Friends!! I’m so excited to share this – this has been such an exciting week of blog posts!! Ellen and Alex are two of the most adorable head-over-heels in love people I know and I’ve been giddy about their wedding from the moment they asked this Indianapolis wedding photographer to shoot it. You can read all about how I came to be connected here and check out their engagement session from last fall to get all the details about them!
These two live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but planned the perfect destination wedding to Saugatuck, Michigan. It was held at the beautiful Laketown Golf and Conference center and included all of their favorite and most special things – from people to flowers, to the cake, the bridesmaids earrings, and their wedding shoes. These two were a photographer’s DREAM to shoot with (seriously, they gave me as much time as I wanted throughout the day for various portrait segments) and made their couple portraits a big focus of their experience. See?! DREAM! Not to mention I got a chance to work with the AMAZINGLY talented Paige Gabert whom I not-so-secretly admire so.
Ellen and Alex… you know what this post means, right?! Your gallery is uploading now! WOOHOO! Looks like date night this week is going to be a little wine and popcorn and reliving one of the best days of your lives! <3
For their friends and family and for any fans, be sure to read through – there’s lots of goods throughout this post with a full list of vendor credits at the end!
These are LIVE succulent earrings! How cool are these!? Ellen wanted a woodland-themed wedding and there were lots of little details that went into making this happen including these amazing gifts for her best girls. Check the vendor list to see more of Passionflower’s work – she’s amazing!
Did I mention that you can PLANT these once you’re done wearing them and grow your jewelry into a full plant!?
Ellen wanted a good pic of her with her momma and this one’s my absolute favorite. <3
Also… this amazing wreath!
Ellen and her friends made the centerpieces… I’m pretty sure they should be going into business. 😉
Did I mention that Ellen works at Sweet Heather Anne in Ann Arbor? She’s an amazing cake artist and Heather and the crew made Ellen’s GORGEOUS wedding cake. Not one of those florals or greens are real… they’re all hand-crafted sugar flowers. Each one is so delicately made you would never know unless you touched it. They do jaw-dropping work and Ellen just gushed about how much she LOVES working there!
Always my favorite part of the ceremony (well, one of them) – the handing off of the bride.
Whenever I get the chance I try to shoot the first kiss from behind, especially when the couple has asked for an ‘unplugged’ ceremony. I love to see the family and friends looking endearingly (and sometimes teary-eyed) at the newly pronounced Mr. & Mrs. and in this shot I love the loving gaze of the maid of honor as she watches her two best friends share their first moment, but I especially love the family member who sneakily filmed and shot the whole ceremony from a low angle. 😂 😂 😂 Got you! Can you spot the camera!?
This. Just everything about this.
Annndddd her face when she saw the final result of her cake all put together. <3 <3 <3
If you’re not grinning at this shot and sharing in their excitement, well…. I know you are. 🙂
Now, now… play nice…
Ellen and Alex enlisted my support in building their timeline and I was MORE than happy to help. I love offering input and building the day with my clients. They built in three separate segments for couple portraits since this was such an important part of their day together – their first look, after family formals, and again at sunset. We achieved three totally different looks throughout the day and each time it gave them a moment to breath and reflect on the festivities and bask in the presence of being alone as a couple for a moment. It was PERFECT.
THE GOODS | VENDOR CREDITS
Dress | Alita Graham through The Brides Project
Hair & Makeup | Quinn Vise Hair Design
Florist | Picket Fence Flowers
Ceremony & Reception Venue | Laketown Golf and Conference Center
Venue Coordinator | Laketown – Ginger Hensley
Guitarist | Robert McCloy
DJ | Moments In Time DJ
Videographer | Norton Video Productions
Cake | Sweet Heather Anne
Caterer | West Michigan Caterer
Bridesmaid Dresses | David’s Bridal – Vera Wang
Groomsmen Attire | The Black Tux
Invitations | Wedding Paper Divas
Favors: Macaroons | Sweet Heather Anne
Bridesmaid Gift: Succulent Earrings | Passionflower
Officiant | Dream Day Weddings – Cheryl Hooten
casey and her camera is an Indianapolis Wedding Photographer specializing in couple, lifestyle, senior, wedding and family photography for Indianapolis, Indiana and the surrounding areas.
