Mother's Day Weekend in Zeeland

This weekend, I was a gift! My friend Jeroen, whose awesome wedding I shot a couple of years ago, was brainstorming about what to get his mom, Josee, for her 60th birthday and Mother's Day, and luckily he and his sisters decided to give their mom the gift of an afternoon of family photography. It was a really fun and beautiful time, the family rented a house at the Noordzee Résidence De Banjaard near the seaside town of Middelburg, and it was my first time traveling to this unique area of the Netherlands. I was welcomed warmly, with generous plates of pasta and Belgian pastries (dessert with lunch, now THAT is a vacation weekend), and was lucky to get to photograph such a nice family in this idyllic setting.

This scene really just felt like walking into a magazine cover, for a story about family and enjoying quality time and good food. It was awesome :)

Newborn portraits of Anna in Groningen

And so, a month after doing a maternity shoot with her mom and dad, I got to spend the afternoon taking photos of Anna. She is already such a laid-back and pleasant personality, much like her mom. I channeled a little Anne Geddes (hopefully in a good way), since there's is simply no way around the preciousness of a newborn, and I'm looking forward to getting to see her grow up!

Michelle's mom has been staying with the family since shortly after Anna was born, so we wanted to get a multigenerational photo while she is here visiting from America.

When Dutch families have a child, it's traditional to put up the congratulations cards up in the house on display, so I figured we may as well have a photo of the reason for all the cards. Congratulations, my friends!

Reichert - de Caluwé Wedding

This wedding was featured on the Dutch wedding blog Wedspiration on March 8, 2012.

Happy New Year! I am very excited to share my first wedding of 2012, Barb and Edwin's ceremony at the Stadhuis in Den Bosch on a gloriously clear day (which in the Netherlands is indeed a miracle!). This  international couple met in Canada, Barb's homeland, while Edwin worked at her company, and they hit it off immediately. It's always nice to meet other international couples, and seeing two people cross borders and oceans to find each other is a beautiful thing. The ceremony was, to use a great Dutch term, gezellig, with just immediate family and closest friends, and the wedding room at the Stadhuis was beautiful. Congratulations and gefeliciteerd!

Michelle and Jeroen Christmas maternity shoot in Groningen

Merry Christmas and fijne feestdagen! Today I'm blogging from the quiet Frisian village of Warns, taking it easy on tweede kerstdag, as it is called here. But, way back this summer, I was lucky enough to end up in the same level two Dutch class as another awesome American woman who's now calling Groningen home. Michelle and Jeroen were so nice to work with, they're just effortlessly photogenic and were very sweet with each other, and their soon-to-arrive baby. It was an unbelievably beautiful day in Groningen on Christmas eve, and I really enjoyed getting to be a part of this time with them.