Blog – Studio Laguna Photography

New Arrival

July 29, 2012 By katrina 1 Comment

Sweet Daniel had his newborn session today, at 5 days old. He is truly a miracle baby, and oh so sweet.

Big sister is enjoying the new arrival, and I love that she gets special brother sister time before going to bed.

I enjoy doing newborn sessions in the clients’ home because it gives us a “day in the life” look to the images.

And then Daniel opened his eyes and melted us with his cuteness =)

I brought along my suitcase prop, and we utilized the light on the front step.

Welcome to the world, little Daniel!

Matthew and Stephanie

July 28, 2012 By katrina 3 Comments

Matt and Steph were married today!

From the moment I met this couple, I knew their wedding was going to be a blast. Matt and Steph have such a fantastic relationship full of laughter and a deep obvious affection and appreciation of each other. Early in their relationship, they didn’t want to scare each other off by saying “I love you” too soon, so they said “I like you” with a lot of meaning behind it. So we decided it was worth the drive for the perfect first sight location…

Though Stephanie told me there wasn’t a solid theme for the wedding, it is pretty easy to say the theme was FUN. From the choice of wedding party (we were laughing the entire time), to colorful flowers, to the word finds and mazes in the wedding program, to the Eric Carle escort cards and table numbers, to the lawn games and barrel of monkeys…this entire wedding was centered around having a good time.

The ceremony took place on the Northwestern College campus at the lovely Nazareth Chapel. We love doing portraits here, there are so many fantastic backdrops!

Yes, it was warm…

The ceremony was officiated by Steph’s Godfather and I wish I had a copy of the I Like You poem…it was simply perfect for a wedding reading and quite funny, to boot.

After the ceremony, we headed to a bar with the wedding party and family to relax for an hour or so. I liked how laid back this part of the day was…everyone could recoup a bit and recharge for the reception. What makes this image even better is the wording of the ad on the table ; )

The late afternoon and evening gave us PERFECT summer weather to enjoy. With the Como Conservatory as a background, guests played lawn games, enjoyed delicious appetizers, and played games like Bananagram and Barrel of Monkeys.

Oh! and there was a PENGUIN!

Just in case you’re wondering where this couple got their goofy personalities, check out Stephanie’s parents and their friends in The Traveling Photo Booth…

And this is just the beginning…

The poor Adagio DJ handled the craziness really well, but I don’t think she even knew what was going to end up happening that night. I have NEVER been so glad we stayed late at a wedding! Lets let the pictures speak for themselves, shall we?

We’ll just say that Magic Mike may have influenced these groomsmen. And we won’t mention who put dollar bills where…

To help you forget the images you’ve just seen, we’ll end with something pretty. Matt and Steph’s dream photograph was a night image of the conservatory, and the skies cooperated perfectly.

Matt and Steph, we have loved every moment of our time with you, from the emails full of exclamation points to seeing how strong your friendship and relationship is, even through some unexpected situations. Thank you so much for having us be a part of your day!

Family Lunch

July 27, 2012 By katrina Leave a Comment

We don’t get normal family weekends, which is fine, we knew that when we started being wedding photographers. But it can get tough to carve out time during the work week. Balancing family and work has been something we learn year by year, adjusting as we go. Our main focus is, of course, to keep a stable, happy life for our kids and marriage. We meet so many amazing families through our weddings and portrait sessions, and I grill them on how they parent (seriously) which has also helped us formulate our parenting structure and how we manage our life. Something that we have recently discovered is the impromptu outing. This can be tough for our type A personalities. John doesn’t like impromptu decisions very much, and I like making sure we’re efficient with our time. But we have learned to let that go and just enjoy.

Today, we had to scout a location for tomorrow’s wedding, so rather than go by myself I suggested we all go and explore. Of course, I did get the kids dressed awesomely cute (I can’t let go of my type A all the way…) but otherwise, we just went with the flow.

After exploring the site, we parked near Marquette in Minneapolis to get lunch from a food truck, which was a fun adventure all on its own. The Barrio tacos were delish and a sushi truck gave the kids a little pickled octopus (which they did not eat). Feeling a nice breeze and walking downtown on a summer day felt so luxurious!

We found ourselves near Gaviidae Commons, so went upstairs to Cocoa and Fig for some cake pops. Since I wanted to take a few pictures of the kids, we thought we’d get them sugared up.

My plan didn’t necessarily work…they didn’t want to smile, they wanted to eat…so John asked to hold onto their pops for a couple pictures…

…plenty of goofy…no smiles.

They burned out quickly…Lyra wouldn’t stay still and Cooper and Ainsley were SO OVER IT.

Which means it is time for jumping pictures, which then leads to the very last shot…

…awesome, real smiles.

Goodness, we love these kiddos! (now back to editing…)

Simply Sweet

July 26, 2012 By katrina Leave a Comment

Simplicity is a good thing. Especially when it comes to senior portraits. In the age of rock star senior sessions with lights, makeup, and multiple outfit changes, I feel that sometimes the true portait of a person is lost. It becomes what the subject WANTS to be, not WHO they are.

I liked that Heather wanted her senior portraits to be easy going and simple. They show her sweet personality very well.

This sun drenched one is my favorite.

Heather, I hope you enjoy your senior year! And thank you for dealing with my dorkiness as we chatted =)

Fred and Karn

July 21, 2012 By katrina 3 Comments

Every Saturday, we celebrate a wedding, and this was no exception. Fred and Karn have been married for 50 years! Their daughters surprised them with a wonderful party today with guests that included friends, family and even high school chums that traveled from all over to be a part of the event.

I think they were surprised =)

Since one of the daughters throwing the party was Jessica, you KNOW the cake was delicious and looked lovely! Those flowers are Jessica’s Sweet Blooms, they are so beautiful! And just as beautiful were the live arrangements designed by Violet’s Flowers. Fabulous Catering teamed up with Jessica to prepare the food, so everyone ate like kings.

Time for family pictures!

Ahhh, cousins ; )

What a sweet couple! Happy Anniversary!

Tim and Lucy

July 14, 2012 By katrina 7 Comments

Tim and Lucy were married today!

Tim and Lucy had the very first wedding in the new addition of the American Swedish Institute and they sure gave the venue a fun inauguration! The couple used modern Scando design in all aspects of their wedding, from the birch themed invitation suite designed by Megan Moore Smith, to serving Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam at the reception. Lucy even wore the traditional Swedish crown to compliment her sophisticated ensemble.

Tim looked fabulous in his suit from Heimie’s Haberdashery, that man knows how to wear a bow tie!

After we photographed the couple and the gorgeous grounds, it was time for the ceremony. Roger Beck framed the ceremony site with the most exquisite yellow and blush roses I have ever seen! Combined with birch and lambs ear, his designs were simply stunning. The ceremony was lovely and a perfect blend of sweet, funny, and sentimental. Tim played the accordion as his bride walked down the aisle, and Lucy’s brother read the beautiful passage from The Velveteen Rabbit that gets me every time!

On the front steps of the Turnblad Mansion, guests were handed champagne, could have their picture taken with fun props at a photobooth, gaze at the gorgeous interiors, or just enjoy the lovely quartet playing festive Swedish tunes.

The reception began with a processional led by the couple and accompanied by the quartet. I just love how music played such an important roll in the day.

The food was…wow…just so amazing. And that is no surprise because it was created by Fabulous Catering. They not only had delicious food, but it was presented beautifully and the service was impeccable.

Not to be upstaged by dinner, the dessert was also fantastic. Jessica’s Cakes, as usual, created a lovely cake that had flavors I have never tasted before. It was so good! Traditional Kransekake was also available and cute Minnesota and Wisconsin lemon cookies from Cocoa and Fig were at each place setting as a gift.

And just when we thought we had seen it all, Lance from Instant Request started up the dance and that place was jumpin’!

Tim and Lucy, thank you so much for having us tell the story of your day. It has been a joy getting to know you and we were so honored to spend this day with you. Enjoy your sneak peek!

Walk in the Park

July 13, 2012 By katrina Leave a Comment

Mike and Sarah had their engagement session today!

The rain stopped just long enough for the session, and we had a great time strolling around the Sculpture Garden.

Mike was such a goofball, and made Sarah laugh the whole time.

I LOVE the look on Sarah’s face in this image!

Mike and Sarah, here is your sneak peek! Enjoy!

Little Fashionista

July 9, 2012 By katrina Leave a Comment

We went up to Duluth to photograph little Macy. What a doll!

After shooting weddings in 100+ degree weather it was nice to be up in Duluth, where it was a balmy 80 ; ) We had fun doing family portraits outside in the shade….

…though I don’t think she liked the outfit change and setting…

…until she saw DADDY!

The last outfit went much better, maybe Macy is a little bit rock n’ roll just like her mamma?

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peek!

Weston and Kelly

July 6, 2012 By katrina 19 Comments

Weston and Kelly were married today!

If you’re going to have your wedding on the 4th of July weekend, why not go all out, right? Weston and Kelly had a patriotic red, white and blue wedding and the hot weather went right with their theme “Sparks Will Fly”. Kelly was so prepared for her big day that we were ahead of schedule pretty much the entire time, which let us have some fun with pictures, especially with Mickey’s Diner right across the street.

The ladies wore navy blue and all carried darling parasols. I loved their ruffled shoes and Kelly’s ruffled dress…she is good at tying in those style themes!

Because of the severe heat, we went back and forth from outside to inside the gloriously air conditioned church. Weston and Kelly were fabulous with staying relaxed and going with the flow.

Church of the Assumption in St Paul is simply beautiful…add a beautiful bride, and you get this…

After the ceremony, the guests were led by the bridal party on a short walk to the Landmark Center. It was a patriotic parade!

Waiting inside The Landmark Center was air conditioning, cold drinks, and more of the 4th of July. Vibrant blue up lighting enhanced the columns of the atrium, and jars of homemade jam served as escort cards. More fun typography by the bride’s sister tied everything together. La Petite Fleur (as usual) created stunning, fun, and unique arrangements for the space, using a variety of heights and blooms. The bouquets were lovely, vibrant and fun, and got a ton of compliments! We are always excited when we get to work with Carra and Jessica!

The wedding party braved the heat one last time for a few more images during the cocktail hour…John and I were shooting lightning fast to try and keep them from melting!

The flowers provided the perfect pop of color and were so creative and fun!

And I just LOVED Kelly’s red parasol!

After cocktail hour, the wedding party had their grand march which was immediately followed by Weston and Kelly’s first dance. A wonderful dinner with BBQ inspired items from True Tastes Event Catering was followed by darling and delicious cupcakes from A Cupcake Social.