Wednesday Wedding Inspiration: Tuxes

Guys look good "all dressed up"

Although it's usually the bride who has most of the planning under control, you can't forget the groom. And there are a lot of interesting ways to make him stand out, even next to his beautiful new wife in her gorgeous wedding gown. Obviously, most men look fabulous in a tux. And there are so many more options than your traditional black-on-white style these days. I wouldn't promote the powder blue or bright orange of "Dumb and Dumber," but there are classy options to shy away from the standard "penquin suit."

I've recently fallen in love with the slate colored tuxes (shown to the right). They seem to work perfect for the spring or summer weddings where black just doesn't always seem to fit, and they look great paired with a bright colored vest as well. Another great option for your spring or summer wedding would be the khaki, tan, or cream colored tux (see above). It looks WAY classy and also works with various colors of vest, ties, and flowers. In addition, for the fall, the dark, chocolate brown tuxes are not a bad choice. They work great with the seasonal colors and decor. One wedding I photographed in late August had all the guys in a chocolate brown tux with pin stripes. Very subtle and a perfect match for the claret red bridesmaid dresses.

There are more options out there than many people realize, whether it deals with color, as my post does here, or if you are looking for a more formal tux versus casual. And there are different cuts and styles available as well. It's best to ask the experts! Men's Warehouse is a popular choice in the Grand Rapids area, and they have many other stores in Michigan. They will know how to help you choose the perfect match for your season and style choices.

It's always a matter of taste. I'll always be a sucker for a guy in a black tux... to the left is a snapshot of my boyfriend, Mike, at a wedding he stood up in this past December. He wasn't crazy about the all black with red, but I thought he looked just great! However, when it comes to style, it never hurts to branch out and try something a little different!

Dennis & Jacquie: Engaged!

May 20, 2011

I talk about the Palmer family all the time, but I don't want to overdo it. They pop up all over the blog, so let's just say another of the sisters, Jacquie, is getting married next year! I met her fiance, Dennis, for the first time this past weekend over at their home on the east side of Michigan just before photo time. He's a natural poser, which is always appreciated by your photographer, and a nice guy, but best of all, you can see in how he acts that he loves Jacquie! It's always so refreshing to work with a couple like that.

We wandered around the park in downtown Plymouth for a bit, which was adorable and had lots of photographic options. Then we went to a place that Jacquie and Dennis frequent every now and again at Newburg Lake Park (I might have that wrong, forgive me!), which was another cute location.

I'm new to styling a shoot so I won't say I did a fabulous job, but we threw in the suitcases to show that these two will soon be joining Jacquie's family down in Florida, where they will be getting married next May. Thanks for a fun and fabulous shoot, you two, and congratulations again! And a quick special thanks to my Aunt Kim for her help with this shoot as well.

^Ready for their big move next week!

^Can't resist the lilacs.

^The grass shots were some of my favorites! So cute.

^Just a little "moment" they were having, I need to do more of these!

^I told Dennis I was going to teach him out to dip Jacquie. He just grabbed her and threw her into the perfect dip!

^Getting a little "carried away" haha.

^The sky was being difficult at times during the shoot, but this one... lovely!

^We grabbed the suitcases again on this cute little path towards the lake.

^One of my favorites!

^All you need is love :-)

Wednesday Wedding Inspiration: Colors

Bright and Bold Greens

One of the big things when it comes to deciding what your wedding style will be is choosing your colors. In fact, there are very few things you can do before you decide this factor! And the mood you are trying to set totally comes across in the color choices. It's a big step to take, more than most people realize. And there are so many options...

I have a habit of trying to search out the most AWESOME color schemes. Of course, The Knot has a TON of color boards to give you some inspiration. When I get married someday, I want to find something a little unique and memorable, but classy and of course, easy to work with. Therefore, I have about a hunderd and six different color combos that I have found and saved for future reference. If you want to check out a few of them, check out an earlier wedding planning post I did! Today I found a bright and springy combination, all green: kelly and lime green, with cream. A pretty combo that is both bright and bold, but definitely has a touch of class.

Green isn't for everyone... it's a great color for spring but much harder to pull off for the rest of the year. If you REALLY need some help deciding what color scheme to impliment for your own wedding, my suggestion is to definitely skip on over to The Knot color secection. A million different color choices, and some you would never have expected to see working together so well!

It's a big step but an important one! Make sure you choose something that works with your location, but most importantly, make sure it's something that you love, right now and when you show your wedding photos to your kids and grandkids someday. Be creative and good luck.

And just in case green is not your style and you want a few more great suggestions...

^Eggplant, leaf, and ivory.

^wine, mauve, and blush

^Scarlet and peony

^Turquoise, aqua, and mint

^Black, pink, and white

Lighting Workshop

Learning New Off-Camera Flash Techniques

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to take a lighting workshop with John Pottenger, an amazing photographer and videographer from the Grand Rapids area. His work is great and he knows a thing or two about lighting. So when he asked if I would be interested to do this, I was in, of course! I won't go into too much detail here, other than I really do need lots of practice but WOW! Was I amazed at what came out of my camera!

There are a few more I would LOVE to post, but Nichole, our model here, has a pageant and doesn't want to debut her awesome dress before then so we'll save those for later...

^Dark parking garage, lit with dramatic key flash and flash in back for definition and color.

^Outdoors in shadowy area, one flash for natural fill.

^Full sunlight, flash used for dramatic fill, sun as back lighting.

^Back in shadow, one key flash turned up for dramatic look, love these!

Happy Anniversary: Calvin & Kim

May 11, 2011

Two years ago on May 8, 2009, a great friend of mine married the perfect man for her. Kim and Calvin are a great couple, and such a great match for one another. Kim and I have been friends since the old days at Harrison Middle School, and I was thrilled to know she was getting married. I met Calvin when I had the pleasure of doing her engagement photos. Although I didn't photograph their wedding, I did attend the reception and had a great time reminiscing with "KimO" and dancing the evening away.

Kim and Calvin now live far, far away from me in the Port Huron area, and I haven't hung out with them since their wedding! I was more than happy to meet them up in Glen Arbor on their second anniversary vacation to do some "afterglow" photos for the two of them. Although it was a little wet and definitely cold, we had a good time catching up, and had a fabulous dinner afterwards together.

I just love the way Calvin looks at Kim. It makes me see how happy they are together, and that I really need to hang out with them again before another two years passes. I hope your trip was a good one, Calvin and Kim, and I will see you soon!

^I guess I lied, guys. Sometimes the first shot DOES turn out well!

^Up at the Sleeping Bear Dunes.

^We just loved this overlook.

^Cuddling. Great job, Calvin.

^Fully instructed dip, well done, you two!

^This spot was gorgeous, but such a huge drop off. Lots of bugs, but we still got a few nice shots.

^Kim's favorite thing...