We all know that the economy can go through some hard times, and be somewhat reminiscent of past recessions. However, as people cut back on non-essential little luxuries here and there, one constant remains: weddings. People don’t tend to just stop getting married due to a poor economy, nor should they! So, in an industry that keeps on going through thick and thin, what are some things to expect for the future, and what is really necessary to still make that wedding day memorable and...Read more
Are you planning a short-notice, small wedding or elopement?
Many couples don’t want to wait. They are planning to get married in the very near future, eloping, or rushing a small ceremony with their photographer, some close friends, and family but dispensing with or postponing the reception party.
View WPJA photo stories from smaller weddings - WedElope | Choose love, not fear!
Traverse City Wedding Photographers
Wedding Photographers of Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City Elopement Photographers
In recent days, some of our United States photographers have expressed their desire to accommodate couples who don’t want to wait to be married and are rushing the ceremony.
Many brides and grooms around the globe are planning to elope and deciding to reschedule their original ideas for a big event. They are getting wed on a whim, but dispensing with or postponing all else.
The WPJA has an abundance of top-ranked, documentary-style elopement photographers who are available right now who understand that some weddings can’t wait. Find yours today!
Most Recent WPJA WedElope Story Awards
Elopement Photographers for Small Michigan Weddings
Shooting an elopement or small Traverse City wedding event is a wedding photojournalist’s dream: a fairly open schedule with lots of breathing space for creativity – it’s just the photographer, the couple, the officiant, and perhaps a few select companions.
Members are ready to document any mini, pop-up, fast, or elopement wedding, even if it is a Monday-Thursday ceremony. Search for the “Can Shoot Weddings on Short Notice!” message on the listings below.
We are anxious to create a picture story chronicling your outdoor, modern, unique, small wedding from beginning to end. In this sense, it is no different from any other event that we have covered. The emphasis is on documenting key moments, capturing spontaneous displays of emotion, telling your real love story, as well as creating artistic portraits and details.
Map of Wedding Photojournalists Serving Traverse City Couples
3 Documentary Wedding Photographers...
Ray Anthony Iavasile is the owner of Ray Anthony Photography in Birmingham, Michigan. He began photographing weddings in Los Angeles, California in 1992, but his love and passion for his documentary style of photographing weddings began clicking for him in the early 2000s when he traded in his Bronica medium format cameras for faster Canon 35mm SLR's. The change opened the door to shoot a lot more candid-style photos than ever before. This ignited a passion in him to redirect his focus entirely to photographing weddings from beginning to end as a documentary style wedding photographer, or as a wedding photojournalist. By 2004, with the acquisition of his first professional digital camera, there was no turning back. He began developing an authentic style of capturing the "decisive moment" and has since become an expert at documenting the unfolding story of the couple's wedding day. For the last four years running with WPJA, Ray has ranked as one of the Top 150 wedding photojournalists in the world, once in the Top 100 and twice ranking in the Top 50. In 2019, Ray's success has seen him climb to the #7 wedding photojournalist in North America, and #28 in the world. When Ray is commissioned to photograph a wedding, he truly believes it’s his job to photograph the “complete story” of that day! He is so sincere with this idea, that he even provides "unlimited coverage" on the wedding day, photographing from the early morning until the end of the night! Ray doesn’t want to miss a single moment! Ray Anthony Iavasile earned his BA Degree at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. The Ray Anthony Photography showroom has been located in Birmingham, Michigan since 2005 and Ray has become the premier wedding photojournalist in all of Michigan. Though most of his weddings are photographed in the Metro Detroit area, he has photographed weddings extensively in California as well as Florida, Boston, New York, Chicago, and Las Vegas. Ray is always willing to travel to destinations around the world. He is also an underwater photographer and would love to photograph a wedding under the sea! [Detroit Wedding Photographer]
Starting Price:
4500 (USD)
Aloha! I'm Angie and I'm living the dream as a Hawaii wedding photographer. Truly, as a kid, I always wanted to be a lost boy and live in a treehouse surrounded by the jungle and the sea. And Hawaii is probably as close to Neverland as I will get. I always grew up with a sense of wonder and adventure, but my journals as a kid weren’t filled with grand ideas of living in Hawaii and photographing couples on one of the most important days of their lives. This career found when I was teaching high school in Maui. I moved to Maui, Hawaii in 2009 with my husband and was immediately inspired to pick up my dusty old camera and start photographing this beautiful place. What began as a side hustle quickly turned into a passion and eventually a full-time career. I began shooting weddings in 2010 and can truly say that I love documenting the real moments during the wedding day. Real moments + the beauty of Hawaii is what I'm always inspired by. I cry at every wedding and always aim to see the world differently for each day that I'm shooting. When I'm not photographing weddings, you can find me outside enjoying Maui or spending quality time with my husband and daughter. [Maui Wedding Photographer]
Starting Price:
3400 (USD)
Shannon discovered her love for wedding photography while working as an ad exec for Modern Bride Magazine. It was there that she first learned of the term "photojournalist" and worked with some of the most sought-after photographers in the industry. Shannon loves to capture real life reactions and moments that happen during a wedding when family and friends are just being themselves. Her greatest compliment has been when brides have told her how amazed they were that they had so many incredible images and yet didn't even realize that they were being photographed. An international award winning photojournalist, Shannon has been a full time wedding photographer for over 10 years. She has worked professionally in Toronto, Chicago and Los Angeles and has just recently moved back home to the Metro Detroit area. [Detroit Wedding Photographer]
Starting Price:
400/hour (USD)
Wedding Venues from Traverse City
Please select a venue below to view all associated winning photos.
Searches Related to Traverse City Wedding Photography Vendors
WPJA Communiqué: Features
So your wedding is just around the corner and you’ve decided to elope , either because you want to do this on a budget , avoid a large wedding party, or simply to enjoy the day together with minimal distractions and as little stress as possible . They say 'all you need is love', but where exactly can you afford to trim the fat, so to speak? You want simplicity, but you also want to be properly married and, surely, to remember this occasion. Who, then, could be more important than...Read more
Some couples, as they begin planning for their weddings, might think that they are limited to the classic locations: churches, gardens, beaches, or even Las Vegas. But in doing so they’re missing out on a multitude of unique options that might suit their personalities much better! Why limit yourself to a quiet, quaint ceremony when your adventurous heart may be calling out for something more? An entirely different genre of wedding, so to speak, is the adventure wedding elopement. This concept...Read more
WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT MEAN TO ELOPE? If you look up the definition of “elope” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary , you’ll find a plethora of meanings making it quite clear how polarizing the word has become, and how it has transformed and evolved with the passage of time and even personal preference.Read more
Oftentimes when people are considering a venue for their weddings, they search for a location away from home, whether that be ten minutes or ten hours, all just to find what they already have: a place that holds meaning for them, that feels comfortable, or that they find special and memorable. But what could hold more memory, meaning, and importance than your own home? For those looking for that perfect venue, it may not be any further than beyond your threshold.Read more
Not everyone has a lagoon or glacier next door, but there's no rule saying you can't have a small wedding in the great outdoors. Take advantage of natural sunshine and that open, airy feeling and give your guests some room to breathe! LESS IS MORE Instead of hemming your guests in on all sides, give them some elbow room, and legroom, too. There's no need to induce claustrophobia when you've got a wide, open space. Let your guests take in the view, especially if you've got a spectacular one. You...Read more
WPJA contest judges have been recognized by their industry peers, winning top awards as staff picture editors, staff photojournalists, and newsroom mentors while working for these and other leading publications and journalism organizations.
