Grand Rapids Wedding Photography // Mike + Carrie!

I have anxiously been waiting for this wedding for months now!  Hearing Carrie tell me all about her dress, the flowers, music….everything!  I knew it was going to be awesome and it was nothing short of that!  Mike and Carrie are super fun and super unique!  They love each other so much and are perfect for one another.  They are currently gallivanting around Europe, but I couldn’t wait for them to get back to share!

This could possibly be the longest blog post of all time, but please read it all!  I hope you will be oohing and aahing over the details!! 

Carrie’s dress has a very unique and meaningful story behind it.  Each part of her wedding dress is special.  Somehow, she convinced her mother, her new mother-in-law and her grandmother to let her use pretty pieces and materials from their own wedding dresses to make it into a one-of-a-kind for Carrie!  Shannon from Vue Design did an amazing job as always!

Modern Day Floral always does an amazing job on the flowers!  The bouquet was gorgeous!

I love Carrie’s vintage wedding ring.  Again….so unique!

Her bridesmaids all wore dresses in shades of purple that best matched their style.  Love the bouquets!

Mike’s boutonniere is pretty fun too!  I wish I knew all the names of these flowers…but the white ones are so pretty!

 

Hey good-lookin!

The purple and green ring is Brady’s (Carrie’s son)….you will see the need for this later!

Of course I had to throw in a couple flood photos….

The back details of her dress were my favorite!

Carrie looked absolutely stunning!

First look time!

Exactly the reaction you hope for when you see your almost hubby for the first time in your wedding gown!

Carrie’s mom’s garter 🙂

Quite the dapper fellow 🙂

Kristen, the gorgeous bridesmaid in the middle with the long blonde hair had her dress made at Vue Design as well!  Perfect!

Love the drama in this photo….the lines, lack of color and their closeness!

That cutie on the right is Brady, Carrie’s son!

All the gentlemen!

Reminds me of the “royal” wedding photo where the little toy was snuck into the photo……see what I am talking about here!   I spy Iron Man!

Sweet family!

Love emotion at weddings!

Brady was part of the ring exchange too…..  🙂

I think they are kinda happy 🙂

Blue Molly was an amazing addition to the day!  Live music is the way to go!

The only shot that Mike requested…..silly boys…

The ballroom at the JW Marriott Grand Rapids looked stunning!

More Modern Day Floral goodness!

This cake was beautiful!  So intricate and once again, unique.  The JW did a wonderful job on that as well!

I think Brady was getting bored….

This is the “oh shoot…I know what he’s going to say next” look from the groom!

Their first dances were all so fun and had so much energy!

I love that Carrie’s train was detachable!  Much easier for dancing!

We were able to sneak away for some night shots on the bridge.  Some of my favorites!

Pulling Carrie off the dance floor for a few night shots was like pulling teeth…..she did NOT want to leave!

I took tons of dancing shots, but am only going to post this one of Carrie.  She’s hilarious!

Last shot of the night!

Wedding Day Vendors:

Ceremony & Reception Venue:  JW Marriott, Grand Rapids

Catering:  JW Mariott

Wedding Cake:  JW Marriott

Floral:  Modern Day Floral

Bride’s Hair & Make-up:  Cheeky Strut

Bride’s Gown:  Couture by Vue Design

Cocktail Hour Entertainment:  Blue Molly

Videography:  Inspiration Video

Photography:  Hetler Photography 🙂