k. holly photography :: the blog » Kristen

{ Becca + Ian :: Married! }

Kristen — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:59:25 +0000

Becca and Ian were married last Saturday, a very snowy day in Kalamazoo (unlike their sunny, warm engagement session this past summer!). I felt like I was the only car on the road at 7:45am, it was almost a complete white-out as the snow poured down and swirled along the road. It would have been a good day for boots and mittens, but I had on my black patent flats, white knuckles and a backseat full of camera gear. It was wedding day, and it was beautiful. I arrived at Becca’s home, greeted by a table full of smiling girls, an adorable dog, hot coffee, and the lovely bride. We chatted for a bit over coffee, and then the girls started getting ready for the big day. Blanca from All About You Salon did an amazing job with their hair, and Becca’s friend Mac did everyone’s makeup – they all looked absolutely gorgeous! Two of the girls rehearsed for the song they’d be singing in the church, Becca’s mom took care of some final details between doing her hair and makeup, and Becca’s dad smiled as he loaded up the vehicle with dresses. The big day had finally arrived, snow and all!

We arrived at the church, and the guys had just getting started getting ready themselves.

Time to put on the dress… is she the cutest mother of the bride, or what? :)

I love this image, one of my top faves of the day~

Last makeup touch-up…

And mom adjusting the bride’s veil before the aisle ~

Music started, guests and family were seated. As Becca walked down the aisle escorted by her mom and dad, Ian was all she could see.

Beautiful readings, incredible vocalists, a perfect ceremony.

… married! …

After formals in the church and a few quick (cold!) shots outside in the park, we headed over to the reception, which was held at Cityscape downtown Kalamazoo. It was GORGEOUS. Renee and her team were incredible, friendly, and so accommodating. The room looked absolutely stunning with tables perfectly set including a sweetheart table, lighting dimmed, a slideshow playing, and romantic jazzy music in the air.

A gorgeous cake by Continental Pastries, with a cherry cheesecake groom’s cake! Beautiful flowers by Bloomers. Becca had her grandmother’s rosary and prayer book attached, and carried them down the aisle with her. Ian had his grandfather’s rosary tucked in his pocket.

While guests enjoyed the cocktail hour, the bridal party took a few moments to relax in the lounge while Becca, Ian and I got some fun and romantic shots outside and on the stairs. I LOVE this series! Becca is not only a gorgeous bride, but she’s totally fun and cute too. Love her!! :) You can tell how in love they are, they were totally being themselves, in love, soaking up their day. *swoon!*

… love! …

I have SO many more favorites from this part of the day, I wish I could post them all! Bride & Groom portraits are always my favorite time of the wedding – couples can relax and be themselves without everyone else around, and I can have fun and be creative showing their love. I was really glad we had time to sneak away. But back to the reception – their bridal party made a fun entrance, and Becca and Ian went right into cutting the cake. They were good to each other! :) Then the servers came out with a wonderful dinner, Monte from Wiser Productions played great music, there were beautiful speeches and toasts, smiles, tears and hugs. And then the first dance ~

Becca, Ian… congratulations! You are a wonderful couple with an incredible family and amazing friends. Thank you again for having me, I wish you both the very best in love and life, always. :)Kristen

{ wedding pros rock! }

Kristen — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:28:19 +0000

Earlier this week, I went out for a martini with my fellow fabulous wedding vendors at this month’s MWEP (Michigan Wedding & Event Professionals) meetup, hosted by the ever-lovely Aletha of Pearls Events. See more pics here! It was great to see some friends, familiar faces, and new ones too! I gotta tell ya, wedding & event pros know how to have fun! ;) We squeezed about 50 people into a space meant for about 25, and our chatter grew to a roar of laughter and conversation by the time the night was through. Brian from The Photobooth Company hauled in his photobooth so we could all give it a whirl. Brides & grooms – listen up: the photobooth rocks.it.out!!! We had so much fun, and I don’t think the booth was empty for a minute! If you’re looking for something fun and unique for your wedding reception, this is it. Your guests will have a BLAST! Check out these strips from the MWEP meetup – I couldn’t help but get in on the action! :) The first two are my friend Amber of 87 Orange Photography and myself, and the other two strips are a whole bunch of us crammed in! Grand Rapids wedding pros ROCK! :D

{ Alexis :: baby + lifestyle session }

Kristen — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:28:19 +0000

Heather has been a blog reader of mine since way before Alexis was born, so I’ve been looking forward to her session for a long time! We talked about doing a newborn session, but she really wanted to involve their first “baby”, Wendel, a German Shepherd. So we waited until Alexis was a little older and more alert, and for Wendel to be more comfortable with her! To be honest, I wasn’t sure about this… all the German Shepherds I’ve ever known were a little on the aggressive side! But Wendel is one of THE sweetest dogs I’ve ever met. Ever. He padded around the room quietly waiting to be told where to sit, well, after enthusiastically greeting me at the door! ;) I could tell he was an only child before lovely little Alexis came along, but you can also tell that he’s a GREAT big brother :)

Of course, this isn’t all about Wendel, even though he thought it was! ;) Little Alexis is such a doll, she’s beautiful! I fell in love with her sweet expressions and beautiful blue eyes – her face just makes me melt!

And her perfect little toes…

And tiny little hands…

Heather and Randy are smitten with her too :)

- – - { love } – - -

She loves Grandma’s yellow blanket!

And she loved the pink too!

I think this one is my favorite! Perfect expression! So cute!!

Alright, Wendel…. come on back in…everybody smile! ;)

Thanks again Heather & Randy for having me over! Alexis is absolutely beautiful, congratulations again on your first baby girl. She is precious. Give her and Wendel both big hugs for me! :)

{ Jaclyn & Mark in Vegas :: with Jasmine Star & JD! }

Kristen — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:55:26 +0000

While in Vegas for WPPI, I got an extraordinary opportunity to shoot with Jasmine Star, her husband JD, and 19 other photographers. Jasmine is a huge inspiration to me and many young photographers – we’ve all watched her skyrocket to success in just two short years. She has a fabulous blog, where she highlights her shoots, weddings, and personal stories. She has a huge heart, huge smile, she truly cares about her clients and her work, and she’s incredibly humble considering the amazing images she produces! I felt so blessed to be able to shoot with her, and I learned so much about her process and the way she sees a scene.

Okay, so it’s Tuesday morning, 6:45 am, we’re all exhausted from a full WPPI day the day before, but we’re excited, charged, and ready… and bundled up in coats for the chilly morning air. Our lovely models, Jaclyn & Mark, are looking absolutely fabulous and ready to bring it! They flew in from Kansas just for this!

Jasmine & JD workin’ it ~

I looooove this shot!

Jaclyn’s superfabulous shoes!

This is so sweet – I don’t know what he’s saying to her, but she’s melting!

To the alley for some crazy-fab shots – so fierce!

Giggling at each other between fabulousness ;)

Meow!!

Mark looking all GQ

Loving the light here… so beautiful ~

Workin’ it for Jasmine ~

After the shoot, we had an awesome Q/A session, and then Jasmine gave me a big hug before I left. JD took a picture of Jasmine and me with my camera, but I’m looking a little f-to-the-ug, so I’ll spare you that one. Hey, it was 6:45 am. My face looks all squishy that early and don’t even ask what was up with my hair… Ick. I don’t know how Jaclyn and Mark managed to look so fierce that early, but they totally rocked it! Thanks again for being the best models evah!! And of course, huge thank you to Jasmine and JD for having all of us, we all had SUCH a great time!

PS – if you scroll way down on Jasmine’s blog to the preview post, there are a couple shots of all of us – you can see me – I’m the tall one in back, shooting with a long lens :)

{ Vegas, baby! }

Kristen — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:19:41 +0000

We’re back from Las Vegas! I think I mentioned it before, but I was there for the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) Convention. I attended seminars, listened to speakers, tried out some new stuff, bought a few goodies for my business, and learned a ton! I’m all buzzy with my new knowledge and ideas. I’m inspired and excited for this year’s weddings! :) I even got a chance to shoot with the uber-fabulous Jasmine Star… which is a story & post in itself, which will be up in a few days. Too much to show & tell for one blog post! For today – here’s what we did when we weren’t in class… our best friends, Nick and Nicole, flew down from Minnesota to join us for some fun and relaxation! We definitely had fun! And the relaxation? Well, let’s just say I hope we all get a chance to relax over the weekend ;)

Watching the MGM Lions

We played a few penny slots – check out Nicole’s winnings! Haha ;) We saw Cirque du Soleil Mystere, went to Carrot Top (sounds lame, but he was SO funny – we were all in tears!), went to some amazing restaurants (Pearl in the MGM Grand was our fave), and went dancing at Studio 54!

We were in love with the mountains!

Watching the water at the Bellagio!

Brunch in Paris…

We spent our last morning in Old Vegas – Fremont Street. A little slots…

And a little blackjack…

And old signs! Awesome!

Couldn’t leave without a picture by the Fabulous Las Vegas sign!

Nick and Nicole, we’re so glad you joined us, it was so much fun to spend some time with you! Can’t wait to see where we go next! ;)
Heather & Ben – thanks again for taking care of Lexi! :)

{ Colin :: One Year! }

Kristen — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:42:14 +0000

Do you remember Colin? He was one of the first newborns I photographed last year, and here he is, a year old! :) He has changed SO much! He is SUCH a cutie, with those big eyes, adorable smile and AWESOME facial expressions! He was fun to photograph, and I think he had fun too! We started out with his fire truck – I love it!!

Then we tried some blocks, but he was way more interested in eating them than letting them spell out his name on the floor! :) What a stinker! He couldn’t WAIT to grab them!

Those blue eyes!!

Then some pics with Mom & Dad… in matching argyle sweaters! So cute!

And then BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!

Cake Smash Time! Woohoo!! He was so careful with it at first…

He wasn’t getting messy quite quickly enough, so we had him play his favorite game… peekaboo!

Yeeeee!! :)

Happy First Birthday, Colin!!

{ lovely boutique items }

Kristen — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:36:58 +0000

I was over the moon when I got my shipment from Fed-Ex… Danielle’s Canvas Gallery Wrap arrived! With her permission, I carefully unwrapped it and hung it on my wall to take a few photos. A lot of clients wonder what the canvas gallery wrap looks like, so I thought I’d share. It’s more than just your portrait on canvas… it’s a piece of art! It comes ready to hang, which means it won’t need framing, saving you time and money. Personally, I think it is MUCH more beautiful than a framed print anyway, but it is personal preference. I love how the image wraps around the edges, and I love how it glows… I can’t really describe that, but when you get yours, you’ll know what I’m talking about :)

While I’m at it, I may as well show you some of the other boutique items; things that are included in some of my wedding packages, and can be ordered a la carte. First of all, the Wedding Coffee-Table Album. It is flush-mount and custom-designed. I design the pages with your favorite images, and you and I design the cover together from a huge selection of swatches including leathers, fabrics, even acrylics and metals! This one is 12×12 black leather with a silver/grey ostrich insert.

This album is the custom-designed Photo Guest Book. You and I design the entire album, inside and out, just like the main wedding album. With this one, we use images from your engagement session, and leave blank pages for your guests to sign and write notes & wishes.

While I was on a roll this morning with my new camera (oh yeah – my new camera arrived! Yay!! Merry Christmas, Kristen!!), nobody was safe… but Lexi seemed happy to pose for me. I think perhaps she likes the soft, pleasant shutter sound. So do I :)

And… the newest member of the family:

{ Deb + Tom + Ella :: Belly + Lifestyle }

Kristen — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:37:33 +0000

Every now and then I have a session that goes just perfect, better even than expected. Deb’s maternity session was one of these – she originally called me to take belly shots, and confessed that she was feeling a little less than glamorous. Well, as you’ll see, by the time of our session, she was looking more than glamorous! She is positively glowing, and looks absolutely gorgeous! Her husband Tom joined in for some portraits, and little cutie-pie Ella just about stole the show!

Everybody’s bellies! Ella totally cracked me up – look at that face!! :)

After the fun family shots, it was Deb’s turn for her individuals. Seriously, how amazing does she look?! Deb, you are one beautiful mama! :)

Ella couldn’t go too long without getting in front of the camera ;) I just love this mom/daughter series, it melts my heart!

Just for Tom… I even chased Willy around the house! Hey, he’s part of the family too!

{ Twins!! :: Ender and Grey }

Kristen — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:00:05 +0000

I was SO excited when Emily scheduled a session for her 10-month old twin boys, Ender and Grey – I couldn’t wait. I just about fell over when I arrived the morning of their session – they are little heartbreakers!! Those BLUE EYES! Eeee! :) At first look, I thought they were identical, but soon I realized that they are as different and distinct as can be. They each have their own unique personality, but share adorable smiles, great names, and awesome parents! :) This is daddy’s old rocking horse, how cool!

Meet Ender ~

And Grey ~

Their room is decorated SO cute! Their names on the wall, beautiful cribs and bedding, and this adorable mobile that Emily made out of different ribbons!

Time for some cute twinsies portraits – I’m really loving these images with vintage black & white and sepia processing!

Grey didn’t understand why Ender wasn’t as jazzed as he was for picture time!

Little gentlemen!

Thanks again for having me, you have two wonderful boys!

{ random happinesses }

Kristen — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:49:05 +0000

Hello bloggy readers! Happy Thursday! This has been a ridiculously exciting week over here at K. Holly Photography, and I’m feeling the need to share… I don’t even know where to start, so I’ll just dive in! First of all, super excited about the construction in our basement – Jamie’s been working pretty hard, and we passed our final inspection today! Drywall goes up tomorrow!! My new sweet office will be ready before I know it! Hmmm… paint colors… furniture… artwork… lighting… Eeeee!!! :)

~*~

I’ve met with a few amazing vendors and fellow photographers over the past few days, and I’m just loving it! I’m building a list of preferred vendors to help my brides and grooms along the way. Each one in my list has been hand-selected due to their incredible work, wonderful personalities and attention to detail :)

~*~

I’ve also been meeting with some really great engaged couples this week, and getting SUPER excited for my 2009 weddings!!

~*~

I have a supa-sweet new camera on order… I’m sure I’ll be posting a picture of it’s loveliness once it arrives ;) I want my clients’ images to be the very best they can be, and this newly-released camera ROCKS it OUT!! Can’t wait to get my paws on it!

~*~

I won a 2009 Brides Choice Award from Wedding Wire!

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that K. Holly Photography has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™! In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means K. Holly Photography is one of the very best wedding photographers! Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews. “We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

A tremendous thank you goes out to my 2008 brides for speaking out and helping K. Holly Photography win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award! If you haven’t done so already, head on over to weddingwire.com to leave a review!

~*~

Jamie and I are getting really pumped for our Vegas trip… We are heading out next weekend to attend the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) convention in Las Vegas! Can’t wait! Even greater is that my best friend Nicole from Minnesota and her husband are going to be joining us there for a little vacation! I’m so happy they’re able to come since I barely ever get to see her anymore! :) Now – today’s big pink exclamation point…

~*~

Today I have been chosen by the uber-fabulous & famous wedding photographer, ~* Jasmine Star *~, to shoot with her on the Vegas strip while at WPPI!! Holllllla!! I’m grinning from ear-to-ear! 375 photographers tried to get in on the action, and I managed to get a spot! I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity, and I can’t wait to tell (and show!) you all about it! It’s going to be awesome! Woohoo!

You know that scene in Little Miss Sunshine where the little girl finds out she’s going to the finals – she jumps around with a big can’t-contain-it smile, screams and runs through the house like a crazypants? Um, yeah, I totally feel like that :D

~*~

Now I can’t leave you without pictures, so I dug around and found these from a recent trip to Chicago with my good friend Amber. We made a couple trips to Chicago together last summer for photography workshops, including one with Jasmine Star! I was super busy at the time and never got around to blogging these pics, so here ya go – a little July fun in February! (Please ignore my Shrek feet… we walked. A lot. ;)

April + Jason { engaged! }

Kristen — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:35:19 +0000

April and Jason are one of my wonderful wedding couples this year, getting married this spring! So watch for their wedding preview in a few months! They were so cute all through their engagement session – a little shy, laughing and smiling at each other, and just being sweet & themselves. I loved it, it was so perfect :)

I always love the moment *just after* the kiss

It was a busy Sunday afternoon in the skywalks, but they didn’t care…

After we were done with our inside shots, we braved the weather – it was windy & freezing, but we ran out for a few shots anyway!

So glad we did – I love the garage door, his sweater, her coat! Thanks, guys, for a fun afternoon session! Looking forward to the wedding in April! :)

{ dream }

Kristen — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:49:33 +0000

I opened my mailbox yesterday to find a sweet & adorable gift from Ashley, a friend of mine. She’s starting up what I think will be a very successful photography business, and I’ve been helping her out with a few things. Just answering a few questions about photography, software and business start-up, and helping her with her logo and brand. I’ve gotten bits of advice as I’ve grown my own business, and I’m always happy to share that knowledge with someone else who shares my passion. The gift she sent is so cute and perfect, totally something I would have picked up myself had I seen it in a shop. Ashley, I absolutely love it, thank you for being so thoughtful :)

This sparked a little internal conversation. It’s funny how a dream can become a reality before you even realize it… I can’t tell you how many times throughout my life I’ve thought how incredible it would be to be a professional photographer, and how much I would love to capture my vision and share my images with the world. And here I am, living it each and every day. Pretty amazing! 2008 was a huge year for K. Holly Photography: I took my part-time passion to a full-time profession, went through countless logo/website/blog redesigns (hehee), met some amazing people, and took thousands of photographs! Thank you to those who have encouraged and supported me along the way, and to my 2008 clients (and 2007 clients and models!) for being themselves, being part of my vision, and gracing the pages of my blog and website! You are the greatest!! ((hugs!))

**edit**

Right after I posted this, Lisa Kae of Elite Photography posted a new blog too… which includes pictures of yours truly! In my wedding dress! She held a fabulous workshop for beginning photographers, and let me run around in my wedding dress and be photographed by her and her students. It was a blast!! Check out her images here>>> Me on the Elite Photography Blog!

Max { baby + family session }

Kristen — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:00:21 +0000

While in Minnesota, I took the opportunity to photograph a lifestyle session with our friends, Dave & Tiffany and their new little addition, baby Max. Isn’t he a handsome little guy? It was amazing to see how their love has created this new tightly knit family. Tiffany seems to have been born to be a mom, and she’s filling her role beautifully! Max is a lucky little guy to have such great parents! :) (We are so happy for you!!)

I love these next three – so sweet! And the one where he’s boxing in the air and they’re copying him – I laughed out loud when I opened it! So I just had to include it ;)

Smiley guy :)

We did some black & whites, and I just love them – it was hard to narrow it down to a couple favorites for the blog post!

Dave & Tiff, it was so nice to spend the afternoon with you guys! We sure miss living nearby, but it was wonderful to visit and catch up. Let us know when you want to pack up little Max and come to Michigan!

{ I’ve been Spotlighted! }

Kristen — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:02:39 +0000

Over the past few months, I’ve gotten to know some really amazing, talented, and just all-around great people. Great clients, good friends, and awesome wedding vendors! One of them is Aletha from Pearl’s Events, a West Michigan wedding & event coordinator. She’s super fun to talk to, and fabulous at what she does! We had a chance to talk over coffee a little while ago, and today she spotlighted me on her blog! If you’re a bride planning a wedding in West Michigan, chances are you’ve seen her website already, she has a huge following! If you haven’t, I highly recommend it! Her daily feed is in my google reader, I keep up with every single post. It’s a great source of wedding inspiration, ideas, contests and fun!

Check out my spotlight + interview here!

The image below is from our meeting at Red Ball Jet in Grand Rapids – I had gotten there a little earlier than her, and whipped out my camera to sneak a quick picture of my incredibly flawless latte before taking my first sip… and she totally busted me! She walked in right as I pressed the shutter! Well, at least she didn’t have any trouble finding me… ;)

Patricia + Reza {married!}

Kristen — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:16:46 +0000

Patricia and Reza were married in an evening ceremony on December 20th, 2008 in Holland, Michigan. They had a beautiful ceremony performed in both Spanish and English; it was emotional, light and humorous at times, and completely heartwarming. Watching this great couple sneaking little glances at each other, smiling, holding hands, and shedding a few emotional tears, I found myself with tears in my own eyes a few times!

When I arrived, Patricia had just gotten there too, and the ladies were getting ready. They were all surrounding her, doing her makeup, touching up her hair, smiling, chatting, and helping her into her stunning wedding gown.

One of the girls had given her these gorgeous antique earrings as a gift – she was over the moon! Rightfully so, they’re beautiful!

Meanwhile, Reza was looking totally dashing, talking with guests before the ceremony

It’s time!

The ring exchange… was so… wow…

Married!!

After a few formals at the church, the three of us headed downtown for some fun, romantic night shots

We ducked into an adorable shop, where we were warmly welcomed… they graciously allowed us to take pictures inside, which was so sweet :)

Are they just a ridiculously gorgeous couple, or what? Dang! :)

They were so cute and playful too! All three of us had fun ideas. I felt like a kid in a candy store… or a photographer with a gorgeous bride & groom in a bright & colorful art gallery!! Woohoo!! :)

We could have stayed there a lot longer, but we had a reception to get to!

I ::love:: the cake pictures of Patricia being a sassypants with Reza. Love! She’s a smart girl – smears it on his nose, then pops it into her mouth so he can’t get her back! Ha! ;)

This was one fun reception – they had great guests!!

Thank you again for having me, and congratulations on the wedding! I wish you both the very best in marriage, life, everything! Much love, :)Kristen

{ Hope + History }

Kristen — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:17:42 +0000

History is being made today as President-Elect Barack Obama is sworn into office. They are expecting around 2 million people to be watching in person from the streets of Washington DC. Me, I’ll be intently watching on TV. Our country is ready for change, full of hope, and looking forward to brighter days.

Check out a few pics I took of Obama when he was in Grand Rapids over here. Disclaimer: I was SUPER far away, and didn’t have my zoomie with me. *pout* Regardless, it was amazing to be there and hear his voice silencing and inspiring the huge crowd that had gathered there. Oh, to be in DC today…

Baby Andon

Kristen — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:01:49 +0000

I just love this little guy! You can’t help but smile when you look at his adorable face! He has great expressions, he was so much fun to photograph! His parents were wonderful and welcomed me into their home for a baby & family lifestyle session just in time for Christmas. You guys have one little cutie on your hands! Check out that heartbreaker smile! :)

We just had to get some nakkie baby pictures! He was totally cracking us up posing!

His expression in this one is priceless!!

Thanks again for having me! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and 2009 is off to a great start! :)

Miriam :: Senior

Kristen — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:49:48 +0000

Lovely, graceful and elegant… she is a ballet dancer. And she’s absolutely amazing! You’ll see in a minute… I shot Miriam’s senior session at Grand Rapids Ballet Company, where she practices and performs. We met on a quiet morning when the building was nearly empty. I love sessions like this! We chatted a bit about ideas, then moved some furniture around in the lobby and made use of the brick wall and incredible natural light. Then we moved into one of the studios where she showed off her mad skills! The girl’s got moves!

See? Told you she was amazing! She’s using these images for auditions and applications, and I’m wishing her the best of luck! I think she has a VERY bright future ahead of her! :) Thanks for a wonderful session, Miriam and Beth! Enjoy the rest of your senior year! :)