Shonda Michelson Photography

Name: Shonda Michelson Photography
Address: Grayling, MI, 49738, US
Telephone: +19897870224
Price range: $$$

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Shonda Michelson Photography

Hi! I'm Shonda! Northern Michigan elopement + small wedding photographer for couples who don’t fit the traditional wedding mold. www.shondamphotography.com

Please visit my website for my details. Please visit my website for more details.

09/07/2026

Here's something nobody tells you when you're trying to save money on a wedding:

Cheap and inexpensive aren't necessarily the same thing.

Choosing a smaller wedding so you can spend more on the things you value isn't being cheap. Neither is skipping traditions you don't care about.

But choosing the cheapest possible option for something that's genuinely important to you can end up being a decision you regret.

A budget should help you decide where your money matters most, not simply make every decision based on the lowest number.

Save aggressively on the things that don't matter to you, and give yourself permission to invest in the things that do.

09/05/2026

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”
- Joseph Campbell

Maybe that's one of the hardest things we learn.

There will always be expectations about who we're supposed to be, what success is supposed to look like, and which path we're supposed to take.

At some point, you get to decide whether you're going to keep living according to those expectations or start listening to yourself.

That applies to the big things and the seemingly small ones. Your career, your relationships, how you spend your time, and how you get married.

A life that looks right to everyone else isn't worth much if it never feels like yours.

09/02/2026

“The heart is resilient and forgiving; it is the mind that causes us stress.”
— Alex Elle

Overthinking has a way of making everything heavier than it needs to be. 🙋‍♀️Guilty.

We replay conversations, question decisions, and imagine outcomes that haven't happened. We worry what everyone else will think.

Somewhere underneath all that noise, we usually already know what feels right.
Sometimes the hard part isn't finding the answer. It's quieting everything else long enough to trust it.

08/31/2026

You can have your favorite people there AND have an intimate wedding.

Eloping doesn't have to mean secretly disappearing into the mountains with nobody else around. And it doesn't mean nobody gets invited.

Maybe your people are your parents and siblings, or they’re six friends who’ve become family. Or 25 people gathered around one long dinner table.

There's no magic number where a wedding suddenly becomes meaningful. It's about choosing the people whose presence actually adds something to the experience.

08/28/2026

You know what I don't think you'll regret?

Having time.

Time to sit down. Time to actually eat the food you chose and time to talk to the people you invited.

Time to wander somewhere beautiful without checking the clock every five minutes and to look at each other and realize, holy s**t, we're married.

When you're planning your timeline, don't try to squeeze as much as possible into your day. Leave room to actually experience it.

08/26/2026

Apparently it's National Dog Day, and while I don't have a dog of my own anymore, I do have a grand dog. And I will happily love on yours.

I absolutely love when couples bring their dogs along for engagement photos or find a way to include them in their wedding day.

They're not just something cute to add to the photos. They're part of your everyday life and your family. They're there for the ordinary mornings, the walks, the road trips, the bad days, the really good days, and probably taking up significantly more of the bed than they were originally allotted.

So if they're an important part of your life together, why wouldn't they be part of the photos that tell your story?

Will they always cooperate? Absolutely not.

They'll look the wrong way. They'll get distracted. They'll decide that right now is the perfect time to sniff something fascinating.

Honestly, that's part of what makes it so good.

Bring the dog. We'll embrace the chaos. 🖤

08/24/2026

You don't have to DIY everything to save money on your wedding.

In fact, sometimes DIY ends up costing more—in money, time, frustration, or all three. This comes from my own experience.

Instead, start by eliminating things you don't care about. If you don't want favors, or care about elaborate florals, skip them. Let the location do some of the decorating. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, have your favorite dessert instead.

The easiest way to save money isn't finding a cheaper version of every wedding tradition. It's realizing you don't need every wedding tradition in the first place.

08/21/2026

I think we've confused “simple” with “not enough.”

A quiet ceremony in the woods. Dinner at your favorite restaurant. Twenty people instead of 200. No wedding party. No favors. No elaborate decorations.

None of those things make a wedding less meaningful. Sometimes stripping away everything you thought you were supposed to have is exactly how you finally see what you actually wanted.

Simple doesn't mean less. It means there's finally room for the important stuff.

08/19/2026

“It's times like these you learn to live again.”
— Times Like These, Foo Fighters

I've always loved songs that manage to say something enormous in one sentence.
Life changes and plans fall apart. We change with them.

And sometimes the version of ourselves on the other side isn't who we expected to become. That's the point.

Keep living. Keep growing. Keep becoming.

08/17/2026

Want to know one of the fastest ways to lower your wedding budget?

Look at your guest list. Not because people aren't important, but because every additional guest affects far more than the catering bill.

A larger guest count can mean a larger venue, more tables and chairs, more food and drinks, more invitations, more rentals, more centerpieces and more moving pieces throughout the day.

So instead of starting with “Who are we obligated to invite?” try asking:
“Who can we genuinely not imagine this day without?” Those are two very different lists.

Keeping your wedding intimate isn't about excluding people. It's about intentionally choosing who you want beside you for one of the most personal days of your life.

Address

Grayling, MI
49738

Telephone

+19897870224

Website

http://www.shondamphotography.com/

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