It was his first blind date and Joe was nervous. He called his best friend Matt for advice. After settling his nerves a bit, Joe finally met Elyse. She was stunning. He knew she was special. Six years and many dates later, Joe asked Elyse to marry him. They have been together through everything. Elyse and Joe have an understanding that doesn’t need words.

I am so lucky to have known Elyse through high school and was so glad to reconnect again to shoot her wedding. Joe and Elyse, thank you for letting capture your love and tell your story. All my love and appreciation!

Elyse is simply stunning. Literally. This may be my favorite series of getting ready images I’ve ever shot. Also, I loved this series in black and white so much, I couldn’t resist posting a few more.

This may be getting framed for my studio soon.

Joe is a firefighter in Warren, MI. Elyse found cufflinks and personalized them.

Natural light, in a church… a photographer’s dream.

I love everything about the beauty of this church. Many thanks to Emily for assisting and getting these great shots.

I shot this right before the ceremony. The light was amazing.

After the ceremony, we headed to one of my favorite areas to shoot on the east side of MI, downtown Mt. Clemens. This was  actually where I first learned how to use a camera. I would sit on the docks and photograph wood, birds, and random people walking by. The best part about the area is that it hasn’t changed since I grew up. A lot of the city has changed… built up with mini malls and traffic circles. Mt. Clemens, or “The Clem” as we used to call it, still remains an unchanged part of my childhood.

Shooting on the docks really made me feel at home. In a small way I felt like my journey had come full circle. I dreamed about owning my own photo business since high school, and I finally feel like I’m living part of that dream. Ok, back to Elyse and Joe and all that is beautiful about them… pretty much everything.

Next, we headed over to Joe’s fire station. Who doesn’t love a man on a firetruck saving lives? I mean come on, it’s pretty much like a fairy tale come to life. Also, this is probably my favorite jump shot of the season.

Seriously? Love…. Elyse was such a good sport climbing up and down the truck in HEELS. She rocks my world.

I love this next set of images. The station chief (is he called a chief? Head fire guy?.. basically Joe’s boss) had the idea for this shot inside the ambulance. It’s so cute I can’t stand it!

The mother son dance totally made me tear up a little…

We headed outside for a bit after dinner to the balcony for this image. I loved the light but the flash made it look dull, so I used the magic (or my brain… a little of both) of the Canon 5D Mark II. F/2.8 @60 sec 3200 iso.

It was a beautiful night and I can’t thank Elyse, Joe and their bridal party enough for an amazing day!