Jola & Brad's Wedding

I had intended to get this post up last week, but Mother Nature had other plans. We lost power the day before we were leaving for our camping vacation and it never came back on before we left. This is the first chance I've had to get online to post anything.

It's raining right now and I'm sitting in a pavilion at Ostego County Park campground, overlooking the lake. Scott just made the most delicious omelets and we're about to head back to camp. It's too windy for cards out here. :-( We had a tee time set for earlier at The Natural, but the weather isn't holding up. I love to golf, but I'm not that big of a die hard! But anyways, on to Jola & Brad's story...

I had such a good time capturing their wedding, I'm not sure I can express enough in words. I've told you before how I tend to cry at every wedding, well this was no exception. In fact, I cried on numerous occasions! Such an emotional day!

The started off early when Jola and some of the girls picked me up at 8:30 in their limo and we headed to Magic Touch Salon in St. Clair Shores. The limo then took me over to where the guys were getting ready.

Jola made the most stunning bride!

Unfortunately her parents were unable to come from Albania for the wedding. It was sad not to have her father be there to walk her down the aisle, but Jola's cousin took on the honor.

This was the first time I cried. Seeing the look on Brad's face as he saw Jola for the first time made my heart melt! Do you have any idea how hard it is to focus through the view finder with tears in my eyes?

Their first kiss and husband and wife... Awe....

Jola knew that the honor guard would be there for the ceremony, but she had no idea what Brad had planned. As they got to the end of the line, the guard stopped her for a brief kiss.

Actually it was more to set this up! As they lifted their sword and proceeded the rest of the way down the aisle, a quick little smack in the rear for congratulations!

image by Lesley

One of the things I loved about their wedding was how personal everything was. As they left the chapel they had bags of noodles to throw instead of rice. When Brad first told Jola he loved her "oodles and oodles", she thought he said "noodles and noodles"!

image by Lesley

My dear friend Lesley was with me to shoot the ceremony and she capture this shot. How cute is this little girl?

One of the reasons I L-O-V-E my job as a photographer! I love being able to capture these moments for my clients!

After the ceremony we all piled in their Hummer Limo and headed downtown Detroit for pictures. Our first stop was the fountain at Belle Isle. We shot their engagement pictures on the island, but the fountain wasn't turned on yet. Isn't it gorgeous?

Everyone in their wedding party was so nice and so much fun! I love this series!

So beautiful...

Jola was having a good ole time running and twirling in her dress and heals!

After Belle Isle we headed to Comerica Park and Joe Louis for more pictures...

Some details...

They are so seriously photogenic!

I turned around after capturing the cake cutting and was overwhelmed by the crowd behind me!

Quite the dancers these two are!

This image still brings tears to my eyes. It was really emotional sharing this dance with her cousin. I knew she was thinking of her father in Albania... Of course, I cried!

Another emotional moment...

The dance floor was packed the entire night! Their DJ kept everyone moving with modern music and lots of Albanian songs too! Everyone was having such a good time on the dance floor the entire night. I was so happy when Jola "fired" me at the end of the night and invited me on the dance floor to partake in the fun!
Jola and Brad, I had so much fun at your wedding! I hope you guys have an amazing honeymoon and I can't wait to see your pictures when you get back! Congratulations you guys!