Leah Rife Photo

More previews on the way, but wanted to share some lovely shots from yesterday’s wedding with Ginny and Quinten. They had a beautiful day and were surrounded by such wonderful family and friends.

Ceremony: St. Joseph Catholic Church
Reception & Catering: Morris Park Country Club Events
Dress: SIMPLY YOURS BRIDAL Wedding Dress Boutique
Alterations: Jennie Sazhneva
Rings: Ethan Lord Jewelers
Hair & Makeup: Bridal Hair & Makeup | Chicago Detroit Phoenix Fort Wayne Indy
Florals: Trudi Donovan
DJ: Digital Fidelity Studios
Cakes: C'est La Vie Cakes
Photography: Leah Rife - South Bend Wedding & Family Photographer

A moment for this stunning bride on her wedding day.

One of my most favorite things is being able to witness different parts of your lives. Your newly-engaged excitement, your wedding, your first baby, your family growing. It’s such an honor to be present as your story continues. Thank you for letting me help document you in all your beautiful moments, dear clients. 🤍

Megan and Ashtin and their baby girl on the beach. 🌊
Lake Michigan, Maternity Photos, Maternity Outfits, Michigan Maternity Photography, Sunset Photos, Motherhood

Walking into June with such a full heart ready for summer! I have some amazing summer weddings on the calendar and can’t wait to document so many beautiful stories. 🤍 It’s feeling more and more like summer and I’m here for it! ☀️

Walking into the weekend with some beautiful sunshine and plenty of outside time on the docket! I have some gorgeous sessions lined up, some yard work to do, and a lot of family time.

I hope your weekend is beautiful!

A little throwback to this gorgeous sunny wedding day!

Rings -
Florist - Weesies
Band - MR Z Band
Ceremony -
Reception - .royale
Catering -
Hair & Makeup -
Photo -

These are the moments that are so beautiful. Walking out the door after you are freshly married. Crossing the street holding hands. Whispering something sweet in your someone’s ear, taking in the first moments as newlyweds.

What an honor to help document these moments. Not curate, not create content, but to bear witness to your story.

A few previews from this recent senior session for a lovely young lady. This is such an exciting time and I feel so honored to help document these moments!

More letting your kids just be during sessions and less forcing poses so everyone is smiling perfectly in every photo. Honestly that’s not even close to how life goes with kids, so why do we pretend the straight on shots smiling are the standard?

And yes I get that we want those, but do we not also desire to recall how our kids were when they were young as we look back on old memories? How their unique personalities felt and shone through the candid images that are often called “in-between” but I think maybe they are the whole point?

One of my most favorite family sessions ever was when we were mid shoot and it suddenly started down pouring on us. Mom and dad (my heroes) looked at each other and said “let’s just go with it” and we shot the rest of the session with all five of them fully soaked to the bone. The kids had a BLAST and we made images that could never be duplicated or directed.

I’m moving my work away from this idea of perfection and towards how you want to feel in the session, how you want to remember your kids as the years fly by. Come with me if you want to feel the same and let’s make some fun family images this year!

I couldn’t wait to edit just a couple previews from Cecilia and Jon’s wedding day on Lake Michigan from yesterday and these were so sweet. One of the things I value in clients is kindness, and these two were some of the most kind and warm people we have worked with. They cared about the experience their guests had, and made intentional time to be with the folks they invited for their wedding weekend. One of my favorite moments was when we made our way down to the lake and Cecilia and Jon commented on how happy they were that their guests were down there enjoying the lake and the scenery. It was as stunning as the couple was, and I can’t wait to share more official previews from their day soon!

Dress Alterations -
Suit - Brooks Brothers
Engagement Ring -
Hair/Makeup - .collective
Band -
Venue -
Catering -
Coordination and Planning -
Photography -

Congratulations to all the Notre Dame grads as you celebrate commencement this week and head off into new adventures!

What an exciting time and what an honor to help some of these seniors document this part of their story. 🤍