maisie jane photography » Photography and personal Blog

Oh where to start when telling this story. I won’t tell you how sick I was and how I panicked because of the intense head cold that dropped on me like a bomb in the 24 hrs preceding this wedding. I won’t tell you about how 25 min into shooting the day, I snagged my tights on the velcro of the makeup artist’s bag ripping a gaping hole near my shin. {Pretty noticeable and trashy looking.} I won’t tell you about the monsoon that entered the scene just shortly after the first look and just as we were starting the bride & groom portraits. I won’t tell you about how we had to move the 160+ guest wedding ceremony from the backyard {which was decorated perfectly} to inside the tent.  And I won’t tell you how my heart broke for my friend, Katie.  All of her careful planning, hard work, and high hopes for her perfect wedding day. I can still hear her voice trying to convince herself, “It’s not going to rain!!” I wince a little recalling that moment. I won’t tell you how sad I was for her that her vision of her day had to be completely changed.

Instead, I’m going to tell you about how amazing and positive the bride and groom were, how it all worked out perfectly and that in the middle of the chaos I saw enough LOVE and kindness to warm up even the coldest rainiest day!  I’ll start with my sweet hubby dropping what he was doing, loading up the kids and driving a new pair of tights to me. Then I’d like to tell you about two of the most selfless hardworking parents I’ve ever met. I watched Katie’s mom and dad hustle all day long.  I mean all. day. long.  Pounding signs into the ground, hanging flower filled milk bottles from the pergola, hauling chairs, loading up the bar, then taking the bar apart and moving it inside. Moving the ceremony backdrop inside. Basically moving everything inside.  I just wanted to hug them both. Good people.  So many times during the day and night I saw acts of kindness and the many helping hands of friends and family. Everyone pitching in together to make this day special.

This was my first experience with a backyard outdoor wedding. It was quite incredible to watch this event come together. The decorators from Serradella Vintage and the florist, Ruby Slipper Design, were beyond phenomenal. They completely transformed Katie and Tim’s backyard into a charming vintage garden-like atmosphere in a matter of hours. The attention to detail was impressive to say the least. The ceremony was perfect. Katie’s sister, accompanied by Jason Milan on the guitar, sang a beautiful song for the couple. It was in that moment when I finally took a few deep breaths and realized that this was what this whole day was about. Sharing the gifts God has given us, making a lifelong commitment, promising to love without conditions, and celebrating together. The weather didn’t matter. The lost portraits of the day that I had dreamed of capturing…didn’t matter. None of it mattered. What mattered was what was happening under the tent at this moment.  The rest of the night is a blur to me! It was a blur of amazing home-cooked food, a “Beastie Boys” family rap/toast, crazy dance moves, good beer, laughing with friends, and did I mention amazing food?! Seriously. The food was good.

So much love surrounds Katie & Tim. I know their marriage will bring many blessings. It was an honor to capture their love story.

 

Vendors

Dress: Elvira High Fashion

Hair: Tracy Tate

Makeup: Loriann

Florist: Sandra at Ruby Slipper Design

Vintage Rental: Kelly at Serradella

Tent Rental: Carol at Knights Tent and Party Rental

Caterers: Joey Price and Greg Amador

DJ: Todd at Gordon Productions

musician: Jason Milan

Officiant: Rosanne Anderson

 

 

Before I get into how lovely this wedding was, I just have to say…I have been blessed with the most chill brides in the world! I’m new to the wedding scene with the Smith wedding being # 5 for me. All five brides (and grooms) have been the most laid back and the sweetest people I’ve ever worked with! How lucky for me to get my start with such awesome couples.

Okay, on to the beautiful wedding story of Austin and Alex! They chose the quaint location of Frog Pond Village in Northern Michigan (one of my happy places). Their destination wedding week was filled with fun with family and friends who rented houses in the area. The groom’s party stayed on a lake and the brides party stayed on a scenic horse ranch just south of Traverse City.

When I arrived at the ranch, I was greeted with big hugs! All the girls were in full swing with hair and make-up being done by (the amazing) Paige and Ashley from Salon West & Spa out of Escanaba. A very laid back relaxing morning. When Alex took me upstairs to see her dress, I immediately lost my breath. Seriously. Gorgeous. It makes me want a “do over!” This dress has fairy tale princess all over it! I could not wait to see Alex in this dress. Before it was time to put it on, you better believe I snapped about 50 pictures of this exquisite gown! I know, weird right? Who wants that many pictures of just a dress? Well, it was pretty darn amazing and I had to take in all of the details. Nothing compares to the beauty of the whole package though. When Alex put that dress on, we were all in awe. Jaw dropping. Stunning. I remember looking at her mom in the first few moments of her getting into her dress and could just feel the emotion. The pride and love.

Next it was off to the lake house to check on the groomsmen! These guys are a lot of fun! The groom’s family and groomsmen made me laugh a lot. So down to earth and funny. Lots of joking and lots of crazy socks! We got some good shots of getting ready and figuring out suspenders and ties, then headed to the ceremony site at Frog Pond.

Vintage woodland charm all over the place! Alex and Austin created the coolest decor using the natural beauty of birch bark, moss, and other nature related materials. Loved the details at this wedding. The ceremony took place in the shade of a large pergola (thank goodness because it was VERY sunny!) Their pastor did a wonderful job and something that stood out to me was the blessing of the rings…they were passed through the guests for each to say a prayer for Alex and Austin. I’ve never seen this before. Really special. Oh and did I mention the flower girls? Oh my sweetness! Cutest ever.

The rest of the wedding was an incredibly fun mix of good food, dancing, and mingling. There was a giant swing, s’mores bar, bonfire, golf cart ride to the lake. So many great moments captured it’s tough to pick the most memorable. There was definitely not a dry eye in the room for the “father/daughter dance” and the night ended with a fight song battle between the MSU graduates and UofM graduates! (Bride vs. Groom) Good stuff.

Congrats Alex & Austin…I wish you a long happy life filled with many blessings.