Meet Cat
TL;DR — I feel so honored to get to do this work. Full stop.
Creating family heirlooms and documenting your legacy is the ultimate privilege and I’m so grateful to all of the couples and families who have let me into their worlds over the last 15 years.
Your wedding isn’t about creating photos, it’s about fully living in the moment with all the people that you love most. On a wedding day, my job is in keeping you present and documenting moments and memories that unfold naturally. I often give direction and guidance earlier in the day for the all-important portraits, and then take a step back as the ceremony begins to document the day as it unfurls.
My goal is for these photographs to feel timeless, authentic and heartwarming. I hope they make you laugh. I hope, many years from now, that they help you remember people no longer here. I know all too well that this life is fleeting, and it’s my greatest joy and honor that I get to help you preserve it.
On a personal note…
I didn’t plan on becoming a professional photographer.
In fact, I initially thought I’d open a restaurant.
After growing up in Michigan, I headed east to attend the Culinary Institute of America in pursuit of this idea and it was a total dream - cooking and eating my way through the cuisines of the world, donning a chef coat and clogs every morning (so easy!), indulging in lavish desserts after every meal… I even enjoyed the organized chaos of working the line or expediting orders. And though I didn’t end up just like Alice Waters, I loved every minute of it.
I spent my 20s in New York’s Hudson Valley, on the cliffs of California’s Big Sur, and in the slow food mecca of Portland, Oregon. Often draining my bank account to take a trip abroad.
I lugged my many cameras with me wherever I went. I photographed mountains, rivers, oceans, architecture, and eventually turned my camera on my friends. It felt like a lightening bolt hit and I realized how powerful it was to document people doing what they love or being with who they love.
So, I went back to school and tiptoed into the dark room.
pictured: one of my favorite places on earth, Connemara, Ireland
After all of my traveling, I realized Michigan firmly held my heart and my family eventually pulled me home. I feel so grateful to have grown up here - spending summers visiting the Great Lakes and winters skiing up north. I love our four distinct seasons and truly feel like this is the land of milk and honey.
When I moved back home 15 years ago, I used my culinary degree to help run my family’s bed and breakfast. Sunset Cove was a big log home situated between two beautiful lakes just outside of Ann Arbor.
My husband and I were married there in the summer of 2013 and we sat at the helm of this B&B-turned-wedding-venue for 7 years before shifting into running our own businesses.
Coming home…
We welcomed a baby girl in the spring of 2024, and then lost my stepdad the following fall. Both monumental events have forever shifted how I see my work — finding a renewed sense of urgency and importance in preserving these moments and memories.
However you choose to document yourselves or your families… just do it. Often.
When I’m not photographing families, weddings, and businesses you can find me meticulously planning our next trip, reading, meal prepping (it never ends), and walking our dog, Luna, on the B2B.
Thank you for reading my little novella.