This afternoon we had the chance to get to know Ryan and Erin who’s wedding we’re shooting next year. Engagement sessions are always a great chance to get to know one another and help form a relationship before showing up at their wedding. Ryan and Erin are very relaxed and natural together which made their photo session comfortable for everyone.
Here’s a few pics that I like a lot:

If you follow our blog, you’ve seen a lot of Russ and Delicia over the last few months between their engagement photos and then their New York wedding photos.
Last night Delicia’s sister Raquel threw them an amazing reception in MI for the family and friends that didn’t get to make it to New York.

The Reception was at Raquel’s beautiful country home in South Rockwood, MI.

There was an amazing team of vendors that worked tirelessly to make this event possible and I wanted to give some of them the recognition they deserve!!
Kathy Byrum and her team from Dream Wedding and Event Planners kept everything organized.
Outdoor Event Services provided an executive bathroom trailer which is basically a really high end traveling bathroom unit which makes you feel like you’re in a bathroom at a fancy hotel and it’s a great addition to any outdoor wedding or other event.
Ralph from RC DJ and Video played some great music to keep people on the dance floor.
Shutterbooth was there and they are a crowd favorite at every wedding.
Joe’s Gourmet Catering provided absolutely incredible meals that rivaled the food at some of the nicest venues in town.
Dave “The Lighting Guy” provided lights for around the tent, pond, and the whole property. He does amazing work!

Friday we had a spectacular day with John and Meg photographing their wedding at Meadowbrook Mansion which is one of the most impressive historical mansions in the United States.
They had a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the Pegasus garden followed by a tent reception overlooking the golf course.
Here’s a few of our favorite photos from the day:

Meadowbrook Mansion

The Simone Vitale Band rocked out the reception and kept the dance floor packed.

Blossoms and Chair Covers and Linens both contributed to making a beautiful reception room.

We just enjoyed a great few days at “Camp Maskill.”
Our responsibilities for the get together was to do some family photos. Here’s the big one showing the whole family. It’s pretty amazing that this whole group is together starting because of Don and Peg Maskill sitting right in the middle!

This afternoon we met up with Sue Keels who is the Director of Catering at the Royal Park Hotel which is one of the most incredible wedding venues in Michigan. She set up a photo shoot with us to take some head shots of her and her team. We photograph a lot of high end weddings at the Royal Park so it was nice to be able to go there and take these pictures for them.
We’re super excited to head back there soon and enjoy the best Sunday brunch in town!!

Here’s a pic of Sue:

This is Camp Maskill week. It’s a week where the Maskill side of the family all hangs out at Uncle Dale and Aunt Jo’s cottage on Limekiln Lake in South Lyon. Cheridy’s dad Denis has 10 brothers and sisters and this is a special week because all of them will be here which was definitely a big feat!
Their dad (grandpa Don) is going through some tough times with his health and it’s great that all his sons and daughter are here with him now. More about that on our facebook acct.

Mayz the friendly ghost:

Yesterday we photographed a fantastic wedding with Rob and Rebecca at the Inn at St. Johns. Emerald City Designs did a fantastic job with the room design and we also got to work with Ryan and his team from Epic Motion doing the video.
Here’s a few of many favorites from Rob and Becky’s wedding:

Here’s a photo of the Grand Ballroom at the Inn at St. Johns with the decor done by Emerald City Designs:

We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon outside with Adam and Lauren doing their engagement photos. Their wedding is still a year away but today provided a great opportunity to get to know them a little bit.
Here’s a few favorite pics from today:

While we were walking around, they told us a funny story. In college they were interviewed by 17 magazine and when the magazine was published they had included a photo of Lauren where Adam was cropped out. So Adam…now is your glory moment…this one’s for you!

Mayz, Cheridy, and I spent the last couple of days out in Grand Haven for a little R&R. We stayed at our favorite place which is The Looking Glass Inn. It’s a fantastic bed and breakfast right across from Grand Haven State Park which has been rated as one of the top beach spots in the US.

One of my favorite sites is watching the sailboat head out for the sunset cruise:

We spent our first day driving there and then doing pretty much nothing on the beach all day. We bought our first beach umbrella and are now wondering why we didn’t do that years ago since Cheridy+sun=lots of redness. Anyway…in the evening we had a nice dinner downtown and then watched the Grand Haven Musical Fountain which is one of the big attractions. Sadly, it wasn’t as impressive as these photos might have you believe. For anyone that’s been to the Bellagio in Vegas, you should probably pass on this one. This picture was taken with the longest zoom I own as the fountain is actually on the other side of the waterway.

The weather was supposed to be terrible while we were out there, but it ended up being fantastic and we got to see some beautiful sunsets.

Mayz had a good old time playing in the sand:

He always makes a goofy crinkly face when you ask him to smile. What a great photo of my beautiful wife and goofy boy!!

Chillin like a villain:

Quick family pic:
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For anyone looking for a place to stay in Grand Haven, we strongly recommend The Looking Glass Inn. Norma and Howie Glass are fantastic hosts and Norma cooks up an awesome breakfast every morning. This is our second time going there and we already made reservations for next year. After chatting with them, we’re actually going to be making them a cool new website which will be online soon at www.LookingGlassInnMI.com
Here’s a quick shot of their balcony which shows the view of the beach on Lake Michigan:

This afternoon our job couldn’t have been much easier. Perfect light, moody clouds, cool temperatures, great location, and a beautiful subject with flawless skin, a perfect smile, and a fun-loving personality. We had a great time doing Franki’s pics today. We were able to get a combination of senior pictures that were both fashionable and fun.
Here’s a few of our many favorites:

Here’s a video slideshow that goes along with the images from this past weekend.

Before leaving New York, we had the pleasure of getting to watch one of the most impressive displays of fireworks in the whole world. Our friends Jeff and Angela have an apartment in the city and we were able to watch the fireworks from the rooftop which is at around 40 stories. This year the fireworks were on the Hudson River side in honor of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson.
We watched the impressive show and then I took a few more pics from the roof showing some city scenes: