…At that point, I knew. BUT – OH MY GOSH – then we spent the engagement session together and the butterflies and the laughter and the huge SIGHS when they were in each other’s arms. We spent the evening on the family pumpkin patch, looking at ceremony locations and talking about all that is good and perfect about what is to come. They never stopped smiling, and I felt so doggone lucky to be even just a small part of their love story. I could scroll through their images all day long and I probably will, but you definitely should too because LOVE IS LOVE and not to be redundant, but I love theirs.

And this summer, it was my greatest pleasure to photograph Claudia & Brian’s Camp Blodgett wedding. Claudia and Brian chose to do a First Look, and it gave the entire day such a chill vibe. We’d do a little picture-taking, engage in some conversation, keep the bridal party hydrated (with their drink of choice), and get all the planned stuff out of the way before their guests arrived. Their ceremony will be memorable to them for years~ exchanging vows on the deck of Camp Blodgett with Lake Michigan’s shore lapping waves behind them & little itty bitty red bugs eating them alive.

It rained. From sun-up to sun-down and even into the night. But the thing I remember most about this Journeyman Distillery wedding wasn’t the rain: it was the love, the carefree attitudes, the cheers-ing and the dancing, the baby holding and tight hugs from friends. Katie & Cody were married in the Still Room of Journeyman Distillery in New Buffalo. They played off the rustic warehouse feel of the space with lots of gorgeous greenery & wildflowers and added special accents like plane placeholders (Cody is a pilot!). With the heavy rain, we spent an intimate day all together in this space

Mary & Patrick were married this past September and incorporated some of my favorite wedding day elements: a VW photo booth, gorgeous greenery, and a heavy focus on candids! I'll let the photos speak for themselves, but here's to chillin' out, maxin' relaxin' couples like Mary and Patrick who trust me to go with the flow and capture the realest of moments. I'll be back again in a few months to love on you a little more, Millcreek Barn!

Molly’s love for Christopher was strong & sudden, unlike Christopher who had loved her from the moment he saw her. She was with someone else at their time of meeting, but life is always full of strange and wonderful surprises~ and just like it was fate, she was his and he was hers … all felt right. If you saw them together, you’d see their love tangibly. Her palm on his chest, his arm around her waist. They move and sway in sync, completely in tune to each other. We spent the (freezing cold) afternoon getting coffee at 205 Coffee Bar in Holland, Michigan & then a walk among the fall foliage by the West Michigan coast this past November. It was 10/10 how I’d want to spend my day!

2017 was BG Photography Studios busiest year yet! To say that I love what I do is an understatement. I’ve been allowed into the soul of matrimony where the lifelong commitment begins. And I’m truly grateful for the couples that invite me. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU to my extraordinary clients who (apart from giving me the above honor) laugh at my jokes, let me fix their hair and get cuddly with them while posing, give me an all-access pass to the donut spread, and don’t mind if I dance with my camera at the reception.

Allison & Matt chose a venue new to the wedding scene to tie the knot: Old Stonegate Farms in Nunica. If you're looking for a barn venue with a historic home to get ready in and lots of land for pictures, then look no further. Allison & Matt were featured in one of my all-time favorite engagement sessions, so I was looking forward to their wedding for months! It rained all morning & changed the plan of their day, but still~ their First Look was magic, their attitudes perfect, and the sun still came out to shower them in golden sunbeams throughout their entire ceremony.

Earlier this month, I set out to the Windy City to photograph Brian & Claudia in the city where they fell in love. And what do you know? I FELL IN LOVE. 
With them, with the city, with this session. We spent their Milton Lee Olive Park engagement session overlooking the Chicago skyline & had a fantastic time being silly together. I appreciate their willingness to dance, snuggle, and be vulnerable in front of the camera. I'm incredibly pleased with this session, and I am already looking forward to their wedding at Camp Blodgett next June!

After our quick stop at their house, Anne and Alex took me to Holliday Park in Indianapolis for the rest of their engagement session. I felt like we escaped into our own little paradise~ the ruins were the foundation of our evening & the perfect stage for Alex & Anne's love to come alive. Nothing can bring more joy to life than beautifully fulfilling relationships.

2016 was a fantastic year for BG Photography Studios! I started the year with many bridal consultations, maternity sessions, and a destination wedding to St. Petersburg, Florida. Once wedding season was in full swing, I spent the majority of my time in West Michigan photographing the best people celebrating love at my favorite barns & beaches! I sprinkled in a few second-shooting jobs and mini-sessions as well, and wrapped up this November after a busy Fall.

Nick and Mary journey to this piece of Southwest Michigan for weekends away: sweet retreats from the craziness of life. Their piece of land - known as "The Complex" - has hosted their family and friends for years, and it was no surprise they'd share this space again while for exchanging South Haven wedding vows. With their ceremony outside and zero back-up plans besides the white reception tent, tension was high as clouds came barreling through bringing wind and rain. But I knew that nothing could stop us from making lemonade out of lemons, and boy, was the day ever sweet.

Allison & Matt's Holland Michigan country engagement session was one of my favorite sessions ever that started out amazing and progressively got better and better until it culminated at sunset, just lying together in the back of his truck bed. YES YES YES. We met on a warm September at Allison's country home; we walked trails, laughed (a lot), talked about love and the wedding and just everyday sorta things that make my clients friends.

Nicole & Ben were engaged on the west side of this Great Lake and married on the east side of the same lake on an August day. Nothing to reunite family and friends like a Lake Michigan wedding -- just so happens that because these two reunited after high school, they'd be having a wedding! They exchanged vows on a windy afternoon overlooking the cerulean waters; and they laughed and loved with their closest friends & family at a private estate. The sun came out for  socializing during cocktail hour, and we happily took the celebration downtown Holland to City Flats for their reception.

Jen and Charley were married on the hottest day of the summer. I remember sitting outside of Man Camp with an ice pack on my legs and begging for relief from the heat. And it came. The heat faded as soon as Jen and Charley saw each other for the first time. They danced through mist & rain drops and held each other close; and I took some of my favorite pictures I've ever taken in my wedding career.

Did you know the Pantone Color of the Year 2016 is actually two colors for the first time ever? Introducing ROSE QUARTZ & SERENITY! These images are from a styled shoot I photographed earlier this year celebrating and inspiring with these hues. I worked with some fabulous vendors, and now that it's summer and all colors are in bloom, I just had to celebrate these two gorgeous shades worn by two bombshell models.

Engagement sessions are my favorite for a few reasons. We get to focus solely on the couple. Unlike wedding days, we can devote a fantastic amount of time to capturing you two -- just you two: in love, happy, relaxed. And we both know that these feelings? They produce the best images. Relaxing with these Haley and Jordon was a breeze. I mean, its extra easy to be silly and in love when you're with such good friends.

Beau & Emmaleigh exchanged vows on a crisp Saturday morning outside of the St. Joseph / Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library under trees that swayed with well wishes. We've never photographed a morning wedding, but the day was pure perfection -- portraits at Tiscornia Park Beach and an exquisite reception at Harbor Shores. Because exquisite really is brunch with waffles and scrambled eggs and homemade jam.

This perfect pair were wed in the beautiful West Michigan at Bar Divani in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We spent the morning getting ready at the chic JW Marriott (where they shared a First Look -- perfection!), and then walked around downtown to the Grand Rapids Art Museum and the Amway Grand Hotel to capture everything that makes them ... them.  After joining up with their fabulous wedding party, we finished at Bar Divani in time for their intimate ceremony and reception of perfection. Really. Honestly. PERFECTION (and worthy of the rhyme).