Josh has known Courtney for quite a long time, and we were thrilled when they contacted us to be their 2019 Michigan wedding photography team. They wanted to also do an engagement session to use for their save the date cards, and we set up their Winter Engagement Session on the scheduling books for late January. The time came around, and, Michigan being what it is, we were greeted with the coldest days known to mankind during the week of their session. We quickly brainstormed some indoor photography options around the downtown Port Huron area, and came up with some great places that also hold sentimental value to the two of them. Katie told us that she was going to wear a formal gown, and so our minds immediately went to inside the Ladies of the Maccabees building, conveniently where our photography studio is located. The lobby has an old school charm and has the original tile flooring, a beautiful wooden banister, and marble walls. I wish we could also find a way to capture all the details that this old building really has- including the original crown molding that is huge and detailed in the charming early 1900’s way.
We also did a couple photos outside on the steps of that building, and the sun was shining and it made us forget that the windchill was negative twenty degrees. From there, we headed over the The Vintage Tavern, which holds a special place in their heart because that’s actually where Josh proposed to Katie. They love going there when they get their date nights, and the old building is beautiful on the inside. We always suggest incorporating a shared interest into your engagement session, so kicking back and having a wine and a beer during their winter engagement session was my favorite part of it, because it captured some totally natural and organic moments shared between the two of them, that were full of love.
We can’t wait until their September 2019 fall wedding, and hope you enjoy this small preview into their winter engagement session. We always recommend an engagement session with us prior to your wedding, because it gives us the perfect opportunity to get to know each other and hang out before your big day. We would love to connect with you, if you’re looking for a 2019 or 2020 Michigan wedding photographer team.
Those of you who have worked with Mulberry & Sage in the past may have heard us casually refer to our friend and coworker Serena. We thought that now would be the perfect time to fully introduce her, as her name keeps coming up both in in our reviews, and also in future couple consultations. While Courtney and Megan are the key partners in Mulberry & Sage, one of the things that we pride ourselves on is being submerged fully in our community around the Metro Detroit area of fellow photographers and business owners. After all, being involved that a photography group is originally how Courtney and I (Megan) met 3 years ago. Being a business owner in the photography realm was once described to me as “the loneliest, most social job ever.” And that completely rings true. Outside of photographing the weddings together, most of our jobs are spent in our separate homes, editing, marking, writing blogs, and parenting our children (while also simultaneously hinting to them that they are next in line to take over our gig when we’re old and crusty.) Obviously since Courtney and I tag-team the business owning title, we communicate with each other pretty much daily.
While we do our best to always photograph weddings together, sometimes we need to split up and divide and conquer. We do offer intimate wedding packages with only one photographer, rendering the other of us available on certain days. Or, it may be a birthday weekend or family vacation weekend for one of us, leaving the other one of us available for photographing weddings. All of this is my long, drawn out way of saying that, sometimes, you may not see the Courtney & Megan duo, and in those cases, we rely on our amazing network of fellow professional photographers to seamlessly step in and fill our shoes. Serena has been a professional wedding photographer for over 5 years herself, and is someone that we constantly call on to be our trusted stand-in. And that relationship goes both ways fairly often; I will always be Serena’s second photographer for weddings days that she books through her own business when I am available. We’ve photographed many (many!) weddings together, and we always showcase the exact same look and feel that you’d be used to with any other Mulberry & Sage wedding. And that’s exactly why her partnership with us is so special.
When Courtney was out on maternity leave last fall, Serena stepped in and photographed quite a few weddings with me. Heck, she even showed up one day with a 6 pack of Ginger Ale in her camera bag because she had literally gotten food poisoning the night before, and she was still there. (And you would have never known by looking at her.) We acted silly trying to get people on the dance floor. We learned line dances. We took blackmail photos of each other’s dumb photography poses/antics to entice laughter. If you can’t have fun with the people you work with….well, I don’t really know a cute answer to that, but I would imagine that it sucks. You’ll be seeing more from Courtney and Serena’s weddings this spring/early summer as well.
If you hear us talking about Serena, rest assured that you are in amazing and capable hands for your wedding day. To see some examples of weddings that she has been a part of alongside us, we’re happy to send you links to wedding blogs we’ve published from 2017 and 2018. Serena can also be found via her website at www.littleanchorphoto.com & about her personally here.
Don’t judge the Instagram selfies. @mulberryandsagephotography
Team Member Spotlight Happy Reviews:
We met Megan & Courtney at the bridal expo in Port Huron. They had the cutest setup and it immediately caught my eye. They were the only photographers we met with and immediately booked with them. They were genuinely so nice and so much fun to work with. They were also so professional and always responded to my emails promptly. We had so much fun during our engagement session! Posing for pictures can be awkward but Megan and Courtney kept us laughing the entire time! Our pictures came out perfect that we had such a hard time picking our favorites! This made me so much more excited to work with them on our wedding day! Courtney sadly couldn’t make the wedding due to her being at the end of her pregnancy but Megan made sure she booked someone else to be the second photographer( and she picked a great choice with Serena). We once again had the best time working with Megan- my bridal party and my parents were raving about her afterwards. Megan fit right in with everyone and she felt like a friend! Our wedding pictures blew us away! They came out absolutely amazing!!! I would highly recommend these ladies to everyone! I hope we can work with them again in the future :-). Thank you again!!! -Theresa, November 2018 Bride
We used these lovely ladies as our wedding photographers and they are absolutely amazing! Megan was our main photographer and Serena was the 2nd, and they were with us every step of the way. She made everything so easy and was so accommodating. We got special access to Spartan Stadium last minute and she came up with great ideas and our photos turned out amazing. Our pictures came fast and turned out stunning! We will definitely use her in the future for our major milestones! – Lauren, November 2017 Bride
We waited anxiously all year for Theresa and Matt’s early November wedding, for when they hired Mulberry & Sage Photography to be their Solitude Links Wedding Photographer team for the day. You may remember this couple from earlier this year when we spent the afternoon doing their engagement session in the early spring. We first met Theresa and Matt at the Bridal Expo that we participated in back in January. We knew that their wedding at Solitude Links Golf Course in Kimball was going to be our last official wedding of the season, and couldn’t wait to spend the day with the two of them and see all the hard work that they had put into the day come together for an amazing finale.
Matt and Theresa met 7 years ago at a “drinking establishment” and have been together and unstoppable ever since. They are truly perfect for each other, and compliment each other nicely. Both of them were very laid back on their wedding day, and were up for pretty much anything; even if that meant enduring the frigid cold for photos outdoors in the early evening before the sun went down. Since Courtney was 8+ months pregnant, we had Serena step in and act as my right hand lady, and she quickly got a crash course on how to operate a golf cart properly, and the 4 of us were able to trek into the back part of the course for portraits of the two of them, and we even got to have some snow on the ground, too. As always, we love (LOVE) working with Solitude Links, and love being one of their preferred vendors, and their management and wait staff are always delightful to coordinate all the small details with. (Not to mention, the food is always amazing there. Those things matter!)
Matt and Theresa tied the knot officially around sunset, and then we headed into their fun reception area which was decorated impeccably to the nines with fall decor. The deep red hues of the bridesmaid’s dresses, and the pumpkins and other rustic decor all coordinated with the bright wooden ambiance of the venue, and it was the perfect marriage of elegance and country-chic.
We hope you enjoy this small preview into Matt and Theresa’s wedding day where we had a great time being their Solitude Links Wedding Photographer team. If you’re getting married in the Port Huron area and need a wedding photographer for 2019 or 2020, we would love to connect with you!
About a month ago, we had the honor of meeting Jensen and Shaunell when they visited our Port Huron wedding photography studio, and booked Mulberry & Sage to be their 2020 wedding photographer, and Michigan engagement photographer. They both really love the fall and wanted to venture out during Michigan’s peak season to showcase their love and engagement with a photography session. We love booking engagement sessions, and many of our popular packages include them because they really help the two of us get to know the two of you, such as how you interact, pose together, etc. It allows you to relax and know that, on your wedding day, there won’t be any awkward moments of poses that just “don’t work” or making you do anything that feels weird or foreign.
We started the evening being their Michigan Engagement Photographer and beginning at Courtney’s property, with the big red barns and beautiful apple orchard. Their outfit choices were seriously on point, and we love those photos at the rustic vibe that their both pull off flawlessly. We love tag teaming engagement sessions and splitting them up between the two of us, because it allows both of us to get to know the couple individually, and then we’ll typically meet up at some point and photograph part of it together. Since Courtney is due to have her baby in the next month, she shot the section on her property, and Megan handled the hiking section up at our favorite overlook in Clyde Township. We hiked down to the river, and still made it to the overlook for a beautiful glowing sunset over the ravine.
Shaunell and Jensen are so sweet, and the two of them were introduced through Jensen’s mom, who worked with Shaunell. They compliment each other perfectly, and are so in love and can’t wait until their 2020 wedding (and that makes 4 of us, because we’ll be there, too!) We hope you enjoy this small preview into when we were their Michigan Engagement Photographer team. If you’re newly engaged, we would love to chat about how we can capture your life’s special moments and memories, too.
