The Rundborg-Johnson wedding, my third trip to Michigan this year!

Most of you guys that follow my work closely know that I travel quite a bit despite being based in Southern California. The place I’ve traveled most this year (repeatedly for work) was Michigan. Second place is Portland, OR.

This time around I was in town to shoot for Alison and Ray. I first met Alison last summer, during the DeLand wedding I flew to Michigan to shoot. She was one of the bridesmaids at that wedding.
Well, when Alison and Ray got engaged she contacted me to see if I was available and interested in returning to Michigan to shoot for her. Of course! It’s always flattering when someone would like to bring me cross-country to shoot.

Over various emails and phone calls we worked out the details and everything was in place as her wedding approached. Alison was actually planning her Michigan wedding all the way from Washington D.C. where she lives, people were flying in from various areas to attend, so naturally a photographer from across the country should be expected, right? I heard many different ideas that Alison had and was really excited about what was ahead of me.

Two of the things that stuck out in conversation with Alison were the church she was getting married in, and her grandfathers old car she wanted photos in. “Oh, I can definitely do something with both those” I thought.

The photo above was shot after the ceremony, on the way to the reception. We piled everyone into the limo and I followed along in my rental to her grandparents house. “He’s so excited to have his car in this shot” Alison told me before the wedding.
Well, we took a number of photos in and around the car. But it was HOT out, so we tried to hurry so Alison and Ray didn’t have to stand there and sweat the whole time. I also made them climb up into the rambler seat in the back.  Those photos are later, after the break.

The most important part of this whole wedding was the church. “When I was a little girl I told myself I’d get married here one day… fortunately Ray was ok with that too and we traveled back to Michigan for the wedding.” See, the church is owned by Alison’s grandmother, so there is a lot of sentimental value attached to it.
And Ray is the type of guy who is definitely going to do anything he could to make sure his fiancé was happy. A perfect example, and big compliment to me, was at the rehearsal dinner. Ray pulled me aside and said “We’re so happy you could be here. It really means a lot to Alison that you’re doing this.” “Oh, thank you! I’m really happy to be here for you guys, it’s going to be a lot of fun.” “It was really important to Alison that you photographed her wedding. So I knew we’d do whatever it took to make sure we got you. So Thanks.”
Wow, what an awesome thing to hear out of the blue as your hanging out with the families at dinner and the groom comes to talk to you.

I had an incredible weekend. I got to see a few familiar faces from the DeLand wedding of course, and meet a lot of great new people, too.
I’ll cut this part of the blog short. I have over 100 photos that I wanted to share with everyone. So, as usual I will be posting comments along with various shots.

Enjoy!

more after the break..

I really like this photo. A lot.
These are the types of photos I would want from my wedding. Alison and her sister Carly laughing and telling stories while getting their manicures and pedicures the day before the wedding.

The Sacred Heart of Mary church owned by Alison’s grandmother.

I’m glad I took a few photos the day of the rehearsal, it was very overcast during the ceremony.

Getting some of the signing out of the way today so they don’t have to worry tomorrow.

Alison was sad she didn’t get kisses..

Ok, one is better than none..

Ray is a huge Yankees fan, so they had a themed cake for him

Advice to Men everywhere:
When you see three women gathered together talking amongst themselves, and one is holding up her hand doing the motion above… it’s best you just turn and walk away. Cuz they’re not talking about anything good at all..

Haha, seriously though, it was a totally innocent convo, and I’m told Mrs. Rundborg (center) actually thought this photo was pretty funny.

Dress emergency!
The chair tore off some of the beadingggg!!

Bend and Snap!
Angela was awesome.

The bridal party always has all the food in the morning.
Remember that if you’re ever hungry before a wedding.

Startin the hair..

Carly, the maid of honor and sister of the bride, and her mother Mrs. Rundborg chatting. It was fun to watch the two of them interact. Even for a total outsider you can see a lot of similarities immediately.

Carly couldn’t eat because of her manicure but of course decided she wanted chips.
Mom to the rescue!

Hairspray time!

Jess doin makeup at the church, gettin closer to the start time.

Grandma and the ushers waitin around for Alison.

Alison’s dress

All the flower arrangements were handmade by a family friend.

A little help from sis and mom to adjust the dress.

Ok, so, the top clasp was nearly impossible to fasten.. No joke, I even helped look where to attach it and I couldn’t find the clasp (and I’ve seen a lot of wedding dresses). Jessica (second from right) actually found it completely on accident.

Carly did the honors of putting on the garter only to remove it about one minute later when Alison decided not to wear it til the reception.

Shoe-gery… get it? get it!?
Haha, I’m hilarious.

Along with the baseball theme from the rehearsal dinner, Alison bought Ray some cuff links to wear that day.

Everyone starts to file is to see the bride, first was Grandma.

Mrs. Rundborg takes a look and her daughter the bride.

Alison really liked the portraits I did of Theresa, So naturally I did the same for her.

Alison and her father in the last moments before the ceremony.

Ray and his family lit a four-wick candle in memory of his late father. It was very touching, and very creative to have one wick for each member of his family.

Lighting the family candles.

I love watching the little kids at weddings..

Yo Ray, you need these rings?
Or how ’bout this crayon?

Exchanging of vows

Exchanging of rings.

When bored at a wedding ceremony, sword fight – with flowers.
I’m sure there were a few people jealous that he was the only one in the room that could get away with that.

I’d probably take a moment to pray too…
haha, kidding. But, I do like this moment.

Lollipops make the waiting tolerable.

The last blessing before being introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Johnson!

Alison asked me for shots in the empty church. I tend to like darker shots with interesting lighting, so I’m sharing this one with everyone.

Bustling the dress can be tricky. And in the Michigan summer heat, not fun.

How cute is this car for photos?

Alison’s family made sure to paint a Just Married sign to use too!

I pretty much made Alison climb up into the rear seat for some photos. Ray helped since she couldn’t see any of her footing due to her dress.

Alison was really proud of her shoes : )

Bartender in training

So prior to this photo everyone was standing around and the girls got up to leave and the conversation went something like this:
“No one come in here, girls only!”
“Wait! What are you doing?!” – me
“Oh, John, you’re ok. You don’t count.”

Hahaha. Oh ladies, you’re too much sometimes.

Carly spun Kevin during their entrance! His expression is great though.

Ray dipped, spun, and kissed Alison on their entrance.

Ray tended to have a casual look on his face a lot of the time, but the way he moves when he’s around Alison, the way he holds her and touches her, you can see how much he really loves her. It’s sweet.

Speech time! Father of the bride, Mr. Rundborg, is up first.

Kevin, the best man, told some great stories about Ray and Alison.

Carly broke out the stories of growing up..

Mrs. Rundborg, mother of the bride, was also celebrating her birthday the same day! Everyone sang, too!

Ray asking if he should smash the cake on Alison.

Maybeeee?

Ok, just a little bit.

From the left: Molly, Angela, Kevin, Todd, and Jessica.
I actually met Molly last year at Todd and Jessica’s wedding, which I also photographed. It was fun to hang out and talk with everyone for a bit during dinner.

First dance as husband and wife!

They definitely got down!

This photo of the DeLands turned out great. I joked with them that I’m starting a collection since I’ve now been to three wedding with them.

Little moments like this between Angela and Kevin were incredibly cute.

I always enjoy shooting the Daddy/Daughter dance

This time Grandpa Rundborg cut in to dance a bit too!

Mother/Son dance was next…

And Ray and his mother were ready to break it down!

Funny little story  that goes with this photo.
As I was setting up to take some ring shots Todd and I were chatting and catching up on life/etc.
Right then, Jessica (his wife) walks over and Todd says “We never did that (shot with our rings at our wedding)”.

I looked up said “Give me your rings! I’ll do them right now.”

Todd, Jessica, Molly, and Jacob all simultaneously took off their rings and handed them to me without hesitating. It was hilarious. So I took a shot with everyones rings first.

And of course I took some shots of just Alison and Ray’s rings after.

Not gonna lie, this bouquet toss was a bit rigged. She threw it right at Angela… I think it was some sort of blatantly obvious hint.

The garter toss was pretty funny. Ray did a little dance beforehand and danced around Alison.

Anddd the pitch!

I’m pretty sure his thoughts are “Mom, this is a perfectly acceptable place to sit…”

Ray danced pretty much the whole night!

Carly hid from me almost all day, which was irritating since she has a gorgeous smile.
But I did catch her dancing with her mom toward the end of the evening.

Don’ttttt Stop!!! Belieeeeeeeevin!

See!? Told you, they’re cute.

Last kiss at the end of the night!

After a long day, hot weather, and lots of dancing I got one quick photo with Alison and Ray before they headed out for the night.

It was so much fun to be able to shoot for Alison and Ray. And it’s actually a little weird to not know when I’ll be back, or if I’ll be back, in Michigan again soon to shoot a wedding for someone else.
But I still have a lot of great photos to go through and finish editing. Also, on Friday I’ll be driving up to Monterey to shoot the Holl-King wedding. So that should be a lot of fun too.

Hopefully you guys made it through all the images! Haha, there’s definitely a lot. See you next week for updates on Eryn and Ryan’s coastal Monterey wedding!