This is a wedding day I will never forget. I worked this day as a second photographer under Ruthie Isaacson, a Colorado wedding photographer that traveled to Michigan for this wedding. Ruthie specializes in Catholic weddings and hired me on as her second for the day after finding me on Instagram. I didn’t get to attend the wedding reception for this event but still had the best experience!
Catholic Wedding Ceremony in Hamtramck
Catholic weddings are so different than any other wedding I took on in 2024. Catholic weddings feature an entire Mass, which can take about an hour to hour and a half, with a lot of traditions. There are quite a few photographers out there, like Ruthie, that specialize in Catholic weddings because of all the special parts of it. I actually grew up as a part of the Catholic Church, so I was already familiar with many parts of the Mass. Before becoming a full time photographer I actually worked as a teaching assistant at a private, Catholic school where we attended Mass three times a week. It’s a little crazy seeing my 3rd graders in high school now. It’s wild to see them grown up when I remember them as little, sometimes sassy, kids. While I no longer attend a Catholic Church, I was honored to be a part of this wedding.
The wedding mass was held in a beautiful church, St. Florian Church, located in Hamtramck Michigan. This is an absolutely stunning church. I spent a lot of time just taking in the beauty of the stained glass and architecture when I first arrived. My former church was not anywhere as stunning as this one. The stories told through stained glass were the same, but depicted in a different way. This church is Polish and had many fliers, bibles, and even part of the Mass in Polish. While I don’t speak Polish, I was able to keep up with the traditions because it stays the same across services. It was just a language change (which was still really cool to experience). The organ player spoke with a heavy Polish accent and did a beautiful job playing music throughout service. One of the priests also spoke entirely in Polish- it seemed that some parts of the service were dual language while other parts were exclusively Polish or exclusively English. It was interesting to experience!
After the ceremony, we had very limited time for photos up near the alter. We quickly captured family portraits, something that I organize instead of taking photos of as a second photographer. As soon as we were done, lights inside were being turned off ushering us out so Adoration could begin. I was able to get a few photos of the couple leaving the church, which turned out fantastic.
Portraits Outside The Palazzo Grande
The Palazzo Grande had been a venue I had never heard of before this wedding day. After driving from the church, I was absolutely stunned when I walked in the front doors. The Palazzo is large enough to host multiple wedding receptions at once but it’s easy to tell (as a guest) which part of the building you should be in. I’ve been to some wedding venues where the signs were confusing, and my husband and I accidentally crashed a different wedding from the one we were supposed to be at this way! The chandeliers are beautiful and really painted an elegant picture when you first walk in. They even have a self playing piano that they allowed us to use for photos!
We had quite a bit of time before we could get into the reception space, so we took wedding party portraits outside. It was quite chilly at this point in the year, so we made sure to be as quick as we could. Luckily, the girls all had matching furs that kept them warm. With the winter season starting, furs were a very elegant touch to this day. I worked with the groomsmen for their portraits and we had fun. We tossed Zach around and really tried to make each other laugh as much as possible. They were a great bunch to work with!
After portraits, we still had a lot of time before the reception began. We were able to use the lobby to do even more couple portraits. We used the grand staircase and piano. Guests finally started to arrive and we tucked Emily and Zach away until their grand reception entrance. The reception space was beautiful. The table decor was kept super simple with greenery and candles. At the center of the dance floor was their cake, which they decided they would cut into right after the grand entrance. I loved the vintage heart shaped cake! It was super cute and they were all smiles as they cut into it together.
Ready to Work Together?
I would love the opportunity to work with you! I am still taking on some 2025 and 2026 weddings and elopements. I have had such a wonderful time connecting with couples this winter season- so many couples getting married this year is so exciting! Contact me today to reserve your date!
