Jessica + Michael

September 29, 2018

This wedding was so near and dear to my heart.
I met Jess in 2012 at Grand Valley State University. The moment I met her I wanted to be her friend. We had met in some advertising classes, and typically I just went to class, did my work, and didn’t socialize. Jess was a tad different in the way she interacted with people. She made you participate in conversations.

About a year after I met her, I asked to photograph her for some projects.

^^ super old work.

So any ways we graduated college and stayed in touch.
Last year Jess and I were talking about her and Huie (mike).
She was saying how much she wanted to marry him, and how badly she wanted him to propose to her.

So I flew out to Seattle to hang out with her, and we both waited in hopes that he would propose to her.

He didn’t, however we got some amazing photographs out of it.

AND THEN 

A few days later he did surprise her with her best friends and a proposal.
It was beautiful. 

About a day later I got another message from Jess, asking about my photography for her wedding.
*crying*

I was so so so honored and thrilled, since I knew that Mike’s dad was also a photographer, and I know there are many talented photographers out there… I was so incredibly honored to be able to be the one to do it.

So after all of that sappy ramble, here is their wedding day.

Jess and Mike had an amazing day that celebrated family, friends, and their long journey together. Jess has traveled many places for work, and through all of that her and Mike kept their relationship a priority.

With artprize going on we had to walk a bit to find some space for portraits (lol), but we ended up getting some pretty unique portraits for the party.

I am going to post far too many images (more than usual) because this wedding is very close to my heart – and since Mike’s dad couldn’t be there in person, I thought he’d appreciate a longer blog post of images of the day.
[there will be a lot more on their hard drive that I am sending]

Love you both, Jess and Mike. I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoy you both <3

From Jess: “We started officially dating in September of 2013, but we had known each other for a few years before that. We met working for the West Michigan Whitecaps. Spent 3 summers working together there – only took me 2 summers to get him to give me a chance 😉 After living in Grand Rapids/dating for a year, we moved around a lot. September of 2014 I moved to Miami & he ended up moving too a month or so later. February 2015 he moved to Baltimore & in March 2015 I moved to Memphis. Halfway through the summer of 2015 he moved to Seattle so I finished the season (with the Memphis Redbirds) and moved to Seattle in August 2015 so we could (finally!) be together. We’ve called the PNW home ever since.”

Vendors:
Location: Studio D2D
Dress:  I Do Bridal (Seattle, WA)
Florals: Andrew DeWard (Studio D2D)
Catering:  Distinctive Catering
Desserts: Ginger Bakes
Hair: Cheeky Strut
Make-up: Siren & Proper
Bella Bridesmaids (Seattle, WA) / The Black Tux – Tuxes
Wedding Planners:  A Lovely Day Events   Kaitlynn Lamie
Video: Old North Film Company