Everyone always says that your wedding day is all about you. But let’s face it; that’s not always actually the case. Many couples stress over guest lists, planning, expenses, and all the frills and traditions of your standard large wedding that they may or may not even be interested in. Fortunately, though, the concept of small weddings is becoming increasingly popular for couples who either want to be able to completely customize their day where and when they want with the option...Read more
Are you planning a short-notice, small wedding or elopement?
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIOS ARE OPEN - 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
YOU CAN'T STOP LOVE - In recent days, some of our United States photographer vendors 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 because of current wedding size restrictions, social distancing, and mask requirements. 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 DIY - do it yourself, civil ceremony, town hall, 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 modern, boutique, romantic, 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:
3000 (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)
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)
Wedding Venues from Traverse City
Please select a venue below to view all associated winning photos.
Wedding Engagement Diamond Awards - Traverse City
Are you ready to find your Traverse City engagement / pre-wedding photographer for a portrait session to complement your story of love? Searching for some ideas and creative inspiration for your own pre-wed shoot? Pro members from the Traverse City Wedding Photojournalist Association would like to help you add some unique and artistic pictures to your engagement photo gallery!
Searches Related to Traverse City Wedding Photography Vendors
WPJA Communiqué: Features
It’s no secret that these are strange times we’re going through right now, and there are many couples out there with weddings set in the near future who are left feeling uncertain and concerned about their futures. While that’s understandable, it’s also important to remember the reason you’re getting married in the first place; not for the grand celebration, but because you love each other and want to be together. REMEMBER WHAT'S IMPORTANT You’re in this position now, about to get married, for...Read more
While some of us were fortunate enough to be born as extroverts, not everyone feels the same way. For a good chunk of the population, any number of the typical wedding day traditions can inspire anxiety and existential dread. This day is all about you, yes, but does that mean all the attention has to be on you as well? FROM VOWS TO CHITCHAT, WHICH REMAINS SACRED? Traditional weddings often require some degree of performance on the part of the couple, whether that is in the form of reciting...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
While some people live for the hustle and bustle of a big wedding with extravagant décor and an impossibly long guest list, others find these kinds of weddings to be too much hoopla, preferring instead something simpler and quieter, allowing for more intimacy between them and their fiancés on this special day. So how do you infuse your wedding with all the romance but none of the fuss? ALONE AT LAST Many couples these days are opting to elope rather than planning a large wedding. For the no-...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.
