Justin was a classmate of Alicia's in medical school, now a pediatrics resident at the University of Chicago. We went on a trip to West Virginia with him and his lovely bride, Rachel (a nurse) a few years ago, and of course we also did a downtown Chicago e-session with them last fall.
Their wedding in Grand Rapids, Michigan was truly a pleasure to photograph. It went SO smoothly from start to finish -- the only wedding we can recall that ran AHEAD of schedule all day! Rachel and Justin made some smart decisions that helped keep us on track and allowed us a huge amount of relaxed photo time.
They trusted us with their "detail" items like rings, dress, and shoes for an hour the evening before their wedding. We've never had the opportunity to do this before, and we loved it! (How often does anyone get a chance to get the moon in a wedding dress photo??) It was great to have time to get these shots in a beautiful setting like the JW Marriott, and it allowed us to focus just on "people pictures" the next morning.
Rachel had prepared a detailed schedule for the day with all events carefully planned out. The two agreed to see each other before the ceremony, so we were able to do a first look and had a leisurely two full hours for the wedding party photos. They had some great photo spots already picked out, so were were able to just go and shoot. Amazing. Their evening reception was at the GRAM (Grand Rapids Art Museum), which was an absolutely phenomenal venue. All in all, Rachel and Justin did everything possible to make our jobs easier and guarantee some great photos. :]
Special thanks to my second photographer and lovely wife, Alicia. You are always an absolute joy to work with, and you get more and more great photos with every wedding we shoot together.
More special thanks to my awesome cousin, budding photographer, and assistant for the day, Liam. You brought such a cooperative attitude and great sense of humor that were both equally important for making it through a 12-hour work day. You didn't have to shoot at all, but you did when you could -- and we were really impressed by the quality of your shots afterwards. (About 5% of our delivered photos will be yours, which is pretty stellar for an assistant.)
I'm going to keep the love going and send a huge shout out to the entire wedding party! You guys and gals were all fantastic -- always graciously cooperating with our many photo requests. You were always on time, looking great, and never complaining all day! You probably have no idea how rare and refreshing this is. It's a great testament to the quality of Rachel and Justin's family and friends. :]
Finally, Rachel and Justin -- you made all of this possible. Thank you!! It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you these past few years, and we wish you all the best as you start an exciting new chapter in your lives together. Enjoy your photos!!
