A huge thank you to all the couples and families who I have worked with since I began this photography business in 2004. It has been wonderful working with all of you and making so many friends through my work.

- This blog is filled with sneak peeks and slideshows from all of my weddings and photo sessions.
- To get a little glimpse into my family life and see some of my personal pictures and what I'm up to lately, visit bykrista.com.

NOTE: I am no longer booking new weddings at this time. I am still booking family photo sessions on a limited basis.
Contact me for more information.

lindsay + jim • engagement slideshow

June 19, 2008 – 2:16 am


enjoy a slideshow with more pictures from our fun day in Chicago with Lindsay and Jim. 🙂
requires high speed internet to view

By kristajean | Posted in engagements, slideshows | no comments         |

sandra + andrew • 6.14.08 | grosse ile wedding photographer

June 17, 2008 – 3:15 pm


Heidi and I traveled to the east side of the state Saturday for Sandra and Andrew’s ceremony in Southgate and reception on Grosse Ile. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, a beautiful day for a wedding. The bride and groom arrived at the reception by horse drawn carriage with the bridal party waiting for them outside the yacht club. We took pictures while sailboats floated by in the background. It was a beautiful setting. Here are a few pictures from the day:
a few details. yes, those are fish in the middle of the cake. a bride and a groom. 😉



I am surrounded by adorable children at weddings lately. These three were the cutest. Sandra gave the girls Build-A-Bears as a gift with outfits to dress them as a bride and groom. So sweet.


It was fun to see Lindsey at this wedding, too. (on the right in the above picture of the bridesmaids laughing.) Lindsey is one of my assistants for weddings and she happens to be in two of the weddings I’m photographing this month. She was maid of honor and was so nervous about her speech, but she did wonderfully.

Such a nice couple. Congratulations!!! Have fun in Mexico.
Slideshow coming soon.

By kristajean | Posted in weddings | Tagged | 3 comments         |

lesley + anthony • wedding slideshow

June 16, 2008 – 7:51 pm


Enjoy the slideshow with more pictures from Lesley and Anthony’s beautiful wedding in St. Joseph.
slideshow requires high speed internet connection to view.

By kristajean | Posted in slideshows, weddings | 1 comments         |

paul + kaeli • wedding slideshow

June 13, 2008 – 9:15 pm


a few more pictures from the wedding 😉
requires high speed internet to view

By kristajean | Posted in slideshows, weddings | 2 comments         |

lindsay + jim • 6.8.08 engagement | chicago engagement photographer

June 10, 2008 – 6:11 pm


Jake and I traveled to Chicago on Sunday to meet Lindsay and Jim and take some engagement pictures around the city. We had such a great time getting to know them. They took us on the El and we walked a ways downtown, stopping here and there for pictures. It was hot and humid at first and we stopped into a Walgreens to get something to drink. Just after we left the store it started raining so we ducked inside a nearby building for shelter. Then it really started dumping down and the wind picked up. We watched people running for cover, umbrellas whipped inside out, water hitting the buildings and just falling in sheets. It was craziness. We headed out when it looked like it might let up and then it started again so we stood under an awning until it passed, then we decided to be brave and take a bus to the beach. Yes, we headed toward water in a thunderstorm. And there was lightning all over in the distance, too, but we didn’t care. What a great view of the city from the beach. Took lots of great pictures there! Then we headed back via taxi to their apartment for a few family pictures with their “baby” – a sweet sleepy cat named Major. 😉 Here are a few images that caught my eye as I was going through them today:



We had to seek out the nearest Caribou Coffee because it is the place they first met. 😉





Thanks for showing us the city! We had a wonderful time. Can’t wait for the wedding! 🙂

By kristajean | Posted in engagements | Tagged , | 2 comments         |

lesley + anthony • 6.6.08 | blue dress barn wedding photographer

June 10, 2008 – 2:13 am

When I met Lesley and Anthony last fall for their engagement session at the beach in St. Joseph, it was raining. That didn’t stop us from having a great time capturing some fun and romantic pictures. Well, it seems the rain followed us all the way to their wedding day. 😉 Storms clouds threatened all day and, despite a few showers, the outdoor wedding went off without a hitch. Literally ten minutes before the ceremony was to start, I caught this shot of the blue sky peeking through …

… and when Lesley and her dad walked down that aisle, the sun came out and seemed to make her dress glow. She was radiant. Anthony’s face lit up as she approached, just as it had done earlier in the day when they saw each other for the first time. (They chose to see each other prior to the wedding so we could get all of the posed pictures out of the way.) The ceremony was sweet and meaningful with a special song of blessing by their mothers (Lesley’s mom even played the piano). It was really beautiful. The couple were sent off with showers of rose petals. So pretty. We stopped by the beach for some fun bridal party photos and then headed to the Blue Dress Barn for the reception. Very cool place for a wedding! I loved everything about this wedding. Lesley and Anthony and their families and friends were so wonderful, the day was very relaxed, every detail was beautiful and the day flowed perfectly with the help of the bride’s aunt, who did an amazing job coordinating everything. It was so hard to narrow down the pictures, but I’ll have some more to share when I put the slideshow together. For now, here are some that caught my eye.

at first sight …

the kids in the wedding were all SO cute!

Congratulations, Lesley and Anthony! Hope you’re having an amazing time on your honeymoon!! 🙂

details:
ceremony: backyard wedding at the bride’s parents’ house
reception: Blue Dress Barn, Millburg MI
caterer: Country Kitchen
cake: Sandra Kays, Stevensville MI
flowers: Shontel Vanderlugt
DJ: Mark Graham
wedding coordinator: Lori Clapp

By kristajean | Posted in weddings | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 comments         |

paul + kaeli • 5.31.08 | cincinnati wedding photographer

June 2, 2008 – 11:32 pm


This weekend’s wedding was so special to me. Family is so important and I was so blessed to be able to be such a big part of my cousin Paul and Kaeli’s day. 🙂 The ceremony was held in my aunt and uncle’s backyard under the big old maple tree. Balls of flowers hung from the branches and made the site look so pretty. The sky, which we feared might dump a great big storm on us, ended up being pretty clear for most of the evening. The sun peeked through the branches during the ceremony and made Kaeli’s veil glow. It was really beautiful. After the traditional vows, they read their own special vows to each other, each praising God for bringing them together. It was hard to take pictures with tears stinging my eyes. The ceremony ended with Paul singing a song he wrote for Kaeli, which was very sweet and had a little bit of his sense of humor in there, too. hehe! 😉 A beautiful evening, a very special wedding, and a new member welcomed into our family. Here are a few pictures from the day:











Details:
officiant: Roger Allen
florist and cake: Affordable Wedding Creations
DJ: Steppin’ Out (Jesse)
caterer: Lother’s Catering
photographer: Me!

By kristajean | Posted in weddings | Tagged | 2 comments         |

paul + kaeli • 5.31.08

June 1, 2008 – 10:40 pm


Congratulations to my cousin Paul and Kaeli, who were married yesterday evening in a beautiful outdoor ceremony under the old maple tree in his parents back yard. 🙂
More pictures coming later this week.

By kristajean | Posted in weddings | no comments         |

the new blog

May 29, 2008 – 9:56 am

I’m so excited to welcome you to my brand spankin’ new blog! I’ve worked hard on it over the past couple weeks and, though there are still a few things I need to do to get all the old posts working correctly, I wanted to get it launched in time for my wedding season, which starts this weekend with my cousin Paul’s May 31st wedding in Burlington, Kentucky! 🙂 So look for some updates early next week. Enjoy!!!

By kristajean | Posted in business | 3 comments         |

graham + cooper • babies | columbus ohio baby photography

May 29, 2008 – 9:48 am


I had a wonderful trip to Ohio on Tuesday with my Mom. My cousin Traci just had twins a couple weeks ago and we were dying to meet them and welcome them into our family. They are the tiniest, sweetest little guys. I took lots of pictures of them. Here are just a few.

By kristajean | Posted in babies & children | Tagged | 1 comments         |