I am probably sounding like a broken record by now, but I’ll say it again: Grant and I are so glad that when we started this business, we decided to include an engagement session for all of our wedding couples. How on earth could we expect to get a genuine look at your excitement and the sincerity of your love having never met before? Before Becca and Jason’s engagement session a couple of weeks ago, Becca and I had only ever corresponded via e-mail. I can’t imagine photographing their August wedding without the conversation we had over lemonade and smoothies at Panera, the hours we spent framing their interactions in our cameras, and the things we learned about their relationship along the way.

Becca had a very specific idea in mind for her engagement ring and had talked to Jason about it while they were dating. He told her that he could find something “similar”, then proceeded to  custom-order her perfectly designed ring and make plans to propose in NYC, atop the Empire State Building. The ring was finally delivered, just a day or two before their scheduled trip to New York. He might have just been too excited, or maybe he forgot, but the security at the ESB caught Jason by surprise. After the inevitable beep of the metal detector, Becca watched him, confused, as he was told by a security guard to step toward them and blatantly stepped in the other direction. He managed to show another guard the ring without her seeing, and was waved on. Becca told us that she can be hard to surprise, but Jason managed to pull off a beautiful suprise proposal, exactly as he’d planned, and with the exact ring Becca had fallen in love with.

Becca and Jason have such a sweet, happy way of interacting. They were all smiles throughout the whole session.

My favorite.

It was supposed to rain on the day of the session. Instead, we ended up with these beautiful clouds. The weather forecast emptied out the beach a bit more than normal too, which was perfect for some impromptu dancing.

As we were wrapping up the session, Jason asked for one more shot, in front of the lit up bridge. Thanks, Jason! This is one of our favorites from the session.

Becca and Jason, we can’t wait to see you again in Traverse City in August. The wedding sounds like it’s going to be absolutely beautiful!

Becca and Jason drove into Grand Rapids two Sundays ago for their engagement session. We only had been in contact with them through email until then, so it was great to spend the afternoon talking with them over lemonades and photographing them. We’re working hard to get the rest of them finished but for now, here’s two favorites:

Jon and Summer’s wedding and the rest of Becca and Jason’s session are coming up soon!

When we found out the schedule for Emma and Jason’s wedding day, that the reception would be ending by 6 o’clock, we figured we would have a significantly smaller batch of images to sort and process in comparison with our more-common schedule of just beginning the reception at that same time. Well, we figured wrong. So many of the little details of Emma and Jason’s day were significant, tied to the love of family and friends, and we couldn’t stop taking pictures! And on top of being special, the details were beautiful! From the flowers to Emma’s inherited veil, to the cheerful pops of yellow through the day, everything was absolutely lovely.

This veil has been worn in Emma’s family by a few generations now. If I remember correctly, the headpiece is made from bits of her great-grandmother’s wedding dress. Emma’s mother wore the piece at her wedding, then her aunt, and finally, Emma herself. I absolutely loved the meaning behind it, as well as the vintage quality it brought to the wedding. The fabric had yellowed just enough to match Emma’s ivory gown perfectly.

To make sure we had plenty of time for pictures, and so that we could all go straight to the reception after the ceremony, Emma and Jason opted to set aside a time to see each other in the morning. They were so sweet with one another; it’s making me smile just thinking about it!

Friends helped with the flower arrangements, which were absolutely beautiful. Emma took the scraps from her dress alterations and used those to wrap around the bridesmaids’ bouquets. Like I said, the way family and friends all played a part in the day made it all feel so personal and warm.

Emma, you looked stunning!

Emma’s dad officiated the ceremony.

And yet more personal touches. :)  The wedding party walked back toward the pews and joined the the congregation for the hymn singing. Then, at the end of the ceremony, the wedding party and both sets of parents surrounded the couple to pray with them.

On the left is one of my favorite pictures from the day. (And you might notice Emma’s second hairpiece, which she wore for the reception.)

And… reception details! Loved the yellow.

Grant’s favorite. The first dance.

Emma and Jason, we absolutely loved spending your wedding day with you. It felt more like spending time with friends than working! Thanks again for letting us be a part of it.

We were honored to photograph Summer and Jon’s wedding in a small church on a dirt road in the middle of Michigan. The ceremony, the tall grass and big sky, photographing the two of them in love and in the moment… we loved it all. We’ll be posting more soon, but here’s two: