Our first "east side" wedding took place this past weekend. It was a little nerve-wracking to begin with, especially since the dark clouds were looming as we left Grand Rapids that morning of August 21st, but when we pulled up to Addison Oaks, Josh and I were amazed at what we had to work with. The bride had just arrived with one of the bridesmaids so we knew we had time to explore and it was so BEAUTIFUL! We were thrilled at the location. Now the rain just had to hold off.
It didn't. Around 3pm, while we were waiting for the rest of the bridal party to show up, there was a downpour. But when it cleared, it was a perfect day. Sun with no high heat or humidity. Jessica and Ryan couldn't have asked for a better day.
Ryan is a cousin of mine (our grandmother's are sisters!) so it was nice to see some of my relatives, most of whom I hadn't seen since I was 10 years old! Everyone was very nice and easy to work with, so that made things a lot better for photographing. The ceremony was beautiful (and we got some of our best ceremony shots ever, THANK YOU JOSH!) and although we didn't have a lot of time between then and the reception, Ryan and Jessica were willing to do some nighttime shots (YES! that's a first as well!).
I was overall very happy with the way the day turned out, even if we didn't get leave home until midnight, and we had to drive up north for our second wedding of the weekend, yikes! But the wedding, the dresses, the location, the reception, EVERYTHING was beautiful. So congrats to Ryan & Jessica, and thank you for a wonderful photography opportunity.
