A wedding album is a couple's first family heirloom, something that will be passed down to their children and grandchildren and treasured through time.
"I'm honored to be chosen to be a couple's photographer. I feel like it's a blessing to be a part of people's lives in this way," said Scott Green, a Burt Lake photographer who recently relocated up North.
The owner of Scott Green Photography, Green has nearly 30 years of experience in professional photography with more than 1,000 weddings to his resume. As a Certified Professional Photographer, Green is also the executive director of Professional Photographers of Michigan.
His background has helped develop a reputation for meeting the personal needs of brides and grooms and getting to know them before the wedding day. "If you can relax in the presence of your photographer, you're going to look more natural in your pictures," Green said.
The photographer also suggested couples look over a professional's prior wedding photos, and to make sure another photographer, whose work you have not seen, isn't assigned to your wedding. "Sometimes when you hire a studio, you might not even be getting that photographer at your wedding," he advised.
With locations downstate, Green does have other staff photographers but in the Northern Michigan area, he shoots the weddings himself.  
He and his wife, Cathie, chose to move up north from the suburbs of Detroit to raise their two sons. Tailoring weddings to each specific couple is his professional mantra.
"There should never be a limit as to how many photographs the photographer will take. Remember with your wedding that it's a once-in-a-lifetime event and there are no retakes," Green said.
He also doesn't describe his photographic style in any particular fashion, but says he's capable of producing photos and styles, like photojournalistic or classic portraiture, requested by the couple.
"We go through the interview process and I make suggestions and together we come up with a style and approach that's going to meet their needs," Green said.
Within a month after the wedding, Green said a traditional proof album is delivered to the couple. An information letter lets them know how to go online to view a proposed finished album with 100-200 pictures. Online, couples can make suggested changes on individual pages. Or, they can purchase it as-is, as many couples do.
"We show them the options and make it easy for them," he said.
Once approved, a custom bindery in Chicago creates the finished product and it's happily ever after.
"I tell my clients that this wedding album I am going to make for you will rest on your coffee table, not mine," Green said, "so I want it to be everything you want it to be."
 

Photography by Yosh owner Daniel Wilkey got his start in wedding photography inadvertently. While he had long enjoyed photography as a hobby, it wasn't until he shot pictures at a relative's wedding that his skills came clearly into focus.
"I was sitting there watching the wedding photographer and I was not happy with the way he was shooting the wedding, just missing so much stuff," said Wilkey, 50. "So I started taking photos and stayed out of his way - which wasn't difficult to do. I downloaded the photos onto my laptop and set it up near the dessert table with a slide show. The groom and bride's families loved it."
He went on to hear comments of "you oughta do this for a living" - and he did..
His skill is based in part on training received at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks (he's a native Alaskan). Looking to pursue photography in college, professors recommended he take photojournalism courses, which he said defines his style today.
Wilkey ended up finishing his bachelor's degree at Concordia College in Portland, Oregon, in 1984. He moved to Petoskey after marrying his wife, Ruth (Manthei) in 2003, and opened Photography by Yosh in 2005.
"At least in Northern Michigan, my style is predominantly the photojournalistic style," Wilkey said. "We capture the intimate moments, not just the formal shots - the iconic stuff, we get all that too. And we also focus on the emotional moments while they're happening during the ceremony: The bride getting ready, the bridesmaids, kids and families."
A wedding is like a ballet, he added, with a set sequence of events which he prefers to attend and shoot, rehearsal through reception. "That way I can find out how the flow of everything is going to go, where to be and when to be there so I can get the shots," Wilkey said.
His packages come in a number of options, starting with basic all-digital-images on CD or DVD. Other packages include those and add more items, such as proof books, albums, DVD slide shows/music, etc. Prices start at $950 and increase to around $3,250.
"A lot of my competition, they start at $2,000," he said. "For those who aren't as financially well off, I offer the low-end package."
He said he also gives the couple the copyright to the digital images so they can e-mail them to family and friends and/or make prints.