This is the part of the blog where I ask for your help. Out of 400 submissions my photo from Ken and Melissa’s wedding from last year has been chosen to be in the top 10 home grown Michigan weddings.

If you don’t mind, I would really appreciate your vote over at the Bliss Blog

Please vote for # 10

http://www.yourblissblog.com/archives/1824

Special thanks to Amanda and the Bliss team for putting on this contest.  You rock!

“Today I take you as my husband”  I heard those words this week here in Nashville at the Imaging USA conference and it made me smile.  It made me grin in a way that ony a wedding photographer would.  When hearing those words I know where I would be standing if I was at that wedding.  I know that tears may be coming down my eyes as I listen to the words and press the shutter release button on my camera.  This is why I love photographing weddings.

I had an amazing time at the conference learning from other Wedding photographers the likes of Dane Sanders, Joe Buissink, Denis Reggie, Jose Villa, and Jerry Ghionis.  They taught me so much in just a short time.  My wife said I was like a kid in a candy store, and bless her heart for coming here with me and taking in this world of wedding photography with me.  She really learned a lot too, and it was wonderful to have her by my side during the sessions and the expo.

I got the opportunity to meet Dane Sanders and thank him for changing the way I think about the wedding photography business.  He was a genuine person to speak with and he got a kick out of the fact that I call Julie my bride.

The Opryland hotel was an amazing place, and I only brought my backup camera to capture some of the coolness of this place.  Here’s a photo of my bride and I in one of the atriums.

My bride and I are headed to Nashville Tennessee for some together time, some photography education, and a whole lotta fun.  As a member of the Professional Photography Association PPA , I have the opportunity to attend the Imaging USA conference which helps educate photographers and gives us a place to meet other photography professionals. I’m looking forward to being in an environment filled with other people following my same passion for photography. I’m looking forward to meeting some of the authors who’s photography books I’ve digested.  I’m looking forward to spending time with my wife and introducing her to the people and this industry.  We’ll even get to have dinner with last year’s bride and groom Tom and Jessica to see how their lives have changed since the wedding and their big move to Nashville.

As a photographer I feel compelled to have a photo in every post, so here’s one I captured last year while I visited the Opryland Hotel.

I’ve always wanted to photograph a family on the People Mover in downtown Detroit, and the Smith family gave me just that opportunity. They wanted something unique and the first thing that came to mind was the people mover and the city of Detroit. Meet me on the platform of the Greektown station at 2pm and we’ll rock the city of Detroit. They did just that and we had a great time exploring the city together. I think we went around the city about 3 times in total.

We ended the shoot at the wonderful Pizza Papalis and had a nice deep dish pizza. If you ever go to Greektown in Detroit, and you have 45 minutes for it to bake, then I highly recommend this Chicago style awesomeness.

If two people were ever meant for each other, it would be Jessica and Tom.  When you pulled up Jessica’s name on Tom’s iPhone, it had his last name added to hers before they were even engaged.  “When will you two get married?” is a question they heard often.  Once they were engaged, it only took a few months for them to plan a wedding and celebrate the most wonderful day of their lives together.  They were married in at the beautiful Waldenwoods resort in Hartland Michigan on a beautiful drizzly day.  Originally planned for an outdoor ceremony, the interior was transformed into a beautiful wedding location.

Oh yes, that’s a donut cake.

You can see the rain in this next shot. Tom and Jessica weren’t going to let rain disrupt their perfect day.

Relatives and friends can view the entire wedding photos here.