Kerri Banyas Photography » weddings

Skye & Jeremy :: Grand Rapids Wedding Photographer

Kerri Banyas — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:20:56 +0000

Skye is one of my favorite girls…she is a sassy little Canadian with a heart of gold and Jeremy is a total cutie pie that completely adores her….what more could I ask for??!!! Skye and Jeremy planned a small affair with a few close friends to witness the day (and of course lil’ ol’ me) and everything was perfect….I would LOVE to do more weddings like this! So if you are planning one….hit me up

Here are my faves of the day:

Kavitha & Jeff :: Engagement :: Grand Rapids Wedding Photographer

Kerri Banyas — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:37:07 +0000

I had a blast hanging out with Kavitha and Jeff for their engagement session, they came up from Indianapolis (one of my FAVE cities!!!) to wander around some of my fave spots in Grand Rapids for their session…seriously these two are flippin’ adorable and we got some really fabulous images! I just LOVE meeting awesome people & its even more wonderful when those awesome people are my clients….have I mentioned how much I LOVE my job??!!

I can’t wait for their wedding in July….its going to be GORGEOUS!

check out my faves:

Isn’t Jeff great at the fierce look LOVE this one! Kavitha, you are such a beauty! Awe…picture perfect! ok, that was corny I have a thing for rusty buildings and people in LOVE shoes make me smile Watch out Tyra…

I am not a writer.

Kerri Banyas — Sat, 08 May 2010 03:02:40 +0000

There was a time when I used to think I was AWESOME at expressing myself with words. This, of course, was BEFORE I had children, and back then, I thought I was AWESOME at just about everything. That’s the fun of getting older…you get to know your weaknesses and how to embrace them.

Do I still wish I had the talent to effortlessly write amazing blog posts that people rush to read because they are hypnotized by my spell-binding words….YES, YES I DO! Does it mean its gonna happen? Not a chance! The truth is, I get easily bored with the process…I walk away too many times and start doing something that requires much less brain power. This blog post alone is going to take me about 5.6 years to complete! Also, in case you haven’t noticed….I happen to LOVE run-on sentences…and I am addicted to exclamation points…and I use way too many periods instead of just starting a new sentence. AHHHGGG!!

Hi, my name is Kerri and I am an editor’s nightmare

On the flip-side, one thing I AM good at is communicating visually…and that is where my love of photography comes in.

Its so wonderful that I can have an amazing job that I am passionate about and that allows me to express myself! I wish everyone could feel that way about what they do…if you don’t, then I highly encourage you to get to know not only the things that ROCK about yourself, but also explore the parts of you that are not so great…There is so much freedom in being completely honest with yourself and loving who you are anyway

Recently, I decided I just HAD to put together a fun photo shoot just for me…so I could be creative and not always stuck in the rut of the business side of things….and guess what?!!! I loved it….even more than I love caramel lattes with whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings on top…yes, it was THAT fun!

Here’s some of the fab professionals that helped make it happen…I just LOVE these wonderful ladies!:

Makeup: Allison Bower

Wedding Gowns: September’s Bride

Flowers:Kathryn Muma of Arrangements Floral

So here’s your challenge for the week: Go out…express yourself…even if you’re scared out of your mind…even if you fall flat on your face…you’ll learn so much more about who you are (or at least you’ll have some awesome stories to tell!) Just be open to who you truly are…and don’t try to be anything you are not….I know in the end you’ll be thankful you did.

oh yeah…and here are a TON of my faves from my shoot…isn’t this model flippin’ gorgeous!!!!

Kyle & Sarah :: Family Session & Rock the Dress

Kerri Banyas — Sat, 01 May 2010 18:50:14 +0000

Kyle & Sarah are 2 of my most fave people, not to mention their daughter, Macy, is the cutest kid EVER! In fact, they are ALL adorable, have a fabulous sense of style & they’re totally up for anything! Who wouldn’t want to photograph them??!! As we planned out the shoot, my mind was swirling with ideas…a record store, a cemetery, and some fab urban spots that I adore…I was in photog heaven, people!!! Their session happened to fall on one of the coldest & windiest days ever (even though 2 days before it was more like summer), but despite the crazy weather …they ROCKED it! Thanks for being so fabulous!

Check out some of my faves:

a little lovin’ in the record store…*sigh*
isn’t Macy the cutest thing ever??!!…and thanks goes to Sarah for the adorable hair-do! Rock it Macy! Thank you to who ever left this random bicycle in the alley….I hope you don’t mind I couldn’t resist! Love this one..they are just dripping with coolness!

One Sweet Contest!

Kerri Banyas — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:22:40 +0000

I have a serious sweet tooth…so needless to say I also have a major addiction to CHOCOLATE!! If I could, I would eat EVERYTHING dipped in chocolate….in my mind (aside from lattes) it has to be the world’s most perfect food! Lucky for me, Grand Rapids just so happens to be the home of the very fabulous Vita Dolce who specializes in designer artisan chocolates. They are heavenly! So I decided to combine my love for this fabulous treat with a fun little contest.
ONE lucky winner will get 2 yummy boxes of Vita Dolce chocolates…an 8-piece box of assorted artisan chocolates plus an 8-piece box of assorted milk chocolate truffles. YUMMO! You can gobble up both boxes all by yourself or share one with a friend…personally I would lock myself in my room and eat both boxes while watching The Notebook, but hey that’s just me

(photos by Amy Wenzel)

Here are the rules:
* Leave a sweet comment below and tell me what YOU are obsessed with along with your name and email address (only one entry per person please)
* Deadline: Friday February 12, at MIDNIGHT…the winner will be chosen at random and announced on Valentine’s Day
so hurry up…you couldn’t possibly let yourself miss out on something this sweet!!!

WINNER UPDATE: I am a bit late in revealing the winner I came down with Strep Throat and was sleeping most of the weekend trying to recover. Now its cycling through the family…and its not pretty! Good thing chocolate is worth the wait The winner is….drumroll please……Jenn with Still Cross Photography!!! I will be emailing you Jen to get your mailing info soon!! Congrats!

Best Save the Date EVER!!!

Kerri Banyas — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:27:49 +0000

I came across this Save the Date video on Youtube.com and it ROCKS!! This could possibly be the most awesome thing I have seen in awhile! haha

check it out!

Kim & Jeremy :: Grand Rapids, MI Wedding

Kerri Banyas — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:08:33 +0000

After exchanging emails, I met Kim & Jeremy in a local coffee shop to chat about wedding plans, and we hit it off instantly. I LOVED their story….they actually had already been married for about a year, but they still wanted the ceremony, white dress and all, to celebrate with all of their loved ones. 2 hours and a couple of lattes later, I knew they were truly one of the sweetest couples I had ever met & I couldn’t wait to shoot their wedding!

Kim and Jeremy were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony among the pine trees in their own gorgeous back-yard surrounded by a few of their closest friends and family. After the ceremony, we headed downtown Grand Rapids for some fun shots and then off to their amazing cocktail party reception at Eve Lounge . Everything was absolutely perfect! I am truly honored to have been able to be such an important part of their day!

Check out my faves:

Theresa & Craig :: Grand Rapids, MI Wedding

Kerri Banyas — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:32:16 +0000

I am a HUGE fan of this wedding….mostly because I adore Theresa and Craig (they are such cutie pies and their families ROCK too!), but also because it was full of fabulous details, gorgeous weather, amazing locations, tons of time for pictures and I had my fave foto-mama Kelly Braman with me…it was PERFECTION So fasten your seat belts and get ready for a tons of eye candy…

Thanks so much guys for allowing me to share your day…oh and for hooking me up with one of my other fab couples Adrienne & Carl

The Details:

Salon: Design One

Ceremony: Cathedral of Saint Andrew (Theresa’s parents and grandparents were married here too…LOVE traditions like these)

Reception: Public Museum of Grand Rapids

Theresa YOU are one hot sista!

GORGEOUS!!!

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Golden They are so flippin’ hot!

I LOVE this one below captured by my BFF Kelly B
Look at these two! My job is amazing!!!

I adored all of their details….fabulous pops of color looked amazing in the museum

Such a sweet first dance….and of course the carousel

Lindsy & Derrick :: Charlevoix MI Wedding

Kerri Banyas — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:19:07 +0000

At some point in a little girl’s life she will daydream about being a princess & having a fairytale wedding. For Lindsy & Derrick this wasn’t just a dream…. They were married at Castle Farms in beautiful Charlevoix, MI surrounded by tons of friends and family—it couldn’t have been more perfect (even if it hadn’t rained!) The details were breathtaking with bold splashes of oranges and greens and luckily it stopped drizzling long enough to take advantage of the gorgeous castle grounds for some pictures. (p.s. I LOVE the giant chess board!!)

I was fortunate enough to also have my fabulous buddy Kelly B along to capture this amazing day too, I feel so blessed to have such a fun job and such fantastic friends!

Here are some of my faves:

Mr. GQ…Derrick is a super duper cutie…

Lindsy is such a hottie! YOWZA!!

they are going to have some flippin’ beautiful children someday!!