One week ago today, Emma and Jason were married at a small church in downtown Midland. We can’t wait to show you the rest of their day!

Carol’s mantra for her and Josh’s wedding day was something like “Everything will work out.”  She’d flash a big smile, repeat those words, and continue the ride that was their wedding day.  And everything did work out… beautifully.  Carol faced the day with her smile and Josh, grinning, with his hands in his suit pockets.  Clearly, their laid-back and down-to-earth way of going about life is what attracted so many good friends to them–all of whom, along with their families, surrounded, supported and celebrated with them on their wedding day.  It’s true: Carol and Josh are easy to like.  And, as it were, just as easy to photograph…

Julia, one of the two beautiful flower-girls:

Carol has such a natural beauty to her:

I wish I could say it was good planning, but this aptly-named, little-gem-of-a-park was more of a serendipitous find:

Leandra’s view:

The coolest members of the wedding party, by far.  Okay, honestly, I really like having kids in a wedding party.  Yeah, there are the cases of uncomfortable shoes (which we’ve had) and the post- (or pre-) wedding “I’m too tired to take one more step” episodes, but in general, we love the levity and life kids bring to the day. I usually default to “serious” when I’m not trying to be otherwise, but I probably got as much joy telling these dudes to make weird faces as they did.  This one is their “bored in school” face (which is not to be confused with the “too cool for weddings” face, because they weren’t.  Just wait til’ you see the guy on the right cut a rug…)

They were married between two sycamores in a public park.  They were nearly surrounded by their family and friends. It was a simple, beautiful exchange of vows.

You could tell that the care Carol and Josh put in to planning their day didn’t end with “the day” or wasn’t merely for the sake of the flowers or celebration or anything else. It was an expression of the deep care they have for each other.

My favorite two:

After the toasts, Josh gave a beautifully sweet toast to Carol.  Carol returned the favor with an I’m-so-lucky-I-have-you kiss.  Those are the best.

Love the rich colors in this one.

There are 2 of the 3 boys. Nope, not too cool for weddings.

The two flowergirls:

On the left, dude #3.  Definitely not too cool for weddings. I bet he could moonwalk at 18 months.

We sneaked outside with Carol and Josh for a few minutes during the reception, into the glowy, empty, night-time streets of downtown Bay City.

Leandra’s favorite:

Carol and Josh: You two are so easy to work with and photograph.  We loved celebrating the day with you–and it was quite a celebration!

I know that we’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: Grant and I love engagement sessions. We love hanging out with people in love, getting to know them and watching the way they interact. By the end of the session, we are getting excited for the wedding and the chance to see them again. You’d think we might get tired of weddings after attending them weekly, but no. We inevitably spend our car ride home from an engagement session talking about how excited we are for the couple’s wedding day. Knowing someone and a bit of their story, spending time with people and hearing the anticipation they have for the life changes ahead… it keeps this whole thing from feeling like a job. We genuinely love spending time with these people and showing up to witness their wedding day.

Staci and Jason’s session is a perfect example of this. We hadn’t seen them since they booked us over a year ago. Since it had been so long, Jason had the perfect suggestion of meeting for coffee beforehand to chat and get comfortable before we started taking pictures. Grant and I enjoyed catching up on their lives and getting to know them better before pulling out the cameras and heading to Rockford. Here are a few of our favorite photos from the evening:

Love this.

We found such a perfect patch of light back in the trees by the river– my favorite!

Ok folks, I have to say it: Staci, you’re gorgeous. Many people– particularly brides– tell us how nervous they are before a session, and Staci was one of them. Seriously? I hope you can see that you have nothing to worry about!

The session was on a Sunday, so most of the shops and restaurants in Rockford were closed. Lucky us! We got the river boardwalk to ourselves and made use of the lamps as the sunlight faded.

Grant’s favorite.

Jason and Staci, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening with you both. As we drove out of Rockford, Grant and I both talked about how excited we are for your wedding day and how honored we feel to be invited in to capture it. We’ll see you in July!