{05.31.2008} Congratulations Chris & Claire!

Saturday was spent in the beautiful town of New Buffalo just north of the Michigan/Indiana boarder with the reception in Michigan City, IN. Locations fabulous!

Chris and Claire are both from Washington D.C. with many family and friends in Chicago. New Buffalo is the perfect beach town to celebrate in, and frequently vacationed for Chicago folks. The ceremony took place at St. Mary of the Lake Parish with the reception at Barker Hall in Michigan City.

The image below is a classic with the Claire's family. A picture of an exhausted Father of the Bride. I LOVE IT!

We did a bit of trespassing at a local private beach... Can you believe people were already swimming? CRAZY!



This is my buddy, Max. He had a big day with two jobs. Max was not only a ring bearer, but he was also my unofficial assistant for the day. He did a great job with both jobs!

And how fabulous is this? Not only was Chris and Claire's first dance amazing, but isn't their band and backdrop spectacular? Ideas ladies!!!!

Amazing day, amazing couple, amazing family and friends....oh, and I also need to mention that their family and friends had the most amazing shoes I have ever seen! Total shoe envy going on here. For more information on their vendors click HERE for Stella Event Design. Jessica has all the details! And she's fabulous to work with!

Thank you for making me and Sasha such a huge part of your day! Have a wonderful time in Hawaii!

{05.30.2008} Congratulations Duane & Lisa!

I seriously don't think I could have asked for a more fabulous day or couple! Today, despite the morning rain, I was so excited to get down to the Grand Rapids Masonic Temple for Duane and Lisa's wedding and reception. They are an amazing couple. Everything about them is fun and their laughter and smiles are contagious. Just as the weather forecast said, the rain did stop around 1pm and it turned out to be such an incredible day!

Everything about Lisa and Duane is priceless. The relationships they have with everyone surrounding them is unbelievable. They are so relaxed and fun, such a joy to spend time with. I enjoyed every minute I had with them!

I also need to toss a KUDOS out to Angela of Flowers by DeShane. Angie was Lisa's Maid-of-Honor AND florist. Talk about FABULOUS! Angie is an artist that has only been back in the Grand Rapids area for a brief time. Contact her! 616.581.2388 or adeshane@gmail.com

It was an honor being a part of your day! The weather is definitely in your favor for TC. Hope your honeymoon is amazing!

Michigan in Pictures :: I've been blogged!

LOVE this! Thanks Andrew! You ROCK!

Michigan in Pictures

You can also pick-up a little "jump" history from this blog!=)

{05.27.2008} set timer. run.

Purchased for the kids or me? I'll never tell! Before the enclosure goes up (safety first!) I wanted to get a shot in flight. Form needs work (shhhh...don't let dad see!), but I can still pull a double!

{05.26.2008} Happy Memorial Day!

This weekend truly was all about family. It's soooo rare I get two full days with my husband and kids. Sunday was spent working on our deck. The railing is almost complete! And working on getting the rest of the wood chips spread on the front of the house. I love projects with my husband. We work well together and when mistakes are made I get to laugh at him.=)

Today we woke-up early and headed down to Alpine for breakfast and shopping. This is also a VERY rare occurrence for us. What? Breakfast AND shopping? w00t! Tyler while I was grabbing my coffee lost his first tooth. And when I say lost...it was GONE. The blueberry bagel must have stole it! He wrote a letter to the Tooth Fairy before bed explaining his actions on the smallest piece of paper in the smallest writing a 5yr old could manage. If you find this tooth (fits pictured hole) please return to the Tooth Fairy....it's been paid for.

{05.24.2008} a rare Saturday off

Adding to my list, the letter J.=)

What a fabulous day! This morning the kids and I met up with other photographers from the Grand Rapids Flickr group at the Fulton Street Farmers Market. I'm always hesitant about taking my five and three year old along while shooting for fun, but they seem to always amaze me. I've got great kids. When we were strolling through the market shopping was the only thing on my mind. Find bracelet. Check. Find Nyla a bracelet. Check. Asparagus and a few plants. Gottem!

We walked from the market to Marie Catrib's for lunch. On the way we had the kids do what kids do best...jump!

Happy Saturday!

{05.23.2008} Welcome Master Eli!

Thursday morning at 9:49am my girlfriend, Missy, and her husband welcomed their second son in to the world. Today I went to meet this new little man. The stats on Eli were very similar to his football-bound big brother weighing in at 8lbs 15.5oz and 20.5 inches.

I absolutely adore tiny fingers and itty-bitty toes.

Since I was there during a time everyone else was working, Eli was all mine. We cuddled and chatted. He's going to show his mom that boys can relax and be easy...right little man?

{05.22.2008} shoot it higher!

This morning I had the opportunity to meet several members of the Cedar Springs Rotary Club for a group photo. The Rotarians will be sporting a billboard in town on northern Main Street around the beginning of June. It's wonderful to hear how so many companies can come together as one, donate their time, energy, and materials to do great things for a community. It also gives this photographer, with a love of heights, the opportunity to play!

The new symbol for peace. Rotary.
Humanity in motion.

{05.20.2008} last days of school ~ bitter/sweet

As school ends and summer starts...

Today my kids both celebrated the final days of their preschool year. Tyler received his graduation certificate and will be moving in to the full days of kindergarten this fall, and Nyla will begin dancing through her last year of preschool. How did this year go by so fast? It seems like their first day of school was just a month ago...well, despite the long winter.


Now what am I looking forward to with the fun2? Sunny days and water fun!

{05.17.2008} Congratulations Tim & Kim!

Tim and Kim pledged their love in front of almost 200 of their family and friends on Saturday afternoon! Location was Thornapple Pointe...and MAN was it WINDY!

The domino effect keep everyone on their feet. Employees battled it ALL day, then five minutes before the ceremony the ushers were out there attempting to control the wind. Pickles in a pickle. *giggles*

How do you keep your wedding party under control? Yep, you guessed it!

A ball and chain could have come in handy today!


Thank you for making me a part of your day! Have a wonderful time in Jamaica!

{05.16.2008} Congratulations Dustin & Bailey!

Friday evening Dustin and Bailey said their vows at River of God Church in Byron Center. The sweetness of these two is amazing. As young as they are, they have been together for seven years! You can tell their relationship runs so much deeper than best friends. There really is no way of putting their relationship into words...okay, maybe one...incredible. Dustin's ring sums it up!

Amazing day, amazing couple! Have a wonderful time in Cancun you two!

Hold onto your hats (literally)!!! This weekend is far from over!

{05.15.2008} Finding Balance

My apologies. With as much as I enjoy shooting every single day, it has become impossible to be mom, wife, photographer, friend, along with keeping up with the 366 day challenge for 2008. Wedding season is in full swing with my fifth and six weddings this weekend since mid April. I need to keep up with weddings and clients. This does not mean that I will not be shooting everyday, it just means that I won't be shooting every single day.

There will be new images up on my blog on a regular basis, especially after the weekends...so stay tuned, this summer's gonna ROCK!

Leda

{05.12.2008} Letter "S"

The letter of the day is S. USed to begin wordS like "Scratch," endS wordS like "itcheS," and iS contained in the word "poiSon" for poiSon ivy. I am really trying to laugh my way through thiS week and can not wait for the bottle of medS to be gone next week. I'm going to jump for joy when photo ShootS are Scheduled for the city, and wear long pantS whenever parkS and woodS are involve.

If you would like to learn more about this oh-So-wonderful weed you can viSit www.poiSon-ivy.org for more detailS. Did you know that every SeaSon has a different plant? UGH!

{05.11.2008} Happy bug yer mom day!

Happy Mother's Day to all moms!

After a rough start to the day (hubby attempted to make breakfast...hehe) we did nothing but lay on the couch till lunchtime. No plans and no expectations. Kids ruled the tv and one show kept referring to Mother's Day as "bug yer mom day." Yep, they got that right! I was later treated to dinner and gifts of more landscaping fun!

{05.10.2008} Congratulations Michael & Kendra!

Today came and went didn't in Kendra? You were absolutely stunning!

Kendra and Michael were hitched today at Northlawn United Methodist Church in Grand Rapids with their reception at McFadden's downtown. Talk about a perfect day!

This couple is simply amazing. Kendra is from Michigan. Michael is from Germany. They met in high school when Kendra was in Germany and they have been together ever since. Talk about a long distance relationship!

The uniqueness of today is that they catered to both traditions. Kendra welcomed her family and friends and Michael, although quite the distance, spent the day with ALL of his close family and friends. It was amazing. The ceremony was Pastored by Kendra's uncle then translated by Michael's aunt.

Every wedding is near and dear to my heart, but this one was personal. Kendra is not only one of my amazing brides this year, but she has also been my assistant since November.

Guests tend to resemble the paparazzi.*giggles*

Can you believe they have only lived in the same country since Christmas 2007? These two are proof that you can make anything work.

After arriving to the reception they thanked their guests in both English and German. Then the traditions from both countries followed in the celebration. I have to say that my favorite German tradition is that Kendra and Michael will be receiving one postcard every week from guests for the first 52 weeks of their marriage. You better believe I grabbed one!

Have a wonderful time this month with all of your "out of country" guests!