Codie's Senior Pics .. Island Style

This past weekend I had so much fun shooting Codie's senior pics with her mom Marie. It's amazing the different backgrounds you can find within a Mackinac Island block. They were so cute together. . . you can tell by her laughter. . . how much fun she has laughing . . .with (or at) her mom...

Congrats Codie. . . and it was so fun to meet you. I wish we could have had more time. . . darn those boat schedules...

Good luck with V-ball!!

Love,
A
BTW... who would of thought it would look like a summer day in the middle of October!!

A Dream Destination...

It was an amazing weekend. The M.I. Tourism Bureau held it's 3rd annual Dream Destination Wedding Weekend. This is unlike any wedding expo. It gives each couple the opportunity to see every venue for themselves and meet every vendor face to face. How many destination locations offer that as an option? It makes planning a destination wedding so much easier.

I had such a blast... I met so many amazing people. I hope they all make it back to the island for their weddings. I get so stoked talking about wedding photography . . .that I may have talked a few people's ears off. . .Well, At least they got these cute little boxes that contained a Mackinac photo book I made & personalized mm's how cool is that... check it out anyone can do it... my m&m's

Registration took place at Mission Church . . . just check this pic out. . . . how cool does it look all lit up at night... so fallish ... the church is so historic that it doesn't have any electric lights inside, so they brought in construction lights to light it for the event... (not to mention in the daylight it is a GORGEOUS place to get married)



Thanks to all the brides, grooms, families, friends and vendors for attending this year. . . and a very special thank you to the tourism bureau for doing such an amazing job at putting it all together!!

Good luck with all the planning!!

Love,
A

BTW. . . if you happened to make it this past weekend leave me a comment.. say hello and let me know your favorite part of the weekend... was it the reception at MP, the cake tastings all day long, the gobs of information, the horses. . . or that pub crawl you decided to do late Satuday night . . . ;)

Amy & Michael... An International Love Affair

(Above . . . some well traveled shoes)

Well, I must say this was one of the hardest couple to keep track of. . . I met Amy and Michael last year at the Dream Destination Wedding Weekend on Mackinac (location #1)... then we chatted and discovered we lived just a few hours away in Cali (location #2) . . . as we spoke more, I discovered Michael is from Australia. . .and they split their time there as well (location #3) . . .and now the kicker. . . over the past year as the three of us would email back and forth I came to realize that most of the time they were in Asia (location #4) . . pheewww. . .and I thought I traveled a lot...

And that was just the beginning. . . I could go on for hours about this couple, their wedding, their guests. . . everything... but I'll try and keep it short... To sum it up Amy and Michael along with Cameron and Matthew ("the boys") ... truly created an amazing family. I feel blessed to have been such a part of it.

As you can tell I love details, . . but when the details are meaningful and closely connected to the heart as they were that day... the love shines through even brighter (and I get even more teary eyed). Amy and Michael used this beautiful day to honor not only each other but their families, their friends, their ancestors and their traditions. It was truly inspiring!

Click here for the slide show

Okay . . .last thing. . .I MUST pay props to the wonderful team of vendors that pulled this event together.

The cake. . . by the AMAZING and talented Bella e Dolce

The flowers . . . by the talented Weber's Floral and Gifts

The event planner. . . Carole Erbel (For the Love of Mackinac) . . . words cannot even come close to express my appreciation for this woman's talent and skill

and. . . a very very very special thank you . . to my AWESOME assistant Britain... (there is no way I could have done this without you)... you rock!! (just look at her with the camera... you go girl)

Love, A

Stephanie & Peter. . . A "Grand" Escape

I wrote about this couple a few weeks ago. . .her shoes. . . his food .. . their smiles...

And now I am going back through looking at the pics for one last final edit and it just reminds me again of how cute Stephanie and Peter were... from the outside they were elegant and "adult" . . . but then you can look closer and see the childlike glimmer in their eyes as they looked at each other. Plus. . . take a look at the slide show... they couldn't keep their lips to themselves... they were constantly sneaking little pecks (luckily I had my camera)

Click here to view slide show

S & P . . . You two have showed me how love can bring out the childlike joy in everyone. I have no doubt this will keep you two forever young! Thank you.

Love,
A

BTW... They were married at Little Stone Church an adorable congregation on Mackinac then the reception was held at one of my favorite venues, The Grand Hotel (Marty you did an awesome job as always. . .good thing you know a thing or two about bustling)

WOW . . .what a weekend...

This weekend is just about over . . it's 11:59 p.m Sunday night and before I go to bed I just had to write one last thing. I was debating about writing because I really have no images to show off the last two days... just my thoughts and vivid descriptions...

So, here we go... I woke up Saturday morning and read a line in a book that has stuck with me...

"If you want to experience the miraculous, start to look for the miraculous in everything."
(Alice Inoue... A Loving Guide to These Shifting Times)

I got out of bed went for a run . . and kept this idea in mind. . . I noticed the sunlight shine through and burst between a row of eucalyptus trees

. . . then a few hours later, I noticed a beautiful little girl sitting on a park bench wearing a bright yellow shirt with a yellow bow in her hair this yellow matched perfectly her laughter and smile that shined like the sun...

It was like this all day long. . . a person, a flower, a song,

...and the way the day ended was the biggest miracle of all... I was standing in the middle of a horse coral with 4 of my dearest friends looking up at the night sky.
The stars were unlike anything I've ever seen before (which says a lot since I grew up in the country in Michigan where the Northern Lights were a common occurance) ... the milky way was as clear as day... the only noise we could here were two owls talking to each other from separate trees. . . then as we silently stared up looking for constellations . . .not 1 . . .not 2 . . .but THREE shooting stars flew across the sky!!

May you all SEE the miraculous things that happen around you everyday!!

Have a beautiful week.

Love,
A

Welcome to the beach... Ulrike and her family

A little over a week ago I spent time at the beach with Ulrike and her beautiful family. I photographed Ulrike this past spring just before she gave birth to this adorable little boy....

I felt like a little bird on the tree just capturing this family playing together on an overcast Sunday morning... (even the clouds don't keep us away from the beach)

Ulrike, Thanks again for welcoming me into your family for a few hours... it was so much fun to play with you again!!

Love,
A

First day of Fall...

I just returned from a quick 3 day trip to Mackinac. September really is the BEST time to be there in my opinion. It's still sunny but with a bit a crispness in the air, the leaves are changing colors, the streets are quieter, and everyone just seems to be in a wonderful mood. There's something magical about biking through the tall trees with the blue sky above and the sight of little leaves slowly making their way down to the ground and speckling the pavement with splotches of color... Yesterday I was on my bike with a scarf wrapped around my neck flying down a hill like a little girl... tears welling up in my eyes partly because of the cold breeze . . but mostly because of the pure joy I felt in that moment...

Love,
A

Melissa & Andrew... Power of two

There is ONE thing that stands out to me with this sweet couple. POWER OF TWO...

I met Melissa and Andrew a year ago at the Destination Dream Wedding Weekend on Mackinac, since then we've been emailing and chatting every month. I spent a little bit of time with each of them before the event all the while trying to get a feel for this couple and their wedding... but it wasn't until the moment Andrew's eyes gazed upon Melissa on the Stonecliffe porch and Melissa saw Andrew waiting for her at the end of the aisle that I instantly understood.

There wasn't a sense of excitement, or overt celebration... there was a sense of confidence, a sense of relaxation in the midst of chaos, a sense that these two were the only two in the world and together they could face anything. Together they are one, together they are each other's pillars of strength.

After the ceremony, Melissa and Andrew went on a private carriage ride... after spending most of the day apart... they were finally together... not just for the moment but for a lifetime.

M & A . . . you two truly are an example of the power of two . . . may you face the world together with the same sense of confidence and joy that radiated out the minute your hands touched at the end of the aisle.

Love,
A