Mulberry & Sage

Author: Megan

Grand Haven Wedding Photographer | Diana & Ed

It isn’t very often that we get to double up and attend a friend’s wedding for fun, while also photographing it. Last weekend, we headed over to the western side of the state to be Ed & Diana’s Grand Haven wedding photographer for the evening. I’ve known Diana for the past 3+ years. If anyone knows me (Megan) you’ll know that my hair is kind of a big deal for me. Over the past 2 years, I’ve had super vibrant purple, and now pink, hair. At this point, I feel as if it’s “my thing” and Diana is the mastermind behind it all. She’s my hairstylist, and I visit her regularly every 6ish weeks, and even my kids go to her, too. It became a family affair last year too, when her sister opened up a St. Clair county house cleaning service, and has been my sanity lifesaver cleaning my home.

Diana met Ed in downtown Port Huron. They immediately hit it off, and their romance has been fun to watch progress on facebook, and hear updates about at appointments. The two of them love going to the beach and spending time in their boat, so a destination wedding beach themed was perfect for the two of them and their love story. They have far too many loving family and friends to plan a super-far-away destination, so they chose to head over to west Michigan and get hitched on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan on a beautiful day in August.

Everyone traveled over, and got to work early in the morning getting ready for their 11am ceremony time. The crew at My Barefoot Wedding did an awesome job with the ceremony, and setting it up so that Diana and Ed didn’t have to worry about a single thing. After the ceremony and photos, Diana and Ed went to the harbor and hopped on a boat that took them directly to their reception location an hour later, which was on the marina. Everyone went outside and welcomed the happy couple back to land. Their reception was lively and full of fun, and included a sweet heartfelt speech from Ed to Diana, and even a choreographed first dance. We were able to sneak out quietly when the sun set, and do some photos on the docks of the marina that are easily my favorites of the entire day. While we were there, a boat owner offered to let them on his beautiful boat for photos, too.

I had an absolutely amazing time being Ed & Diana’s Grand Haven wedding photographer, and if you are looking for a destination wedding photographer team, we would love to sit down and chat, or even do a Skype call to talk about your dream wedding day & how we can turn those memories into photos you’ll cherish and share forever.

Vendors:

Ceremony: My Barefoot Wedding
Reception & Lodging: Holiday Inn Grand Haven
Photography: Mulberry & Sage
Dress: Joy’s Bridal Boutique
Hair & Makeup: Twisted Scissorz Salon

August 20, 2019
Muskegon Engagement Photographer | Jen & De’Ontre

We first met Jen when she was a bridesmaid at her good friend Ashley’s wedding. She and Ashley both went to Western Michigan University, and during Jen’s stint there in the dental hygiene program, she met Kalamazoo native, De’Ontre. The two of them immediately hit it off, and are busy planning their May 2020 wedding in Gladwin, which we have the honor of photographing. Jen and De’Ontre live in Kalamazoo area together, and since I was traveling over to the west side of Michigan to photograph a wedding on Saturday, we decided that Friday evening was the perfect option for us to be their Muskegon engagement photographer, being in town and all.

Jen and De’Ontre brought their two small chihuahuas, and we had an absolute blast watching their personalities come through in photos. Her one dog pre-dates their actual relationship, so the “I loved her first” sign he sported around his neck was super fitting, and adorable. We got to explore the PJ Hoffmaster State Park together with Jen’s mom alongside wrangling the dogs. In the shade the weather was perfect, but we all quickly discovered that the bright sunlight on the beach area was pretty brutally hot. Jen’s family is originally from Tawas, Michigan, so the beauty of a different lake than we are both “used to” (Tawas & Port Huron are both on Lake Huron) didn’t go unnoticed. Lake Michigan’s beautiful soft sandy beaches, and the sunset over the lake are both things that are completely unmatched. The sun is definitely featured heavily in this session, because it was so bright and the sky was nearly cloudless. We love an embrace the sun, and it’s a favorite of ours to allow ourselves and our equipment to create fun lens flares (like sun bursts, or the rainbow colored flare dots) to have it add to the beauty and overall feel of a session.

in 2020 and beyond, Mulberry & Sage is really aiming to begin specializing in destination weddings and destination engagement sessions. If you’re in the market for a western Michigan wedding photographer or Muskegon engagement photographer, we would love the opportunity to connect and chat with you! We hope you love this small preview into Jen & De’Ontre’s beautiful engagement session on Lake Michigan.

August 19, 2019
Metro Detroit Wedding Photographer Team | Laura & Chris

Laura and Chris tied the knot on July 6, and we were so excited to tag along their special day as their Metro Detroit Wedding Photographer Team. The day started off as hot and muggy, and quickly turned into a full day of rain, but the age old saying of “rain on your wedding day brings good luck” is always our motto, and we set forth to roll with the downpour and keep the happy couple covered as much as possible. Luckily, they chose the perfect place to get ready and have their first look in: The Dearborn Inn. Laura and her girls prepared for the day back in one of the cottages behind the inn, and Chris and his friends hung out for a while and prepared inside. The two met up under the large trees by the Poe House at the inn, and had a beautiful and intimate first look. We also couldn’t resist sharing the joy of Laura’s nephew and her seeing each other for the first time either; they were both so happy and excited!

One thing that stands as a theme through all these photos is family. Laura and her parents are very tight knit, and we loved documenting all her Dad’s reactions to his baby girl’s special wedding day to her soulmate, Chris. After we did some portraits, we headed to the stunning church in Hamtramck where they officially became husband and wife. The church was so large and ornate, and very traditional, in a beautiful way. Their reception was held at St. Josaphat Banquet Centre in Warren, and was decorated to the nines, and chock full of family and friends who had so much energy and smiles, welcoming the newest married couple into their lives. Once again, some of our favorite moments are those small, in-between ones full of joy, laughter, and love, that really set this day apart from others.

We hope you enjoy this preview into Laura and Chris’ big day, where Mulberry & Sage tagged along as the happy couple’s Metro Detroit Wedding Photographer Team. To see more photos of Laura and Chris, and learn more about them personally, make sure to check out their Port Huron engagement photography session here.

We are quickly booking our 2020 calendar, and would love to speak to you about how we can make your wedding day vision come to life, as well.

July 21, 2019
Michigan Beach Engagement Photography Session | Laura & Chris

Laura and Chris spent an amazing sunshiney morning with us on Monday while we hung out and did their Michigan Beach Engagement Photography Session. The wedding package that they chose with Mulberry & Sage Photography included an engagement session with it, and it really gave us the opportunity to see how they are together, and get to know them better before showing up on their wedding day. Speaking of their wedding day, it’s quickly approaching in early July, so you’ll be sure to see their sweet love-filled faces featured on the blog again here shortly.

Laura and Chris are currently knee-deep in planning their Metro Detroit wedding, and get extra special kudos and props because they are doing it from a distance. They live down in Dayton, Ohio, and chose to get married up here since Laura’s family is all from the Detroit area. She’s from the great white north, and he was born and raised in Kentucky. They met halfway, and chose to live in Ohio to split the difference and get the best of both worlds visiting family, either up north or down south. They love the water, so we decided that a Michigan beach engagement photography session was the perfect fit to showcase their love. With the sun rising in the east over our beautiful Lake Huron, sunrise or early morning sessions are our favorite. They were total troopers and came up to Port Huron from Detroit to start bright and early at 9am, and then they both had high-tail-it back to Dayton later that day. Since Chris is from Kentucky, horses and horse farms hold a special place in his heart. Luckily, Courtney just so happens to own a horse, and we use her family’s farm quite often in our photography, because so many people love the rustic charm that goes along with it. We went and did some photos in the pasture, and Courtney’s new horse, Reggie, went right along with it and posed in the background for his time in the spotlight, too.

We can’t wait until their July Metro Detroit wedding, and hope you enjoy this small preview into Laura and Chris’ Michigan beach engagement photography session. If you find yourself sitting there and googling phrases such as, “photographer near me” and are lost in your photographer decision, we’d love to connect and meet up and chat about your wedding day & how we can seamlessly fit in.

June 10, 2019
Metro Detroit Engagement Photographer | Kate & Kevin

We met up with Kate and Kevin originally about a month ago because they were in the market to hire a Metro Detroit Engagement Photographer who was also knowledgeable at photographing at their chosen Port Huron wedding venue called Solitude Links. Those of you who know us know that we love shooting at Solitude Links, and are even on their preferred vendor list because everything about the venue just matches our aesthetic and our photography style so perfectly.

The photo package for their wedding day that they chose comes with an engagement session already built in. We love this package, and it’s our best-selling one because of the opportunity to meet and hang out a bit before the wedding date. Especially since Kate and Kevin aren’t getting married until June of 2020, having this chance to explore a bit and create their perfect engagement session is such a fun part of our job.We spent Sunday evening traipsing through the woods and creeks with them.

Even if you may be looking for a Metro Detroit engagement photographer, we always urge clients to make the short and easy drive up to the Port Huron area, because we have so many small hidden gem locations outside of the standard parks and locations that everyone flocks to within the Detroit limits. You may see this spot on our blog often, and it’s one of our favorites for so many reasons. We love how they wanted to do their session in June so it had a similar vibe to their wedding date. The leaves are finally all out, and the flowers on the wild honeysuckle are blooming like crazy, so we had to utilize all of nature’s gifts, of course.

Kate and Kevin were willing to go along with all our crazy plans, and jumped in the car after the session where Kevin said happily, “well that wasn’t nearly as awkward as I was expecting it to be.” And for us, that’s a massive compliment. Photo sessions shouldn’t be feared, and shouldn’t ever feel forced or weird. Engagement sessions are about highlighting a couple’s love for each other, and we hope that you enjoy this small glimpse into Kate and Kevin’s love-filled evening where they invited us to hang out and document it. If you’re in the market for a Metro Detroit Engagement Photographer, we would love to chat and hang out and show you some more galleries of other custom sessions we’ve helped create over the years.

June 10, 2019