Some holiday weekends are spent in the mountains or on the water.  And apparently some are spent in church.  Not my first pick when selecting what to do on a holiday weekend, but the timing around my nephew’s wedding dictated that the 4th of July weekend be spent in Michigan, mostly indoors, watching him get hitched.  After all, he is my only nephew, so I had to show up.  Oh, and that part about being the wedding photographer too – that would certainly cause some issues if we decided to head to the mountains instead.

The single biggest problem with moving away from Michigan is trying to see as many people as possible when we do make it back there.  The list is long, the time is short.  To those of you who didn’t make it into the schedule this time, you’re on the top of the list for next time.  Or of course, you can always come visit us in San Diego this winter too!

Ah, the joy of weddings.  First things first – even if you’re a great photographer, have the latest gear, and a sharp eye – if someone asks you to shoot their wedding, poke them in the eye with a sharp stick and then run away screaming.  The list of reasons is long and varied:  The amount of time spent planning.  The amount of time spent shooting.  The amount of time spent post-processing.  The pressure of not missing any of the moments – the magic first kiss, walking down the aisle, cutting the cake, all of those things. The extreme exposure contrasts of black tuxedos and white wedding dresses, in terribly low light environments like a church and a reception hall.  No pressure.

But all is well that ends well, and for family you pitch in where you can.  Weeks of planning, hours of shooting, and one happily married couple later, it’s finally breather time.

Breather time in Michigan in the summer means getting out on the water, and it’s always nice to have good friends with big boats My buddy Silk fits the bill to a “T” – young, active, a self-made businessman with a gorgeous 44’ Searay Sedan Bridge – just the boat for Great Lakes cruising.

In my younger days, I spent a lot of time on a famous (infamous) bay in Lake St Clair called Muscamoot Bay.  Known as THE party spot for the local big-water boating community, the sunshine and alcohol flow freely, and weekends quickly turn into a non-family-friendly event.  As with everything in my past, I wanted Colette to know what I’m talking about when I revel in tales of past days, so the first order of the day is a ride over to Muscamoot for party time.

Three feet deep, flat sand bottom, hundreds of boats, and a thousand-plus people make for a great people-watching environment.  And dog watching too!  Dogs on boats.  Dogs swimming.  Dogs in life vests.  Dogs on rafts.  Dogs floating in beer coolers.  I guess these truly are the dog days of summer.

And what better way to cap off both the evening and the weekend than by watching the Harrison Township fireworks while anchored out in Anchor Bay?  For being a fairly small municipality, they put on a magnificent show to thousands of people on the shore and in boats anchored around us.  Our thanks go out to Silk & Emily for letting us stow away for the show.