J and I had so much fun with Ray & Chelsea back in June when we shot their engagement photos. We took this series of photos with the hopes of putting them together to share … and I just found them again on my computer. That’s like finding an onion ring in with a bunch of regular fries … totally made my day! (Give it a second to load)
I think it’s absolutely amazing when two sweet souls meet each other and develop a love that’s even sweeter. Ray & Chelsea just happen to be two very sweet souls with the kind of love that warms your soul. R & C met each other through mutual friends while they were in college. The dated, and even made it through a long distance relationship when Ray was done with college. Their fairytale relationship continued when they spent a summer in Europe for Ray’s job. Their love got to flourish while living in Florence, Italy … and the big moment happened in May of 2009. R & C were in Germany at Neuschwanstein, a beautiful castle (Google it, seriously. It’s beautiful!!), when he asked her to be his wife. Oh yeah, they were standing in front of a waterfall. Are you kidding me? So romantic!!
Even though Ray & Chelsea booked me for their wedding back in January, we just met earlier this month at Mike & Sarah’s wedding. Chelsea is Sarah’s best friend, and she and Ray were in town from Texas for the wedding. Chels and Ray will be tying the knot later this summer in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Hooray for another ‘destination’ wedding). R & C: You two are so adorable. J and I loved hanging out with you, and we are so excited for your wedding. We can’t wait to see you again!
We started the session off at a little marina in St. Joe. It was quaint … and perfect.
I couldn’t decide if I liked this one in b&w or color …
Let’s just get this out of the way. I think J and I secretly wish we had R & C’s hairstyles. So cute. F’real.
I love these two images.
Another set by J. Of course … I love it!
After a quick outfit change, we headed off to the beach for more photos. I have to say, this is when their session turned into my favorite session to date. When I got these photos onto my computer, I fell in LOVE.
I love this shot that J got. My hubs has mad skills. F’real.
These next photos are so cute. You two are awesome.
Another one of J’s shots. He came up with the frame/lighthouse concept. I love it.
I have to say … the wall of the pier was my FAVORITE. The blue, orange and brown combo was fun.
Umm… their shoes were adorable. Chels got hers in Europe, which I think is totally cool … and cute … and perfect for their little fairytale!
I love this set. I LOVE the shot of the shoes on the right that J got while I was down in the sand with R & C.
One more outfit change and we headed back to downtown Silver Beach … As Ray mentioned … a photographers paradise.
We’re back home safe and sound after a wonderful trip to St. Joe, Michigan this weekend. J and I had such a fun weekend together. There’s something about driving to a quaint beach town with the windows down and the iPod playing our favorite music. The soundtrack this weekend consisted of Ingrid Michaelson, Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson, and Kings of Leon. The weather was perfect and the company was even better. On our way home today, we spotted this amazing field of yellow flowers. We hopped out of the car and grabbed this shot. Hooray for the self-timer. Even though the weekend was amazing, I’m pretty happy to be back home with our fur babies … Plus, True Blood starts tonight, which makes me a super-happy camper.
Before we left St. Joe this afternoon, we got together with Ray & Chelsea for their engagement session. I’ll be posting their full session soon, but for now I wanted to share a sneak peek. The session was a blast … we can’t wait to shoot their wedding in August!
I found this video while surfing around Twitter earlier today. While I think J’s proposal was amazing, I still love seeing cute and creative proposals like this one. It made me smile and I wanted to share it with you!
Jim + Ravyn Photographers
By Ravyn StadickAs most of you know, my husband, Jim, is a huge part of my business. Not only does he carry all of my heavy bags, but he also makes about 1/2 of the beautiful images on my blog. He’s been my permanent 2nd shooter since the very first wedding we shot together, and we’ve had such a great time working together. As most businesses, we look at our business as an evolution. Things are changing as we go … which is a really good thing.
Here’s a sneak peek of a wedding that I second shot a few weeks ago. You can see the full post on the new blog!