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Posts Tagged ‘St. Hugo’s Catholic Church’

07.31.10 – Andrea and James – Pine Lakes Country Club (Orchard Lake, MI)

September 21, 2010

Andrea and James’ wedding is definitely one of my favorites this year! I really believe that because they allowed me to photograph the wedding almost 100% in my documentary style, I was able to be at my best! As you can see below from the getting ready photos, they went about their day without worrying about the camera and the results are wonderful! Spontaneous, creative, meaningful moments were found and this only enhanced my ability throughout the remainder of the day! Andrea and James had a beautiful wedding! It was fun, full of life, ornate and celebratory! The day began with my meeting up with the bride and groom at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, where they were getting ready. We then headed up Woodward to nearby St. Hugo’s Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills – always a favorite location for wedding ceremonies! I have photographed a lot of weddings there, but the photo above of Andrea downstairs, and the guests walking into the sanctuary above her , is an original. I can’t believe I’ve never caught this image before but I love the contrast of seeing two scenes at once!!! After the ceremony, we headed over to James’s country club, Pine Lakes in Orchard Lake. After a break was taken by Andrea and James and some last minute touchups with hair and makeup, the couple were greeted by their loving and energetic guests in the dining room!

A couple of notes: Andrea comes from a musical family as her father is an accomplished singer and band leader. You can see photos of he and his band below. Also, their good friend Royce the Voice serenaded them at the ceremony and reception with his band. He is a favorite in Detroit and his vocals are legendary! Enjoy my favorite photos below as well as the highlight slideshow at the bottom of this post.

Tags: Michigan wedding photographer, Michigan wedding photography, Michigan weddings, Pine Lakes Country Club, Royce the Voice, St. Hugo's Catholic Church
Posted in Slideshows, Weddings - 2010 | 1 Comment »

06.26.10 – Michelle and Bobby – Royal Park Hotel (Rochester, MI)

August 3, 2010

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Michelle and Bobbys wedding was my first booking for 2010. We originally met well over a year prior to their date and I also had the opportunity to photograph their engagement session last summer. It was during this photo session that we really had a chance to get to know one another and to have fun. Boy did we ever! You can see the results by clicking here. The reason I bring this up is because I believe that session directly impacted how well the wedding day would photograph! We became friends and we had a chance to work together prior to the wedding day. The results of Michelle and Bobbys wedding are stunning. I was in sync with them throughout the whole day and I think you can see that from the photos below.

I met Michelle for getting ready photos at her parents home. The ceremony took place at popular St. Hugos Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and the reception was held at the elegant Royal Park Hotel in nearby Rochester. The wedding day ended with the biggest surprise of my eighteen year wedding career: three of the Top Ten finalists from the television show American Idol crashed the reception! I made a blog post of several photos shortly after the wedding and you can see them by clicking here. Check out some of my favorite photos of the day below and scroll down to the bottom of this post to view the entire highlight slideshow set to U2s Magnificent.

The wedding day could not have been successful without Michelle and Bobbys superb cast of Michigans top wedding vendors. The list includes:

Wedding Planning – The China Closet
Floral Arrangements – Bellisario Florist
Printing Services and Custom Invitations – Cartoleria
Band – Intrigue
Videography – Lee Thomas Films
Decor – Special Event Rentals
Wedding Dress – Roma Sposa

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Tags: American Idols, Bellisario Florist, Cartoleria, Intrigue, Lee Thomas Films, Michigan wedding photographer, Michigan wedding photography, Michigan weddings, Roma Sposa, Royal Park Hotel, Special Events Rentals, St. Hugo's Catholic Church, The China Closet, wedding photojournalism
Posted in Slideshows, Weddings - 2010 | No Comments »

06.12.10 – Maria and Joshua – Orchard Lake Country Club (Orchard Lake, MI)

July 11, 2010

Like many of my clients these days, Maria became familiar with my work because she is friends with former clients of mine. For me, there is no better way to find future clients! Maria and Joshua’s wedding day began with my starting at Maria’s parents’ home where Maria and her bridesmaids were getting ready. Some of the photos below are among my favorites this year! I love documentary style photography – finding images that tell the story of moment. But that is only half of what makes these memorable images. The other part of the equation in making great images is when your subject is emotional and expressive. You will see below that this came very easily for Maria on her wedding day!

The day continued with the ceremony at St Hugo’s Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills where I met Joshua for the very first time. Joshua is the perfect compliment to Maria. It was obvious to all that they are happy and in love and are surrounded by wonderful family and friends. The evening moved forward to Orchard Lake Country Club for the wedding reception and celebration. I am so happy that they invited me to photograph their beautiful day! Please see the highlight slideshow at the bottom of this post to see how the entire story unfolded. Their day could not have been the success it became without the expertise of the following vendors:

Florist – Dave Calcaterra of Thrifty Florist
Linens – Special Events
Cake – Orchard Lake Country Club
Videographer – Chad Shwartzenberger
Day-of Coordinator – Molly Robinson
Paper Products and Design – Jen Wells of Miss Pickles Press

Tags: Bloomfield Hills Wedding, Michigan wedding photographer, Michigan wedding photography, Michigan weddings, Orchard Lake Country Club, St. Hugo's Catholic Church, wedding photojournalism
Posted in Slideshows, Weddings - 2010 | No Comments »

American Idols crash wedding reception!!!

June 29, 2010

Yes, I am a big fan of American Idol – there I said it! So you can imagine my surprise – as well as the bride and groom (Michelle & Bobby) – when we were told that three of American Idol’s Top Ten Finalists – Michael Lynche (Big Mike), Casey James and Andrew Garcia – were just down the hallway (at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, MI) in the lounge . After our band, Intrigue, spotted them on their break, they invited the A.I. trio to come down and sing a few songs. They agreed and shortly after midnight, put on a show for the remaining guests of this beautiful wedding. Below are some of my favorites, including the guys walking into the ballroom, being greeted by Michelle with open arms! NEWS ALERT: So far we’ve been contacted by Fox2 Detroit, AI Now, and Yahoo Music for permission to publish these photos for their news articles!