Modern wedding portraits with Laura Hollander photography during Covid-19.

Getting married during a pandemic is a thing! But weddings may look a little different these days… My heart goes out to so many people during this current pandemic- including couples who want nothing more than to get married and celebrate with their family and friends! Jake and Kathryn, like many other couples, had many hiccups in their wedding plans. They switched venues last minute, switching to an outdoor ceremony and reception at Fenton Winery and Brewery in Fenton, MI. They paired down their guest list, and had a small outdoor dinner on the patio outdoors. It was lovely. I honestly feel so blessed that they trusted me with their wedding photography.

With all couples, I try to help them navigate the wedding planning process as it pertains to their wedding day photography. With Jake and Kathryn, they opted not to see each other prior to their ceremony, but wanted to do a special hidden “first look” and they let me coordinate their gift and letter exchange during this time. I love capturing raw emotion and am so drawn to these bride and groom portraits!

I could sense a feeling of anxiety from Kathryn when it took her a little longer than anticipated to get ready. We had planned on taking photos of her and her bridesmaids prior to the ceremony- but you know what? Weddings are unpredictable events! I just assured her that I was there (with my amazing assistant, Tiffany) to document her day as it unfolds. No worries! Everything worked out perfectly and we had plenty of time to take all of the portraits following the ceremony. Couples, do not worry if things do not go perfectly as planned- at the end of the day- YOU ARE MARRIED. And that is the most important thing.

Weddings during this time look different and I wanted to be sure to document all of the nuances that Covid-19 has brought to weddings. I absolutely love the custom embroidered wedding masks that they had. They were monogrammed with a capital “T”. I also grabbed a quick photo of the bottles of hand sanitizer next to the guest book. I love to get a photo of the bride from a side view from the end of the seats as she walks down the aisle- at this wedding, you can see the guests donning their masks in socially-distanced groups.

I was so happy when Jake and Kathryn agreed to getting some golden hour portraits of the two of them. Golden hour is typically about an hour prior to sunset when the sun is low in the sky, casting warm light. Personally, I like to angle my shots into the sun to create a soft glow around my subject. There are many factors to getting this right, and sometimes, the light is filtered through trees etc, no evening is the same- but I just love the colors and mood that I can capture when I photograph in the evening. Add a lovely couple to the mix and it’s a recipe for beautiful wedding portraits!

Enjoy my favorites from this July 2020 wedding!

Phew! That was a lot of photos! It’s my blog and I’ll share if i want to! If you liked these photos, leave a comment below! If you or someone you know is looking for a modern photographer to capture real emotion and and document your family story- share my name! Thank you so much for looking!