Eric + Samantha

Blue Water Area Summer Romance

Elegant Wedding in Port Huron Michigan

The day started with me walking into the Bride’s room and me gracing her with a Twinkie as she got ready. And that’s pretty much how the mood of this whole wedding stayed, well into the night even after my husband came to pick me up with our little kiddos in the car, and they somehow made it onto the dance floor. These are my type of people, and we were so thrilled to capture their love and story right in our own town of Port Huron!

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As the girls spent hours getting ready the boys took their own sweet time “getting ready” too, just in a different way, that involved guns and that laid back approach leading up to walking down the aisle. Eventually they did make their way to The Double Tree to get their ties on.

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Beautiful emotions were high during the ceremony, which was held outside. Off in the distance Sarnia, Canada was our backdrop, just across the St. Clair River. Both the most important men in Samantha’s life, the one giving her away, and the one so excited to take her, were in tears. What more could a woman ask for?

Before the Wedding rings were slipped onto the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Rouse, they were passed down a string across the very first row of people gathered to witness their wedding. Parents, Grand Parents, Brothers and Sisters put their love into the rings with blessings, prayers, and well wishes to the couple. The most influential people in their lives will forever be a part of their marriage now through these rings. What a beautiful moment to be a part of.

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Next we slipped away and caught some kisses underneath The Blue Water Bride connecting our home to Canada. Timing was perfect and we even caught one of the iconic freighters in some of our shots as it made its voyage out into Lake Huron.

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The Wedding reception, which was also held at The Double Tree in Port Huron was decorated with chic accents, with most of the vendors being local. The night brought more, big, beautiful tears, along with big laughs, drinking, and so much dancing, late into the night.

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We did sneak out just for a little moment to get those yummy golden hour shots I just MUST get for our couples! Thankfully my Mom’s hay field was looking gorgeous, and it was highlighted with one of the best sunsets that I have seen in a long time. These two were so go with the flow that when I shoved them in the hay field magic just happened. I can not express enough how amazing these 2 were. Beautiful, in love, fun, easy going. Honestly- Magic.

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To see more Chic, Elegant Wedding Vibes see Will and Savannah’s Royal Oak Wedding

To see another emotional and romantic wedding take a peek at Caleb and Rachel’s Wedding Album.

Travis + Morgan

Chic and Romantic Summer Love

A Lexington, MI Beach Wedding

It’s mid June in Lexington, Michigan. Lake Huron is bright blue, the sun is out, and capturing romantic moments is in full swing!

If I had to describe this wedding in 3 words it would be laid back, romantic, and chic. Honestly, isn’t that just the perfect combination, for the wedding party and us as photographers? No stress, celebrating love, and you look fabulous doing it. Sign me up!

What was extra special about this wedding for us at Raelani Stockwell Photography was that this was the 2nd of 3 weddings we’ve done with this family! Showing up just felt like hanging out with old friends again. Seeing familiar faces, celebrating another marriage with this family, and partying with the same people again and again just brought a vibe to the whole day that made it feel effortless and special. It was more like walking through the day, camera in hand, than it was working. Honestly, a lot of our days feel like that though, and we’re so thankful we just “click” with our bride and grooms!

Details in place, first looks done, and it was time to walk down the grassy aisle at the Sanilac County State Park.

Vows were exchanged at the beach, but the new Mr. and Mrs. were captured for their portraits where more of the East Coast sunshine could be seen shining through the woods. Again… look at these two and how laid back yet romantic their love feels.

The reception had that Summer, rustic chic mood that carried us through the night, that we just can’t get enough of, because let’s face it, here in Michigan, in Sanilac County, we’re a lil country, and we like it that way.

A totally unique staple to their wedding was the “Bartender Drink Off” in place of the dollar dance! These two bartenders couldn’t have picked a more fitting, fun way to earn a few more bucks and have a little competitive fun!!

And you know we weren’t sneaking off without some “sunset” shots of Morgan dancing the night away on the shoreline, because, well, it’s totally dreamy.

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Be sure to peek at Eric and Samantha’s Chic and Romantic Wedding if you’ve fallen in love with this style!

Love is Love- Pride Wedding Photoshoot

Same-Sex Wedding Photoshoot in Holly, MI

Celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month at The Holly Vault

You’re first greeted by Industrial Chic. The Holly Vault, an old renovated bank, is flooded with natural and is perfectly designed and decorated for a fun day with amazing people. There are dresses, makeup, cake, fresh flowers, gorgeous table settings, and most importantly- LOVE.

How do you describe love? Can you give it a face? Does is have a color? A shape? Does love hold a masculine or feminine side? Does love come with a specific label or instructions?

Not that I’ve ever heard of.

Love is Love

That moment when 2 people, 2 humans, 2 souls meet, and they just click. Love is when you can trust someone with everything you have. Love is not selfish. Love is kind. Love is something we should feel with pride.

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June is Pride month for the LGBTQ Community. If you’re new to the game and are wondering what that means, don’t worry- Wikipedia’s got you covered. “Gay pride or LGBT pride is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to promote their self-affirmation, dignity, equality rights, increase their visibility as a social group, build community, and celebrate sexual diversity and gender variance.”

These images you are seeing are the final products of a huge collaboration between couples, models, artists, and creators of all kinds. We all worked together to share our talents with each other and celebrate the LGBTQ Community through a Same Sex Wedding Photoshoot in Holly, Michigan.

There’s no right or wrong way to do love, just like there’s no right or wrong way to do art. It just happens. It’s an extension of who we are. Most of the time it can’t be explained. And most of the time we don’t need to explain, nor should we have to. We just need to enjoy the process for ourselves. Art. Love. These are extremely personal experiences. To share them with other beautiful people is the best feeling in the world. And that includes everyone inside the LGBTQ Community!

This story wouldn’t be complete without thanking EVERYONE who came together to make this day possible:

Models-

• Emily Crombez @crombezgirl

• Carl Klost 

• Megan Deel @oddfernworld

• Kelsey Hunt @kelseycaileen

• Tauren Keels

• Jen Fay 

• Stephany Marie Trujillo

• Pamela Hammond @anatheium

• Morgan Miller

Makeup //  Dayna Green and Meghan Martin with @galsandghouls

Rentals // Donna Tringali Apple with @upstagekzoo

Florals // Jordan Sleva with @lefleural

Desserts // Justine View with @cottageviewcakery

Flower wall // Kelle Hardy with @flowersmith_studio

Hair // Courtney Recklein with @recklesshair_mi

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Phillip + Jaylynn

What happens when 2 complete strangers meet in front of my camera?

The mock Engagement Session

that ended with a first date.

It started with 2 complete strangers picked by us on the Internet. 1 handsome guy. 1 gorgeous girl. Scheduled to have a romantic Spring “Engagement” photoshoot together in the near future.

Wait. What?

Yes. You read that right.

But now you’re probably wondering- WHY!?

This was 100% a personal project for me (Raelani- your girl next door behind the camera!) I know what it is like to photograph 2 people in love. They’re excited about getting married during their Engagement session, or they’re celebrating JUST getting married at their wedding. They are emotionally connected. Yes, to get couples to totally relax in front of the camera and act natural or to get laid back lifestyle “poses” from couples can still be challenging, but I have my ways and tricks to make it easy. No big deal.

That made me wonder- could I do the same thing with 2 complete strangers? After that I honestly wanted to find out and test my skills. I wanted to challenge everything that I had gotten so comfortable with in photography-

Could I pull genuine emotion out of 2 complete strangers and get them to connect?

Let’s just say by the time we were done with our shoot at The Goodells County Park “strangers” wouldn’t be the word I would use to describe them together anymore.

Obviously…. I mean… just look…

The golden hour started to kick in, lighting up the forest with that soft warm glow and by that time I felt like a third wheel. They were laughing, chatting, and I was left, camera in hand, capturing this story just unfolding in front of me.

The images themselves were enough to prove to myself I had the techniques and personality to break down walls, not only between me and my clients, but between the clients themselves.

But what REALLY sealed the deal was the exchanging of numbers and the on going coffee dates these two went on after this shoot! At this point that means I’m not only capturing love stories, I’m helping write them, and that’s not something I expected to happen with this project.

That brings a whole new level of passion to what I do, realizing what happens between real couples during our shoots… they get to fall in love all over again!

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For more love check out this Ann Arbor Engagement shoot full of history and architecture!

For more hipster love vibes check out this Engagement session shot right in Port Huron!