Destination Wedding – Toledo Wedding Photographer – Ashley and Eric

Destination Wedding

Toledo Wedding Photographer

Ashley and Eric

Destination Wedding - Toledo Wedding Photographer - Ashley and EricAshley and Eric chose Charlevoix, Michigan for their destination wedding in May because that is their favorite vacation spot. This beautiful little tourist town with an actual population of about 2,500 sits between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix. The rich history can be found throughout the town and especially in the downtown area where the Weathervane Terrace Inn was.  That is the hotel where most of the wedding guests and I stayed.

The Wedding Rehearsal

For Destination Weddings, I always arrive the night before. This ensures that I get to where ever I need to be in time on the day of the wedding. If possible, I try to arrive before the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner and photograph them as part of My Destination Wedding package.  Ashley and Eric’s rehearsal was at their wedding venue, Dhaseleer Event Barn.

The ceremony was up on the hilltop overlooking the beautiful rolling hills of the countryside.  The rehearsal was also on the hilltop which was already for the next day’s wedding ceremony.  The rehearsal dinner was held at the Antrim-Newman Cottage that was rented for the week.  This was one of the cottages where some of the family stayed for the wedding.
fun at the wedding rehearsal groom and his parents walking down the aisle during the rehearsal father of the bride walking the bride down the aisle at the wedding rehearsal wedding ceremony rehearsal at Dhaseleer Event Barn in Charlevoix, Michigan carry out lazagna wedding rehearsal dinner ideas gifts for the parents of the bride gifts for the parents of the groom wine bottle wind chime wedding present that is a wine bottle wind chime watch for the groom's gift from the bride locket necklace Antrim-Newman Cottage in Charlevoix, MichiganCan you guess how many weddings I photographed of the people in the next picture? If you said all three of the couples, you would be correct!
past wedding couples photographed by Kurt Nielsen Photography

The Wedding Day

The next morning, I met Ashley at Panache Hair Studio in Downtown Charlevoix.  This was where Ashley had her hair done by the owner, Beckah.  Panache’s apprentice Laura did Ashley’s makeup.
wedding hair comb Panache Hiar Studio Charlevoix bridal hair accessories happy bride at Panache Hair Studio Charlevoix make up by Laura at Panache Hair Studio wedding eyelashesAfter the hair salon, we headed back to the cottage where Ashley was staying. I took a few shots of Ashley’s jewelry, shoes and her DIY wooden flowers bouquet on the front porch of the nautical themed rental cottage.
wedding shoes that match the bride's bouquet morganite and rose gold wedding bands it's your day wedding and engagement rings do it yourself wooden flower bouquet wedding day jewelry diamond drop earrings for the bride it's your day ceramic tile ceramic frogs for your wedding day navy blue pink paradox london peep toe shoes navy blue satin bridal shoes do it yourself wooden flower bouquetAfter a quick food run to get the bride a little something for lunch, I headed over to the cottage where the groom and his family were getting ready.  The groom’s tux was from Ticknors Men’s Clothier.  His blue socks with pink flamingos and palm trees fit Eric’s personality to a tee!
Ticknors Men's Clothier Navy Blue Tuxedo groom's shoes and belt men's watch from Citizen bloody mary in the morning gift for the groom socks for the groom help for the groom as he gets ready groom and his mother beach pillow

The Wedding Venue

After the groom was ready, I headed over to Dhaseleer Event Barn where I met up with the bride. Ashley was ready to finally put on her wedding dress from Atlas Bridal Shop. The venue had a little room hidden away from the reception area where the bride was able to finish getting ready and still be hidden away from the wedding guests that were arriving.
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The Wedding Ceremony

Finally, it was time for the ceremony to start. Of course, it had been absolutely beautiful all morning. When it came time for the ceremony to begin, the skies got cloudy and the wind began to pick up. It was definitely chilly up on that hill! The groom’s uncle performed the short ceremony. After the guests threw their flower petals at the bride and groom, they scurried down the hill and into the rustic barn where the reception was held. The bride and groom and their immediate families stayed back to get a few photos.
wedding officiant groom and his mother father of the groom and his mother mother of the bride the groom's anticipation father of the bride father of the bride is in tears who gives this woman wedding ceremony photos bride looking at her groom picture from the back the groom looking at the bride picture from the back of the wedding venue outdoor wedding ceremony the bride's wedding ring the groom's wedding ring the wedding vows the wedding kiss the newlyweds groom's family portraits bride and groom and the groom's parents the bride and groom and the bride's parents the bride's immediate family the bride and groom formal wedding photosformal wedding pictures formal wedding photographer back of the bride and groom popular wedding photos strapless bridal gown from Atlas Bridal Shop picture of the bride in her gown from Atlas Bridal Shop classic wedding photographyAshley and Eric chose not to have any wedding attendants and everything was at the Dhaseleer Event Barn.  Therefore, there wasn’t a need for wedding transportation. After we took a few photos at the venue, I drove the couple to downtown Charlevoix. We took some fun and romantic photos at the marina on Round Lake and also at the nearby park. Charlevoix Marina Wedding Photos Charlevoix Wedding Photographer Michigan Wedding Photographer michigan destination wedding photographer round lake wedding photographer Charlevoix Weddings windy wedding photos the look of love Lake Michigan wedding photography Ohio Wedding Photographer

The Wedding Reception

After our photo excursion to downtown Charlevoix, it was time to head back to the barn for the reception. We stopped outside to take a few more shots then headed in for the party. The grand entrance was followed by dinner. The bride and groom chose to serve pies from Grand Traverse Pie Company instead of cake. Their dances were in reverse order. They started with the groom dancing with his mother. Then the bride danced with her father. Finally, the bride and groom had their first dance as husband and wife. Gregg from Bugbee’s DJ Plus kept the crowd dancing all night long. The couple even had a special guest sing Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville” to them. Dhaseleer Events Barn Charlevoix, Michigan Dhaseleer Events Barn Ticket Booth bride and groom's grand entrance signing of the wedding license log wedding centerpieces michigan berry pie from Grand Traverse Pie Company Grand Traverse Pie Company Cherry Pie custom wedding cake cutter mother of the groom dance mother son wedding dance father of the bride dance dancing with your father at your wedding father and daughter wedding dance shall we dance happily ever after the first dance for the bride and groom a kiss for the bride wedding celebration a little slice of pie dhaseleer Events Barn Wedding receptions bride and mother of the groom dancing bugbee's dj plus keeps the party going kids at a wedding gregg from Bugbee's DJ Plus in action the groom on the dance floor Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville last dance of the nightCongratulations Ashley and Eric. Thank you for allowing me to capture the memories of your wedding day!
the best day everyFor more information about Kurt Nielsen Wedding Photography, including pricing, please visit my website at: www.kurtnphoto.com.

To contact Kurt to schedule your FREE Wedding Consultation, please call the studio at:

Kurt Nielsen Photography
5431 Schultz Drive
Sylvania, OH 43560
419 885 7153

Feel free to make comments below and/or share this blog post on your favorite social media site. Pin your favorite images to your Pinterest board!

Read what other brides are saying about me on The Knot
and Wedding Wire!

What You REALLY Should Be Asking When Planning Your Wedding

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What You REALLY Should Be Asking When Planning Your Wedding
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He popped the question!  You said YES!  Now comes the task of planning your wedding!  But, where do you start?
tips for planning your wedding
Most brides immediately go online to The Knot or WeddingWire to begin looking for their perfect venue, dj and photographer.  Sites like these make it easy for brides to contact their favorite wedding specialists by clicking on the email link.  They even supply a pre-worded email to send.  It almost always asks for the same thing:  “Please send me pricing!” But what brides don’t realize is that every wedding specialist charges differently depending on what is right for their own business and the services that they provide.
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The better question to ask is: “What am I getting for my money?”  Since I am a photographer, I will use photography as an example.

Many photographers take lots of pictures on your wedding day.  Some take more than others.  Some only show you a few hundred.  How do they decide what to give you?  Some show you all that are taken but only allow you to pick a few hundred or an album.  Many only sell you prints of your favorite images.  Some give you all of what they took.  That is what I do.

Some photographers also provide a second photographer for your wedding.  Another question you should ask yourself is if this is necessary.  What do you get from the second photographer?  Do you get any photos?  Will you get all of their photos as well as the main photographer’s photos?  Do both photographers shoot at the same time?  Will they take turns taking photos?  Almost all of the photographers that provide second shooters do it differently to fit the needs of their business.

Their answers to these questions may surprise you!  That is why it is important to not only know how much they charge for their services, but to also know what you will be getting.  When comparing, you want to be comparing apples to apples, not apples to oranges.
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The same things can be said about photo booths.  Almost all of the area’s photo booths are the exact same thing.  They use software that automates the process.  You pick from a couple of props, step in front of the camera and take a couple of pictures.  The machine then prints out a couple of strips.

However, when it comes to pricing, this is where everyone is different.  Some charge for extra hours. Many charge to bring props.  Some charge by the hour.  Most charge for a background screen that is bigger than five feet wide.  They may also charge for different backgrounds.  Almost all of them charge for extra prints.  When you add up all of their extra fees, you wind up paying way more than you thought you were going to pay.
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Now for the example of what you get from my Complete Wedding Package!

My Complete Wedding Package includes all day wedding photography coverage with all of your images put on a decorative USB drive with print release.  This also includes extra locations for taking romantic photos along with the getting ready photos if you want them.  You will also receive a free engagement session and all of the images on a disk with print release.  Also included is a disk of all of your wedding photos set to music in a lifelong video montage.

This package also includes my Kurt’s Kustom Keepsakes green screen photo booth for your entire reception.  You get to pick 4 to 6 digital backgrounds from which your guests will get to choose to use at your reception.  Everyone in Every Photo gets a full 4×6 print Every Time they use the photo booth.

Plus, we print an extra photo to put in a 12×12 real scrapbook.  We have seen some photo booths use spiral bound notebooks and call them scrapbooks!  The scrapbook will contain enough pages to hold 200 photos taken in the photo booth.  Your guests get to sign and decorate the pages.  You will get to take the scrapbook home at the end of the night!

All images are posted to an online permanent gallery and your guests can download them for FREE at any time.  Depending on your venue, we may also be able to immediately upload them to your gallery for instant sharing.

Because our photo booth is not automated, we have a photographer, a computer technician, and someone to help with the scrapbook or pass out pictures at every event.  We are the only photo booth that provides choices of backgrounds for every picture.  That means that my staff will actually interact with every guest in every photo.  This ensures that your guests have a great experience at your reception!
what you should be asking when planning your wedding
Knowing what you will be getting for your money is a good idea for all aspects of planning your wedding.  Understanding the value of what you are getting makes you a savvy bride!
Piqua wedding photographer
For more information about Kurt Nielsen Wedding Photography, including pricing, please visit my website at:  www.kurtnphoto.com.

To check for availability and schedule your FREE Wedding consultation, please call:

Kurt Nielsen Photography
5431 Schultz Drive
Sylvania, OH 43560
419 885 7153

Feel free to make comments below and/or share this blog post.  Help spread the word and pin this image to your Pinterest board!