Last night at the PPWM (Professional Photographers of Western Michigan) meeting, our image from Nate & Brooke’s wedding took the top honors in the print-of-the-month competition. January’s theme was “emotion,” and you can see a lot of that in Nate’s expression!

This image was captured right before the ceremony as the guys were hanging out before walking down the aisle. As Nate’s best man, Mark, was walking by, he must have said the funniest thing ever spoken to Nate. I took this image from across the room, so I didn’t hear what was said. You can tell by Nate’s laugh that he was way more relaxed than most grooms moments before getting married. Or perhaps it was what Mark said that cut the tension and put Nate at such ease.

If that was the case, then Mark went above and beyond his best man duties, I’d say.

When was the last time you had a family portrait created?

Put on your sweaters, bring the dog, and meet us in the park for a mini session. We’ll still create many different poses of your family plus individual portraits. Fast and painless, so dad doesn’t have to miss much of the football game (if at all!).

Our special is $99 for the session, which you can take off the price of your collection if you order within 10 days of the gallery going online. You can get a print collection or a digital collection!

For more information, check out our Portraits in the Park page.

Call Julie at 616.402.2422 to book your time!

After driving south down the highway, and a detour or two, a zig and a zag, and we came to a wonderfully quaint little wedding setup in the middle of the country. We arrived early to scout out the location and find the best locations for portraits.

Nicole soon arrived and then familiar face after familiar face showed up. We photographed Nicole’s cousin’s wedding a few weeks ago, so it was kind of like the second family reunion of the summer.

We photographed all of the portraits before the ceremony. It really works well when the ceremony and reception are at the same location. The ceremony was short and sweet, just the way Zach and Nicole wanted it.

There were so many homemade touches everywhere around the reception area. It was clear that a lot of time and thought went into every little detail. The lighting and the decorations gave the room a very shabby-chic feel. Totally cool.

The speeches were awesome too. My favorite line was from Kyle when he was referring to Zach’s dedication and devotion. Something that Nicole would never have to worry about because, well, Zach’s been a Lions fan for a long, long time.

We had such a wonderfully relaxed time today. Everything flowed extremely smoothly and everyone had a great time. Awesome, awesome wedding. Congratulations Zach & Nicole! Have fun in Mexico!

Here’s the slideshow:

The wedding day started with dropping Julie off at the DoubleTree hotel to photograph Lindsay getting ready, while I headed off to Ben’s parent’s house to photograph Ben getting ready. We all then headed off to Kollen Park for the first look.

Lindsay arrived at the park looking stunning in her vintage inspired dress and bird cage netting. I always say this, but the first look is truly one of my favorite times of the wedding day. Today was no exception!

After photographing the couple, we went to the house where the ceremony was going to take place. This house was amazing! The care, love, and patience that went into the landscaping was incredible. It was the perfect place for a wedding.

Ben & Lindsay’s friend Paul was the officiant for the ceremony. Part of the ceremony included the reading of a cute little book called “A Lovely Love Story” about two dinosaurs that fall in love. Another highlight was the vows that they wrote and read to each other.

The reception was very casual as the guests relaxed around the huge property with cocktails and conversation. Although the reception was done rather earlier in the day than usual, the reason was to allow everyone that wanted to head out to watch the big Michigan-Notre Dame football game. Which Michigan won in the final seconds of the game. A nice wedding gift for Ben & Lindsay!

We’ve really enjoyed getting to know Ben & Lindsay, a couple with a lot of style and grace. They made everyone around them feel so comfortable within the craziness that is a wedding. Congratulations!

Here is a slideshow from the wedding. Enjoy!

If you know Erika, hit her up for a sweet discount on your senior photos!

Enjoy the slideshow

Yesterday, Julie and I arrived at Townsend Park in Cannonsburg, Mi to begin photographing the bridal party. The DJ was there setting up his sound equipment and testing it out. The chairs and the arbor were in place. Everything began perfectly and to script.

The girls arrived and we photographed away while the weather turned slowly but surely more ominous. Although we couldn’t see any lightning at this point, the clouds could be heard rumbling now and then. While we waited for the guys to show up the sky was getting darker. In my mind I was thinking, “Don’t be too late boys! There’s a time limit here, and it’s nothing to do with the number on my ipod.” We ended up having about 5 or 10 minutes with the guys before the rain came.

And man, did it rain! We’re talking buckets. Everyone was running to their cars or huddling under umbrellas along the road and the tree line. Then it got serious: it started to hail! Julie and I made for the security of our car and to await the next step. Sitting in the car is when I noticed the sign, I’m not sure who even put it up, but I’m sure they got soaked doing it, the wedding was officially moved to the ski lodge.

A short time after arriving at the lodge and a meeting of the minds, a plan B was hashed out. The ceremony went wonderfully, being officiated by Brooke’s grandpa Richard. One of Nate’s grandpa’s surprised the couple by giving a reading as well.

Because of the rain delay and the moving of venues, our timeline was way off for the portraits after the ceremony. Thankfully, the weather had let up and the rain was done. While we were photographing the families I worked as quickly as I could arranging the groups and clicking away. Because of the great cooperation the families gave us, we got them finished up in record time.

We got a couple of the bridal party before we finally got to photograph the wedding couple, Nate & Brooke. This was the first time they were together alone the entire day (except for us there with our cameras, of course). Dinner started without us buying a few more minutes of precious portrait time.

Thank God that Nate & Brooke were so wonderfully relaxed despite the weather and the change of wedding plans. I think it was because of their demeanors that they made everyone around them relaxed, and let them know that everything was great and it was ok to have a good time.

We really enjoyed seeing the closeness of the friendships and the families at the wedding. You could just see how the love of God and of each other was the source of great joy. It was a pleasure being a part of this day! How lucky are we that this is our job? We’re very, very blessed

Congrats, Nate & Brooke!

We began at the church, Grace Community in Holland. The girls were all getting their hair did and the guys were chillin’ in the basement watching Dane Cook. Julie hung out with the girls while Erica put on the finishing touches before she saw her father for the first time as a bride. I hung out with Hayden and the boys where it was nice and cool.

After photographing Erica and her dad, Hayden and I left the church for Grandpa Robert’s house which was only a couple of blocks from the church. They have a wonderfully landscaped backyard, but because of the time of day it was mostly sun-filled so I chose a nicely shaded corner of the yard to create the portraits.

As always, the first look was so much fun! Hayden looked very cool in his Army dress blues as he awaited Erica, who was absolutely stunning in her wedding dress. We created some sweet portraits of the couple, the bridal party, and the families all at the house.

While we were photographing the bridesmaids, Erica’s mustachioed brother Dustin arrived from Texas. Erica began to tear up and left us to go give him a great big hug. I was thinking, “Who is this guy that just shows up and makes my bride cry?” It’s very hard to photograph a crying bride. Ah, I’m just kidding, I loved it! And you’re a peach, Dustin. (So’s your mustache!)

Back at the church the first thing we had to do was create a portrait of the Vanderzwaag clan, 37 people in all. They brought out a ladder to me which made this photo a piece of cake. Climbing up high, we got the photo done fast.

The ceremony was wonderful, during which, the pastor, Burt, gave them some great advice. I don’t always listen to closely to the words, but something that Burt said stuck out to me. He said, “There’s an old adage, Love means never having to say you’re sorry. What horrible advice!” Too true.

After the ceremony, we made the trek to Holland State Park. There was a bit of a line to get in, but once we were we headed out to the pier and worked as quickly as we could in the heat. It was clear that the bridal party was having a blast celebrating the wedding day.

The reception was at Macatawa Legends. This was the first time we’d been here, and needless to say, we were impressed. What a great, great location for a reception! I hope we get to photograph a LOT more in the future.

Overall, the wedding day flowed very smoothly, and everyone had a great time celebrating. Hayden and Erica looked amazing which made our job easy; it was impossible to take a bad photo of these two. Congratulations!

Here’s a slideshow:

An amazing photographer himself, Jon & Nicole operate Junebug Photography here in Holland. We were honored to be chosen to photograph another photographer’s wedding, but to tell the truth it made me a bit nervous. I mean, would I be critiqued a little closer and harder by a peer? No pressure! Perhaps they were a bit nervous too being on the other side of the camera. It turned out wonderfully, and we were able to capture some pretty sweet images.

Always one of our favorite times of the wedding day, the couple had their “First Look” in front of the Park Theatre with people driving by honking and waving as they passed. We continued photographing portraits in Centennial Park as the bridal party joined us to finish up before we left for the beach where the ceremony was going to take place. Nicole’s grandmother owns a house overlooking Lake Michigan, and it was a perfect location for a wedding.

After a cocktail hour complete with hors d’oeuvres from Palette Architects, the ceremony took place. It was short and sweet, and included a sand ceremony that the entire family participated in. It was pretty cool seeing all of Jon’s Marine buddies standing up with him. They came from all over the country to be there for him.

The reception was back at the Park Theatre, which had been transformed into the perfect venue for a party. The tables looked awesome in the candlelight, and the walls were lit with interesting LED light fixtures. One of the best things about having a reception at a theater? It has a stage! Perfect for a live band, and in this case it was Why Not Astronaut. They put on a great show!

Congratulations to Jon & Nicole!

Here’s a slideshow from the day:

Although Les and Stephanie live in Arizona, we were lucky enough to get together with them a couple of times before the wedding. We got to know them, met their beautiful children Adryan and Jaedyn, and photographed them all in between the rain during their engagement session.

The wedding was at Fellowship Reformed in Hudsonville, which is the church that Stephanie grew up in. Their “first look” was in front of the fountain that her grandfather played a part in bringing to the church.

Because of the oppressive heat, we did our best to avoid working in the full sun and instead found the shade of a great old tree near the church. Wonderful, wonderful light! Just the way a photographer likes it. There was an occasional breeze that kept us cool while we created the portraits.

The ceremony was held in the awesome sanctuary that featured (among other things) a wrap around balcony that enabled me to grab some cool perspectives. We thought that it was really cool the way that Stephanie and Les included their children in the ring exchange and the unity candle. The candles were special too in that they made them all by hand.

After the ceremony, we headed out to the beach with the bridal party. Walking out to “Big Red” the lighthouse, we felt a bit out of place. Everyone at the beach is in their bathing suits, grilling out, doing the beach thing, and there we were in our long black pants. And it was hot walking across that parking lot. It was like Africa hot. I think I lost 5 pounds walking out to the pier.

The reception was at Beechwood Inn. As soon as Les & Stephanie were announced, they went right into their first dance. I love it when couples do this! The energy level is so high when the couple enters the room; it’s a perfect time to dance.

And then it happened: the bouquet toss. It wasn’t so much a toss as it was a handing. Stephanie walked up to Meagan and gave her the bouquet. Oh yeah, it was planned! After she got the flowers, she turned around to find her boyfriend Mike on his knee. Stephanie’s brother Mike proposed! It was awesome!

What a great day. We worked hard and loved every minute of it! Of course, it’s easy when you have such a wonderful couple and great families. Congratulations, Les & Stephanie!

Here’s a slideshow

Yesterday was a great day for a wedding. The rain stayed away, but not the heat! Thank God for the shade at beautiful Laketown Golf and Conference Center.

We photographed Trisha’s sister Amanda’s wedding several years ago, so it was great to see so many familiar faces at this wedding. Both Amanda and her husband Jacob were part of the bridal party, so it was great to see them again.

When we got to Laketown yesterday the first thing that we did was walk around the grounds to see all of the wonderful improvements that have been made there. Trisha and Robert’s ceremony took place in front of one of the new arbors.

After the first look (always a favorite part of the wedding day), we spent time photographing around the property. Then it was time to photograph the bridal party. Not only did the bridal party include a former wedding couple of ours, but also our nephew’s sister-in-law, and a guy with a mohawk, affectionately known as “Guido” (his real name is Jason). Great fun!

Next came the family photos, and we finished up with a few portraits of Robert & Trisha inside in the library (and the air conditioning) before heading out into the sun for the ceremony. One of the funniest moments happened when the ring bearer “helped” out with the flower girl at the beginning of the ceremony. They didn’t even make it to the aisle before he grabbed the basket full of petals and dumped them all out!

The reception featured a fully choreographed first dance which Robert said that they had practiced for two and half weeks. Appearances by a couple of special friends were made by bobble-head goat and a stuffed bunny princess.

It was a great day! Robert and Trisha are two very cool people that we really enjoyed getting to know better. They’re off to the Riviera Maya for their honeymoon. All the best!

Here’s their slideshow: