Loren and Lou’s wedding day will forever live rent-free in my memory. This sweet couple spent their day surrounded by their friends and family and I don’t think they could’ve asked for anything better.
Getting Ready at Home
Loren and Lou started their day off in the home they built together. Lou and his groomsmen used the barn out back to get ready in, while Loren and her bridesmaids were inside the house. The morning & early afternoon were spent eating with family, laughing with siblings & parents, and running around getting ready. I’m a super sentimental person, so I really wanted to capture their pre-ceremony photos to show how special it was. Loren did a first look with her bridesmaids. There was so much emotion seeing her in all her bridal glory. Loren was absolutely beautiful and it was hard not to tear up. My favorite detail to capture from this part of the day was Loren’s bouquet. She had attached a small memorial trinket to honor those who had passed prior to the wedding day.
After Loren’s first look with her girls, we got ready for her first look with Lou. Lou was quite dapper in his cowboy hat. We captured their first look and then stepped away to give them some privacy to read their private vows to each other. I love when couples choose to incorporate private vows into their day- it’s so special. My approach to private vows is to capture it from a distance. I’m usually close enough with my camera lens to capture what’s happening, but also far enough away that I’m not hearing what is being said. It’s an intimate moment and I don’t want to be in your way!
Loren’s first look with her dad remains to be one of the best first looks I’ve captured so far in my career. Her father is a paraplegic and uses a wheelchair, and in no way was it an issue at their house or the venue. Their moment together was so sweet. It was full of tears and smiles and stories of memories.
Ceremony at Harvest Event Center
Loren and Lou held their ceremony at the Harvest Event Center in Marine City Michigan. It was a large enough space that the ceremony was inside and half of the reception table had already been set up prior to the ceremony. There was no bridal suite on site, but we were able to tuck Loren into the venue coordinator’s office so guests weren’t seeing her before the ceremony.
The ceremony went off without any issues. The kids were so cute walking down the aisle and they worked together as flower girls to toss the petals. Loren’s dad walked her down the aisle, and gave her away to Lou. After the ceremony, the wedding party met at the venue entrance for the signing of the marriage license. Guests were approaching the newly married couple and there were so many hugs. I always recommend doing some sort of a receiving line- this is when your guests have the opportunity to approach you, give hugs, and chat for a quick minute.
Wedding Reception in Marine City
Some of my most favorite moments of Loren and Lou’s day happened throughout their reception. We did something unique for their cocktail hour and that was group photos with each guest. We had kept the ceremony arch up and we had a line formed so each guest could get a photo with the couple before they went to their tables for dinner. It was a wonderful way to make sure you talk to everyone and get a photo with them!
Speeches and toasts were kicked off by the maid of honor and best man, but my favorite of the night were from Loren’s parents and grandma. Loren’s parents were quite sentimental in their speech. Loren’s dad though is hilarious. He has a quiet humor, but it’s there. He chose to gift Lou a “No Returns” policy book during their speech. Lou absolutely howled with laughter at it, he loved it. I mean this was an encyclopedia sized book with “No Returns” written quite large across the front. It was funny.
My second favorite moment was listening to Loren’s grandma’s speech. Grandma got up, completely unprompted and unplanned, and asked for the microphone. She gave a touching heartfelt speech about her and her husband’s wedding day and then sang her wedding song to Loren. Loren and I were both in tears listening to this and no other speech compared. It was such an unexpected, but sweet tribute and easily my favorite speech of the night.
The reception started to get a little too crazy, so Loren, Lou, Danni (my second photographer), and I snuck out to go do some couple portraits by the water. There was a guest at the wedding who happened to have a drone in his car. He asked if he could tag along to play with the drone and it was a no-brainer to say yes. The three of us took turns posing and getting the portraits we wanted. I have never worked with a drone before, and this guest was not a professional videographer (it was his hobby). We saw the drone footage after we got back to the venue and it was amazing! I was so glad he was there to help us capture some additional footage/photos by the water. I am never afraid to work alongside someone wanting to capture additional moments of your day- it’s even better when they approach me and we make a plan on how they can capture it without either of us being in each other’s way. Working together is the best way to approach these moments.
My night ended with Loren and I dancing to a few songs before We had so much fun that it was hard to leave at the end of the night. It’s always hard to leave because of how fun the receptions are but I’m also anxious to get home and start working on sneak peeks for my couples!
