The Veranda at the Whitcomb is relatively new when it comes to wedding reception venues in Saint Joseph Mi but what it lacks in history it makes up for with location and ambiance. The Veranda is situated at the top of the bluff in downtown Saint Joseph
overlooking the Saint Joseph River with a wonderful view of Lake Michigan and the light house. While the views from the Veranda are beautiful the real beauty of the location from a wedding photography standpoint is the fact that you’re so close to the beach
that you don’t have to change your wedding day schedule around to accommodate taking pictures at the beach!! As you can tell, Lisa and Justin took full advantage of this by heading over to Tiscornia Beach for a few beautiful portraits after the ceremony
and we were still able to make it back in time for the end of the cocktail hour! Ok so obviously it’a great location but what about the venue itself? I think it is best described as the perfect blank slate for any wedding. It’s close to everything, it has elegant
columns, a ceiling that’s pre-rigged for whatever sort of lighting or decoration you choose, it’s color scheme will work with any color you can image, and it is wide open so there’s always great light and a bit of a breeze! If you’re in the market for a great
wedding venue close to lake Michigan with amazing views and and nearly unlimited flexibility and potential the Veranda is quite possibly the place for you! Many thanks to all the great vendors who came together to make this day a huge success: Stella Event
Design, Kasl, ProShow, All Star Productions, Beikmann Associates, CK Catering and of course the Rockin band who not only got this party started but kept it going all night long!! I think we’d all agree that Lisa & Justin were a fabulous couple to work with and I certainly wish you guys all the best going forward, congratulations to you both!!!
Our friends the Zuberts were in town on vacation from Minneapolis last week to see family so we took the opportunity to go do some fun family pictures in downtown Saint Joseph Mi. It was fun to get away from the typical family beach portrait session for a
change and go for something a little more Urban in Southwest Michigan! Of course it doesn’t matter WHERE you do the pictures you’ve got to expect to spend some time working with the kids trying to catch that ONE moment where neither child is whining,
running, screaming, distracted, or just plain missing….wait didn’t you bring 3 kids to this shoot??!! I think these are the only 2 pictures that fit all of those criteria! Ha ha, OK so I’m joking about that but they were definitely two of my favorite pictures from the session and it just so happens that they were both taken with my new toy the canon 45mm TS!! (photographer speak for fun lens) Anyway I figured I’d throw a couple up since I’ve been so bad at blogging lately and this is an easy thing to blog. What can I say blogging takes time and between my day job and the kids there’s just not enough of that to go around! ha ha
If you like the pictures, leave a comment and let the Zuberts know!! =)
by Ben
2 comments
Megan and will got married at Millcreek Barn in Southwest Michigan just over a month ago, and these are just a few of my favorite wedding pictures from their fabulous retro style barn wedding! As you can tell from looking at the wedding pictures everything
about this wedding screams style and the 50′s retro theme was carried out to perfection!! Of course it’s one thing for a bride to have style it’s a whole other matter if she’s got style and can do it on a budget! Yep… everything at this wedding is hand crafted
by loved ones… how about those PAPER FLOWERS for the center pieces… Megan made those with the help of her incredibly crafty mom and all of her moms friends! And then there’s Megan’s wedding dress which she bought second hand and altered herself to
fit the style of the wedding day. Oh yes did I mention that she bought the flowers for her bouquet at A New Leaf in Chicago and MADE her own bouquets and boutonnieres before the wedding!!! Ok so I think you’re getting the picture, she’s stylish and crafty
but wait there’s more… Megan and Will both served in the Peace Corps in Africa for 2 years (apart) before getting married… they said it wasn’t easy but if it worked out (which obviously it did) =) it was meant to be!! Ok so I think you get the picture, awesome
people, awesome wedding, amazing barn reception… what more could you ask for! How about the perfect venue? Millcreek Barn is owned by the same amazing couple that owns the Blue Dress Barn and it’s clear they took everything the did to make the
Blue Dress Barn amazing to a whole new level with Millcreek! Everything from the way the space is laid out to the grounds around the barn to the color and rustic decorations inside are just exactly what you’d hope for if you were looking for a space to get
married in out in the country! While Millcreek is certainly beautiful if you’re considering having your wedding or wedding reception at a Barn you should definitely check out BOTH Millcreek and the Blue Dress Barn because they are both wonderfully
unique and one just might strike your fancy or suit you style more than the other! I certainly can’t wait to go back and shoot more weddings there in the future! Congratulations to Megan & Will I hope you love the pictures as much as I do!
Let us know what YOU think of the pictures… leave a comment!
AND if you want to see even more pictures of this incredible barn wedding check out the post Stella Event Design did with some of our pictures HERE!
Vendors:
Event Planning: Stella Event Design
Butterfly Release: Joyful Butterflies
Venue: Mill Creek Barns
Catering: CK catering
by Ben
2 comments
I’ve known Jackie for about as long as I can remember, we grew spending the summers in Michigan down the street from one another, and our families have always been connected at the hip so when she asked me if I’d be willing to travel to Saint Louis and shoot her wedding of course I said yes! While I love shooting weddings normally this was a particularly fun one because my entire family was there… my sister was one of the maids of honor, my brother flew in from DC, my parents were there, and of course my wife and 2 kids were there too!! It was a beautiful day filled with wonderful moments and at the end of it all you just had to wonder… could 2 people be any happier together? I doubt it! Congratulations you guys!
by Ben
4 comments
This is the first time I’ve had an opportunity to shoot engagement photos on campus at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor but I certainly hope it’s not the last! Engagement pictures are fun to shoot just about anywhere but on a campus as beautiful as UofM’s
the possibilities for pictures are basically endless, we could have spent another 2 hours just walking around finding random places to take pictures but in the end we decide to call it a day and go eat something instead ha ha! One thing that I think helped make
this engagement shoot so successful at UofM was the lack of a plan… ok correction, it wasn’t like we didn’t plan anything, we just planned NOT to have a set plan which is usually for the best when it comes to engagement photos and here’s why. When you are
shooting at a place for the first time or even a place you’re familiar with it’s almost impossible to know exactly what sort of light you’re going to have to work with and what might be a great location for a fun portrait in the morning could potentially not work
at all in the afternoon or vice versa. While any photographer worth their salt can make just about anything “work” you’re much better off if you can work WITH the light and either compliment it with your own light from a flash or a reflector or something like
that. The last resort is typically over powering the sun although that’s always an option if you bring along the right equipment. Personally speaking when I’m doing an engagement session I travel light, work with the light as much as possible and that worked
out great for these portraits in Ann Arbor!! When I met up with Alex and Jessica by the Union we decided we’d just go check out the campus and look for places with great light, the fact that they were so open to different possibilities meant we could focus on area’s with great light at that moment rather than trying to stick to a pre-determined schedule. In the end I think the engagement pictures turned out great and I can’t wait to go back to the campus at the University of Michigan for more engagement photos in the future! Congratulations to the amazing couple, Alex and Jessica, thanks for wandering around campus with me, I hope you love the pictures as much as I do!
by Ben
no comments
by Ben
no comments