Jackie Blair | The blog » {JACKIEBLAIR.NET}

Here is a great wedding I shot at the end of last summer in West Bloomfield / Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  I had so much fun photographing these two and Vita was definitely up for all of my ideas that I threw out there. I’ll be featuring this wedding on my website too but be sure to see more in the slideshow at the bottom. 

The day started Vita’s parents house; and I have to say, I really enjoyed the family portraits. I also loved the bridesmaids’ unique dresses from J. Crew, which also happens to have a wedding line. 

Vita was workin it for me…she was so great with my camera that I swear she could have a modeling career!

Loooove the shot of the two of them above. So moody. Also loved the beading detail on the hip of her wedding gown!

I had this vision of her gliding through the woods…we did a couple takes and it was a fun shot to create.

 JUST married!  Remember their sneak peek, where I had them making out in a nook in the restroom? Here is another angle…check out Steve’s reception shoes. =) Seating placements were leaves hanging from a centerpeice in the foyer of the Iroquois Club. Such a cozy & classy place!

Steve definitely kept the party going!

I’m not really into sappy wedding music, so I went with a fun song for their slideshows until I can get some more songs into Mp3 format. Click here to view or visit my facebook profile where it is posted under slideshows. 

Just wanted to share with you one of the many albums I’ve been working on lately- I really glammed this one up, because, I mean, come on. It was a pink wedding! Oh yeah, gotta love the black suede cover. 

I had my last wedding of the season on Saturday…and it was a true winter & December wedding! So much lovely white snow, and it made for some perfectly whitebalanced outdoor photos during their photoshoot. Personally, I have always wanted a winter wedding, a New Years’ wedding even, and it was great to shoot in a different element than normal. I have some great shots of these two, & here is just their sneak peek:

I love how Rachel just naturally knew how to look up at her new hubby in her photos. Engagement sessions totally help in SO many ways for your wedding day. =)

PS- The ring shot was taken right on a Christmas tree. It had some lovely curly twigs on it- I actually have the same stuff in my house in vases & flower arrangements. It made for a nice pic.

Congrats to Kristy & Joe on their marriage…but also on their pregnancy! These two are ALSO expecting!!!

K & J were married at the gorgeous Faith Baptist Church in Waterford …where I got this next shot that I totally love. So lets start with my top favorite for once. Generally I post the day in order to tell a story…but I really liked this one! 

Night shooting…fun fun fun! They celebrated at Bakers of Milford where we got those shots outside. 

I loved the long columns outside at the church…so dramatic!

Two days in a row of purple weddings! Crazy! Their placecards were little flower stems that said…”Love Grows”….and the cupcakes were delish!

Perfectly pedicured.

^Props to my second shooter Andrea for shooting that one! I love the candids that I have my assisting shooters take! I did a little editing & cropping on it but I like having another eye around. We’ve been buds since our swimming days and always have shared a love for photography. 

kids are mesmerizing…

Ah yes, the ball and chain. Joe’s guys pretty much ran up and tackled him during the garter toss, held him down and gave him a ball and chain! It was locked to his ankle for a good part of the reception too…

 Vita & Steve…your wedding is next!

Leslie and Oscar got married at Glen Oaks in Farmington Hills…and they were really excited to do so! I swear I remember Leslie shrieking when they said “I do”. I think that her beautiful gracious spirit really shows through in these photos and their wedding collection- she had such a big, genuine smile on her face all day. I am so excited to hear that these two are expecting their first child…what a blessing! Now on to the photos…

getting dressed. I love the bow over the window, its so whimsical and sweet.

beautifying. One of her bridesmaids did all the makeup!

Oscar’s ring…door handle with character.

 Wedding day details….purple & gold was the theme! At the reception, they had an great candy bar at the reception, and her mom sported Vera Wang sandals..cute!

The ceremony was rained out so they did the nuptials in the middle of the reception hall

serene? yes.

Happy? Why yes, that too.

I told them to be fierce. Then they cracked up. I swear I didn’t, but I guess I did because I got made fun of all day!

 The ladies were faaaaabulous.

I always get nice light there! 

Super fun happy. They were soooooo happy. =)

This is one of those shots that a photographer decides they like, and you just can’t make yourself not like it …and you can’t explain why. Well…I can explain why, actually, and its because it reminds me of a film fragment of a hollywood couple being shot by the paparazzi (and actually, they WERE being photographed by their paparazzi guests)

first dance.

Not the first dance!

And their Thank You card design that I put together. Its a tri-fold (well actually there are only two folds to make it square) and the first two flaps are shown on the bottom. I always offer custom cards and if you are interested in a design, shoot me a line at jackieblair@mac.com

Leslie & Oscar, thank you so much for having me as a part of your wedding day and your bridal shower this summer. I am so flattered by all the wonderful compliments I received from your family and guests on your wedding day. Best wishes to the both of you as you start this new chapter in your lives…I wish you many nights of rest!

Here’s a little something I worked on for my digital imaging class from Kari & Tim’s wedding. We pretty much had to make something that wasn’t realistic at further glance. Its made to be more than 15 inches across so sorry if its really small online! {& No, I did not just automate a photomerge!}

Shylah & Richard tied the knot in another Michigan wedding, located north of Port Huron. They got married on one of the most popular days for the town- the celebratory boat night prior to the PH to Mackinac sailing race. I saw a lot of familiar faces at this wedding since we all attended the same high school around the turn of the millennium. It was fun to finally shoot down by the Blue Water bridges which is always tradition for the area…I myself have some prom pictures taken from the same spot. We were greeted by the train (you know…the one Thomas Edison used to sell newspapers on before he invented the light bulb) so I snapped a series in front of that since it kept going back and forth. Ok, enough about my hometown…on to the fab wedding!

I got a lot of use out of this hammock! (Shooting wise….no I didn’t take a nap on it!)

The rings in a bird bath, I think.

Details, details. Cute ones too, I might add! And furry ones- Shylah included her two dogs, Rumor & Rodeo in the wedding!

Super love that one. 

a lot of train shots…I couldn’t pick a fav!

Night shot at the reception….really liked how easily these turned out!

The complete wedding & more of the kissy kissy….oh how pretty shots will be up in your gallery soon! Now in progress…..weddings of Kristy&Joe/Leslie&Oscar. Soon soon soon. I’m shooting ANOTHER engagement sesh on Saturday too but I should tackle more projects as well…stay tuned. =)

These two soulmates tied the knot today. I was really excited to shoot their wedding because I knew Ashley back in high school {yearbook class, holla!}. They are so obviously in love, and I was touched to photograph their day for them. They already saw a lot of their images, but here is their sneak peek…they might be able to see it in time before they leave for Jamaica!

EDIT//NOTE. I have been enjoying taking extra shots at venue locations {this was actually at Andiamo’s bar since they had an hour to kill after photos. Yep, an hour. We’re awesome} besides the actual ‘photo location’. Its not like I make a note of it to myself, but rather I can’t keep myself from seeing shots or awesome photographs in the things around me. I love it when my clients follow my work and they totally trust me and want to do these extra shots. This one took less the 3 minutes I bet. Plus they got to make out! =)

These two made it official on Saturday at Fore Lakes. It was my first time shooting there which is surprising since I am a Port Huron native….and that golf course & banquet center is pretty much the place to go! Gotta say though…it was great having walls of windows again during the reception, especially with the pretty sunset!

Congrats you guys! These snowboarders plan to hit the powder sometime in the near future either on the east coast…or west. Undecided!

These two tied the knot at the Rattlesnake Club in downtown Detroit near the river. Robbyn chose bright oranges and pinks for the wedding and it looked so tropical with the true blue sky. And I love how the guys all wore white, so sharp, and I’m sure they were much less hot in the summer warmth! They had an outdoor ceremony on the grounds and a reception in the sky high atrium. Here are my favorites from their wedding:

Gorgeous flowers, …and some more details:

I love tall centerpieces, they look really grand and elegant….although…it makes it hard to see across the table! For you girls planning weddings out there, tall flowers on the head table do not work well if you want some clear shots of the speeches & such, especially if your table is raised! (Robbyn & Edward had short ones and a non-raised table so it worked out super well.)

The dress in the atrium

The rings….times three. 

 Congrats you two! & Thanks to Dustin for second shooting!

I was really looking forward to this weekend to work with some familiar clients. I had another double-header…it was my third time this year doing two weddings in a week, and it proved to be super awesome. I probably won’t be doing more than one wedding a week/weekend next year..but I totally lucked out this time because the weather was AWESOME! In Michigan….it can be risky. The weather is known for being a bit crazy and changing at the drop of the hat drastically. But this weekend it bragged some amazing autumn colors…and comfortably warm days! I’m glad the girls weren’t freezing, and that the guys weren’t dying in their suits!

I started out on Friday with Michelle & Brandon at a familiar venue, Glen Oaks, in Farmington Hills. I loooove Friday weddings. They usually start later, and sometimes the day comes up quick, but then it usually leaves a long weekend behind. Anyway, I got some AMAZING shots of these two, but I wanted to show Michelle {she just might be my #1 blog fan} something different than what she had alreadyseen on the wedding slideshow. Here is a quick night shoot with these two during the chill hours of their reception:

Then up next on Saturday was Kari & Tim’s wedding in Macomb & Chesterfield. Let me tell you…what a colorful day!  Deep turquoise dresses and warm autumny  bouquets. I have never seen so many flowers at a ceremony & reception…it was decked out! Hmmm..perhaps that was due to the brides parents owning a greenhouse. ;) Seriously though, amazing details! Those will be blogged in their full post later. For now, a sneak peek….

This shot was inspired by a POLO ad that I had saved since… probably the 90’s. It requires a long train Karissa had one…and a long veil too! Here’s the inspo, …an iphone pic of the ad.

To the newlyweds…have fun in Cabo & Barbados! Man I am jealous. =)
Lots of shoots coming up! And a ton of weddings & parties to process…stay tuned. Contest winners revealed tomorrow.

Jb

In June {yes, I know, save your gasps} I photographed Marcie & Travis’s wedding at Twin Lakes in Rochester Hills…I loved that venue and its probably only 20 minutes away from me. The women’s dressing room was glam, there was a cute gazebo out back for the ceremony, and lovely light in the ballroom….two huge walls of windows! Not to mention….a golf course too.

Needless to say, I love these pictures. The magentas and reds in the bouquets worked so well with the dresses and in the details. Travis is an artist, and he designed/drew the invitations, programs, menus, and seating chart. And Marcie’s dress looked AMAZING on her, I loved the halter to change things up a bit from all the strapless lately, with a gorgeous belt in the middle. Well…go ahead, see for yourself. All….forty…of them. I guess I got a little carried away with my blog favorites!!

{forgive me, the last one is a little pixelated}
Did you make it?!

Jb