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Welcome about

I'd love to hear from you, so please click HERE to get in touch. I look forward to hearing more about your wedding day plans and details.

You have just arrived at my blog, and I welcome you!

This blog is just a place where I write about my journey as a wedding photographer, as a mother, wife and friend. 

I am an illustrative wedding photographer, located just outside Windsor Ontario.  I have a huge love of photojournalism, black and white photography, and weddings that make me cry! I don't like the ordinary, I love being different, and I put my heart and soul into everything I do.

My kids are my greatest treasure and my hubby my greatest love.

I feel that this quote summarizes me and my outlook on business....

"Always hold on to the truth. Don't let others sway your heart. Don't compromise yourself for the sake of temporal groovyness. Be Deeply Funky. Be separate from the crowd that's awash with normality, by standing on a firm foundation. Never waver in your love or faith ...." - John Fluevog.



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152
i'm home!!!

i feel so horrible that this blog post is a week late, but i've been away for the last 9 days, shooting 2 destination weddings, and i arrived home late last night.
i did try to get some work done while i was in Mexico, but the internet at the resort was very slow and very sketchy, so my well intentioned blog post did not happen.
so, i'm home and i'm back to work!!

on May15th, i had the honour and the pleasure of photographing Andy & Laurie's beautiful wedding in Amherstburg at Pointe West Golf & Country Club (which is just outside on Windsor Ontario)
i met Andy & Laurie last fall, and we had a super fun engagement session this past February, in the snowy cold.

their wedding day was definitely one for the record books!! it was a day of adventure and laughs, broken gear and a fun trolley ride!
first off, when we arrived at Andy's parents house, we found that we had a wardrobe malfunction with one of the groomsmen. i'll tell you right now, that duct tape isn't really made to hem pants!! of course, duct tape is pretty awesome and you can do so many great things with it, but you can't use it to hem suit pants, and it doesn't stick to neoprene (well, that's another story for another day).
after my gallant offer to hem this poor guy's pants, i quickly realized that i was supposed to be taking the photographs!!! soooooooooooo..... my 2nd shooter took to the task and hemmed away!
it was pretty funny.
thank goodness we didn't have any wardrobe malfunctions at the bride's house.
(always a good thing)

the ceremony and reception went off without a hitch, and i even got a ride in a trolley car into Amherstburg to take some photos.
who doesn't like a trolley ride?

i do have to admit that there was one little hiccup during the day. my main camera body broke, and i am so very thankful that i not only had an assistant that could run back to the trolley to get my back-up camera, but i actually HAD a back-up camera!!!!

public service announcement~ if you are a wedding photographer, you should NEVER photograph a wedding without a back-up camera body!
(you're welcome)

my camera is now in the shop, getting some lovin' and fixin' of the lens contacts.
because i was leaving the next day for 2 destination weddings, i had to go and buy another Nikon D700.  fun stuff!

Andy & Laurie are away on their european honeymoon, but i'd publicly like to thank them for trusting me to document their wonderful day, allowing me to have a small glimpse into their lives, and for being such beautiful people that just adore each other to pieces.
nothing makes me love this job more, than witnessing true love between two special people.
i'm just a big softy for a good love story.

now, here are a few photos of the big day!!


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awesome vendors~

cake~ The Cake Lady, Windsor
flowers~ Rainbow Flowers, Tecumseh
officiant~ Royal Wedding Gardens, Lasalle
venue ~ Pointe West Golf & Country Club, Amherstburg
wedding gown~ Becker's Bridals, Toronto

(4) Comments Leave comment Send to a friend
Amelia Thornton / Flirt Photography:

1. Your camera broke? OMG - worst nightmare come true!
2. I 3. F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C photos!!

(05.26.10)
Angela Van Horn:

These are absolutely BEAUTIFUL Michele!!!! You ROCK!!!!

(05.27.10)
amy:

beautiful job michele!! so many favorites!

(05.27.10)
Loni Oates:

All of your photos look gorgeous Michelle!! Looks like it was a super fun day, despite your camera issue, but you handled it like a pro!! =) Congrats to the new happy couple!!

(05.29.10)
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this past weekend, i had the opportunity to shoot a wedding alongside my friend Arica Ingratta. We worked together a lot last year, but we are only getting the chance to work together a couple of times this coming year (very sad).

Fina & Nick got married at Assumption Church here in Windsor, and their reception was held at the Ciocarro Club at the south end of the city. it was a hopping club on Saturday, with ALL the party rooms filled with festivities. 
one wedding even had 2 police officers standing outside their reception room. that one kept me guessing all night.

one of the things that i love about weddings, is the kids.
some people chose to have ring bearers and flower girls, and some don't, but there are ALWAYS kids at weddings. 
they are SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun!!!!

at this wedding, there were 3 flower girls and a ring bearer. 
two of the flower girls were old pros, one carried around her princess bag full of books, and the ring bearer was had a bit of stage fright.
all in all, it was a fun day to be a kid!!


it was story time during the ceremony. i had to laugh. they were TOTALLY oblivious to the wedding around them!!

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this little one had had ENOUGH, and decided to abandon her books and look for a familiar face. too cute!!

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these guys just had their own party going on. i wish i could tap into some of that energy!! 


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(1) Comments Leave comment Send to a friend
amy:

love the little girl coming down the aisle . my sister had 6 flower girls all in big puffy white dresses. soooo adorable!!

(04.27.10)
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146
it's been a few years since i got married and planned a wedding, and in all honesty, we didn't have a professional wedding photographer.
believe it or not, we asked a cop from our church to take our photos, because we heard he would do a great job.
ummmmmmm....... not so much.
that was a long time ago, but it's a shame that my photos kinda suck.
i still love my hubby though, so it's all good.

these days, with the digital age and the fact that there are so many photographers in most urban areas, i can imagine that it must be tough for couples to know how to choose the right photographer for them.

i feel badly for couples, because there is just so much to choose from, so many photographers that are trying to get clients, and so many websites to go through!!!
if you are recently engaged and have fallen upon my site, i just want to tell you that i can only imagine your pain.
it's like when i go to a restaurant and i'm handed a menu that is 15 pages long. how the heck am i supposed to choose what i want to eat?
too many choices!!!!!

how do you decide what you like, what you want, what's the best route to go?

so, you've Googled "windsor ontario wedding photographer " and you see that there are quite a few photographers in this area. what the heck?
you sift through the endless amount of websites and blogs, trying to narrow it down to maybe 5 or 6 photographers that you plan to meet with over coffee. great.
now, you've seen the photos, but you have about 30-60 minutes with this person, one on one, to see if you click and if they are the photographer for you.
tough decision.

recently, i read a post on another photographer's blog (Grant Perry), where he wrote something very similar to this list and i thought it was a super helpful idea. i decided to so something similar for my clients, since i want to make sure that clients hire the right person for them.
here are a few ideas for making it easier to chose who's the right fit for you (whether it be me or another photographer). 

please don't mind the different font. i wrote this in Word and then cut and pasted it here. 

1~ Relationship


the absolute, absolute, absolute most important aspect to you getting the results you desire from your wedding photography, is that you fall in love with your wedding photographer! you just need to click as personalities and as people. 

also, a wedding photographer worth hiring doesn't just take pictures. 

a fabulous wedding photographer should be an artist uses their camera to capture the art of your wedding day, not just any photographer or a good friend with a Rebel XTI. each and every wedding is filled with such emotion and so many passion filled moments, and your photographer is there to capture each moment as art. the art of the story and the art of the moment is what makes your wedding photos truly wonderful and unique. they are about you.

a photographer's images should, with one glance, create an emotion for the viewer . can you envision yourself in the photos that you're looking through?  

anyone can take a picture, but you need to chose a photographer that you know will be able to capture your story, in a way that speaks to you


2~ Passion


so, you've booked a meeting at Starbucks with 10 different photographers. now what?

when you're sitting across the table from photographer #5,  how do they make you feel on the inside? are you getting excited about your wedding day as they talk about how they might be involved? when they talk about their art and their product, do they get all excited for you, your dreams and your plans, or do you feel that they are they just selling something? what adjective comes to your mind to describe them if you were asked 5 minutes after you left the appointment?


if you leave the meeting and can turn to your fiance and say 'wow, that photographer has passion for their art!", then put them on your short-list and consider that a good meeting.

a great wedding photographer shouldn't be in this line of work , just to make a few bucks, but they need to be truly passionate about telling your story through their images, they need to truly care about you as people, and they need to be passionate about their art. PASSION!!!


3~ Fun?

sure, wedding days are full of timelines and schedules, smiles and hugs, but they are also supposed to be  FUN!!!

when you sit down to meet with a potential wedding photographer, do you think that you might be able to have fun with this person all day long? 

i guess it comes down to the relationship thing again, and whether or not you can just be yourselves and have fun with the person that will be working closely with you for up to 12 hours or so.

if you don't know what the heck i'm talking about and if you don't plan on having any fun on your big day, then you can just ignore everything i just wrote about the subject.

just kidding..... 

you KNOW you want to have FUN! who wouldn't?



that's all i have to say, for now anyways.


oh, and a blog post is never complete without a photo

another one from Rob & Leslie's Willestead Manor wedding, here in WIndsor


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(2) Comments Leave comment Send to a friend
Nick Everitt:

Great article, really good advice for couples looking for their wedding photographer and I love the image that you have included, thats an awesome first dance shot!

(04.21.10)
Philip Hawkins:

Good advice. I give similar advice over here in Scotland from time to time as selecting the right wedding photographer can be a daunting process to many couples. Excellent image choice, too...timeless!

(04.26.10)
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145
July 2009

i get an email from Leslie, asking if i might be available to document her wedding to Rob, in the spring of 2010.
after a lovely phone conversation, i was excited at the possibility of working with this great couple from Arizona and we set up a time to meet on Labour Day weekend (when they were in town to book their wedding venue).

Christmas 2009

Rob and Leslie bundle up and we head outdoors for a snowy engagement session. I was able to get to know these two a little better, and they made my day when they agreed to have a snowball fight and take each other down in the snow!! it made for some wonderful photos and some good laughs. 

April 3rd 2010

the big day.

i arrived at Caesar's Hotel in Windsor, to capture the girls getting ready. i do have to say that it's about a 3 mile walk (or so it seemed) from the parking garage to the hotel foyer, and that would have been fine except for the fact that i was carrying 100 lbs (ok, maybe 20-ish) pounds of camera gear on my shoulders . a rolling camera bag would have come in handy.
sorry, i digress......
oh, and i was entertained along my hike, by the zillion or so, slot machines that are all lit up and make fun sounds. weird.
the hotel was lovely, and the girls were ready for the big day.
Leslie was just glowing, and doing well to keep any nerves under wrap.  i love being with the bride as she gets ready, since it's always a time of fun and friendship, and to have your best friends helping you get ready makes it even more special.
Leslie was surrounded by friends and family,  and she was a stunning bride.
My assistant for the day, Arica, was with the guys as they got themselves together.

Onward to WIllistead Manor in Old Walkerville, for an intimate service and reception. 
Everything was running smoothly, until the power went out right before the ceremony, due to the very gusty winds outside. Luckily there was a window in the room, the music was live, and i have a flash for my camera!!! Yay for camera flashes and live musicians!!!
the ceremony was lovely, and tears were flowing.
Rob and Leslie just adore each other to pieces, and it's very evident whenever you see them together. 

unfortunately, due to the gusty winds outside, we had to stay indoors for photos, so i'm thankful that Willistead Manor is so beautiful. 

the dinner and party continued into the night, and it was a pleasure to be among such a lovely bunch of people.

i want to thank Rob & Leslie, from the bottom of my heart, for allowing me to be a part of their lives.  i also want to thank them for hiring me to document their wedding, especially when they knew that i was fairly new to the art of wedding photography. your support and trust in my abilities makes me feel so very humbled.  it's clients like you that inspire me and the reason that i adore this job so very much.
Rob, i want to apologize to you for encouraging Leslie to get a 50mm 1.8f lens, which seems to have jumpstarted her love of good (expensive) lenses. i hope you still like me after you hear what some of these lenses cost!!!

awesome vendors~

cake~ Renee's Fine Cakes, Windsor
officiant ~ Royal Wedding Gardens , Lasallle
flowers~ Country Flowers & Gifts , Windsor 
hair~ Estetica Day Spa, Tecumseh
DJ~ A.Corbett Productions, Windsor
dress ~ Destiny's Bridal, Arizona
ceremony/reception ~ Willistead Manor, Windsor
bride's shoes ~ Kate Spade


now for some photos....




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something blue 

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i love the glistening in Rob's eye as he watches Leslie walk down the aisle

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(11) Comments Leave comment Send to a friend
amy:

you captured some beautiful images!! love the ones of the bride and her father and the last one too!!

(04.05.10)
Michelle:

Beautiful Michelle! You're so amazing! Gorgeous couple too!

(04.05.10)
Brooke Letich:

LOVE Everything Michele!! Great start to the Wedding Season, Beautiful couple!

(04.05.10)
Judene:

Nicely done!

(04.05.10)
Jayme Morrison:

Great shooting ;) Wonderful start to the year!

(04.05.10)
Amber:

LOVE the shoe/ring shot - so romantic and buttery (does that make sense??) And I LOVE the b/w with the priest in it during the ceremony. Looks like a photo shoot - too perfect to be a real wedding! You have the most beautiful b/w action Michele, it's so your signature style. You rock it every time. XO

(04.06.10)
Maryanne Grieve:

Love your photos such a fun couple. Congratulations!!!

(04.06.10)
Mark:

Wonderful job, Michele. :)

(04.09.10)
Lupe Aguilar:

I love the detail shot of the shoes...Great job on your B&W images.

(04.14.10)
Lupe Aguilar:

I really like your shoe shot , love the texture you shot it on.Great job.

(04.16.10)
brianna phelan:

I love the feeling in the last shot - pure emotion :)

(08.09.10)
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144
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i haven't slept well in two days and my eyelid is twitching.

it's the beginning of my 2010 wedding season and i'm a ball of nerves!!!

my hubby was laughing at me last night, saying that he always finds the pressure that i put on myself, to be kind of laughable.
i love weddings, i love my clients, and i love this job.
it's my love of what i do that drives me to have such high expectations of my work!
it's the same type of feelings that i used to get before writing a big chemistry exam, even though i had studied like crazy and was TOTALLY ready for it.


i am also SO excited that i get to begin my year with Rob & Leslie's wedding at Willistead Manor here in Windsor. I can't believe that it was in July 2009 that Leslie first contacted me about the possibility of documenting their vintage inspired wedding, and here it is, April 3rd and it's GAME TIME!

weddings make me get all mushy inside, and the emotion of the day is almost too much to handle. i have yet to find mascara that will stand up to my tears during the vows, and then again during the slideshow and speeches. 
people need to STOP making me cry during their speeches!!  

i am too excited for words, and if i could just get my right eyelid to stop twitching, i'd be the happiest wedding photographer around!!

Bring on the fabulous weddings!
(1) Comments Leave comment Send to a friend
Jayme Morrison:

You are going to do great! Today's the big day so I can't wait to hear :)

(04.03.10)
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