Coy's 6 Month Session

This kid!! I was dying laughing as I was editing these because of the faces he was making during the shoot! As if his bright red hair wasn't cute enough, his face would just light up every time Mom or Dad would pick him up, and he would get so excited exploring all kinds of new things to look at wherever we sat him down.

I just love this little family ~ and their pictures just keep getting better and better! Already looking forward to our 1 year session in September! I'm sure I won't be able to even keep up with him then!

Elizabeth & Brett ~ the Wedding

What a gorgeous wedding to kick off the 2015 season! Elizabeth and Brett hosted an evening full of dining and crazy dance moves at the amazing Loft 310 in Kalamazoo's entertainment district. Everything looked picture perfect, from the lush flower centerpieces to the tastefully elegant cake amidst all the painted brick, stylishly dark hardwood floors and stunning chandeliers.

Nothing could stop these two from having an amazing day with their family and friends - not even the 4.0 earthquake early in the afternoon! I loved getting some fun urban shots with the bridal party downtown, although the venue itself had endless options for amazing portrait settings.

Thank you again, Elizabeth and Brett, for including me in your day! We wish you many, many years of wedded bliss!

The Brown Family Session

This sweet little family braved the cold with me for some awesome pictures in January! I think it paid off for them, because they turned out great! Lindsay had just the right props to add a pop of red here and there, from her vintage metal chairs, to the "Browns" sign in the foyer, to the little toy apple. After shooting in the back yard against the tree line, we headed over to the old library in downtown Auburn (which I found out later, is ironically across the street from where they used to live when they were newlyweds!) And as if the photo shoot wasn't already fun, they chose this time to announce there newest little addition, baby Brown! I love photographing surprises!!

Congratulations Lindsay, David and Conner! Can't wait to photograph the newest member of the family this summer! :D

Kimberly & Ryan ~ the Engagement

I was more than honored to take engagement pictures for this adorable couple! My beautiful sister-in-law and her soon to be hubby {with the help of my assistant / soon to be niece} did a fantastic job striking poses and having fun with their session. We stopped for settings along the trail by the river, a little bridge in the park, and at a gorgeous historical church where Julia Roberts randomly stopped and got married! And after driving around Marion in circles trying to find the perfect painted brick building, we finally found a little gem in an alley under an old jewelry store sign. How perfect can you get?

Kim and Ryan - I had so much fun spending time with you on this shoot! We are so happy for you both and love watching our family grow even bigger and better! {PS - Wynne is still SO excited to be a flower girl with Kenzi so they can be princesses together, lol!} <3

Boltz Family Session

And here it is... my last photo session of 2014! This sweet family was dressed to the nines with their vintage-style Christmas attire, and ready for their shoot complete with an extra large wreath, fake snow and their faithful puppy! {And I LOVE how the snow turned out!! It gave us a nice wintery feel even though there was no snow on the ground.} Aiden, Conner and Sophia - triplets - are nothing short of adorable and very animated! Kudos to them for braving the cold for me. :)

Merry Christmas to the Boltz family! And to all of you readers out there, I hope this gets you in the Christmas spirit even more. God bless!

Coy Charles

Introducing Baby Aldrich! Coy had one of the smoothest newborn sessions I've done - especially for being awake up until the very end! He stayed very relaxed and let us pretty much prop him up however we wanted without making a fuss. I photographed his parents wedding {view here!} a couple summers ago, so it was even more exciting to get to photograph this next big chapter in their lives.

I just love how these turned out. Great job little guy! Now I'm off to cuddle with my own kids after seeing this precious face. :)

Casie & Jeremy ~ the Wedding

Can I just say I had an extremely difficult time narrowing down these pictures to post? Oh my goodness, not only was this wedding adorable to begin with, but they are also my family, so pretty much every picture I scrolled through was "aww," and "ooh they've got to see that one!" It's a dangerous thing that I continually get more and more sentimental the older I get, so all of these pictures mean the world to me because the people in them mean the world to me.

The tears, the laughter, the dancing - all of these things are glimpses of the love this family - my family - encompasses. Photographing all the little details my aunts spent laboring over in preparation for their niece's wedding. Capturing tears of pure joy as a radiant bride says hello to her father, and then again to her soon-to-be husband. Seeing lovely ladies gladly part with a dollar and stand in line to dance with their new nephew, and uncles doing the same to dance with the bride that they used to sit on their knees and read stories to. As a photographer, it's nice to have that reminder, that that is why I take these pictures. Not always about the art, or the rule of thirds, or the perfect sun flare, but simply about capturing the life that is there. It is truly such a privilege to be able to do that.

Thank you, Casie & Jeremy, for the reminder. And I have to say - if anyone was ever perfect for each other, it would be you. {I can say with a straight face to either one of you that you have met your match.} Wishing you the greatest new life together that God will surely bless you with. Love you both dearly! <3