Stephen and Sarah met at Central Michigan University. They graduated and found work out-of-state but they decided to come back to Michigan where they were married overlooking Torch Lake. It was a place Stephen took Sarah, before they were even officially boyfriend and girlfriend, to meet his family.

It seems as though a lot of my couples live elsewhere but are drawn back to Lake Michigan to get married. Ellen and Geoff reside in New York City where Geoff works for Google and Ellen for Simon & Schuster but Ellen grew up in Spring Lake. “Inviting my East Coast friends to the beach” was one of Ellen’s priorities for her wedding and sentimentality is one of mine so I knew I’d love this day.

Brett and Jaclyn’s intimate backyard wedding was surrounded by fields of corn and close friends and family. Jaclyn wore two dresses that day – – a beautiful intricate gown for the ceremony and a sparkly short dress for the reception. But, I won’t lie, one of my favorite things about this day was seeing her two-year-old son be included in it all.

Ashley and Drew grew up in this town, both Mona Shores graduates who were friends long before they dated. They now live and work in a different city but came home to celebrate this day with all their closest friends and family as they were married inside the historic Frauenthal Theatre. Even though we had continual cool rain on their wedding day, these two didn’t miss a beat and were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow in the evening.

Technically, I shouldn’t be blogging this wedding yet. Clay and Nelu were originally supposed to get married in August in Lansing in a historic inn. Instead, we were celebrating their ceremony at a vineyard which overlooks Suttons Bay in May. Trust me, I’m not complaining. I have a feeling this was exactly the way things were meant to happen.

The few days leading up to Robert and Margaret’s St. Ignatius Boston wedding were unseasonably cold but on April 11th, the sun came out and the blue sky was filled with puffy white clouds. Even though Margaret still draped the shawl crocheted by her grandmother around her shoulders to ward off the goosebumps, the sun was a welcomed guest.

I’ll never forget Josh as he got tongue-tied during the vows or Jenny’s dress emergency. But those are tiny things. What I remember the most about their wedding was how they made this day just as special for Jenny’s 10-year-old daughter. It was a combining of three people — not just two.