Pinnacle Center Wedding- Hudsonville, Michigan

The Pinnacle Center was a great venue for a wedding and reception.  Josh and Stephanie were an awesome couple to photograph.  A local park made a wonderful place for this couple to see each other before the wedding.  Their bridal party joined us after their private time to enjoy an outdoor mix of wedding portraits.  We were all grateful for a local resident of the park who shared with us her favorite places in the park.  After enduring the heat and humidity we made our way back to the Pinnacle Center for a beautiful ceremony and reception.

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Simple and Fun Wedding, Lowell, Michigan (Wedding Photography)

Dena and Dustin were married just a few short weeks ago and soon after drove to Montana.  There wedding was simple and fun.  Dena and Dustin made photographing them easy.  As a wedding photographer I never know how a couple is going to be, but I was blessed to have a very goofy couple.  I never knew what was coming next.  The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Dustin’s mom and dad were a hoot, and his little sister will be harassing me for awhile.  Its because of her this post made it ahead of so many others.  All I can say is “GET OFF MY BACK”…. Just kidding.

It was awesome seeing a couple keep things simple and have a wonderful wedding.

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The difference is in the Negatives – Wedding Photography

Every wedding photographer has a different definition of digital negatives.  At Modern Photographics your time is important to us.  The images you see above are the same images you would have on your disk of negatives.   The time we spend preparing your images for your proofing is passed on to your disk of negatives.  You get the artistically edited images that are all color corrected, density corrected for lightness and darkness, and we have removed multiples of the same image.  Our high resolution disk of printable images are yours with every wedding package.

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Meet your Wedding Photographer (DJ) Event Thursday November 12th, 2009 6pm – 9pm

Moments in Time Disc Jockey was kind enough to invite us to be part of this awesome event.   We have an awesome savings offer attached to our newsletter, so sign up today at

A few of my other Favorite Wedding professionals will also be on hand to answer your wedding questions- Visual Inspirations, Mirabella Confections, and the Grand Haven Golf Club.  Come on out Thursday night at 6pm.  Make sure you RSVP first by calling 616-248-2947

Please forward this Blog to a friend today!

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Winner of Free Wedding Photography – St. Louis, Alma, Michigan

Not only was this couple the winner of our Free Wedding Package giveaway with 105.3 Hot FM in Grand Rapids, but they were also the first wedding at the restored Pleasant Valley Church.  The media turned out to cover this event and you can read about it at The Morning Sun.  Samantha and Kyle were married in this beautiful church near where she grew up.  The weather made for a cool sky and the rain let up just long enough for us to take photos at the farm with the tractor.  The reception was at the Elks Hall in Alma, Michigan.  A great new facility that allowed them to party with over 150 guests.  Sound Productions did an incredible job keeping the party going.  I was amazed by their professionalism and care for Kyle and Samantha.

Technorati Tags: bridal portraits, fun wedding, reception photos, rural wedding, unique wedding photography, Wedding Photography, wedding portraits

California Wedding Reception – Lake Shasta

It has been a week since the California wedding, but I forgot to post photographs of the wedding reception.  Many times I forget about the reception, but I couldn’t forget this one.  The setting for the wedding reception was at a river home north of Lake Shasta.  The house had like 6 rooms, 3 bathrooms, bar, pool table, big screen tv, huge kitchen, and an incredible yard big enough to hold a huge party.  Liz and Seth also had a second place next door rented out for their guests that made the party that much bigger.  The reception was outdoor under the stars with a moutain background.  A train made itself known just 20 yards away a couple of times, but just brought more coolness to an already hip event.  Cakes were Costco, but were decorated with butterfly’s.  For the first time ever the cake was “pre-tasted” by a guest, and worst off a few butterfly’s were missing.

If I could have my wedding reception in California this house would have to top my list of really cool places.

Technorati Tags: california wedding, california wedding photography, lake shasta, reception photos, Wedding Photography, Wedding Photos

California Wedding Day 2 – Wedding

Wow…. A real experience.  Seth and Liz made it clear to me before I left my little comfort zone of Michigan that their wedding was going to be different and most of it had to do with location.  Seth, since Liz will never tell you this  “you were right”.  The family compound was set up for multiple families to live in one location in harmony.  Just weeks prior old cars, trucks, vans, toilets, sinks, tractors, bulldozer, and so much more were removed from the compound to make room for the cars not on blocks to arrive with the wedding guests.  You would have to thank the “Beer Pong” and Horseshoe Champion for all the hard work in clearing an area for a wedding.  I am not describing this as a junk yard.  I don’t want to portray this as anything but an awesome stuff filled compound of “love” and “peace”.  After the family welcomed us into their lives on Friday, our goal was to photograph the wedding not make fun of their home.  I wanted to make sure the scene was set.

The wedding day started at the river front home up near Shasta mountain.  The bride and many of the guests hung around, swimming in the Sacramento River, drinking beer, setting up tables, taking long walks, and just plain having fun.  Time didn’t matter much on this wedding day.  The bride was on “Giles” time which meant an hour or more late wasn’t late.  We left for the thirty minute drive to the compound knowing Liz was at least an hour behind the planned 2pm wedding time.  Besides she didn’t even know if  her wedding dress was done or not.  The gown was hand made by her sister in law, and still needed a few finishing touches when we left Friday night.  By Saturday the last remaining details were finished and Liz fit it perfectly!

Seth (dressed to kill) in his linen tux that was hand crafted by his mother was hanging around on the roof patiently waiting his big moment.  The guests waited as well with drinks in hand, many wondering the compound looking for hidden treasure.  The wedding started only an hour and half behind schedule, but was very unique.  Liz and Seth were married by a good friend (Justice of the Peace) under an arbor in the middle of the compound.  Instead of your traditional rows of seating, Liz and Seth chose to have their guest stand in a circle around them.  The ceremony was funny, beautiful, and ended  with canon firing in the background.

The family formals went as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Only one pick-up had to be moved in order to take any of the photographs.  The bridal party was easy to work with and had their own ways of making the fun pictures … Fun! I am saving the reception photographs for another post.

*Disclaimer*  I asked Liz and Seth about what I could write about this wedding.  I am sorry if it sounds kinda redneck.. But it was taken in the middle of a compound in northern California.  No animals were killed in the making of this wedding.

Technorati Tags: california wedding photography, hippie wedding portraits, junkyard wedding photos, redneck wedding photos, unique wedding photograpahy

Winter Wedding Photographs

What photographs can be taken during the winter?
What benefits are their to having a winter wedding?

Winter Wedding Photo Ideas

1. Use the snow to make a white background

2. If it is not snowing have the bridal party throw the snow

3.  Use the Brides cape to highlight her face.

4.  Use off camera flash outside for winter wedding portraits.

5.  Take the bridal party outside- They will surprise you!

Winter weddings can be as fun as summer weddings.  Its usually not as hot, and the bridal party usually has just as much fun.

Benefits to having a winter wedding

1. 1.  Cost- Michigan is not a popular winter wedding location.  Our beaches are covered with ice and the flowers are covered by snow.  Many wedding venues have discounted pricing for off season weddings.  This can mean thousands of dollars in savings.  Most wedding vendors have discounts for January through March weddings.
2. 2.  Greater number of options-  The demand for wedding resources is less during the winter season.  This means you have a greater number of resources available to you.
3. 3.  Not competing with your friends for guests-  Your guest will be more likely to attend your wedding, because there is less competition for their weekends in the winter.

Please leave us a comment about your favorite wedding photograph or any ideas you have that help a bride for her winter wedding.

Technorati Tags: wedding photographs, Wedding Photography, wedding portraits, winter wedding ideas, winter wedding photographs, winter wedding pictures

If you did not have the opportunity to attend this event you missed out at one of the most elegant bridal shows to ever be hosted in the Grand Rapids Area.  With a Flute of Sparkling Juice in the hands of every guest and a warm welcome from the Lowell Chamber of Commerce our brides started the show on the right foot.  It was nice to see that in the first 15 minutes we had more brides than we had in 2007 for the entire show.  The Grand Volute is the perfect venue for a Bridal Show of its size.  We were happy to meet brides from across the country.  We had the pleasure of welcoming a number of new clients to the Modern Photographics family!

Thank you to all that joined us at the Grand Volute Ballrooms for the Lowell Bridal Show. It was fabulous meeting with you!

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Wow, we’re gearing up for a fun filled weekend.  We hope that you’ll be joining us for all the festivities.

Friday, October 31st, Halloween, from 12:00 until 6:00, we’ll be taking pictures of all the gremlins, princesses, pirates, fairies, and any other little dressed up person that comes in.  These pictures are *FREE* although we will be taking donations for Flat River Outreach Ministries.  Parents MUST accompany children.

Saturday, November 1st, from 10:00 until 4:00 at the Grand Volute Ballrooms is the Second Annual Lowell Bridal Show.  We have 37 businesses that will be joining us there to help with your wedding planning needs.  Register online and be entered to win a $50 gas card.  Come to the show and be entered to win OVER $5000 worth of door prized from the businesses involved. More information on the bridal show is available online at www.lowellbridalshow.com.

We can not wait to see you!

Technorati Tags: Bridal Show, Grand Volute Ballrooms, Lowell Bridal Show, Modern Photographics