A few weeks ago Grant and I drove out to Dearborn to photograph Kate and Dave’s wedding at the Henry Ford. The ceremony took place at the beautiful white chapel, and the reception was held at the tavern a little further down the path. We had never been to Dearborn, let alone the Henry Ford, and we discovered over the course of the day what a gem this place is! It was so fun to explore a place full of so much history, and it suited Kate and Dave’s classic style perfectly.

The guys enjoyed some pre-wedding Rock Band in the basement of the chapel.




I love this portrait. It showcases the classic style and beauty Kate carries with her.

It is so special to witness the emotion of a groom seeing his bride for the first time.




Grant’s view:
My view:

While I went ahead to grab shots of the details of the reception, Grant took a walk with Kate and Dave to the village area where Kate works…


Aside from some mood lighting near the dance floor and the videographers’ lights, the reception was entirely candlelit. A bit of a photography challenge at times, sure, but we loved the intimacy of the celebration, particularly for the first dance.


We actually were connected with Kate and Dave through this couple below. Mark is a good friend from U of M, and Caitlin works with Kate at the Henry Ford. We spent Sunday afternoon after the wedding with the two of them at the Henry Ford (courtesy of Caitlin’s free employee-and-friends admission!), and then hopped down to Ann Arbor for pizza at a favorite local place. (Thanks for the fun afternoon, you two!)



And the tavern as we left it.

Apologies to everyone for our blogging delinquence lately! We have several shoots coming up as well as some business changes, so we will be blogging more often in the future. Stay tuned for the rest of Jena and Michael’s engagement session!

Ever since we got our new flushmount sample album, I have been looking around for a way to present and carry it– a presentation box, bag, anything! Naturally, an album is meant to be on display, but we felt like there should be something to keep it in when there’s no space, or something to keep it in when you carry it around. Well I had heard about ChrysQ album slipcovers through an online forum, but Grant and I got to check them out for ourselves when we were in Las Vegas last month. We loved them! I ordered one once we got back to Grand Rapids and it came in the mail today!

We ordered a brown slipcover to match the brown-and-cream album, but she has several pretty fabric swatches to choose from.

I think the buttons are so fun, but they can also be ordered with a ribbon to tie the slipcover shut.

She did such a beautiful job! The stitching is so detailed, and I love the silk lining.
The designer, Christina, does such a beautiful job with these, and can even do completely custom slipcovers to match an aspect of your wedding. For now we are offering this as an album add-on, so contact us about pricing if you’re interested!

As spring slowly works itself into our days (finally!), we’re remembering the spring before we were married, how June could not arrive faster and then, suddenly, it did. Some of my best memories from that spring are the afternoons (like yesterday) when we couldn’t not be outside, when you literally and figuratively get down to earth, when you catch up with yourself and your other half and soon-to-be spouse.

I got out my hard drive and found some pictures from a spring when we were dating and thought I’d share some. Nothin’ fancy, but I really like ‘em (and I’m sure the subject of them has something to do with it).

Our feet. Leandra and my first date was at this same park. We were walking some trails, and when we came to a big muddy patch, I hopped around it, but Leandra took her sandals off and walked through the mud. I thought that was pretty awesome. In case you couldn’t tell, my feet are the large, flat ones.



… and then we got married. This is my absolute favorite picture from our wedding. Our good friend Darrel Yoder, did our photos, and we loved them. This one was about half-way through the reception, and the song was “To Make you Feel My Love” by Garth Brooks. I usually spend my days listening to Brit-rock and folk and Norah Jones, but sometimes, I gotta have some country. There’s something spring-in-the-park-earthy to [good] country music that speaks in ways other music doesn’t. I remember that at the moment this picture was taken, I was completely positive that there was no where else that I needed to be, my thoughts needed to be, my time needed to be, and no where else I wanted my lover to be than right where she was.

Oh, and the guy on the border? That’s Cameron. You’ll find his pictures a few posts down.
If you hate country music, Adele also sings an amazing version of To Make You Feel My Love. Highly recommended first dance/reception choice. You’ll just have at least one teary photographer on your hands.

Hope everyone else is enjoying this spring weather!

Just a few from Saturday’s engagement session of wonderful weather and wonderful people, Jena and Michael…


More coming soon!