Blog – Studio Laguna Photography

Our Lyra

June 15, 2014 By katrina 1 Comment

Our youngest is five. I don’t know how that happened. She got her awesome Frozen Birthday Party, and I think I was so busy planning that I really didn’t think about how old she was becoming. Then all of a sudden we’re doing kindergarten evaluations, and she is insisting she isn’t cute…she is beautiful, and she is making up jokes and having friends and has quite a feisty personality and…wow, it has gone fast.

We found a shirt with a Shakespeare quote on it “though she be but little, she is fierce” and had to buy it for Lyra. And it was the perfect shirt for her to wear for her five year old portraits.

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I just adore this smile.

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Sunset Engagement Session

June 9, 2014 By katrina Leave a Comment

Alan and Alice had their engagement session yesterday. Though the mosquitoes seemed determined to eat Alice alive, she had a bright cheerful smile on her face the entire time.

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These two simply enjoy each others company, and were all smiles for each other. The entire session was full of laughter.

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This couple loves the outdoors, so frolicking in the woods seemed like a good plan. Thankfully we had gorgeous weather and a warm lingering sunset for our session. It was a lovely evening!

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Alan and Alice, I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Tim and Laura – Minneapolis Wedding

June 7, 2014 By katrina Leave a Comment

Tim and Laura were married today!

I’m so glad that Tim and Laura found each other. They are simply the perfect fit and were meant to be together. Both are quick to smile, thoughtful, positive and love adventure. And today exercised all their good attributes as we dodged the rain all over Minneapolis taking pictures. The blessing in disguise with the rain was that we had a blissfully cool day and beautiful light to work with.

Tim and Laura chose bright summery colors for their wedding, and the bouquets by Sadie’s Couture Floral matched the bridesmaids dresses perfectly.

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Tim and Laura love to dance, so the day started off with a romantic dance in the rain with a gorgeous view.

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This group of friends love to laugh. We had a great time with the portraits. At various times a rubber chicken and frisbee even made an appearance!

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Since the city of Minneapolis plays such a supporting role in the couple’s lives, we made sure to use locations that captured the various aspects of the city. From a warehouse to a lush park, the river to the skyline, we made sure to include as much as we could in the images.

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Oh, wait, a serious moment…

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We whisked Tim and Laura away for a few moments alone with a gorgeous view of the skyline. I just love how these images turned out!

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Back at the church, Laura prepared to walk down the isle. Calvary Baptist is such a lovely house of worship and the couple spent quite a bit of time putting together a meaningful ceremony.

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Laura practically skipped down the aisle she was so excited!

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With car horns honking, bubbles in the air, and friends and family cheering, the couple makes their grand exit.

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The reception took place at the Metropolitan Ballroom, a simply gorgeous venue. The retro charm of the space worked perfectly with the little bits of vintage details Tim and Laura incorporated into the decor.

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Tim has been salsa dancing for years and swept Laura into this world as well. Their choreographed first dance was a joy to watch. And after the dance, they gave their guests a salsa lesson! DJ Nico Suave played the perfect balance of music, including some great salsa. The guests had such a blast!

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Tim and Laura, thank you so much for having us be a part of your day! We hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Matt and Allison

May 31, 2014 By katrina 1 Comment

Matt and Allison were married today!

This is a couple who are truly best friends. They have surrounded themselves with people who love generously and with much enthusiasm. It was an honor to be a part of their day.

The wedding invitation suite, designed by A Milestone Paper Company, was the perfect balance of simple modern with some classic details. Hudson Flower Shop created lovely bouquets with bright spring colors and lush texture. Their formal yet relaxed wedding was full of soft spring colors, some unpredictable midwest weather, and lots of laughter.

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We started the day with a nice leisurely stroll around downtown Hudson, the perfect way to start the day. We literally stopped traffic, probably because Allison was a knockout in her wedding gown from Raffine Bridal.

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The ceremony took place at Bethel Lutheran Church. Friends and family gave the couple tumultuous applause as they walked back down the aisle!

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The wedding party hopped into Dolly the Trolley for picture time. We had a fun time with pictures, this group really loves to have a good time!

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Matt, Allison, and their crew are also adventurous, which we were grateful for since they were willing to take pictures in the rain. It was worth it for this skyline shot!

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After our photo adventures, we headed to the St Paul Hotel for the reception. From the gorgeous decor, white glove service, delicious food, and over the top fantastic customer service, this venue really knows how to make magic happen. And by magic, I mean the amazing ice cream dessert buffet, which was a hands down crowd favorite! We love photographing in the St Paul Hotel, the lobby area is simply stunning. Put a couple in love under those gorgeous chandeliers and you have photography magic.

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Anthony from Instant Request did a stellar job mixing tunes, from oldies and goodies to the most recent hits (anyone who plays Whitney Houston followed by Run DMC at a wedding gets an extra gold star in my book!). We loved that he actually mixed a few songs, and he could really read the crowd and got them going. There were so many awesome dancers to watch, I was laughing so hard at their antics!

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The big lesson we learned from the evening…when your wedding is full of college basketball athletes, expect the bouquet toss to get a little rough. I think I see a fowl here…Mo, you were DEFINITELY pushed!

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What a fantastic day with a wonderful group of people. It is weddings like this that make our job feel like we are simply hanging out with old friends.

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Matt and Allison, I hope you enjoy your sneak peek! Thank you for being such amazing clients and trusting us with documenting your wedding day!

New Arrival

May 25, 2014 By katrina Leave a Comment

It seems just last week I was photographing Shannon’s pregnancy session…oh wait! It was! Little Isabelle was born just a few days ago, and her family was so excited to meet her! What a perfect little girl =)

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Big brother Danny calls her “Issa-bew” and loves giving her hugs and kisses. He wore his favorite hat for a few portraits of his own.

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She is just a peach!

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Since photographing with a toddler and a new born can be a circus act, we decided to go outside for a few images as well.

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What a happy family!

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Enjoy your sneak peek!

Mini Katniss

May 24, 2014 By katrina Leave a Comment

Today I photographed Katniss Everdeen. Well, it was actually the Pink Dalek as Mini Katniss…but pretty much the same thing. I did some location scouting and tried to design the portraits with a very capital feel. “Chins UP! Smiles ON!”

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This costume was created by Marie Porter, the Queen of Spandex and Evil Costume Overlord. Marie has an amazing eye for detail and puts so much time into each of her work. There are many a happy coplayers out there already wearing her designs. Marie even surprised Mini Katniss with an appearance by Caesar Flickerman!

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We had so much fun using color and shadow to create these portraits, it was a great collaboration.

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Being a model is tough work!

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All Alanna wanted to do was spin…so at the end of the shoot, we just let her rock that gown!

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I love this portrait, just a little bit of sass 😉

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Alanna, thank you so much for letting me play this morning! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Almost Time!

May 15, 2014 By katrina Leave a Comment

Stuart and Shannon had their pregnancy session on Mother’s Day…at 39 weeks! Shannon looked fresh and fabulous, and we enjoyed walking around Lake Calhoun, the site of the couple’s first official date. Little Danny, almost two, was along for the session, and I can already tell he will be such a wonderful big brother.

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Seriously, how cute is this guy?!?!?!

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Love for the baby…

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…and love for mama.

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These are the kind of family pictures I just love, so much expression and fun!

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Hopefully we’ll meet this little one in the next couple days!

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Enjoy your sneak peek and here’s to a healthy delivery!

Juan and Christine

May 12, 2014 By katrina 5 Comments

Juan and Christine were married today!

When two fabulous people joyfully marry, it is definitely a day full of celebration. Juan and Christine are both so warm, loving, and caring, and it was our honor to capture the day in all its glory. Today we got to work along side David and Kristen Drufke as the videographers, and we can’t wait to see what they produce!

The drizzly day started out with a cozy condo and a bunch of ladies with a hard core case of the giggles. Brett Dorrian was the makeup artist for the group and Ashley Hanson did their hair. The space was full of laughter, music and mimosas.
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In another part of town, Juan prepared for the day with some help from his father. This groom was so excited to meet his bride!

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The couple had their first sight at Aria and exchanged gifts before seeing each other.

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We definitely utilized Aria’s space, which is full of lovely textures and gorgeous light…and even a chandelier or two 😉

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Since we were given a wonderful amount of time to work, we were able to create some stunning portraits.

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Juan and Christine are both talented actors, so Aria was the perfect choice for a venue, since it was a former theater. The couple had a literary theme running throughout their wedding day, and chose a soft palette of sage, peach, ivory and lavender. Florals by Claire did a stunning job with her romantic designs.

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We LOVE working with actors, they always take portraits to a whole new level.

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This wedding party was SUCH a fabulous group of people! We had a blast hanging out with them.

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The ceremony took place at the Basilica and was simply lovely.

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The couple’s kiss was accompanied by the church bells, it was magical.

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At the reception, guests mingled and enjoyed the atmosphere at Aria. The lovely cake, created by Taylor Kollitz, greeted the guests.

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In the reception space, every table was decorated for a specific book that had meaning to the couple.

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Ok, seriously, just take a moment to look at this image. I’m still doing a happy dance over it!

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After a quick portrait, the couple was back at Aria for dinner, followed by dancing and posing for crazy pictures in The Mobile Photo Booth. Vosa Em created a playlist that was hip, fun, and kept people dancing all night.

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Juan and Christine, from the bottom of my heart I thank you for letting us share this day with you! Enjoy your sneak peek!

Date Night

May 10, 2014 By katrina Leave a Comment

Tonight I went on a date, with Sara and Dan, whose wedding is coming up in a few months. It was actually their engagement session, but in all reality, a really fun date. We spent a couple hours together dodging the rain, visiting places special to them, getting to know each other, taking pictures and chatting wedding ideas. It was a blast! I love getting to know our clients so well!

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First Ave is very special to these two, so we had to make a stop here. And the couple even got some kissing coaching from a taxi driver 😉

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We ended the session just as the sky opened up and ran fell on St Paul.

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Dan and Sara, thank you so much for a fabulous day! Enjoy your sneak peek!

Modern Family

May 3, 2014 By katrina Leave a Comment

I always enjoy photographing this family, from wedding to birth to family pictures, I have watched this family change and grow and bond. With a new home and the addition of little Joe, it was time for another session! I love Taylor and Emily’s sense of style and they have been working hard renovating their home. It looks so stunning it had to be the backdrop for our session today.

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