Do you love the sneak peeks we have on our blog but want to see more? Once a wedding is edited, we post the top 100 or so in albums on facebook…it lets you see how consistent are work is and a nice sampling of images from an entire day. Go to http://www.facebook.com/studiolaguna and start exploring!
Colin and Ellen
Colin and Ellen were married today!
Ellen and Colin are such a fabulous couple. They love the outdoors and the more adventure the better…so it really wasn’t surprising that they were excited when the snow started falling. The bride wished for snow on her wedding day, and snow she got!
Ellen was simply stunning in her blue and white wedding gown. Her mother made the dress, basing the design off of an Oscar de le Renta pattern and incorporating detailed lace and luxurious fabrics. The bridesmaids also had hand-made dresses in varying shades of blues and neutrals. They carried bouquets of thistle, delphinium, greens and Ellen’s favorite…ferns. The guys looked dashing in suits from Heimies Haberdashery with bow ties that matched their bridesmaid’s dress. The boutonnieres had a personal touch with a couple coffee beans lining the stems to give a nod to how Ellen and Colin met…at a Dunn Brothers.
We started off with a sweet first sight and pictures at Silverwood Park. The couple’s well worn canoe was at the reception site to hold wedding gifts, so we utilized said canoe in some portraits. The wedding party was prepared for winter weather, wearing boots, long johns and furs, and they were troopers as we ran around in the snow taking pictures. We visited the Walker to get some indoor shots, and as we went out to the cars, an impromptu snow ball fight started.
Guests braved the icy roads and snow to arrive at Immanuel Lutheran just in time for the ceremony. Ellen walked down the aisle to dramatic organ music and incorporated lovely music throughout the ceremony. Sweet words were read and blessings were given and Colin and Ellen could not stop smiling at each other. In the car afterwards, they kept looking at each other and saying, “we’re married!” “hey! you’re my wife!”…and the happiness kept us going, even when a groomsman’s car got stuck on a hill and we trudged through the snow to get a few last shots before the sun disappeared.
At the reception, Colin’s Norwegian heritage was celebrated fully. Evergreens, ferns, birch and moss adorned tables washed in candlelight. Skol! was cheered after each speech and was sung to get the couple to kiss (I believe Colin was even referred to as a Viking warrior at one point). After a dinner served by Mintahoe, Kransekake was served for the guests and they were treated to an amazing coffee bar with custom lattes by Dogwood Coffee (an extra bonus, the reception hall smelled fabulous all night!). Two of Colin’s groomsmen spent months brewing beer and had cases of many varieties for guests to enjoy. Cigars came out later in the evening and were smoked by the outdoor fire as the snow tapered off, and the dance floor was hoping thanks to Lance from Humans Win!, DJ extraordinaire. Lance did a great job mixing the wide range of tunes these music lovers wanted at their dance. Playing in the snow continued as well, with the groomsmen pushing the bride and groom down a hill in the canoe! What a fun group =)
Ellen and Colin, it was truly an honor being a part of your day. Here are some of our favorite images, enjoy!
Capture. Communicate. Create.
Last night I photographed a great event at the W Minneapolis – The Foshay. W Happenings Inside Design is an ongoing series of events that gives Minnesotans a chance to get out and mingle (and dress up and party, it is the W after all!) with others that share their interests. I was excited to photograph this month’s event, Capture.Communicate.Create because it was focused on interior design and architecture…one of my passions.
The event was sponsored by Amsum & Ash, a local design firm and Metro Magazine. Amsum & Ash had some gorgeous samples of tile on display and guests enjoyed looking through their idea books as well as sampling some delish W appetizers. The group on the dais were local designers as well as one of the Vice President of Marketing for Houzz.
Have you heard of Houzz.com? If not, go there. It is kind of like Pinterest, but just for residential design. And it has a great ipad app where you can label the products in your home so others can find out where you purchased them and use them for their own space. Houzz is a great community of enthusiasts, and local designers and artists are getting business out of it as well. It is the ultimate word of mouth. You see something you love and can find out who designed it, who built it, what materials were used and where they were purchased. You can rate rooms and share your idea folders either publicly or privately. I think it is an amazing tool and plan on losing hours in the site’s depths =)
Here are some images from the event! Be sure to go to the W Minneapolis – the Foshay’s facebook page and “like” them. The Happenings events schedule is pretty cool!
Keith and Katrina
Keith and Katrina were married today!
November gave us a gorgeous day for a wedding. When John and I arrived at St. Joseph’s, Katrina was already ready to see Keith. It was obvious that these two wanted to be by each other’s side all day. After a sweet first sight, we went outside and took advantage of the semi warm weather for pictures. Katrina had a beautifully classic bridal look and was just stunning in her cathedral veil and gown from The Wedding Shoppe. She chose all white bouquets for herself and her bridesmaids and Sadie’s Couture Floral Design did a fabulous job with simple, textural arrangements.
The ceremony was a balance of sweet and fun. The Priest was amazing. He was an amazing speaker and made the homily lively and entertaining. He read from family members’ notes about how they admire the type of people Keith and Katrina are, and got the congregation to loudly shout their AMENS! It was very evident from this service how important, loving, and cherished family is to this group of people. After the recessional, Father got one last laugh by asking the group if the couple should sign the marriage certificate (of course everyone cheered) and then joyfully announced they were officially married. We all left with big grins on our faces.
Twin Cities Trolleys didn’t know what they had in store when they picked our group up from the church. Not only did the wedding party get on, but many friends as well and it was a PARTAY. Let me tell you. I was laughing so hard the entire ride, it was a blast. And I geeked out a little too much when the trolley got to go OVER the Stone Arch Bridge. It was so cool! We did a few pictures with the gorgeous Minneapolis skyline and then headed to the Metropolitan Ballroom for the reception.
When we got to the ballroom, Katrina’s vision of a black and white candlelit reception became reality. Low lying bunches of white hydrangea were on the tables, silver lined chargers reflected the candlelight, and a black and white damask pattern was on all the stationery pieces, designed by A Milestone Paper Company. Everything was so clean and lovely. The Metropolitan Ballroom is one of my favorite venues in the Twin Cities. It has a sunken dancefloor and an gorgeous art deco interior. It truly is one of the best venues for entertaining purposes, with multiple levels that keep everyone near the party but allows for groups of people to chat without being in the way of the dance. D’Amico served a delicious meal, followed by cake from Bylerly’s that was fresh and tasty. After some tender speaches (and some funny ones, too) it was time for the dance.
Instant Request stayed true to the retro vibe of the ballroom by playing some swing and the dancefloor was quickly packed. Guests enjoyed sitting above the dancefloor to watch the antics and made repeat trips to The Traveling Photo Booth to try on all the different props and get some crazy pictures. What a fun night.
Keith and Katrina, thank you so much for choosing us to document your wedding day! Here are our favorites, enjoy!
Charlie and Amy
Charlie and Amy were married today.
The couple chose the memorable 11.11.11 as their wedding date and had their intimate wedding at the Nicollet Island Inn. The couple met in a curious event full of happenstance that led Charlie to move from NYC to Minneapolis for the love of his life. The ceremony celebrated their love and quite a few tears were shed. It was very sweet and heartfelt.
Charlie’s parents are no longer with us, so framed images from their wedding was present for this one. Charlie and Amy treated their guests to a decadent meal in the Fireside room with Muddy Paws Cheesecake as dessert. The candlelit room was the perfect place for family to enjoy each other’s company.
Here are my favorite images!
The Big Easy
If any of you know me personally, you know that I’ve been a TAD stressed. Ok, that is a lie, the words “nervous breakdown” were spoken more than once…but we knew that owning a customer service driven business while raising three little ones was going to be tough. This year has been very tough and culminated into major stress at the end of October and early November.
Before I knew November would be the craziest part of our year, I signed up for the Foundation Conference in New Orleans. We are very proud to be part of the Fearless Photographers community as well as an active member on the FW Forum. I can’t tell you what inspiration and influence this group has had on me. The constant push to be better in a positive manner is priceless. And once a year we meet.
This year’s conference was going to have some fabulous speakers and I couldn’t wait to learn from them! Because of the Unveiled show, I missed most of the first day, but got a ton of education out of the second day. The presenters are amazing photographers that all had something different to share and it was fascinating to see each of their unique views and histories. Even during meals we got together and talked shop over a po’ boy.
Since I missed the first day, I stayed an extra day after the conference to explore New Orleans. I had never been here before and wanted to just wander the streets and absorb. I am a lover of architecture and couldn’t wait to see all Nola had to offer. I also took what I learned at the conference and tried to get some lovely pictures as well.
The biggest thing I need to work on as a photographer is waiting for the moment. Not worrying about getting a shot and running off to get another, but sitting and waiting. Anticipating something is going to happen, getting the shot ready and just waiting. Patience is not a virtue of mine…and neither is making someone uncomfortable…so I usually see a moment and try to photograph it before anyone notices. This time, I got right up to events and waited and finally took a picture. I still need more practice, but throwing self awareness out the window is a good thing for photographers and hopefully I’ll get better at it.
The Garden District was lovely, full of gorgeous iron work and trees pushing their way out of the cobblestone side walks. I think one of my favorite elements was that many of the houses still had their gas light fixtures on their front porch. I saw a ton of beads hanging from trees, rode on the old streetcars, and stood in front of Nick Cage’s house for a while hoping he’d see me admiring his place thoughtfully and invite me inside for mint juleps (that didn’t happen). I walked pretty much the entire French Quarter and now can say I’ve stood at both the start and end of the Mississippi River. The cemeteries were gorgeous and probably my favorite place to wander, though seeing one mausoleum where a mother lost a child a year and then her husband the next year really made me miss my family.
One thing I couldn’t get over was how nice everyone was. The people on the street and in restaurants were sweet, smiled at you, said yes ma’am when I asked a question and were very proud of their city and loved to talk about it. I had a wonderful time and got to sleep in and eat what I wanted and not have a thought in my mind…a very good thing for a couple days! Now back to the grind stone! Here are a few images from the trip and I’ll post more on facebook in a couple days. Enjoy =)
Minneapolis Unveiled Event
Today was the big day. The Wedding Guys have been touring the country with their Unveiled show and today they launched their Minneapolis show.
Unveiled was more than a wedding expo. It was about inspiration and entertainment. Beautiful, trend setting vignettes and galleries featuring the latest in cake, stationary, floral design and tablescapes. In the main room, there was a stage with live music, even some ballroom dancers. Upstairs was an hourly fashion show that all the brides were talking about. In the La Boutique room, guests entered through a ceremony set up featuring reds, silvers, blacks and crystals with a GORGEOUS wall of ice designed by Ice Occasions, and lovely floral arrangements by Sassafras.
Our booth was really busy and we enjoyed getting to meet everyone. We chatted both with our current brides and potential brides, and even had a few surprise visits from friends (Kristy delivered an Izze Soda which was SO appreciated!). I was very lucky to be in the booth next to Jean of Violet’s Flowers, just hearing her giggle with her brides made me smile! Another vendor I was happy to be near was Todd of Bungalow 6 Designs. He set up a beautiful lounge in whites and silver with pops of yellow, I could have moved right into that space. Summer Harsh Botanical Artistry also went with a clean white look, but punched her booth up with bold reds, it looked fabulous.
A Milestone Paper Company had a lovely booth and it was fun seeing all of her newest creations. I made sure to take John over to Hammermade to look at the custom suits and shirts. Lime Canary Vintage Rentals had a lovely set up, and Tami from Muddy Paws went all pink and funky with her booth this year, it really showed off her personality! I had to stop by Cocoa and Fig and Jessica’s Cakes booths, they always have such delicious items to show. I really loved a new business to the wedding industry this year, Bear Fox Chalk. They create custom chalk boards for your wedding day and they look AWESOME! So many details (even photographs) and playful typography are included in each board, it was very impressive (and the owners are super sweet, too!).
So, if you can’t tell, I’m still on a bit of a high from the show. It was so much work and adrenaline to get everything ready and the day went by so fast! I was very nervous about our booth being too quirky, but people really liked our little air plant sculpture…I like being able to incorporate my interior design schooling when I can =) The lovely Carra of La Petite Fleur surprised us with two awesome floral pieces for our console table, she did such a great job! Be sure to stay tuned to the Wedding Guys to see a ton of pictures from the show. Staja Studios was working the entire time getting gorgeous images and I can’t wait to see everything! Follow The Wedding Guys and Unveiled on Facebook and Twitter for all the events coming up, including another Minneapolis show in February.
Here are a few pictures that I grabbed today, enjoy!
Chris and Kelly
Chris and Kelly were married today!
When Kelly said yes to Chris, she was blessed to not only start a new life with a fabulous man, but with his three kids as well. They were excited while planning the wedding to join as a family, but got a surprise they didn’t expect…a new little one! When Kelly and Chris found out they were pregnant, they decided to scale back the wedding and have things be more intimate. Kelly, however, did not scale back on her dress, having her gloriously textured Enzoani gown from Bridal Accents Couture altered to fit her baby bump.
By choosing Calhoun Beach Club for their ceremony and reception, Kelly and Chris embraced an elegant, modern wedding. Kelly took this even further by designing the entire wedding around a black and white damask pattern. The bridesmaids wore lovely Jim Hjelm gowns from Rush’s Bridal and the guys looked spiffy in their suits. The one punch of color, deep red, was left in the capable hands of Violet’s Flowers. Jean created gorgeous bouquets that brought Kelly to tears. I loved how she used anemone, tulips, and ranunculus…the combination was stunning. When photographing against the gray walls of the Beach Club, the red really popped!
Reverend Tomkin Coleman officiated the ceremony in the Boulevard Room. He did a great job tying in the story of how they met with the journey they will now take together as a family. I can’t decide on the highlight of the ceremony, the five-way lighting of the unity candle, or Kelly’s dad reading an Irish Blessing…both made me mist up. This is truly a family that enjoys each other and cherishes their time together. And this feeling was emphasised even more at the reception dinner.
The entire guest list sat at one family style dining table, with arrangements of red blooms down the middle. Each place setting had a small jar of honey that was harvested by Kelly’s sister. D’Amico brought their A game with the food, amazing appetizers, endless wine pours, and beautiful entrees. Kelly was very excited for her red velvet wedding cake as well, and by the end of the night, I think everyone was ready for sweatpants and sleep.
Chris and Kelly, thank you so much for having me photograph your wedding. I had a wonderful time getting to know your friends and family and can’t wait to meet your little girl in a few months! Here are my favorite images, enjoy!
Baby Carver
Carver was born exactly a week ago and is such a cutie pie! He has a full head of hair that already makes him look like a model. He was the perfect little guy, sleepy and happy and cuddly. I enjoyed every minute with his family just listening to him coo.
Here are my favorites, enjoy!
MMPA 15th Annual Excellence Awards
Tonight, the Nicollet Island Pavillion was all abuzz with anticipation. The Minnesota Magazine and Publishing Association was announcing their awards for everything from Best Website, to Best Cover to the highly coveted Magazine of the Year title.
Mintahoe knew the party would be full of the movers and shakers of the publishing community, so they brought out all the stops with interactive food stations including mashed potato martinis and mini burgers. Local anchor Jason Matheson took on the pages and pages of awards and did a fabulous job keeping the group entertained. The final award, Magazine of the Year was presented by last year’s winner, Minnesota Monthly. And this year Exhibitor Magazine took home the honor!
Here are images from the event!
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