When we met with Marissa and Jeff for their engagement photos and we heard about their plans for their wedding day, it became clear that it would be a day that we’d plan for ourselves if we got married again (to each other, of course!). “Way back then” in May, this fall seemed years (and so many weddings!) away, but when their date finally did arrive, it definitely did not disappoint. Marissa was so excited through the whole day; she soaked in every part of it with wide eyes and an easy laugh. And Jeff–when he turned around to see Marissa for the first time, he had the widest, brightest smile his face would allow, and his absolutely-enamored state didn’t diminish through the day (you’ll see). The beautiful settings speak for themselves, and every detail showed the care and generosity their families and friends gave to Marissa and Jeff’s special day.

If you follow us on twitter, you would have noticed last night’s update: “Just went through our wedding-to-be-blogged to pick favorites. 108 is too many to post, right? Right.” Well, in an effort to not overload browsers everywhere, we’ve distilled our favorites down to these:

The guys hung out at Jeff’s house for the morning, ate cheeseburgers, watched Will Ferrell give it more cowbell and call himself “Whiskers,” and when Jeff said it was “go” time, they got up and got ready! (Rule number 1 for groomsmen: listen to the groom. You’ll be so thankful when you’re the groom! Rule number 1 for grooms: pick groomsmen who listen!)

When we visited Townsend Park the day before the wedding, we spotted this sunny glade (I don’t often use the word “glade,” but this actually was!) nearby the ceremony site. It was filled with sunlight, wildflowers, and a big tree. Jeff waited here for Marissa for their own first look. It was a beautiful setting, but it would have been wonderful anywhere. They were both so into each other. They stood there, laughing, talking, hugging–all we had to do was stand back and watch. Leandra and I both think that seeing each other before the ceremony and waiting to see each other “on the aisle” have their benefits, and work better for different days’ schedules. For days when the last half of the schedule is tighter, planning on a “first look” and doing all the pictures before the ceremony really frees things up. Then, when the ceremony is over, the only job left for the bride and groom is to eat and party!

See Jeff’s smile? Enamored, captivated, smitten–all that and then some.

Love this one.

The supporting cast for the ceremony–with great performances all around!

Marissa and Jeff whispered to each other all day long.

After the ceremony, we traveled to Wabasis Lake Park for the magical reception… with a quick stop at the beach for some pictures. Leandra’s favorites.

Rocky, again. I love this “portrait” Leandra captured of him. Marissa and Jeff, instead of clinking glasses, required that whoever wanted them to kiss had to kiss. Someone thought it’d be a good joke to kiss the dog, but the idea flopped because Marissa and Jeff had no trouble whatsoever accepting a kiss from the beloved Rocky.

Marissa and Jeff set up yard games for guests to enjoy through the evening. It was a big hit with such perfect weather that day. Oh, and Marissa and Jeff’s monogram is JAM, so the question of favors was conveniently and perfectly answered for them. And the food. Homecooked and oh-so-tender pork barbecue, potatoes, dips, etc. etc.–the perfect fare for their outdoor reception. I would love to eat the food their caterers made at every wedding, so if you’re interested, I’ll get you in contact with them! But seriously, some of the best food we’ve had all year.

They moved inside for dancing.

Marissa and her brother, on the left.

Marissa and Jeff’s parents surprised them with a sparkler send-off!

Check out our facebook page to see more pictures from their wedding day!

Marissa and Jeff–thank you both so much for inviting us to photograph your beautiful, beautiful day! It was truly a joy for us.

We have been itching to show some images for Marissa and Jeff’s wedding for some time now. We’re still finishing up the rest, but here’s three favorites from their outdoor ceremony and reception that were both so wonderful to photograph. They had a day filled full of family, amazing home-cooked food, their canine ringbearer Rocky, a few tears, dancing, a little bit of stargazing, and plenty of “I’m so lucky to be marrying you” moments. We can’t wait to share the rest!

Hillary and Ron’s wedding day was a bright, beautiful, sunny day, which together with Hillary’s detailed and organized planning, meant that all the two of them had to do was show up and the day would move smoothly from place to place, ending at their rockin’ party! It was a joy to photograph their day. We felt so welcomed by the two of them, their families, and bridal party, and the beautiful locations and people made our job easy! It feels like we say it about all of our couples (which must means we’re blessed!), but Hillary and Ron were so laid back through the day. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy every moment of it, and thoroughly enjoy each other’s company.

Leandra met the girls at one of the bridesmaid’s house, where they were having a relaxed, fun morning together.

You may remember Cora from Hillary and Ron’s engagement session in Holland.

Hillary’s gorgeous makeup was the work of Julie Strating. Hiring a makeup artist is always a good idea in our book–it’s one more thing that takes the pressure off of you or one of your bridesmaids to get it “just right” and gives you more time and space to relax and focus on the whole getting-married thing!

Hillary was going for a vintage look, and her hair and makeup fit that perfectly!

Ron and the ringbearer.

And… it all comes together. Hillary was beautiful!

The beautiful Fountain Street Church.

After the ceremony, we went to the Grand Rapids Public Museum, where we took pictures in the Old Grand Rapids Exhibit and on the carousel! We love how these turned out…

The bridal party danced and danced and danced…

Hillary hand-made their cake-topper with their own faces. I couldn’t resist a picture of “them” with MJ dancing away in the background on one of the DJs’ music video screens.

Thank you both so much for inviting us into your lives for your wedding day!

And also, thanks for your patience while we got over this nasty bug this week–we’ve been itching to get these up for you!

We’ll be posting the rest of Hillary and Ron’s pictures in just a few days, but wanted to post a few as we’re working through them! They were married in downtown Grand Rapids at the Fountain Street Church (which is so much fun to photograph at!), cruised around town in a trolley, and then hosted a great party at the Eberhard Center. Two favorites, so far:

In other news, we just went live with our Facebook page for this business of ours. We’ll be posting pictures from each couple and a few more that you might not see on blog posts. You can see the page (and become a fan, and tag your friends, and poke us if you really want to but we’d rather you not, and send us Farmville cows, and… !) here:

Grant Isaac Studio’s Facebook Page

Enjoy!