Jacob + Mary's Henderson Castle wedding in Kalamazoo, Michigan, started out like any other Michigan summer day. Warm, sunny, humid, and promises of even more heat. Henderson Castle was beautiful, the grounds were blooming, the trees were full of green leaves, Mary was looking gorgeous and Jacob was dashing- it was picture perfect. They chose to do a very touching Reveal, and we got the majority of pictures done before the ceremony. All was going according to planned, when darkness started rolling in! Checking the radar, it looked like a doozy. Summer storms in Michigan can be super pleasant, and welcomed- but sometimes, they are scary! This one was looking like the latter. Making some quick decisions- speaking with Mary, Jacob and the officiant- we put a plan into action so that Mary could have her beautiful outdoor wedding ceremony that she had always dreamed of! It was a super close call, there was quite a bit of thundering and a few distant lightning strikes, the ceremony dialogue had to be shortened a bit- but as the first big drops started falling, the officiant announced - mid sentence- "I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss your bride!" The kiss- and then the RUN! Then the sky went almost black and started pouring and lightning and thunder- it was actually awesome! Looking out the castle windows at it all was pretty cool. She even had her outside dances after it all passed a bit later! It's never ideal to have a thunderstorm on your outdoor wedding day, but with a little flexibility, I think it worked out pretty well- and they have a cool story to tell their kids some day! When the storm rolled away it gave to a pretty epic sunset, too! And to make that awesome day even better- we got to work with Thomas and his second Sarah! Enough storytelling- onto the images, that's why you're here right? henderson_castle_wedding_photographers_kalamazoo_wedding_photographers_68