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...

Wednesday Wedding Inspiration: The Dress

Say Yes to the Dress!

One of the biggest thing the bride worries about on her big day is finding that PERFECT wedding gown. It's the centerpiece (since she tends to be the center of attention), and since she wants to look absolutely stunning on her big day, it's no wonder. There are entire TV shows (see title!) committed to JUST this one aspect of wedding planning. That just goes to show it is an important one.

Today I wanted to feature one of my favorite designers, Maggie Sottero, as the focus of my Wednesday Wedding Inspiration post! Maggie Sottero designs are phenomenal, and there are so many choices. Whether you are looking for a big and fancy ball gown style dress, or just going for a simple A-line strapless, the choices are endless. They even feature a whole line of destination style wedding dresses, for those girls who want less hassle and opt to go tropical for their big day.

I wanted to showcase a couple of the beautiful options you can find from MS. One my very favorites that I have found was the Naomi, featured to the left. This style is an A-line with a corset closure, and I love the way it gathers at the waist. Great to give yourself a little extra "trim" look on the big day. The train is fully gathered and has a longer length to carry one the glamourous look. It comes in white, diamond white, and alabaster, shown here.

Another beautiful option in the Maggie Sottero collection is the Evangelina. Another A-line, gown with corset closure, but this features some amazing lace and fold overs and neckline in Satin. The skirt is tiered and leaves another medium sized train. It's an absolutely gorgeous gown! And these are just two of the dresses in the Maggie Sottero collection. Check them ALL out here!

And since I have to plug the local bridal market, check out Renee Austin Weddings in downtown Grand Rapids for your very own Maggie Sottero bridal gown. They have personalized service, an adorable downtown boutique, and the know-how to find you the perfect dress, so YOU can say yes too!

And to show off some "real girls" wearing their wedding dresses... to the left we have Michele Quinn-McQuade, showing off a Maggie Sottero gown at her wedding in December. This photo is care of Richard Ford. And to the right is Sara Hengst, who was married way back in the fall of 2009. Her dress is from the ever-popular David's Bridal. And thanks to Emily Rozema for this photo of Sara.