It’s so nice to get out from behind the computer a bit this week.  Wedding season takes off in another two weeks, but in the meantime, we’re having fun with some local Southwest Michigan engagement sessions.  Wednesday evening I had the opportunity to meet Bae and Ben at Ben’s parents’ farm in Eau Claire where the couple will be saying their I dos underneath a beautiful catalpa tree in early June.  As much as I love photographing weddings here in Southwest Michigan, my efforts to convince Australia native, Bae, to wed south of the equator were not successful.  The wedding and reception in the family’s barn nestled inside a charming orchard will, none-the-less, be lovely.  For any other Australian brides trying to decide between Australia or Michigan, keep in mind I have a passport

We finished up with a twilight shoot where the resident cat at the farm decided he wanted his picture taken too.  I’m told Carmello spends much of his time on the roof but no one really knows how he gets up there.  All the flashing lights must have intrigued him enough to come down and make an appearance.  It was a fun engagement shoot and I can’t wait to be part of the the festivities in early June.

We’re headed out for another e-session tonight, so check back soon for more highlights.

There was no shortage of fun-filled activities for Jessica and Marc’s guests to enjoy.  The reception was complete with carousel rides for all of their guests, cotton candy made on-site, a gelato cart, late-night pizza from Silver Beach Pizza and a photobooth.  The highlight of the evening, however, was a surprise special guest arranged by the bride.  Marc is a graduate of Michigan State and all of his family members were HUGE State fans.  The Michigan State mascot, Sparty himself, made a grand entrance mid-reception and spent several hours dancing with guests, squeezing into the photo booth and taking rides on the Michigan State carousel horse.  It was an evening not to be forgotten by all who attended.

Reception Venue : Shadowland Ballroom

Event Coordination : Stella Event Design

Floral Design : Crystal Springs

DJ : Blake Eckelbarger, The Music Place

Lighting Design : Mod Events

Photobooth : Mod PhotoBooth

The ceremony was followed by a trip with the wedding party down to Tiscornia Park, one of St. Joe’s most popular wedding photo destinations.  It was a mostly overcast day which made for better mid-day lighting conditions at the beach.  We concluded our portraits with the newlyweds with a trip to Notre Dame to capture a few of the photo hot spots on campus before heading to a lovely reception at The Blue Heron at Blackthorn .

The reception was adorned with beautiful flowers and details by Beikmann Associates Floral.  Sheri Beikmann and her team put together some incredible floral designs which are always a pleasure to photograph.

St. Joe is just a short drive up the 31 Bypass from South Bend and it was a great day to take in the best that two different communities have to offer.  Congratulations to Amanda and Garrett!

… “OF COURSE!  Come on over!”  We met Andrea and Greg (if you’re really good friends with him, you can call him Brian) a couple of weeks ago.  They’re planning a fall wedding in St. Joe with their reception at the always fun Shadowland Ballroom and Silver Beach Carousel.  It has, of course, been a mild winter, so we knew the opportunity might or might not happen, but Andrea and Greg really wanted to do a snowy engagement session before Spring.  Last weekend, while definitely snowy didn’t work out for any of us so we jumped on the chance to do it this afternoon.  The couple even brought their dog, Maizey, along for a few pictures.