December 10th, 2016. Minneapolis, MN. 5 Degrees outside temperature. Only their love to keep them warm. This wedding was a special one to me. Every wedding I photograph is special to me in the sense that I am so blessed to have been asked to capture someone's most important day. The reason why this particular wedding was unique to me was the bride. Allison and I met back in 2008 my freshmen year of college. Since then we have lived together, roadtriped together and laughed together. I remember when she first told me of Allan, and the impossible task to speak of him without smiling...Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day. <3
Wine, Cake & True Love
Melissa and Justin were married July 9th 2016 at Carlos Creek Winery and all their guests were witness to true love on that day. From the moment of their first look, Justin could not stop staring at his bride and Melissa could not stop smiling. We had the perfect day and I am not just saying that because we were at a venue centered around wine ;)
Surprise Wedding
Scene: Sunday Morning and I am checking my emails, with a cup of coffee in hand. I go through the junk emails containing 50% off online clothing orders (didn't fall for it this time :p ) until I come across a new wedding lead. The contents of the message starts pretty standard with the bride giving me more details on the wedding like the date, location and oh, "my fiance' doesn't know about it, I am surprising him." Wait, what? Sweet! As I continued my correspondence with Elizabeth, she went on to say that he had proposed but with all the wedding planning and details, he seemed overwhelmed and she decided to take it upon herself to plan a kick-ass surprise wedding! She had all the details down, even how to get him to the venue in a suit and tie with out him knowing he was walking up to his own wedding. Elizabeth pulled it off without a hitch and the day was filled with smiles, hugs and tears of joy from all.
How REAL portrait sessions go
We all see the perfect family photos posted on Facebook and we all awe over the model look. What we don't see in those photos is the photographer making funny faces behind the camera or mom and dad dancing like monkeys to get their babies to laugh. Perfection takes time and new families coming in for a photo session are mortified when it doesn't go smooth within the first ten minutes. This is my message to all families: No session is perfect. Therefore, I am going to share with you the "un-perfect" photos that don't make it to Facebook. I should add, these are my FAVORITE photos, because these are real, raw emotions that we will look back on and smile because, "Yep, that's life".
Instead, we see only these photos posted:
I love both kinds of photos. The first set contains photos that will make us laugh and the second set contains the photos that will melt our hearts. That is why, I give my clients both, so they can have a well rounded capture of their memories. And I hope this goes to show, no session will go "Perfect," but when they don't, you will still have some great memories to look back on and laugh.
How to survive a winter wedding
When most people think of a Minnesota winter, they think of air temperatures so cold their cars wont start! This was not the case for Joe and Kim. For them, their winter wedding was nothing short of romantic with the tinkling lights, soft snow falling and only their love to keep them warm... ok, and maybe a scarf as well! The venue was the perfect setting for this elegant winter wedding, complete with its very own Christmas tree and mistletoe!
How To Survive The Cold:
The best thing to do to keep your mind off the cold, is to have fun and distract yourselves!
2. Huddle up! Your shoulder buddy's body heat will add a few degrees
3. Incorporate winter accessories or a cute blanket!
Best behind the scenes EVER!
Congratulations Kim and Joe! It was a beautiful wedding, thank you so much for letting us be a part of your special day! <3