Cookie's Crumbles

Cookie's crumbles, morsels and tidbits

September 27, 2011 | 0 Comments

Old Friends

Thought I’d post just a couple of pics from the wedding Saturday night. These are some of my personal pics from the night, me and my good buddies. Mandy and I grew up right down the street from each other and played together almost every day. Mandy’s sister Erin and my sister Sara were also good friends and played together all the time. Mandy, Jason (Erin’s husband) and I all graduated together and have known each other a long time. I love it when I actually know the family at the weddings I shoot. Makes for such a great day! The actual wedding day post will come later this week!

Mandy and I

Mom getting a hug from Mandy.

Mandy and Jason, hey good buddy!

Beca and Jason

Erin and Jason

Sunset at the resort the night of the wedding

September 24, 2011 | 1 Comment

New York City: An Overview in Black and White

September 20, 2011 | 0 Comments

Love You Mandi!

Tomorrow morning at this time I will be in the air on my way to New York City for the wedding of one of my dearest friends. Mandi and her two sisters lived right down the road from us our entire childhood. We were the same age and her sister and my sister were the same age. Our mom’s babysat for each other often and I spent most of my younger years with Mandi. We went to the library on our bikes, jumped on (and broke) each others beds, ate over at each others houses, had sleepovers, watched movies, sang to The Sound of Music records and went to high school together.

I am so excited that she is finally getting married to the sweetest man around. Jeff, I’m so happy that you make my friend so happy. I can’t wait to head out to the east coast for the next five days and be part of your very special day. I am honored that I get to take your wedding photos!

Mandi, I love you and am so happy for you. I will see you tomorrow. Until then, enjoy a few old pics I found that I had already scanned into the computer. I wish I had some older ones, but I need to dig for those!

September 19, 2011 | 0 Comments

Glimpses of God’s Glory

Sometimes, when I see sunsets like these, I feel like God is giving me a glimpse into His world. His glory was on full display last week through three nights of beautiful sunsets. I’m finally looking at the pictures I took this morning and am reminded of a song my dad wrote years ago. He recently posted a portion of it on my Facebook wall in response to something I said and I felt it fit these pictures perfectly:

‘He let me catch a glimpse of His holy face
and all I wanna do is to run the race
I’ve got to reach the goal by coming face to face
once again…’

Thank you Lord for giving us glimpses of your glory on a regular basis, if only we take the time to see them. May God bless you all in your week ahead!

September 17, 2011 | 0 Comments

Black and White Senior Pictures {Justin, Godwin High School}

I thought I’d post a few pictures from the senior session I had last week. Justin was such a sweetheart to work with, he looks tough but don’t let that fool ya. And he has the cutest freckles! What I have found with my guy seniors is that they do not like to smile. They want to look rough and tough. Inevitably, mom is standing behind me speaking words of encouragement: “Come on! Just smile. No, no, no…smile with your teeth, like you really mean it. That’s not your real smile, come on! Just do it for me, you look so cute when you smile.” And on and on and on it goes. I stand there and try to catch that fleeting smile, all while trying to make the poor guy feel comfortable and not embarrassed. Not always easy. I’ve also found that converting some of the pics to black and white helps with the “tough” look and give the guys something different to choose from. Here are a couple of my favorites from Justin’s shoot, enjoy!

September 16, 2011 | 1 Comment

Apple Upside Down Cake

I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was perfect for fall. I used granny smith apples and changed it up just a little. Instead of a round cake pan, I used a square one. I also did not put the nuts inside the batter, I sprinkled them over the apples underneath. We ate this hot out of the oven with a cup of coffee for dessert and it was wonderful! I also had a piece the next day, but it wasn’t quite as good. I probably should have zapped it in the microwave to melt the caramel just a little. To see the recipe, click here. Enjoy!

September 15, 2011 | 0 Comments

Samantha & Brandon {Wedding}

Brandon and Sam met on the co-ed bowling team at Grand Valley. Some of you will remember the engagement pictures we did at the bowling alley last fall, so much fun! Their wedding day turned out to be a beautiful fall day, a great day for their outdoor wedding at Centennial Country Club in Grand Rapids. Thank you both so much for including me in your special day. Hopefully you’ve made it down to Jamaica and are enjoying some fun in the sun! Many blessings!

Ceremony & Reception: Centennial Country Club

DJ: DJ A-Dubs

Hair & Makeup: The Hair Studio

Wedding Photography & Slideshow: Tomorrow’s Memories by Beca

September 14, 2011 | 0 Comments

Surprises in the Refrigerator

As the mother of three boys all under the age of 10, my life is anything but boring. Here is what I found in my refrigerator this morning. Because we all need a coffin and chain in our fridge…

September 13, 2011 | 0 Comments

Traditional Wedding Photography

I have a lot of people ask me what my “style” is for wedding photography. I always hate to answer this question, because I don’t know that I have a particular “style”. But when I pulled pictures for this post, I noticed a lot of similarities in my shooting style. I often tell people that I’m not an old fashioned traditional photographer. I like to try new poses and step out of the box as often as I can, but living in West Michigan I find that most of my brides and grooms want a mix of fun, new and traditional. I don’t have a lot of requests for a complete photojournalism look, but I do like to document the day. And almost all of my family shots are very traditional. Following are what I would call traditional wedding portraits. I love the clean, crisp look to these pictures. Enjoy!

September 12, 2011 | 1 Comment

New Family Pictures for the Wall

Here are my choices for the family picture wall at my mom’s house. We last did family pictures about two years ago, so it was time to update. My mom has a wall where she showcases our coordinating family pictures. The last time we did this, we did one big family picture with all of us. This year, because of the ages of our kids, it was easier to do each family separately and do more of a collage look. Sometime, when we get all our kids together, they act up and get wild, not allowing for a very productive photo session. I did my own family pics last week and I was able to do my sister’s family yesterday. We were hoping to get a picture of my sister’s two kids together, but it just did not happen. The baby is a little too new, and we were a little nervous having big sister hold him on the cement. Now, I just have to get my mom and dad out to this location and update their shots. But here are my picks for mom’s wall.