The birth of our baby daughter Julia
Our baby was due on March 15, 2010. We had a baby appointment on Wednesday and we didn’t have any idea what was coming the next morning.
I awoke with Megan at 6:30 am and started my day as normal. Sitting on the couch putting together a packing plan for the baby birth at 7:30am Megan called for me to come upstairs. She says, “I think my water just broke.” If you could have seen the blank stare on my face, not to mention all the things that ran through my head in less than one second. I switched into high-speed packing mode. Megan called the hospital which was 1 hour 20 minutes away.
Not only did I not have my stuff packed but I needed to pack for the dogs too. Megan had her stuff almost ready and the baby things were ready too. By 8:00 am the car was warm, packed, and ready to roll. We were on the road to the kennel calling Carla to be prepared for the crazy doggies. A quick drop off and back on the road to Petoskey ~ Northern Michigan Hospital Emergency.
When we first arrived they had Megan in a wheelchair, she was laughing and nurses were commenting that she must not be too far in labor. In fact, she didn’t start active labor until almost 6pm. It would be a LONG day and night with the baby being born at 5:17 am on February 26, 2010. Julia was 6.5 pounds and 19 inches long. She is beautiful, healthy, and our first adorable child.
Megan is doing great recovering. It looks like we will be heading home today, about 36 hours after the birth.
You can watch the blog and see LOTS of images of Baby Julie or “Jules” for the rest of her life. Get ready to be in front of the lens ALOT baby. We love you more than anything and we can’t wait to raise you and be a part of your life!
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Wedding Transportation from Ceremony to Reception
How are you getting from your Wedding Ceremony to your Wedding Reception? Maybe it is in the same location so you can walk or ride a bike. What if you want to go off-site and do some fun images along the water, architecture, overlook, nature, etc. At some point you need to consider Wedding Transportation and also who will be with you on this Wedding ride.
There are a lot of options out there for you to consider. Limousine(limo), bus, limo bus, antique car, semi, trolley, wagon, sleigh, sled, snowmobile, atv, buggy, helicopter, sailboat, pontoon, sport car, convertible, horse, boat, your own car, bike, carriage, scooter, someone’s shoulders or back, or the old fashioned way, walk. Check out some of the options that I, Paul Retherford Wedding Photography, have photographed.
Getting some ideas for your Wedding transportation plans?
Stories about Wedding Transportation and rides
This last photo the bride was delivered to the ceremony on the pontoon with an umbrella over her to hide her from her guest. They decorated the dock and the path up to the gazebo for the Wedding isle. Dad met the bride at the dock and walked her all the way up to the gazebo where their were chairs on both sides, a acoustic singer, and lots of beautiful flowers and details. Following the ceremony the Wedding party jumped back on the pontoon, the sign was displayed and they took a tour around the lake. I rode on a separate pontoon and captured lots of fabulous images.
Just last month the bride and groom hired a bus to take the Wedding party from Monroe to Ann Arbor for the Wedding Reception. The bride and groom met a horse drawn carriage downtown Ann Arbor and did a Wedding ride through beautiful Ann Arbor by the University of Michigan campus. I ran next to the carriage and captured images for about a mile. It was really cold but really worth the images.
Some Wedding ceremonies are a stone throw to the Wedding reception. Sometimes the bride and groom elect to do something fun like take off on a tandem bike for a few images following the ceremony. I have had brides and grooms that ride in on a bike when they are introduced. The sky is really the limit.
You know that your time in the Wedding Transportation is typically going to be short so keep that in mind when booking your Wedding Ride. Make a list of everyone that you want to include. Sometimes brides and grooms like to include spouses and partners on the ride. It is your day and you will have the images after the day to remember it all. Think about they dynamics of having these people on the ride with you. Will it add to your day or make the people more reserved.
Lastly, feel free to really put your personal stamp of uniqueness on anything you do. I always enjoy the people who go the extra mile to jazz up their Wedding Transportation to really make their images all the more spectacular. On the other hand, if you have Wedding Transportation that is unique then you made need just the beauty of the bride and groom on the ride.
For more ideas and images of past Weddings please see my work, online images and proofs(open to anyone), and other information at my Wedding website, Paul Retherford Wedding Photography
Consider personalizing your Wedding day at these venues: Mackinac Island, The Homestead, Inn at Bay Harbor, Castle Farms, Traverse City Wineries, Lighthouse Point, Drummond Island Resort, Northern Michigan, Elberta Life Saving Station, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Leland, Glen Arbor, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, Staffords, Lake Michigan, Cheboygan, St. Ignace, Mackinaw, Cadillac, and more.
Tags: antique car, back, beach, bike, bride, buggy, bus, car, carriage, cart, castle farms, convertible, design, destination, dress, drink, drummond island resort, golf, golf cart, gown, groom, harbor springs, horse, ice, image, island, lake michigan, lighthouse point, limo, limo bus, limousine, mackinac island, mackinaw, music, northern michigan, petoskey, photo, photographer, plan, planner, planning, resort, ride, rig, sand, scooter, semi, shoulders, sled, sleigh, snowmobile, sport, staffords, the homestead, transportation, traverse city, trolley, truck, unique, utopia, visions, wagon, walk, water, wedding, winery
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Wedding Images before and after Wedding day
Do you sometimes wonder how Professional Photographers get so many awesome images of a bride and groom during a Wedding day? Well, the answer is typically in the fact that the Wedding Photographer is doing images before and after the day of the Wedding. Photographers like to call these sessions all sorts of things like bridal portrait, trash the dress, fash the dress, Pre-Wedding something, post-Wedding something…
You should consider doing a Photography Session before and/or after your Wedding day and here is why. Think about how rushed you are going to be during your Wedding day. Even if you plan hours of Wedding Photography things will typically happen and you will have less time than you thought. Planning a ton of images on your Wedding day puts everyone in a reserved mood. You want to make it easy for you, your family, and guests. This is a celebration, not a photo shoot!
There are many places that you can imagine around your Wedding location that are just rad. Why not take advantage of the areas before or after your Wedding day. Before your Wedding you need to be very careful of your dress but after the day you can be a bit more daring. You don’t have to “trash the dress” but how about “fash the dress” where you go out and just get some fabulous images in your Wedding Dress that you could never have taken the day of your Wedding. I have done lots of “Fash the Dress” sessions and some “Trash the Dress” sessions. The results are extraordinary!
My Wedding do not include many of these pre and post-Wedding sessions. I wish that every Wedding would have these because the images are fabulous! My brides and grooms typically will use these images in an album or make a separate album of these images. The sessions are fun, no stress, and you can really add your own personal style and touch. Most of the images that you see in magazines were not captured on the Wedding Day.
Trash the Dress, Fash the Dress, Pre/Post Session, Bridal Sessions
Whatever you call them just do it and you will be so happy when you look back at what you can achieve from a short fabulous session. You just may see your images gracing the cover of a bridal magazine in your area.
Consider these locations for your Trash the Dress, Fash the Dress ~ Mackinac Island, Inn at Bay Harbor, Traverse City, Petoskey, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks, Drummond Island, destinations, Bahamas, Central America, South America, Key West, Fiji, South Pacific, Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, iceland, alaska, Upper Michigan, Northern Michigan, Bay Harbor, Grand Traverse, Resorts, Sandals, Greece, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Bora Bora, Michigan, carnivals, airports, fairs, graffiti, snow, ice, carriage, sled, harbor springs, leland, winery, leelanua, suttons bay, Glen Arbor, Castle Farms, The Homestead, Elberta Life Saving Station, Frankfort, Ludington, Pentwater, Grand Haven, Tawas City, Presque Isle, Lighthouse Point, Cabo, Marquette, Madison, Door County, Chicago, University of Michigan, Michigan State, College campuses, cemeteries(lots of old trees), lighthouse, pets, beach, underwater, boats, sand, farms, fields, and any location where you think you shouldn’t have images.
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