Millennium Park Wedding - Amanda and Matt

St. Jude / MillenNium Park
Grand Rapids, MI

Congratulations to Amanda and Matt! So much laughter. So much love. So many happy tears and full hearts. All against a background of the beautiful Millennium Park in West Michigan.

Maybe the perfect sunny day was to balance out the not-so-perfect-but-memorable engagement story, which I have permission to get into here ;). Matt planned a weekend trip to Manistee. Friday night , after dinner at a seafood place downtown, Amanda got food poisoning! Incidentally, that's not the first time she had gotten food poisoning with Matt at the most INOPPORTUNE time imaginable.

Matt suggested to take it easy, but they rarely take vacations for pleasure and Amanda knew in her bones that he was going to pop the question, “so nothing was stopping us from having a delightful freaking day”. They had a full day of activities planned: farmer's market, walk the downtown area, lunch, hike along Lake Michigan- the works. She was a trooper. They eventually made it to a trail with a breathtaking view of the lake. Matt made a teary and heart-felt speech and she couldn't say yes fast enough.

Amanda proceeded to shout/blurt out at a passer-by on the trail that they had just gotten engaged. This person happened to be a photographer. They got their photo taken on the spot, but due to reception problems, they have never seen that photo.

That night they had dinner (successfully) and watched the sunset on the beach. The next day, they stopped at a golf course to play a round of 9 and Amanda still proceeded to tell everyone they came in contact with that they were just engaged. They called their loved ones when they got home aaaaaand then waited two years to start planning the wedding.

So funny.
Well, you may never see that photo of the engagement moment, but here is a preview of your beautiful big day, with a few hundred more coming…. ;)

New Vintage Place - Lawrence and Jenica

New Vintage Place
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Congratulations to Lawrence and Jenica! What a great celebration for two lovely people. So happy for this laid-back and genuine couple.

In case you missed their engagement session in Rockford, please check it out here:
Rockford Michigan Engagement Session- Lawrence and Jenica — The Bigger Picture Photography - Wedding/Family/Boudoir/Senior - Michigan Photography

The support and love for these two shone throughout the whole day, from the groomsmen’s heartfelt blessing over Lawrence, family and friends, the officiant’s spot on advice, the toasts and roasts, and overall gratitude and celebration.

Thank you so much for choosing me to capture your story. I wish you all the best on your many adventures to come! Enjoy the preview of the big day:

Heritage Museum and Cultural Center - Kirstin and Jake

Congratulations to Kirstin and Jake!! What a fun celebration for such a fun couple!

These two met at Hope College, in the back seat of a mutual friend’s van while catching a ride home in a rainstorm. They were friends for a while and finally got serious in their junior year of college. They started dating in October of 2017 and have been together ever since! Jake proposed on October 29th , 2020. It was important to him that she was surprised and she was! He decorated the basement of their AirBnB on a visit home to west Michigan and lured her there the morning they checked out under false pretenses. He popped the question and Kirstin’s bridesmaids, Grace and Alex, jumped out of the closet with champagne!

Jake and Kirstin describe themselves as “the cool kind of nerdy”. They love to socialize and meet new people (especially when it involves dancing). They share a love of fantasy books and movies and love having conversations about things like politics, stocks, and fanfiction. They always know that whatever weird interest one of them is picking up at a given moment, the other is always there to listen and engage. Their relationship is one of intense comfort and joy in knowing that they love and accept each other just as they are.

Best of wishes to you both! Thank you so much for choosing me to document your story. Enjoy the preview of your day….