GLORIA + KALEB

A Destination Mennonite Wedding on Lake Huron

I had the privilege of capturing the wedding of Gloria and Kaleb this past weekend, two young sweethearts deeply in love. The wedding was breath-taking; the ceremony took place under a gorgeous wooden arch on a stone patio overlooking Lake Huron. Dramatic purple skies and crashing waves were the backdrop of vows, prayers, songs and a new marriage covenant. But I'm getting ahead of myself; let me tell you more about this couple.

Gloria and Kaleb met on a mission trip in New York. There was an instant connection between them. They shared many interests, but most importantly, they shared their Mennonite faith. They knew very quickly they wanted to pursue a courtship. Their courtship would be quite the long distance relationship, since Gloria is from Ontario, Canada and Kaleb is from Oregon. Over the next year and a half, their relationship would grow deeper as the initial interest between them transformed into a precious and deep love.

And this is where their story took on an unexpected twist. For months, their plan had been to hold their wedding ceremony in Canada near Gloria's home. Invitations had been sent, vendors secured, food ordered. But as their wedding date drew closer, they suddenly realized that most of Kaleb's family and groomsmen would not be able to cross the Canadian border. But instead of panicking, they placed it in God's hands and decided to adapt their plans.

Kaleb's mother is an extraordinary event planner, so with her assistance, along with the help of the entire family, they were able to plan a whole new destination wedding at the beach of Fort Gratiot Park. Kaleb's father constructed an incredible hexagonal wooden arch, Gloria's sister crafted the bouquets, and everyone else pulled together to put together the rest of the details.

And that's where I came in. A week before the wedding, Gloria found my photography website and reached out to see if I might happen to be available to photograph their wedding. As she and Kaleb told me about their story, I just couldn't help but smile. I always pray that God would bring me the right clients to work with, and He had done it again! Though I would be meeting them on their wedding day for the first time, there was already a bond between us knowing that we were brothers and sisters in Christ.

And what a precious wedding day it was! As soon as I arrived, Kaleb and Gloria shared a first look as well as their very first kiss. They exchanged letters they had written each other and prayed together over the day that would follow. The ceremony was full of rich Mennonite traditions, with congregational singing, words of commissioning from their family, Scripture, prayer, and a song that Kaleb sang to his beautiful bride.

After the ceremony, I was able to take the newlywed couple along the beach of Lake Huron for some bride and groom portraits. I absolutely love taking pictures on Michigan beaches and these were extra beautiful with our dramatic skies in the background. The married couple looked absolutely stunning and you could see the love and excitement radiating from them as they began their new adventure as husband and wife.