Mike & Tonya's Wedding

My first wedding of 2017 happened to be my younger brothers wedding!  I've always wanted a sister and I officially got one on a beautiful May day in southwest Michigan.  Their ceremony and reception were at the Lawton Community Center which was very pretty and the staff were incredibly helpful.  There was even a small museum that guests could tour during the cocktail hour.   Congratulations Mike and Tonya, I'm so happy that you let me photograph your special day!  Enjoy this preview of your pictures :)

Megan & Kahler's Engagment

A couple weeks ago I got to visit my alma matter - Grand Valley State University- to take some engagement photos of Megan and Kahler.  They are high school sweethearts who are both current students at Grand Valley and planning a wedding for summer 2018.  We managed to go to both campuses and take a quick walk to the blue bridge on this sunny spring day.  With so many great locations and pretty flowers it was so hard to choose only a few to share here!

Baby Doug

I would not typically describe myself as a "newborn photographer" but when my friends keep having babies I keep getting in practice with photographing them :) Karen and I used to work together and it has been so fun for me to see her family grow the past few years.  Last week I had the pleasure of meeting the newest addition to their family, baby Doug, (named after his dad and his paternal grandpa) when he was just 6 days old.  Big sister 2 1/2 year old Alice was very proud to show me her baby brother when I arrived at their home.  Here are some of my favorite photos of the new family of 4!

Everett turns one!

Everett is the second son of my good friend form high school and he is such a happy kid! He turned one on March 2nd and he is already walking and imitating everything his big brother does.  We finally got around to his photo shoot and the wait was well worth it because I've never seen a kid so happy about cake! He didn't enjoy eating it nearly as much as he did smashing it :)   Here are some of my favorite photos - and it was hard to pick just a few. 

HIS Dance Ballet

I love ballet and last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing a rehearsal for HIS Dance Academy's spring show "Desert: A Good Samaritan Story" which they are preforming on March 11 and 12.   The girls (and guy) did a great job and I can't wait to see them on the stage next weekend! To purchase tickets to the show go here: http://dcaw.org/events.php?eid=283

Here are some of my favorite photos

Josh - Class of 2017

Josh's mom works with me and when she asked if I could do a quick photo shoot for his senior photos I happily agreed.  Josh had already picked out some locations in his backyard for pictures which made my job easy and despite it being early December we still managed to find some color in the leaves and trees.  We even joked when I arrived that it was supposed to snow that day and that would make an interesting photo shoot.  About halfway through the photo shoot it did actually start snowing and you can even the snowflakes in a few of the pictures :) Have a great rest of your senior year Josh thanks for braving the cold weather for some pictures.  Here are some of my favorites!

Baby Emma

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet and take pictures of 6 day old Emma.  I've known her mom and dad for many years and they have been the subject of many photos shoots over the years so I suspect this is the first of many photo shoots Emma will be in as well. She was asleep most of the time I was there and didn't seem to care at all about us moving her around and putting the camera in her face which was great :)  Here are some of my favorites of the little cutie!

Kosters Family

Donique is a co-worker of mine and I first met her husband Ryan when I photographed their wedding back in 2011.  I have since then had the pleasure of photographing their growing family again over the past few years first with their little boy Jude, then when she was pregnant with her daughter.  Now they are getting ready to move to a new house and had requested some fall family photos in their yard to commemorate yet another season of life they are entering into :) Here are some of my favorites from their session a few weeks ago.

Megan Class of 2017

My first and only senior session of the year (so far) was Megan on an October day when the fall colors were in their prime in West Michigan.  Megan attends the same high school I did and she goes to the church I grew up in so I enjoyed hearing about how my hometown has changed in the years since I left!  Enjoy the rest of your senior year Megan thanks for coming up to Grand Rapids for these photos at Riverside Park :)

Tim & Anna's Engagement Photos

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to head out to Michigan State University where Tim and Anna both go to school and take their engagement photos.  It was a beautiful fall day and the campus was full of great spots for pictures.  Plus, Tim and Anna were naturals for the camera! I can't wait for their wedding next June, but for not enjoy some of my favorites from their engagement session.

Johnston Family

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of taking some fall family photos for Claire, Andy and their two adorable boys Peter and Will at their family home in Lowell.  They live on a natural beauty road and the leaves were just starting to change colors so we had great backgrounds for their photos.  Plus, the rain stopped and the sun came out about an hour before we were scheduled to do photos which was a relief for everyone.  Enjoy this preview of the Johnston family photos.

Alyssa and Luke's Wedding

On a beautiful end of September Saturday Alyssa and Luke were married in an intimate ceremony at Camp Beechpoint with Luke's dad officiating.  They then welcomed extended family and friends for a dinner reception afterwards.  Being an alumni staff of Beechpoint myself it was a joy to spend the day take their photos at a place I know so well.   Congratulations again Lys and Luke, thanks for letting me be a part of your special day! Enjoy this preview of some of my favorite photos from your wedding.

Chris and Sarah's maternity photos

For many years now Chris and Sarah have been the friends that are my guinea pigs for trying out new photography styles and last Friday when we did this maternity photo shoot was no exception.  As I've only done one maternity shoot prior to this I in no way consider it to be a strength but I am thankful for people who are willing to let me practice! This shoot was also special because we took them at Millennium Park in Grand Rapids which is where I took their engagement photos visited the place I took their engagement photos 6 years ago :) Here are some of my favorite photos from the session - can't wait to meet their baby girl in 5 more weeks!

Jess and Jason's Wedding

Last weekend I had the opportunity to photograph Jess and Jason's wedding at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum.  It was such a fun and unique setting for a wedding and aside from dancing the guests had access to all the exhibits at the museum and everyone seemed to have a great time.   Enjoy this preview of some of my favorite pictures of their special day!

Michelle & Doug's Wedding

We've had some rainy Saturdays in west Michigan in August and the day of Michelle and Doug's wedding was no exception.  Thankfully the storm clouds cleared after their ceremony which allowed us to go downtown Grand Rapids and take photos with the wedding party and get some outside photos at the golf course before their reception started! Enjoy this preview of their wedding pictures.

Nikki & Dan's Engagement

Last week I met with Nikki and Dan to take some engagement photos.  Despite the humidity and the rain that started just as the sun was setting they were troopers and kept smiling.  One of Nikki's bridesmaids was also visiting with her boyfriend so I squeezed in some photos of them as well when Nikki and Dan were changing outfits.  Nikki and Dan are getting married in January so you'll see more photos of them in just 6 months :) Take a look at some of my favorites.

Matt & Sarah Ruth's Engagement

Matt is my youngest brother, the baby in our family, and he is one of two of my brothers who are getting married next summer.  He and his fiancee Sarah Ruth met at Camp Beechpoint (one of my favorite places) a few years ago when they were both on staff so it was only fitting that we took some of their engagement photos at camp.  We also wandered around downtown Grand Rapids for part 1 of the engagement shoot.  Take a look at some of my favorites.

VanDyke/ Phelps Family

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of taking family photos for Bob and Jan VanDyke and their kids and grand kids out at Camp Beechpoint.  This place is significant for the family as Bob and Jan used to work there and Rick and Sheri currently do.  Since it's summer and camp is in session, we had to schedule their photo shoot for a Saturday when there were no campers around.   Beechpoint is also the camp I used to work at as well so I was very familiar with good locations for taking photos! Though it was a challenge to get all of the kids to look at the camera at the same time I think we ended up with some good ones, take a look at some of my favorites :)