships, and taking the time listen to our readers and members to see what more we can provide them is the number one priority for us in the months ahead. We’re super excited for the future, and can’t wait to see what hard work and luck will bring.

there’s this thing that a lot of photographers know… shooting other photogs rules!! and this is no exception with jen van dam and her beautiful family.

we first got to know jen through our blog, then a bunch of emails talking shop, then facebook …. and now finally in person! and we were scheduled to shoot them in april, but then the arctic decided to visit michigan, you know, just for fun…and we decided to reschedule for a day when you could actually feel the sun!! so june 5th comes, they drive over from detroit for a saturday evening shoot… and once again in true michigan form, the rain clouds come in. and not just rain. but thunder and lightning. and lots of it. nice!!

seriously michigan. we just want to shoot this one session

but no worries folks. all is well. they spent the night with family and we shot em sunday morning (don’t tell our pastor!).

jen…sooo great finally meeting you and your family!!
now here’s a few of our faves.

funny story. after shooting joe + julie’s engagement session, we really wanted to go out to eat with joe and julie, but decided we really needed to get back home to spend some time with the kids. until we changed our minds! so mindy picks up the phone to give them a call to say, “hey, let’s eat!” but then we hung up before it rang. we really needed to get home. until we changed our minds. mindy grabbed her phone ready to make the call. then we changed our minds. and we decided to go home. responsibility won! ugh.

sometimes we just want to have fun!! and bottom line, an evening with joe and julie is a ton of fun!!

now here’s a few of our faves…and we’re not gonna lie they are big time faves…this is one crazy beautiful couple don’t you think?!! [jaw drops].

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

10 years ago, today (6.23), a girl, mindy and a boy, ben got hitched. we have the privilege of being a part of weddings and helping to celebrate other couples and their love and committment to each other. today….. we wanted to share and celebrate ours!

MINDY SAYS:

how do i love my ben?
let me tell you………..
he’s loyal and committed to not only myself, our kids, but most importantly God.
his energy surpasses me on most days and he is one of the hardest workers i’ve ever know (hence his nickname “taskmaster”).
have you seen his hotness?!!!! there are times when i get a little flutter just checking him out….. true story.
the way he is such a loving father to our kiddos….. nurturing, yet consistent. playful, yet authoritative.
he would help anyone on a moment’s notice…. joyfully.
his light-hearted attitude on life is contagious and he is CRAZY amounts of fun!!
integrity surrounds his heart and he lives to serve God….. and others, before himself.
every day, he makes me a better person and encourages me to stretch where i need stretching.
we share a bond deeper than just love, we are closer than best friends and we get to keep going on a journey that is amazing, challenging and joyful all wrapped into one.
thanks for loving me every day.

i’m yours.

BEN SAYS:

mindy is a good writer! haha…try and follow that! gulp.
so i’m going to go with random memories over the past 10 years.
the kind of memories that add up to the simply amazing marriage that we have today.

travel back with me 11 years to the first time we met…at a church super bowl party (neither of us watch football…ever!)
i can still remember the first time i saw her walking down the stairs (with her friend), wearing a baseball cap…
i remember her smile. and i remember her eyes.
and remember that she was kinda flirting with the guy i was with. so i was flirting with the girl she was with.
haha…quite the start.

fast forward 6 months to a friend’s wedding. i saw mindy again, but called her the wrong name. oops…
i’ve never been too slick

but we hung out all night and it was a done deal.
we went on our first date the next night…played tennis (wearing my favorite blue sweater vest!)
went out every night that week, had our first kiss on thursday night before i left for a week of vacation.
told her i loved her in a few weeks.
engaged in four months.
married almost exactly a year after the wedding where i called her the wrong name.

pregnant after just one year, right after we moved to florida and decided it probably wasn’t the best time to get pregnant.
pregnant again just two years later after starting our first business and deciding it probably wasn’t the best time to get pregnant.
and then pregnant again during the move back to michigan and building our new house.

timing has never been our strength

i think my favorite thing about mindy is that she makes everything fun.
i like to work. she loves to play. so together we have fun at work!
we never do things by the book…so we never know what’s going to happen next.
we rarely do things at the right time…which means everything happens on our time!

and you should see mindy with the kids…who wouldn’t want mindy as their mom??!!
our kids are almost as lucky as me.

and then there’s the whole hot thing… ummm…yup.
let’s just say that my first nickname for mindy (when we were dating) was “evil temptress!”
nuff said.

they launched!

we are soooooooo excited to partner with H2O CREATIVE to release the STUDIO 6.23 designer set of indesign album templates. we’ve been using H2O’s album templates for just about forever. so be rest assured it was a good day when we heard they were coming out with designer sets from nate + jaclyn kaiser at “the image is found,” sarah + chris rhoads, mark + candice brooke and justin + amelia lyon. we have a profound respect for all of their work and even had our pics taken by justin + amelia in vegas (see above!). and the day only got better when ben + laura at H2O asked if we’d submit a design as well. we were humbled. honored. a bit giddy. and we’ve been bustin a move on our design ever since.

and now, a shoutout for indesign album templates… drag and drop the images baby. cropping is so 1990’s

so if you’ve got a sec, jump on over to H2O and see what they got going on. and of course check out the 6.23 DIRTY SET while you’re there. with every spread you have the option of keeping it clean or getting dirty with grunge layers or vintage backgrounds.

so here’s a couple preview spreads from our set, but totally link to H2O to check out all the sets. love ‘em!

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!!!!