ashley + justin

I LOVE Michigan and when Ashley contacted me several months ago to shoot her wedding in Kalamazoo I was SO excited! And to top it off, she had her reception in her backyard and it was FANTASTIC! and SO creative! Ashley & Justin have been together for 5 years and when they stood at the altar saying their vows, you could tell the love that was between them and how it has grown in the time they have been together! I absolutely ADORED Ashley's vintage style - it gave their wedding such character and I was SO honored to share in their special day!



LOVE her pink shoes in this picture!

She got her dress on EBAY! She is my HERO!

What you don't see in this picture is the swamp they are standing in! Ashley & Justin were SO amazing to work with! Their crazy photographer says, "Hey, that's a cool tree - go stand over there!" And they gladly oblige, after dumping water out of their shoes! What a FUN couple!

And this tasted just as good as it looks....maybe even better!

LOVED this idea!

Ashley & Justin....thank you a hundred times over for letting me share in your day! I had such a fun and relaxing time! Have an amazing honeymoon in Puerto Rico!!!!!!

shakin' things up

have you ever gotten in one of those moods. the mood that hits about every 6 months or so (and in my case sometimes sooner....) and you HAVE to rearrange your furniture. Granted, the current arrangement is probably the most practical, but quite frankly you don't care. it's time for a change. throw in a mild case of A.D.D. and my poor husband has just learned to nod his head and quietly oblige my rampage decorating.

unfortunately I have carried over this habit to my business. for example, over the last 2 weeks, I have shot 5 portrait sessions + 1 wedding - and in the midst of the crazy amounts of editing, I got into one of those "moods" - in the cyber sense - and I am re-vamping my website, totally changing gallery services (woooeee!) and changing blog sites. I hope that you will all quietly oblige my craziness and hang on for the ride, because I'm not done yet!! As you can see, I am back to blogspot. eh. don't know how I feel about that except I LOVE that I can post larger images! like this one:

I loved my brief stay at wordpress, but for the life of me I couldn't get it to display large photos. If any of you out there know how, please send me a comment!
but for now, this will do. for now. I have some plans and designs brewing, but I have to at least keep this for a little longer. at least long enough that you all settle into reading this one and then I can change it on you again =)
For now I will leave you with some of my favorites!

have a fantastic saturday! I'm off to shoot an awesome engagement session in 8 hours!

g'night!

lori + alex + baby

First off, I have to say that maternity shoots are some of my favorites!! Pregnant women are SO gorgeous (of course, the grass is always green and I can say that about other women, but you moms out there know - when you're pregnant, when people say that you just smile and nod in that "I-can't-see-my-feet-and-I-have-to-pee-every-5-minutes" kind of way)
But honestly, Lori is fantastic! She was glowing and we had an amazing session! Alex, Lori and I all went to Bethel College together and I was so excited when I found out she was pregnant! They are an amazing couple and I am so excited that I was able to share for a few hours in their joy of awaiting their new little girl!! So on this rainy day, (it's pouring here in Indiana!) enjoy a little sunshine!

i got the idea for these next 2 shots while strolling in Walmart, looking at their gardening supplies. i think they might be some of my new favorites. That's why I had to show you 2 versions! =)

and so this afternoon....my amazing husband kidnapped the kids so that I could get some work done and so that I can PACK! as in PACK to MOVE!!! we signed the last of the papers this afternoon, so the little house on 29th street with the ugly kitchen carpet is now....(or soon will be) OURS! Now we just have to wait and get everything packed up until we close in T-minus 11 days and counting!

p.s. don't worry - the kitchen carpet will soon be no more ;)

laura + chris = happily ever after!

On May 2, my husband and I drove up to Ann Arbor, Michigan to shoot Laura and Chris' wedding. First off, I have to say that I love that little city! It's an absolutely adorable college town and I wish I could have spent more time taking in down town and all of the little shops! But I digress.
Chris and Laura went on their first date on May 2, 2004 at Cafe Felix in down town Ann Arbor, and now, 5 years later - to the day! - they got married there! It was a wonderful, vintage styled wedding in this amazing little French cafe and I am so excited that I was able to share in their day!


I had to start with these little ones....it was hard to take my eyes (and my lens!) off of them!

congrats!

and for today...

oh, if you could only see our house. Of course, I would never let anyone see it right now, but for arguments sake, imagine boxes everywhere, semi-packed for our move at the end of the month (pending a little more paperwork, but I LOVE packing, so I started a little early =), laundry in random places, toys on the floor, and a wardrobe in the middle of my living room floor. yep. a big one too! I found this amazing wardrobe/armoir (I don't know the difference between the two...) in perfect condition at a garage sale on Friday, and we have been so busy and hardly home, so it is still where we left in when we carried it in. Hopefully that will change. soon.

Once I rally the troops for breakfast, we're headed off to do some grocery shopping.

Hopefully we'll get to enjoy this gorgeous Indiana weather after we run our errands!

{enjoy!}

kevin + jennifer: engaged!

Wow - two blog posts in ONE morning! I have learned to make use of every second when the girls are sleeping and I am down to my last few minutes!! So before I sign off, here are some of my favorites from Kevin and Jennifer's engagement session on Saturday! We had a blast and almost got blown away by the wind! They brought their boys and their 2 golden labs who were so much fun!

Thanks for braving the weather! I can't wait to shoot their wedding this fall!

abigail is 6 months old!

I get so excited to see this little girl and her big brother Braden every 3 months! They are a joy to shoot and even though the portrait session is for Abby, Braden LOVES the camera and how can I deny those big blue eyes!?!?

Today is work day! We might just stay in our p.j.s as long as possible and enjoy the rain. However, I do have to be dressed this afternoon because we are going to go through our new house with my family and our amazing realtor, Christine Tirotta from Cressy and Everett! AND, to top it off, I got one of the best phone calls in the world yesterday!!! While browsing through throw pillows and new decor for my NEW HOUSE (eee!) my phone rang and it was the manager at Chipotle (the most amazing restaurant ever!) and I WON 10 FREE BURRITOS!!!! Holy guacamole! SO I will be living it up at Chipotle for dinner tonight with the family!
So...it's Tuesday and I had a very busy weekend - 3 shoots in 2 days, so I am still knee deep in pictures, but there are burritos on the horizon!!!

There will be more coming soon from a great engagement session, but for now....{enjoy!}