A look into a stunning, Intimate, backyard Michigan wedding of your dreams! Kiera and Andrew chose to have their special day on Kiera’s dad’s gorgeous property in Hudsonville, Michigan. This day was insanely gorgeous and really reminds us Michigan folk why we put up with the 5 months of freezing temperatures, and snow storms, for Michigan summers like this.
Kiera and Andrew chose to have a first look at a different location than the getting ready spot. A few weeks before, I was on the hunt to find a local park that was pretty and also close to where the ceremony was going to be. The park I found was right in Hudsonville and the greens were insanely perfect!! I had never been here before and I was SO happy to have found this.
I met Andrew at the park first, that way he was turned around away from the parking lot and ready for their first look.(one of my favorite moments of a wedding day!!) How sweet is Andrew’s reaction??!!! So so cute.
The first look was so dreamy and I loved the green tones with Kiera’s “something blue” shoes! The water with the stones going across was a detail I knew I could not miss capturing. After the first look we explored the park and took some mid day portraits.
After the first look and portraits, we drove to Kiera’s dads property, where we jumped into bridal party photos. This property had so many spots to use, so I chose to go over by the tree line away from where I planned on taking their portraits later on that night. I wanted to capture as much of this property as possible because they did such a great job making all of it look picture perfect.
One of my favorite florists is Kasha with Kasha Marie’s floral. These pops of color, with such a unique and wide variety or flowers is stunning and Kasha is just so talented!
I always leave some time before the ceremony where the bride and groom have some time to sit and relax prior. It’s so important to me when I make the timeline to include these moments. The day goes by so quick and if you don’t strategically place in moments of togetherness for them, it really takes away from their experience. When I place this “down time” in the timeline for them it also gives me a time to go and get detail photos of the spaces before guests come and hang their purses, or move the table settings, etc. Kiera and Andrew did such a lovely job planning all of the details into their day, I wanted to make sure it was captured forever. (the floating love letters in the pool!! Such a cute touch.)
The sun started to set and it was time for the ceremony! This was set up toward the back of the property and next to the tent for guests to easily walk over for cocktail hour. Having an outdoor wedding is great because I’m able to go to multiple spots to get different points of view, instead of just from the center aisle.
The Reception was next to the ceremony space under a gorgeous sailcloth tent, filled with string lights, and bud vases. There was a delicious bbq food truck, and self serve soft pretzels with a custom bag from their special day.
After Kiera and Andrew ate dinner, I watched for the sun to get that golden hour glow, and then we snuck away for portraits! They got on their golf cart and we drove to the back of the property by the gravel pits where the sun set perfectly behind them for the most epic portraits ever!!
Once the sun set, we got back on the golf cart, and drove the couple back so they could celebrate with friends and family! We had the traditional dances, and then the dance floor filled with guests. They had glow sticks ready for their friends which made for some really fun dancing photos.
Kiera and Andrew’s day was truly so perfect, and the amount of thought and detail they put into it did not go unnoticed. Their love for one another was so pure, everyone around them could see they were beaming with happiness. This is a day I will never forget and I truly feel so lucky they chose me to capture their story.
-Em
