Traverse City Winter Proposal | James + Chelsea

"Chelsea loves the Traverse City area. We like the outdoor and eating good food. I think that is what our weekend up there is going to be like and I would love to fit the perfect proposal in there as we do all the things we love."

James reached out to us with his plans to propose to his girlfriend Chelsea during a weekend visit to Traverse City. We set up a phone call to discuss the details and location for the proposal. When the day came, we bundled up and waited (with our cameras hidden under our winter coats) for James and Chelsea to arrive at the Marina. James knelt down on one knee and that was our cue to whip our cameras out to document the moment when Chelsea said yes.

We wandered around the marina to capture a few portraits of the two of them, while Chelsea admired her new ring and the two of them shared the happiest smiles and laughter.

We are always honored to photograph proposals--the beginning of the rest of their lives together. Congratulations James and Chelsea!

In Home Family Portraits | The Clarks

Whenever we have the opportunity to photograph our friends it is such a special occasion. Not only are Adam and Kelly some of our closest friends, but they are also our family as well. That means our children are cousins! That also means that their precious daughter is our niece and she has made us 'Uncle Miles and Aunt Sarah' for the first time ever.

Kelly and I had the opportunity to be pregnant side by side and our due dates were actually only two weeks apart. We were originally planning to photograph a maternity/couples session for Adam and Kelly this Fall before I went on maternity leave. But their sweet daughter surprised everyone by being born five weeks early! And since that moment, Mabel Louise has charmed her way into all of our hearts--we love her dearly.

Once Adam and Kelly came home and had an opportunity to get settled, we offered to photograph some family portraits in their home. Kelly got to wear the beautiful dress she had originally planned for her maternity session (which is one of the many reasons we both love Nothing Fits But--for their versatility to wear their dresses in any season of life). Adam and Kelly had their home decorated for Christmas and we had many picturesque settings for their photos. Underneath the dried oranges and fresh garland. Beside the Christmas tree with their stockings hung above the fireplace mantel. And after swaddling Mable so she was snug and warm, we snuck out to the backyard for a few minutes to get some photos in the snow.

We love photographing these kinds of in-home family portraits. There is something so peaceful about being invited into one's homes and documenting them in their natural environment. We felt as though we could take our time, settle into cozy positions, and enjoy the company of their precious family. And all the while we were photographing them as they were and capturing this sweet stage of life for them to remember forever.

Mark and Lindsay | Winter Engagement Portraits

As is with most winter days in Northern Michigan, it was frigidly cold. But Mark and Lindsay held each other close and kept each other warm despite the wind and snow. By the end of their session our noses were red and our mouths were numb but it was so so worth it for the beautiful winter engagement portraits we were able to capture. We knew instantly that their wedding was going to be just as beautiful and we were definitely not disappointed--we can't wait to share their wedding photos on the blog soon!

Fall Color Anniversary Session | John + Sarah

John and Sarah had an intimate wedding in 2020 with plans to celebrate with a much larger group in 2021 for a big wedding reception. We photographed their October wedding and were booked for their reception the following year as well. But as time went on, they changed their plans and ended up canceling the reception altogether. Since they were still going to be up in Traverse City on their original date, we all decided on holding their date to do an anniversary session instead. It was so lovely to see them again a year later and document these portraits amongst the beautiful Fall colors. It's been an honor to photograph John and Sarah on so many occasions. You can view their engagement blogpost HERE and their wedding blogpost HERE. We can't wait to hopefully do many more sessions with John and Sarah in the future!

Fall Color Engagement | Adam and Laura 2.0

After getting rained on during their original engagement session date, we decided to schedule a second session for Adam and Laura to hopefully spend a bit more time capturing portraits of the two of them and their sweet pup, Callie. In case you missed it, you can check out their rainy engagement photos HERE first, and then come back to take a look at their Fall color engagement portraits. We had beautiful weather and gorgeous colors on this day, much different than our grey and rainy twenty-minute session before. We had so much fun getting to hang out with them twice and capturing two very different scenes and circumstances with them. It just made us all the more excited for their wedding!

Port Oneida Beach Portraits | Weston

These beach portraits are extra special because we got to photograph Miles' cousin, Weston and his dog Elliot. Weston is a local songwriter and he wanted some updated photos to release with his upcoming song.

We almost rescheduled because of the weather. We had extremely dark clouds, harsh wind, and the threat of rain looming overhead. At the last minute, we decided to make the drive out to Port Oneida anyway and make the portraits happen no matter what. We are so thankful we did because we ended the night with the most spectacular sunset and it was the perfect backdrop for these beach portraits.