Well, the time is finally here! The overall winners of the Photo of the Year contest are ready to be announced. After tons of photos and thousands of votes, here are your amazing 1st place photos!

1st place in the Engagement, and our overall vote leader in all three categories, is…

James Fry Photography! This photo of David and Cassandra from downtown Grand Rapids, is perfect. The lighting, the colors, the rain and that kiss! Love this one. Could it be any more romantic?

From James: We did their engagement session in March of 2010, so it was still a little cold…you know Michigan :)  We had spent the evening doing photos all around the downtown area with the threat of rain.  We stopped for some coffee and went out to do some night shots and it started to rain as we were shooting.  Instead of bailing, we kept going and ended up with this awesome shot. Who knew the rain would work in our favor? :)

Our next 1st place winner, in the Michigan category, is…

Heather J Photography! I have had the opportunity to get to know Heather over the past few months, and this photo is a really great representation of her art. I am in love with this candid shot of Katie Bonita on her wedding day in Wyandotte, MI, captures so much in just one quick shot.

From Heather: My main goal when I take a photo is for it to convey happiness.  I think this photo does the trick.

I think you are right, Heather. It definitely makes me happy just seeing it! As a special prize for being the top Michigan photo, Heather will be attending the Smarter Business Workshop on May 11th, hosted by one of my absolute favorite people in the world, Anne Ruthmann! If you are a photographer and haven’t signed up yet, you must head to the website now and do it! Anne has helped me in my business more than I could ever explain and you would be crazy not to attend.

The final 1st place winner, in the global category, goes to…

K. Holly Photography!

I have to admit that this photo of Pamela and Mark, taken on their wedding day in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, makes me crave warm, sunny, tropical weather and lots of palm trees. Not only is the location fantastic, but Kristen really captured it perfectly!

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All of our three 1st place winners are going to receive a prize package! Here is what they will get:

One of my new favorite things, a frame from The Vintage Crush. These frames are to die for and our winners will get an 8.5×11 in their choice of color and style. How lucky?

They will also receive a rockin’ Lens Bracelet from Adam Elmakias!

One full year of advertising on The Bliss Blog!

… and a brand spankin’ new digital copy of Paint Shop Pro Ultimate X3 from Corel Corporation!

On Monday, we shared the 3rd place winners from our Photo of the Year contest. Today, we will be announcing the 2nd place winners! As if it wasn’t enough to have some really great guest judges and prizes, we also have some of the best photographers out there being showcased. Well, the votes are in and here are your 2nd place winners, er um, winner!

Yes, one photographer swept second place in ALL THREE CATEGORIES! I am still in shock that out of just about 500 submissions, this photographer managed to place in every category. Crazy right!?! Well, I guess not that crazy, since these photos are all pretty rad.

The 2nd place winner in the Engagement, Michigan and Global categories is…

Melanie Reyes Photography! Congrats Melanie!

The engagement photo of Nate and Vanessa Proulx, taken at Hudson Mills Metro Park in Dexter, sure is adorable! Here is what Melanie had to say.

Both Nate and Vanessa are trained musicians and use their gift at church and  in their work. Nate brought his guitar to the session – and as you can see the results are magical!

Here is her Michigan winning photograph.

I am in love with this photo of Sophie & Brendon Murray, taken at the Michigan State Capitol, for three reasons. First, I was a cheerleader and went on to coaching cheer, so these stunts bring back some memories. Secondly, this is another winning photo that was taken on my birthday (May 15th!). Lastly, it just plain out rocks. How much fun does it look like these guys are having?!

It was the groomsmens idea to throw the groom in the air. Most people think he was photoshopped in – but no , they really threw him that far!

And the 2nd place winner in the Global category…

This photo of Doug and Carrie Russell, taken on Doug’s farm in Ohio, is one of those photos where you can actually see the love. It is simple and sweet. Maybe that is why you all loved it so much! And please check out those boots on Carrie! So cute!

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For winning second place, Melanie will be taking home three awesome lens bracelets from Adam Elmakias! A big thank you goes out to him for supplying his product to our contest. Please visit his website to learn more about these fun accessories.

She will also receive ad space for 6 months here on The Bliss Blog! Congrats Melanie! Thank you so much for submitting these beautiful photos.

And a big THANK YOU goes out to all of you who voted and picked Melanie as your second place winner in all three categories!

The finalists were chosen and the votes came in stronger than I could have ever expected! Finally, we are ready to announce our big winner of The Bliss Blog’s 3rd Annual Photo of the Year contest! Are you ready?

Drum roll, please…..

Your 3rd place winner in the engagement category is…

Two Ring Photography based out of Lansing, MI! The photographer, Jill Lenkowski, shared a little about this photo of Sara Lauer and Ben Decker on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI.

It was an incredibly windy fall day in Michigan which I think is why I love this picture so much because I’m reminded of how windy it was, how into each other they were and how long and gorgeous her hair was!

Your 3rd place winner in the Michigan category is….

Two Ring Photography! You read that right, Jill had two 3rd place winners! How awesome is that? Jill told us a little about this photo of Hillary and AJ Walilko, taken at Cooley Garden in Lansing.

I absolutely love end of April weddings when the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. Take that + seriously in love young couple + birdcage veil and it = perfection!

And your 3rd place photo in the Global category is…

E.C. Campbell Photography, based out of Rochester Hills, MI. E’lisa Campbell, the amazing photographer, told us a little more about this photo of Heather taken at Castle Farms in Charlevoix, MI. Something interesting about this photo is that it was taken on my birthday, May 15th!

The bride is a lover of all animals, and when the horse drawn carriage pulled up…..Heather wanted some photos with the horse.  :)  You can tell the horse instantly felt comfortable with the bride.

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I am beyond thrilled that these three photos were chosen as winners and can’t thank all of you enough for taking the time to vote for your favorites. I am blown away by the number of votes and comments that came in over the past couple of weeks. Seriously amazing!

These winners will take home an awesome lens bracelet from Adam Elmakias! A big thank you goes out to him for supplying his product to our contest. Please visit his website to learn more about these fun accessories.

For those of you who have been following along, you already know that we had four awesome judges, tons of really great photographers, and some really awesome prizes all involved in our Photo of the Year Contest. Well, I have some more great news!

For the top vote receivers for the entire contest, we have another fantastic prize to announce. Our friends at Corel Corporation have generously offered to give downloaded copies of their awesome photo editing software, Paint Shop Pro Ultimate X3. It’s everything you need to edit your fantastic photos! Get advanced photo tools, and easy-to-use photo projects, along with powerful photo effects and digital painting together at one great price in Corel® PaintShop Photo® Pro X3 Ultimate.

How awesome is that? I can’t thank Sara, from Corel, enough for giving this wonderful gift.

So, photographers, get those votes in! The more votes you get, the more chances you have to win a prize!

This prize isn’t just for the photographers either! All of you lucky readers and voters can win, too! I will be picking one of you to receive your very own copy of Corel’s Paint Shop Pro Ultimate x3! So vote/comment in each category for your chance to win!