Archive for November, 2010

Upper Peninsula, Michigan | Lake Superior

Kylee and Chris invited us out with them the day after their wedding for an Encore session during which we just drove up the interstate and stopped at amazing places. Kylee knew of a few choice spots but that didn’t stop us from wandering around until the sun went down.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much we adored the landscape in the Upper Peninsula. The colors, the climate, the foliage, the wreckage, the abandon that everyone has. No one minds at all if you climb through a broken down warehouse with rusty nails and glass all over the floor. There’s no barbed wire around a broken down and half sunken dredger. There’s lakes that look as big as oceans. There’s forests that look like fire. It’s pretty much a magical land…

Iron River Wedding | Upper Peninsula, Michigan

A girl from the lumber and mining country and a boy from Jersey met in sunny Florida. (Insert fist pump. Not really. But maybe a little bit…) And then they fell in love.

Kylee and Chris’ wedding was a wedding like none other that we’d ever shot. From the moment we arrived in the good ole’ UP and were picked up and driven 3 hours from the airport, through corn fields and woods by her grandparents who gave us a bit of a history lesson on the surrounding land to the day after the wedding when Kylee’s father invited us to dinner with the family at one of the best little pizza places around we felt like we had been adopted. It was hard for us to leave. We were ready to sign up to bring green bean casserole to Thanksgiving dinner. ;)

I fell in love with Michigan which was something I did not expect. Growing up in Florida, I had never (read: NEVER) seen fall. My travels to the north had always only ever been in springs, summers, and winters. To see the changing leaves light the countryside in wave after wave of fiery gradients was beyond words. I was filled with awe. I could have shot images up there for weeks without stopping.

Kylee comes from a family of lumberjacks. And the entire reception looked like a forest wonderland filled with trees and other amazing little pieces of wooden treasures. It was such a special thing to incorporate. The team did an amazing job transforming the armory into a magical place for a party and we were so honored to document it all!

Kylee and her mom have always gotten ready together in the master bathroom. This day was no different. ;)

Last minute touches:

Choir loft…

Happy faces like these were around us ALL DAY LONG! How can you not smile when you look at this?

Places like this are everywhere. There’s no fences. No barbed wire. It’s all gloriously open for the photographing!

That’s an apple tree. I about fell over with excitement when I saw it. I’d never seen one before. Magical.

Private airport strip. The owner said, “Just look out for planes before you walk on the runway” ;)

A few of the various centerpieces. I loved the subtle differences. So charming…

The candy bar included “Jersey Salt Water Taffy” to represent Chris’ side of the celebration ;)

This is not a tent. The team draped the entire building in gorgeous fabric and lights…

Jello and mousse shots after dinner. MOUSEE shots. I can’t explain to you how amazing they were. I’m adding those to my “must make for every party from now on” list.

This lovely lady and her husband won the anniversary dance with 69 years. But it was a tough competition because there were about 10 couples still battling it out at over 35 years. It was beautiful. She decided to impart some hard-earned wisdom to my better half. ;)

Check back in tomorrow for their day after session!

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