Keith + Marjorie: Engaged (Grand Rapids Wedding Photographer)

February 4, 2012

It was "wedding planning weekend" for Keith and Marjorie. Living on the east side of the state and planning a west side wedding makes it difficult to go talk to your vendors whenever you feel like. So they got up SUPER early, headed over to Muskegon, saw their reception site, tasted some cake, and came to Grand Rapids to meet me. In tow were two of Marjorie's bridesmaids, Allie and Sahra, who were super friendly and uber helpful. We met at Starbucks (one of Keith's favorites), discussed their ceremony, coffee, contracts and cake, and then headed off for some engagement photos. Talk about getting things done!

Our first stop was the studio, where did a few indoor shots. Since it was such a beautiful sunny day out, I figured we shouldn't waste it by staying inside the whole time. The problem is, without any snow (weirdest winter ever), there aren't a lot of pretty places to do outdoor images. On my way to meet with everyone, I kept my eyes open for potential locations. I figured they'd want something more nature-y instead of urban-y, and I decided on a field and some pine trees just past my house, somewhere I'd been thinking would be perfect for photos for awhile now. It took a little bit of walking, but the results... perfect!

Thanks again for choosing me, Keith and Marjorie. They'll be back on the blog this July for their wedding in Whitehall and Muskegon. It's going to be a Celtic cermony. I am definitely looking forward to it!

^I think they like each other! ;-)

^Marjorie has the sassy pose down, no?

^So cute!

^On to the field... who needs snow or green grass?

^My favorite of the day!

^Breaking out my "&". Keith is a graphic designer and appreciates print, so it seemed fitting.

^Wedding owl from pier one!



^I wanted to include this one too, because I really appreciate the girls' help at the studio. They were great about helping me get rid of some glare in Marjorie's glasses. It's always nice to have someone along like this. Thanks, ladies!



Couple of the Month - February

Kyle and Suzy - June 23, 2012

For the first time in years, summer is looking like is definitely going to be my busiest season! And the first ones to be getting married in the summer of 2012 are Kyle and Suzy. Although I've only met Kyle for the first time at their engagement session back in December, I've known Suzy for a long time. Our younger sister's were best friends in grade school, and I took her sister, Lisa's wedding photos back in 2008. Suzy was very much into marching and concert band back in school. She and I both played the saxophone - although she played the baritone, and far better than I did my alto - and she continued on after high school to study music at CMU. Eventually, Suzy went on to grad school at Indiana University... which is where she met Kyle. Recently, Suzy finished her Master's degree in music education and Kyle will finish up his Doctorate in music just before the wedding. An exciting, musically inclined couple!

I'm very much looking forward to their wedding in Mount Pleasant, followed by their reception at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort. It promises to be an exciting day with lots of familiar faces for me, and I just can't wait for the early summer weddings this year! Congratulation to Kyle and Suzy, thanks so much for choosing me, and I will see the two of you in about four months!

Jasmine: Class of 2012 (Grand Rapids Senior Photographer)

January 29, 2012

Even though the end of the school year is in sight, I still have a little more senior work to do. Jasmine is one of the lovely ladies I am working with on her portraits. I met her and her mom in the middle of a snowstorm at the studio. That kind of put a damper on our plans for outside photos that day, but we rocked the studio session nevertheless.

Jasmine is a gorgeous girl, and knows a thing or two about working the camera, I'd say. Beautiful smile, great attitude, and she took direction well. You'll see her again when we get that outdoor session rescheduled, but for now, enjoy this lovely lady's indoor smile!

^Give me some of that attitude! :-)

^Love it!

^Awesome boots, Jasmine!

^She's a natural.

^One of my favorites, I think. Gorgeous.

^Finishing up with a comfy outfit.

Bride's Choice Awards 2012

{Grand Rapids,MI} – January 23, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation's leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Jenna Rose Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Photography!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Jenna Rose Photography was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Jenna Rose Photography is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Jenna Rose Photography for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Jenna Rose Photography is one of the very best Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.
To learn more about the Bride's Choice Awards™, please visit http://www.weddingwire.com/.
 
***Thanks to all my 2011 brides for making this possible!

Baby Avery Elizabeth (Michigan Baby Photography)

January 20, 2012

Angela and Cody (two of my friends from high school) had a baby this past November. Little Avery (I LOVE that name!) is so cute, and just barely two months old, but she was SO good for us when she came to my house to have her photos taken with Mom. Angela is visiting home for a few weeks -- Cody is stuck at work in Pennsylvania and couldn't make it up with his girls. We chatted for a long time, while unsuccessfully trying to get a real smile out of Miss Avery. She would only oblige when the camera wasn't in her face.

Cody and Angela got married WAY back in 2006, and they were actually the first wedding I ever went to where I had my "big fancy DSLR" with me. I wasn't their wedding photographer but I had just gotten my D50 and took a few shots as a guest. It was the first time I even did anything that might loosely be described as wedding photography! It was great talking about this and lots of other things with Angela, since I think it's been years since we've seen each other! And of course I was thrilled to meet her daughter. Such a doll! Let's get to the cute baby, shall we?

^She's such a pretty little girl, and so good too!

^First she was fascinated with her toes, and then the fuzzy blanket. She wouldn't look up for us!

^My parents' cat, Puddles, came along to check out the baby.

^Haha, it's not a great photo but it's definitely a funny one!

^She just didn't want to smile much for us!

^But we occasionally caught a coy smile or two!

^So cute! We couldn't get many tummy photos because Avery isn't a fan. But we snuck a couple in.

^Baby toes!

^I think she's getting bored of this!

^Smiling for Mom.

^And she's out! Thanks for being so cute, Avery!