Sail Away with me!...

Every wedding has it's own flair and with Stephanie and Chuck's wedding, I just wanted to sail away with them and listen to the many ( apparently SO MANY) fun-tastical stories about this crazy and wonderful couple.  (Oh my, if you know them but you don't know the story about the broken Christmas tree stand, make sure to ask them about it! :-)   )  Oh well, but i digress...

But, can you imagine marrying someone that sleepwalks and walks into your roommate's room or bumps into trees in the middle of the night?  

Oh well, that doesn't matter, really...

Or what about falling in love with someone who has tattoos of girls on his arm? Even if they are of you! And what about dating someone that didn't exactly "break" the law, but kind of "stretched" it, in order to test the limits, say.... 

Oh well, this is all to say that none of us knows what it is that will make us fall in love with someone or why or even when. It is the crazy magical mystery of life. With no apparent rhyme or reason. And that my friend, is the spark we call life. 

And the beauty of love. 

Stephanie and Chuck have so many sparks and so much beauty! May they live long and prosper!

Betsy and Martin's "Day at the Beach" Wedding

It's so much fun to have a wedding and a day at the beach all in one !
Betsy and Martin really planned it perfectly- with the help of Betsy's mom, Mitzi.  They even arranged for a perfect, beautiful, sunny warm day to get married against a backdrop of blue, light blue, turquoise and dark blue!  Oh, and fluffy white clouds! (Although there was a moment, around 5 a.m. that morning, when the rains came and everything seemed a bit dicey...) But, in traditional Northern Michigan fashion by daybreak, the sun came out, warmed up the beach and all of the outdoor party plans resumed.
The Harbor in Elk Rapids was the perfect backdrop for their nuptials.

Betsy and Martin even frolicked on a sailboat in the marina.

But before the celebration ended, there was still one more guest that needed to be included in their special day.  Someone, or maybe I should say "somedog" that was a part of the family but, still left behind.
Well... temporarily.
Mr. Boomer was not forgotten!

An Upscale Campstyle Wedding for Aubrey and Justin

One of my most favorite things in the summer is to enjoy the outdoors in a natural, campfire style way. You know, rivers, picnics, s'mores. So, I was thrilled to learn that I would be photographing a wedding celebration at a genuine family lodge. Aubrey and Justin, who live in Massachusetts, traveled to Michigan to be married at the family lodge.

Their loving family built a wooden pergola style church on a bluff that overlooked the South Boardman River. It was here that Aubrey and Justin exchanged vows.

The day was overcast and even occasionally rainy, so Aubrey was prepared for rain.  Her Matron of Honor, Kelsey went as far as purchasing mud boots in case of mud and also to splash about in the river.  HOw fUn ! :-)

I always tell brides and families to not worry about weather because even overcast skies make for beautiful and flattering light as well as opportunities for unique photographs.

And, what would make an upscale campfire style wedding complete?  How about a real campfire with marshmallows for s'mores!