I am so excited for Sarah and Dustin’s wedding next June!  These two have wonderfully easy personalities that makes it so apparent how in love they are!  We met at my “office” (a.k.a. picnic table at the beach) to discuss wedding details and watched a fog bank roll into Glen Haven.  Michigan weather is so weird some days.  We started with foggy beach photos and then went a mile up the road to the DH Day barns, where there was no fog (yup, a mile away is completely different weather) and we had some glorious summer sun to play in.

This giant group of great folks came together from all over the country to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa.  I love seeing cousins and far-away siblings come together and enjoy each other like they have never had time apart.

Paula and Chris might just be the happiest couple I have ever met!  These two have an ease between them that is contagious!  I can’t wait for their Homestead wedding next year!

 

Katelyn and Justin will be married this coming fall.  October is personally my favorite month of the year so I can’t wait to share in their big day!  This lovely couple braved the 20 degree weather to run around the Esch Road beach area and other parts of The County with me.

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The thing about winter in Michigan is that you just never know what you are going to get.  The best you can do is just go and see what Mother Nature hands you.  This day, we were handed light winds, no snow, and plain grey skies.  I’m not a big fan of just plain old grey skies!  Here is an example of my creative editing progression.  First I thought, ahhh, snow will do it.  But that just didn’t spice it up enough for me.  How about some clouds?  Getting better.  How about some color in those clouds?  Hmmmm, I like.  Let’s push it and go for broke.  Perhaps a little overkill, pretty, though.  Let’s try a mid-contrast black and white.  I love black and white!  But after all that thinking, I can’t just pick one to put in the gallery.  I like them all.  They should all be included.  The major problem is this is my thought process for everything I see.  So if you ever see me lost in thought somewhere looking at things, likely with a super stupid look on my face, this progression shows you why.

 

“I’d really like snow photos,” Michelle said.

Well, Mother Nature gave us snow!  And 14 degrees!  I have to admit, shooting a winter job that includes my snow pants and new Baffin winter boots (which are boss, by the way), does make me just a little bit happy.  And being lucky enough to spend a good portion of the day with two beautiful people and a super cute dog-boy certainly makes it worth it all the more!  I am so excited for Michelle and Eddie’s October wedding!

But . . . let’s not ask for snow in October, please.  🙂

Karrie and Matt are fantastic together!  I can’t wait for their wedding next summer!  They brought signs for props that read, “Our Story Begins Here” and “Adventure is Out There”.  There is nothing that better describes the life experience that will come with getting married and starting a future together, than those signs.  It will be an adventure and they can create any story they’d like.

My favorite part of the time I had with them, was learning that their first date was to the movie UP!  I loved that movie so I had a flash of creative insanity to bring them their own UP adventure.  Sure, flying-people is a little campy, but it is a symbol of believing in what could be.  Believing in adventure and stories!

Believe that your love can bring you a lifetime of adventure and stories!

Chris emailed a few weeks ago and let me in on a little secret about his plans to ask his sweetie, Stephanie, to be his wife.  He wanted somewhere in Leelanau on the big lake, with a great sunset.  We went back and fourth about where to make this happen.  We decided on Pierce Stocking Drive, vista #10.  It is such a beautiful location and the sunsets there are just stellar!  We set up a ruse to be able to be on site when he was ready to propose.  As the sun sank into a thick bank of lake-haze, he did it!  Chris got down on one knee, pulled out a beautiful ring, and Stephanie said YES!  You know I’m a sucker for lovey, sappy stuff, so of course I had to bring some bubbly and pretty glasses as a gift.

Absolutely a stunning, fun, and happy couple!  Cheers to your future, full of adventure, together!

Halie and Nick will be getting married at some fabulous, yet unknown, destination location next year!

Sally and Chad (and the pupster too) are planning a Leelanau county wedding in July of this year.  We took some time to explore the beach and a few locations close to the wedding venue.  It was a glorious early May day!