Jamie + Michelle Photography

Amanda and Drew are Married!

Michelle — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:28:44 +0000

The lovely Amanda

LOVE these windows!!

Amanda, you have awesome walls in your house!!

She wore her Grandma’s pearls and ring. These pearls are making their second appearance on the blog, actually. Rebecca (of Rebecca and Michael) is Amanda’s cousin, and wore them for her wedding. It’s a tradition for all of the girls to borrow Grandma’s pearls for their wedding. : )

(This is Amanda’s mom’s 2nd appearance on the blog as well :D )

More awesome walls! OH and AWESOMELY BEAUTIFUL bride!!

Drew’s wedding gift from Amanda!!!

Umm hey there, handsome! Doesn’t he look a smidge like a mini Zac Efron?

One of my favorites

Soooooo apparently, Thornton’s runs a monthly (?) contest asking for customers’ best shots of/with their Thornton’s cups! I hope they submitted this, because it is for sure a winner!!

I LOVE this – this is Amanda’s brother, and he was a little bummed throughout the day, but I’m so glad to see he got in on the photo booth action! And I think he had fun…….

Awesome.

I wanted to also add that Drew is AMAZING. He is a high school band director and he proposed to Amanda at a concert! From what I was told (and what I remember), he secretly taught his band to play the couple’s song, and they played it during the concert TOTALLY surprising Amanda (which was in front of an audience, mind you), and then he proposed!! Fantastic!!! (Amanda – feel free to fill me in on details I missed). But – lucky girl!!

Ceremony – St. Elizabeth Seton Orland Hills, IL

Reception/Cake - Jennifer’s Gardens Morris, IL

Hair & Makeup: Erica Davis Salon & Spa Frankfort, IL

Dress: Eva’s Bridal Oak Lawn, IL

DJ: A Sound Decision

Flowers: Chalet Florist Chicago, IL

Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal Orland Park, IL

Tuxes: Men’s Warehouse Orland Park, IL

Cindy and Jack are Married!

Michelle — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:06:06 +0000

Cindy and Jack were married at the gorgeous Meyer’s Castle! It was a lovely afternoon ceremony and luncheon; very simple and elegant, exactly like Cindy wanted. Cindy and Jack have been together 10 years! (Actually, I think today the 1st is their 10 year anniversary! Happy Anniversary!)

Jamie’s view..

My view…

Cate and Mario are Married!

Michelle — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:47:43 +0000

Catherine Cora is my younger cousin and she gave me the honor of photographing her and Mario’s wedding! Now, since this was a family wedding, Jamie got the weekend off, and I had a fill in partner (more on that in a bit), and we had a fun time for sure. This wedding was beautifully put together with the ceremony at the church Cate’s dad (my uncle) preaches at and the reception was in a tent in my aunt and uncle’s backyard!

I figured I would start with the guys this time since they were ready to go when my partner arrived….

The ever so handsome Mario!

My adorable cousin, Cate!

LOVEDDDDDD this veil!! I always wish I would have done that in my wedding! It went perfectly with her dress!

Heyyyyyyyy gorgeous gals!

Stunning.

This pose looks familiar…. hmmm……

Mario was emotional….. sooooo sweet!

Cate and dad were emotional….. I was emotional…. everyone was emotional! : )

Uncle Dale walked his 3rd daughter (out of 4 girls and 2 boys) down the aisle and performed the ceremony as well.

You guys were such a great bridal party!

HAHAHA they approved of Mario’s garter retrieving!

Haha – move out of Grandma’s way!!

Mario’s mom even got in on the “Photo Booth” action! (btw – we still need a name for our photo booth thing, since it’s not a booth at all….)

Our wonderful Grandparents!

Messages to each other…

“Hey! You wrote the same thing as me!” Meant to be maybe? : )

Ok – I know everyone was hot and sweaty, but MAN! I don’t look so good… but anyway… the bride and groom with their photographers!! (is that a sweat stain on my shoulder from my straps?? ewwwwwww)

Yes – My wonderful husband ‘rented’ Jamie’s equipment for the wedding and was my wonderful 2nd shooter! He was a huge help and I know he had fun : ) ( I have to admit, Ian is ALWAYS a huge help to me). Thanks sooooooooooo much, Ian!!! You look good in that ShootSac!

Ceremony – Mighty Fortress Evangelical Lutheran Church Beecher, IL

Reception – The Schilling Backyard

Dresses – David’s Bridal

Suits- Guys wore their own suits, but Cate/Mario got them matching ties from JCPenny

Calla Lillies – Pacific Callas

Tent/Tables/Chairs - Joliet Tent Co

Catering – Events Catering University Park, IL

Cake – Nicole Stockton (Cate’s culinary acquaintence)

Ceremony Music – The talented Singer/Musician extraordinaire – (my mother) Pamela Thontlin

Cara and Tanya are Married!

Michelle — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:12:55 +0000

Just perfect : )

While Jamie was hanging out with Cara, I got to Tanya’s room to find her mom ironing her long long hair : ) It actually looked nice and relaxing : )

Tanya, you looked great!! (Even though I know you said you wouldn’t wear anything like that again, ha!)

Cara’s mom performed the beautiful outdoor ceremony for the girls and it was so sweet and special. Now, it’s true, same-sex marriages aren’t legal in Indiana yet, so the girls went to Iowa on their honeymoon and were legally married!! Good for you, girls!! : ) And Congratulations!

It’s ELECTRIFYING!!!!!! : D

Sooooooooooooooooo we have joined the ranks of wedding photographers offering a “Photo Booth”! Although, it’s not really a booth at all, and we still need to come up with a name for it (maybe something like “Not so Traditional Photo Booth”, but I dunno), but it’s a lot of fun! Cara had requested it and Jamie and I had a business meeting not long before her wedding and decided we would like to start doing this. We even have a bunch of fun props!! Everyone seemed to have so much fun with it, and we for sure had so much fun photographing everyone!!

Ceremony – Coffee Creek Chesteron, IN

Reception – WaterBird Lakeside Inn, Spa, and Banquet Center

From Cara -

The DJ was Shaun Kelly

The cake and cupcakes were by the Waterbird (Robin Chubb coordinated everything at the Waterbird and was AMAZING!!)

My dress was Nicole Miller, hers was Alfred Angelo, the bridesmaid dresses were from David’s Bridal, and the tuxes were from Men’s Warehouse

The flowers were from WiseWay!

Videography was by John Miller!

Amanda and Nick are Married!

Michelle — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:15:32 +0000

Amanda and Nick were married at the Gary Aquatorium! Well, the ceremony was set up in the park a smidge west of the Aquatorium, but the reception was in the building. I know you have seen many engagement sessions we have done there. It’s such a great location! It feels so tropical – you would never know you were hanging out in Gary, Indiana. : )

Hmm….. I think Amanda and Nick are Blackhawks fans…. and now so is this statue…

Pins the bridal party wore

Amanda and Nick decided to see each other ahead of time. It was so cute – they were both running around, trying to get things together and organized, and she walked out and they just both stopped for a minute to see how lovely the other looked.

So we had time for portraits ahead of time, including one with their dog!

SO Amanda had warned us ahead of time, but Nick had no idea what was about to happen here. He just thought he was being blindfolded to go in for Amanda’s garter…

Little did he know that Amanda had been replaced!! By the Chicago Blackhawks mascot!!! This was so awesome!

Tommy stayed and danced for a while, which was just too funny

All of the beautiful plants and flowers that decorated the entire Aquatorium were from DeVries Countryside Green House, which is owned by Amanda’s family

All the flowers were done by Amanda’s Aunt Sally Rabideau

Dresses were from David’s Bridal, J. Crew, or The Wedding Center

Amanda’s dress – The Wedding Center

The boys’ vests and pants – Macys

Catering – Miller Bakery Cafe

Cake was made by Amanda’s brother Evan DeVries

DJ – Peter Dennis

Hope and Bryant are Married!

Michelle — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:54:46 +0000

Hope’s dress was gorgeous with some lovely beaded details..

Helllllooooooo blingin’ earrings!

Hope went for the cute and comfortable route of wearing flip flops the whole day! Excellent idea!

I loved Hope’s mom’s dress! (And loved how the lines matched Hope’s!)

It’s always fun (and a team effort) trying to get into a wedding dress : )

LOVE this moment of Dad seeing her – it was the probably the biggest smile he had all day : )

Then of course he had to make sure she didn’t arrive to the church in a dirty car

So this cracks me up – Hope is all dressed and ready to go, but still ventured through the yard to play some tether ball!

Oh hey there, Lovely!

The girls were having fun yelling out the window at guests arriving to the ceremony

Woo Hoo!!!!

DJ – Mack Enterprises

Florist – Lansing Floral

Cake – Calumet Bakery

Bridal Gown – Eva’s Bridal

Tuxes – Men’s Wearhouse

Bridesmaid Dresses – Making Memories by Richelle VanderZee

Chi and Dan are Married!

Michelle — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:02:07 +0000

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

Michelle — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:36:15 +0000

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!

Michelle — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:29:45 +0000

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!

Michelle — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:21:05 +0000

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!!!