Ahhh this gorgeous tree in this gorgeous field. Who would have thought, a day later a giant storm would tear through this little town and take away this tree.  From the beginning of talking to Kate and Adam about their big day up near Traverse City, I knew this tree was important to them. Kate included a bunch of photos she had taken from their visit to it. This tree resides on a Centennial Farm in Williamsburg, MI. Kate + Adam are the last people ever to be photographed under it, they actually were able to salvage some wood from the tree to make wedding rings out of.

Their guests rode up to the tree on a horse drawn carriage where there were delicious appetizers and cozy picnic blankets awaiting them. They gathered around drinking champagne and chatting until the ceremony began. Kates father and sister officiated the wedding (and were so hilarious I almost died a few times!) which finished with everyone popping sparkling wine bottles to their first kiss!  Kate and Adam then grabbed a bunch of appetizers and walked through the woods to where their boat was tied up. They made their way across the water to their family cabin where they then had a delicious farm table style dinner, all the food for the day was catered by the amazing Boathouse Restaurant. Dinner was accompanied by wonderful toasts by family and friends and their first dance was sung by Kates brother!

To read more about their celebration and a lot about the delicious food check out Kate and Adam’s food blog, Merging Kitchens!

Thank you for viewing this Traverse City Wedding Photographer gallery! Rachel Kaye Photography is a Chicago / West Michigan based wedding and portrait photographer who loves a great destination wedding. Rachel Kaye specializes in off-beat natural light wedding photography. Rachel Kaye Photography provides the best wedding photography services for the coolest kind of couples. Those who want to tell their love story in a natural, documentary style with amazing service. Rachel Kaye Photography tells unique stories through gorgeous natural looking photographs and fun, quirky, animated GIF’s.

For more information on how to tell your wedding day story or engagement/love story please contact Rachel Kaye

Love and Light, Rachel Kaye

Now that the choas of 2015 is over, I can begin to blog some of my favorite weddings of the year! I got to spend 2 glorious Saturdays with Abbey and Neil. The first of which was their small, intimate ceremony up in Traverse City in June. They chose Willow Vineyards up in Suttons Bay for their ceremony venue with a small after party/reception at The Filling Station in Traverse City.

Abbey chose to have a costume change between the Ceremony and Reception and changed into a cocktail length gown. This made things really fun for photos as we had more than one dress to play with. Plus who doesn’t like a good costume change. Abbey and I went to pre-school together which made this wedding even more fun! I knew a lot of the guests and family members which makes the day go so smoothly. Abbey chose to have a first look with her grandmother (who doubled as the officiant and did an amazing job!) and her two fathers which were some of the most special moments of the day. They also chose to wait to see each other until Abbey came down the aisle. Whether you chose a first look or not, this moment is always so special. Also, thanks to Alycia for second shooting this one with me. She is a joy to work with (and a few of these images are hers!).

Thank you for viewing this Traverse City Wedding Photographer gallery! Rachel Kaye Photography is a Chicago / West Michigan based wedding and portrait photographer who loves a great destination wedding. Rachel Kaye specializes in off-beat natural light wedding photography. Rachel Kaye Photography provides the best wedding photography services for the coolest kind of couples. Those who want to tell their love story in a natural, documentary style with amazing service. Rachel Kaye Photography tells unique stories through gorgeous natural looking photographs and fun, quirky, animated GIF’s.

For more information on how to tell your wedding day story or engagement/love story please contact Rachel Kaye

Love and Light, Rachel Kaye

Kalamazoo, MI Wedding Photographer (let’s just real quick get the SEO out of the way so hopefully someone on the internet can see this :)). Ok onto the good stuff. The REAL stuff. The Story. And the reason I love my job.

It has taken me a really long time to fully express into words my adoration for the love that is Mina + Adam’s. When they first contacted me about their day I will have to admit from the initial ‘where and when’ I thought it was not my style. I was at a point where all I wanted were the backyard, outdoor, small intimate weddings (and don’t get me wrong I still love and want those). But then we got to talking, and something about these two, their story, and their love had me just excited to tell their story. Whatever it may be on that day. And to be honest again, it completely changed the way I view my job. I have never cared for the Pinterest-perfect wedding with tons of lavish details (however, they are gorgeous and the stories can be equally worth telling). What I care about are the PEOPLE and the STORY of the day. Who you chose to surround yourself with on this most special day to begin your new lives together. The location really couldn’t matter to me at all, the stuff the details is all just the gorgeous icing on the cake of your story…. and Mina and Adam helped me really be able to put that into words what I had known all along in my heart.

Mina + Adam have a love that is deeper than I have ever seen. The way they look at each other and the gentleness in which they touch is mesmerizing. I have never cried so much at a wedding (I cry at EVERY wedding… I’m an emotional creature what can I say). But something about the words they said, their family/friends and the pastor said really resonated with me. They both have a deep love for God, family and each other that I feel so grateful to have been a part of. I know they will go on to do awesome things as a couple through the kindness of the amazing people around them (shout out to the bridal party…seriously you guys are the BEST and I felt an instant connection to your friendship and love for these two!).

If you haven’t noticed, I haven’t blogged a single.wedding.this.season. I am working so hard to get all the galleries out to my clients I kind of forgot to take care of my business and since I am being completely candid with this post, in general, I thought I would let you know, blogging is hard. Like real hard. I love every image I deliver and want to tell all the stories and share all the photos. I figured starting off telling these stories in the middle of my wedding season with how Mina + Adam changed my view on my job  is a good way to start telling these stories. Mucho love to you for reading this, Mina + Adam for choosing me to capture their day and for completely changing my view on storytelling.

Special shout out to Kristi. My assistant for this year who is just killing things! Thank you for joining me on this adventure.

Thank you for viewing this Kalamazoo Wedding Photographer gallery! Rachel Kaye Photography is a Chicago / West Michigan based wedding and portrait photographer who loves a great destination wedding. Rachel Kaye specializes in off-beat natural light wedding photography. Rachel Kaye Photography provides the best wedding photography services for the coolest kind of couples. Those who want to tell their love story in a natural, documentary style with amazing service. Rachel Kaye Photography tells unique stories through gorgeous natural looking photographs and fun, quirky, animated GIF’s.

For more information on how to tell your wedding day story or engagement/love story please contact Rachel Kaye

Love and Light, Rachel Kaye