Jamie + Michelle Photography

Chi and Dan are Married!

July 21, 2010 • 2 Comments

Chi and Dannie were married! The first event of the day was a traditional Asian ceremony at Chi’s parents’ house. It was very cool to be a part of it!

I asked Chi to describe the ceremony for us and this is what she said:

“The Asian ceremony was an abbreviated version (thank goodness!) of the real ceremony. The groom and his entire family (his parents, grandparents, all his groomsmen, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends) come to the bride’s house to ask permission for the marriage to take place. The procession was led by his parents, then the groom, then his best man and brothers, then the groomsmen and the rest of family. The groomsmen carry gifts on teak wood trays (which were draped in the ornate red cloths) for the bride’s family. Its usually wine, coffee, tea, cookies, a roast pig or jewelery. The number of gifts vary, but can never be 7 or 9 because I’m told its bad luck. My number was 6. The brides’ family lights firework by way of welcoming the groom’s family. The groom’s procession lines up to present the gifts to the members of the bride’s family (my bridesmaids) and the women carry them into the house and lead the groom’s family inside. Once the exchange is done, permission has been granted by a representative of the bride’s family (my uncles), and everyone is inside the bride’s house, the parents of the bride will present her to the groom. The bride and groom will stand together as the couple who have been married the longest light traditional ceremonial candles (while silently wishing the bride and groom good luck and happiness) on the ancestral alter and ask the ancestors to bless the marriage. The bride and groom then bow in front of the alter and ask for the blessings of the ancestors as well. Then there was a small tea luncheon.”

And there hangs the big string of firecrackers that was mentioned above. Awesome!

The bridal party!! They looked great, but we felt bad for them – it was quite the hot day! They were all troopers!

We had some chill time in between portraits and getting ready for the American wedding ceremony, so someone brought Chi Schoop’s!

YEAH for hot pink shoes!!

Elvis!!! Dan and Chi’s dog was of course a part of the ceremony!

LOVE Dannie’s boutonniere and how these feathers were incorporated into everything.

“Is there anyone that feels for any reason these two should not be married?” Heh! Dan and Chi gave everyone ‘the look’.

I have to say – throughout the day, Chi was just smiling and laughing so much – it was so wonderful to see how happy she was! So much fun!! I think Dan’s ring got a little stuck here…. : )

My view…

Jamie’s view….

They had a photo booth set up!!!

The Groom’s cake!!

Ummmm…….. whoa!!! This guy is in the Matrix!! : ) I LOVE that guy’s expression in the blue shirt on the left!! AWESOME!

He was teaching the kids a dance! : )

Make-Up Artist: Kristi Cox

Wedding Ceremony/Reception: Wicker Memorial Park

DJ: Mobile DJs Entertainment

Flowers: Monarch in Schererville, IN

Cake: Cakes by Karen in Highland, IN

Groom’s Cake: Cowgirl Cupcakes

Bride/Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal

Tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse

Photo Booth: MagBooth

Invitations/Table seating cards: Tasha Shallon

Oh, then of course Jamie and I had to get in on the photo booth action!!

Allan and Andrea 30th Anniversary

July 7, 2010 • No Comments

To Allan and Andrea’s surprise, they renewed their vows for their 30th wedding anniversary! Their daughter-in-law, Jackie, planned the entire day – vow renewal and a surprise party – without telling them anything! She had been planning this day for so long – I think she asked me to be the photographer about a year ago. : ) It started off in church, seeming like a normal church service, until Pastor talked about special things to celebrate, and then he called Allan and Andrea up to the front. As soon as he did that, Andrea started tearing up, which was soooo sweet. And they had no idea who I was, so you could tell Allan was really confused when this stranger with a big camera snuck some pictures of them.

Then, Pastor made them renew their vows! They seriously had no idea whatsoever!!

Isn’t the family nicely color coordinated? Yep – all Jackie. Oh, I should also mention, she planned everything and is 30 weeks pregnant! So Jackie came up with this elaborate story to get everyone to dress similar – she told Allan and Andrea that she was being honored at an awards ceremony at Navy Pier for her work and that there would be a professional photographer there and she would like them all to wear purple. (Andrea was so convinced with that story, she kept asking Jackie if they were for sure not going to Navy Pier, even during the party)

Then Jackie, her husband Matt (right) and Matt’s brother, Don (left), all took off to go set up a party in the church basement (still a surprise to the parents). My job was to keep them busy for a little while so the kids could set up. So we had a fun mini photo session! Unfortunately, it was storming, so we couldn’t go to the park as originally planned, but it worked out really well to have a surprise party just downstairs and to take pictures inside.

During a break in the rain we stepped outside for a few.

This was actually Allan’s idea to go up to the church balcony and use these stained glass windows for some silhouette shots!

For some reason, I didn’t even notice this giant sign behind them with very appropriate wording. : )

Andrea’s ring! Allan can’t really wear his any more so he didn’t have it. : )

Then….. SURPRISE!!

A lot of friends and family came to celebrate with Allan and Andrea!

Jackie’s mom and dad were also at the surprise party! Jackie’s mom helped a lot with everything. : ) It’s so awesome when in-laws get along! Oh, Jackie’s parents’ 30th anniversary is in 2 years : )

Then and now : D

OH as one more final thing, Jackie arranged for the two of them to be off work for a couple days so they could have a getaway just the two of them!! Allan and Andrea haven’t done that probably since their honeymoon 30 years ago! I believe it was Matt’s aunt that took care of the reservations at the WaterBird Lakeside Inn in Chesterton.

Angela and Wilfredo Engaged!

July 6, 2010 • No Comments

Angela and Wilfredo were our sunset session, the same day we had a sunrise session. I even had an event in between them! Busy day, but it worked out really well!! After our sunrise session, it started storming, but thankfully cleared up and we were able to still photograph this awesome couple on the beach!! These two are definitely so much in love and we can’t wait for their wedding!

We had a beautiful sky with this sunset!

Oooooohhh nice ‘Sexy Eyes’! : D

Rachel and Aaron Engaged!

July 5, 2010 • No Comments

Somehow, we were able to convince Rachel and Aaron to meet us for an early morning session (early like 7am – on a Sunday) and we are soooooo glad they agreed to it!! This actually worked out really well, because we had awesome sunlight for the session, then as we packed up and left, nasty storm clouds came in. Perfect timing! The location they picked for their pictures is actually their ceremony/reception site, The Narnia Estate. Such a gorgeous location that we have never been to! We are so excited to photograph their lovely wedding there in a few months!

We LOVED this early morning light!!

There was a boat!! Thanks, Rachel and Aaron for braving it and climbing in there (after Jamie jumped up and down on it to make sure it wasn’t going anywhere, of course)

Thanks again, you two, for getting up early the day after Aaron’s birthday!! You rock!!!