C O N T A C T
P A C K A G E S
THE DREAMBOX EXPERIENCE
G A L L E R Y
H O M E
J O U R N A L
Follow along as I document real love stories and share a glimpse of how I see the world through the lens of my camera.
Ashley and Ricky held their wedding at the Italian American Cultural Banquet Center in Clinton Township, Michigan. Given that the venue was almost 3 hours away and I had never been there, I went early to scope out the venue. I didn’t know what to expect but as I turned into the parking lot, I saw the beautiful scenery… there was a large pond with lots of greenery and trees in the back that blocked off the highway. Ashley and the girls got ready inside of the building while the guys got ready at home. Since they weren’t doing a first look, we did the formal bridal portrats separately before the ceremony. I always recommend that if my brides and grooms are opting out of doing a first look, that we get as much of the formal portraits out of the way BEFORE the ceremony while the bride’s makeup and hair is still fresh. This will also save time between the ceremony and the reception as well.
I was absolutely in love with the colors that Ashley chose – it was burgendy, blush and navy. The blush and burgendy went so well together – especially the bouquet.
During the family portraits, I asked Ashley’s mom, grandmother and great grandmother (from her mom’s side) to put all of their right hands together and was able to capture this beautiful shot. The four beautiful generation of women:
When the guys arrived, we had Ashley and girls go back inside so that we could do the guys’ portraits.
I had a great time photographing the guys – they had such a good sense of humor and had me laughing the whole entire time:
Here’s a picture of the ceremony site. You can see a bit of the pond here.
Just look at Ricky’s expression as he saw Ashley and her dad walking down the aisle. This is why I LOVE photographing weddings – to be able to capture raw emotions such as these.
Kissing the bride:
Once all the guests went inside for cocktails, we went back out to do more pictures.
The reception was elegantly decorated with draped white sheets. I loved that this Italian American Cultural Banquet Center had everything conviently all in one location. From getting, ceremony, a beautiful backdrop for formal pictures and a beautiful ballroom for the reception (not to mention the on-site catering with delicous food), this venue really had it all and I would not mind photographing there again!
Toasts and speeches from the best man and maid of honor:
Bouquet toss and first dance:
After the wedding, I drove over to my best friend’s house and we stayed up til 4 in the morning chatting and drinking wine. We slept in til noon and then went out for lunch before I headed back home! This was a beautiful wedding!