The High Five Wedding in Grand Rapids, MI

Any wedding at The High Five in Grand Rapids is an absolute dream to photograph in my eyes. Courtney and Brett’s wedding was efficient, joyous, and had the best vendors. My day started off at The Canopy Hotel. This is where I arrived to capture the groom and his groomsmen getting ready. I remember it clearly: the room full of laughter, drinks being poured, and the smell of cigar smoke in the air (outside). It was a relaxed atmosphere as everyone helped each other with final touches.

More about the ceremony and reception …

After everyone was ready, we made our way to the venue where the rest of the day would unfold. The couple wanted a stress-free day full of celebration. That’s exactly what they got. The bridal party wore stunning champagne bridesmaid dresses, while the groomsmen looked sharp in their classic black suits.

The next thing we did was formals of the wedding party separately. The High Five is a spacious venue, so we were able to do all of this indoors without the couple accidentally running into each other. Keeping my clients’ wishes in mind, I recommended completing these before the ceremony to give them more time to enjoy their cocktail hour

After the “I do’s” were exchanged, we went outside for full wedding party photos. With the sun shining, the backdrop of The High Five made for stunning photos. We did all the formals right away, then moved on to posing with lots of laughs, cheers, and movement.

Of course, we can’t forget about the couple’s formals. These moments were some of my favorites from the day! They were incredibly easy to pose and photograph. I used the venue’s brick wall as a backdrop, and then took them out on the street to include some of Grand Rapid’s brick road. After we finished up, we returned to the fifth floor of the venue to join their cocktail hour. Their grand entrance followed shortly after.

My favorite part about working at this wedding venue is how convenient they make it to host the ceremony and reception all in one location. Not only that, but this spot is nestled in the heart of Grand Rapids! There are a ton of hotel options around for traveling guests.

My signature editing style against The High Five wedding venue color palette:

First thing’s first: culling. This means sorting through the thousands of frames and picking out the best shots to deliver to the couple. Up next is editing, where I make sure to keep the photos in a true-to-life style. This means the colors are close to what they really are in real life. This venue’s colors with the wedding shades the couple picked out were so easy to edit together. The very last thing I do before sending out the gallery is put together fun GIFs for my clients to enjoy.