kim + mike {i do} michigan chapel wedding . detroit wedding photographer kari dawson
Kim is my sister from another mister. My much older sister 😉 She is my cousin but she was a solid fixture in my childhood and I idolized her. I wanted to wear her clothes. It was stylish for teens to wear men’s button-ups in the 80s.. You can imagine how hideous I looked as a fourth grader after changing into her clothes when my mom left me at latchkey. Kim hated spiders so I hated spiders. Kim wanted a yellow Iroc Z. I wanted a yellow Iroc Z. She let me tag along countless times and we had frequent sleepovers. We’d fall asleep listening to Alan Almond while she shook her foot until she passed out. And I’ve just revealed way too much about my age. We laugh so hard today sharing memories and stories of my little brother’s antics, bullies she never let beat me up and the things that went wrong while I was at dance class. Kim is what went wrong at dance class. She made it her priority to embarrass me. But, I secretly loved hearing my name yelled through the crowd when I was on stage.
I wouldn’t have chosen to be just a guest when she married Mike for anything. I think she finally found her happily ever after. I know she has met her match. Though, she is uber spoiled! I was honored to photograph their wedding. I knew when I woke up that morning that I would be an emotional freak. I didn’t think I’d be a mess writing their blog post though. Sheesh. Kim, you deserve the moon and the stars! Mike, you better not ever quit trying to wrangle them for her! Or else!!
They were married at the cutest Little White Wedding Chapel.
Mike met Kim at the end of the aisle and brought his bride to the altar where they said ‘I do’.
They’re married!!!
Mike’s one request was a stop at the tiger
These two! Queen of selfies acted all bashful like they didn’t know how to pose for a photo.
We had small break from the heat at the Detroit Institute of Arts in its shaded cover.
I loved Kim’s tea length dress!
I had to have fun with the juxtaposition of their height.
My favorite!
And we were off in the limo bus from hell. No literally. The heat was cranked so bad on the back of my legs that they turned red. It was already 90 degrees that day. I’m sure it will be funny later.
Lovely, yet emotional toasts from their best friends!
And this little cutie is one of my baby girl’s dancing with my dad.
And a precious moment of our aunt and uncle.
You’ll feel calm on one of the most overwhelming days of your life. You’ll forget the camera was there. And later, you’ll hold photographs of moments you didn’t know were happening.
That’s because of who’s in the room. Kari has been photographing weddings since 2012. She’s the calm presence, the one your mom will find herself talking to. Karli is the one making your bridesmaids laugh and keeping the day on time.
We don’t divide and conquer. We’re in the same moment, Kari wide and Karli close, catching each other’s eye across the room when we see something worth keeping.
A mother and daughter. Both five feet even. Among your people.
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