When I set out to photograph a wedding, I am not just shooting to shoot. Or shooting to provide a few good profile photos. I am shooting to tell a story- the story of a momentous day in a couple's lives. Increasingly, when I chat with couples in initial consultations, we talk not only about capturing the wedding day but about the end goal- what will they do with these photos? How will they enjoy them? Look at them? How will they relive their day? What is the purpose of these photos? How will they preserve their family's history?

One way to do all of these things is to create an heirloom wedding album. It has space to tell the story, include the important details, preserve the family history, display the family photos, and allows the couple to relive their day and enjoy, once again, those important moments- all by flipping the pages of their book.

Albums have thick pages and luxurious leathers so they are durable and stand the test of time. They come is many colors, so that they can seamlessly blend in on your coffee table or shelf. They can easily be packed and moved from a couple's first apartment together to their first new home together.

Here is an album I designed for one of my couples at beautiful Cherry Creek Golf Club.

Oksana and Corey held their wedding at the beautiful Cafe Cortina in Farmington HIlls, Michigan. Everything was perfect: the weather, the food, the gorgeous patio for photos, the beautiful bouquets by Twigs and Branches Floral, and all of the DIY details that Oksana and Corey put so much work into, even though they planned the entire wedding in UNDER THREE MONTHS. Can you believe it? I'm not sure how they did it and how they remained so calm and laid back, but they pulled it off, and it was amazing.

Oksana and Corey's wedding was so unique because of the blend of Canadian, Ukrainian and Kazakh traditions that were included. There was vodka, jokes a plenty, traditional dress and song...it was pretty incredible, not to mention fun.

While there are so many great photos from the day, here are a few of my favorites to tell the story:

Dogs at photo shoots might be the cutest thing ever....look at that tongue!!

Keri + Morgan were such troupers...it started raining about 15 minutes into their shoot, and they kept going, just happy to be together and enjoying the shoot.

We started off at a boardwalk, and then ended up at the harbor...even, though it was raining, it was beautiful!

Caitlin Maloney is a wedding and engagement photographer serving Lansing, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Charlevoix, Traverse CIty, Northern Michigan, Leelanau, Saugatuck, Holland in Michigan, as well as Bristol, Newport, Jamestown, Providence, and Narragansett in Rhode Island.

From the start, Carly and Jacob were my perfect clients. As some of you may have noticed, I serve two regions: Michigan and Rhode Island. Well, it just so happened that Carly + Jacob lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan and were getting married in Jamestown, Rhode Island...how perfect is that?? I ended up being able to do their engagement shoot in Michigan and shoot their RI wedding- without any travel fees! 

These two were so laid back....even though there was an impending hurricane. It was scheduled to hit the day of the wedding. I was nervous, being that the wedding location was Dragonline Studios....under a tent...on a cliff....overlooking the ocean. Stunning, right??? Thankfully, the weather Gods were looking down on Carly and Jacob and they had the most GORGEOUS day for their wedding. It got a little breezy in the afternoon, but thankfully Hurricane Hermine delayed her arrival until the next day.

Here are a few of my favorites from their wedding!

While this wedding took place in Rhode Island, the location has an uncanny resemblance to Northern Michigan weddings. Like the photographs you see here and getting married in Traverse City, Charlevoix, South Haven, Muskegon, North Haven, Saugatuck, Charlevoix, Mackinac, or another spot on Lake Michigan? Get in touch via the contact form or email caitlinmaloneyphotography@gmail.com for information.