Blog – Studio Laguna Photography

Leavin’ on a Jet Plane

October 9, 2011 By katrina Leave a Comment

Stephanie and Matt had their engagement session today.

I really clicked with Stephanie right away, and during our emailing about the engagement shoot, decided that this couple needed a location that was unique and quirky, just like they are. I have wanted to shoot at Franconia Sculpture Park for a while, and this was the perfect opportunity…and of course Stephanie jumped at the chance.

We were blessed with gorgeous fall colors and a balmy evening…and one heck of a sunset, almost too much golden light!

It was so fun watching this couple interact. Matt is working across the country at the moment, and you can tell that he and Stephanie make every moment together count. Though I know you’re expecting me to write how sappy and romantic they were, they mostly laughed at each other and goofed off…which I enjoyed capturing on camera. There are a couple that I may blackmail them with later ; )

Matt and Stephanie, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to shoot with me, I had a blast. Here are my favorite images, enjoy!

Down By the River

October 9, 2011 By katrina Leave a Comment

Yesterday was a perfect fall morning. Breezy and warm, but not too hot, and bright gorgeous colors on the leaves.

I met a family by the Mississippi River for some nature in the city portraits. Their little girls were ADORABLE and looked even more so in their darling outfits. Emily did a great job coordinating what the family wore. The neutral whites and grays really popped against the yellow leaves.

Whenever I work with little ones, we make sure to get a good balance of images. We started off with the two girls, then some family portraits, then we let the girls play, then time for a walk…you get the idea, it is about keeping them busy =) The girls did a great job and loved getting to throw leaves and play with mom and dad. The promise of ice cream kept them engaged as well. In fact, just saying the words ICE CREAM got Evie smiling every time.

I love how these images turned out, here are my favorites! (and I hope Evie liked her ice cream!)

Adam and Ashley

October 8, 2011 By katrina 9 Comments

Adam and Ashley were married today!

Ashley is a very organized bride, so organized, in fact, that she managed to plan her wedding day to land on the most gorgeous fall day! Forever Floral did a lovely job creating arrangements in the wedding colors of chocolate, gold, and burnt orange. The wedding also had a decidedly vintage flair, though interjected with quite a bit of fashionista as well (just check out the bridesmaids’ heels!). The Semple Mansion was the perfect choice for the couple and they loved that they could have the entire day flow throughout the mansion’s many spaces.

Ashley looked simply stunning in her San Patrick gown with lace and tulle details and an Old Hollywood look by Brett Dorrian Artistry. She was a vision as she walked down the main staircase to see Adam for the first time that day and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. This is where the blog gets tough. I could show you just pictures of the lovely couple, or only shots of the crazy wedding party, I could even have my top 8 just be from the reception (mostly they are pictures of a crazy group of people singing at each other with utmost energy), there could be an easy top 8 of details…but I’m going to try to even it out and show a bit of everything =)

The ceremony took place in the ballroom, and had some very tender moments as well as some hilarious ones. And the hilarious moments continued throughout the night. From Ashley’s dad’s speech where he mentioned her many boyfriends, a Biblical reading of subtlety “be fruitful and multiply”, a rendition of Queen’s We Will Rock You, many fabulous dances, and a neck and neck dollar dance competition. The ever gracious hosts, Adam and Ashley served a delicious dinner by The Deco Catering, and had choices of Muddy Paws Cheesecake on the tables for guests to enjoy. The Traveling Photo Booth proved so popular that there was quite a line of guests. The photos started to pile up as friends tried to out do each other’s crazy antics in the booth. But heck, when a good amount of your guests are in theater…good times are bound to happen!

Adam and Ashley clearly wanted to have fun on their wedding day and they succeeded wonderfully =) Here are our favorite images, enjoy!

Scott and Elizabeth

October 7, 2011 By katrina 2 Comments

Scott and Elizabeth were married in California, and had their Minnesota reception tonight!

I was very honored to be asked to photograph Scott and Elizabeth…especially since they gave me 2 full hours and even an outfit change! I almost didn’t know what to do with the luxury of time, but Scott sure did =) Scott works in film, and had a great eye for light and color. We ran all over Silverwood Park, photographing the gorgeous colors of the trees and sky. Liz had a favorite oak she wanted featured in an image (Liz, I did the “prettyizer” to that image!) and she and Scott wanted playful, romantic, relaxed images. On top of being a very good looking couple, they could also go into “model mode” and we had such a blast goofing around with the camera…and got some super cool images.

Liz and Scott, thank you again for letting me photograph the two of you. Your relationship is fantastic and I truly enjoyed capturing the lovely moments between you two. Here are my favorites, enjoy!

2011 Vision Awards

October 6, 2011 By katrina Leave a Comment

Tonight the event industry headed to Excelsior to attend Meetings: Minnesota Hospitality Journal’s 2011 Vision Awards at the Bayview Event Center.

The space was transformed by Festivities! into the theme Havana Nights. Next to the signature drink station was a lovely carving by Metro Ice Sculptures, full of sparkling facets and the event’s logo. Stogies on Grand provided cigars for guests to smoke outside and everyone enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Creative food stations were interactive and delicious, from make your own nachos, to gourmet cheese wiz and paint your own chicken wings. And the highlight of the night was handing out the awards to industry peers that work tirelessly for their community.

Here are a few images from the night, enjoy!

Jessica’s Cakes Presents – Sweet Blooms

October 5, 2011 By katrina 1 Comment

I love Jessica’s Cakes. That is no secret. I’ve been fortunate enough to eat so many of her delicacies that I am a tried and true fanatic about the quality and beauty of her desserts. And I am so excited for Jessica’s newest venture, Sweet Blooms.

Jessica creates gorgeous flowers out of sugar to use however you would like. Mostly, the blooms are used for cakes. Because these flowers are forever, brides can have any flower they would like in an assortment of colors and sizes. So you don’t have to worry about gardenias browning, hydrangeas wilting, peonies being out of season, or putting flower stems into the cake your guests are eating. The biggest testament to her skill is that it is tough to tell if the flowers are real or not.

But you have to see it to believe it, check out the images below! These are my favorite from our photoshoot, and the rest of the images are on Jessica’s website under the Sweet Blooms category. A huge thanks to Ashley Fox Designs for letting us take over her darling house and grounds for the images!

Independent Wedding Association Fair

October 3, 2011 By katrina Leave a Comment

The people that read this blog (and I now know it is more than six!) know that I love being a part of the Independent Wedding Association.

The association is funded and run by local Minnesotan owner operated businesses that are dedicated to educating, high quality and customer service. In that spirit, the IWA throws a wedding fair a couple times a year. But this isn’t your giant wedding fair…this is a fete. A place where you can look at beautiful things, chat with knowledgeable vendors, see what is new in the wedding industry, and not just see what is trendy, but also what is creative, unique and full of personality. And you can do all of that without being pressured into sales. In fact, the vendors that participate are encouraged to wander the fair themselves rather than stay at their booth.

At the last fair, the IWA introduced mini sessions, where a vendor would talk for ten minutes about a certain topic. This was so popular that they are bringing it back this time around. I talked with a couple brides after the fair and they were so excited about what they learned and how nice everyone was. And I was so impressed that most guests stayed the entire show because there was so much to do and see.

To up the ante again, the IWA is focusing this fair on grooms. That isn’t to say that girls aren’t allowed, but it is to encourage guys to show up as well. Grooms are just as much a part of a wedding as their brides, and this fair is a great environment to prove that. Bowling, cigars, whisky, suit demonstrations…I mean, come on! This will be a fun night! No cake dives or pink fru fru here, this is a man cave wedding fair =)

The fair will take place at Pinstripes in Edina on Thursday Oct 13th from 530 to 9pm. Bowling and bocce ball will be open to all to use and there will be some delicious snacks. The Cocoa and Fig dessert table alone is worth the trip! And like I said, everything is low key, no pressure, yet with vendors that are experts in their field and dedicated to their couples making the most of their wedding.

Here a link for more info, and I hope to see you there! (PS, there may be some free tickets if you leave a comment and are very nice to me) ; )

Sweet Love

October 1, 2011 By katrina Leave a Comment

Chris and Stacy had their engagement session today.

We had a wonderful time getting to know each other better and taking a mix of sweet, traditional and candid images of their relationship. One of the biggest benefits of an engagement session is getting comfortable in front of the camera and having an experience to work off of for your wedding day. Chris and Stacy did just that and I think we had a good time doing it! We even had a totally unexpected moment when a photographer friend of mine spotted us shooting and came over to tease me, so fun =)

Here are my favorite images, enjoy!

The Minnesota Wedding Industry Rocks!

September 30, 2011 By katrina Leave a Comment

The Wedding Guys® and Half Yard Productions Announce partnership in production of TLC’s new Series RANDY TO THE RESCUE (WT)

The Wedding Guys® are excited to announce the production of eight exciting events to take place across the country for the new TLC spin-off series featuring Randi Fenoli from ‘Say Yes to the Dress’. RANDY TO THE RESCUE (WT) focuses on a pop-up salon concept which will be designed and produced by The Wedding Guys®, Matthew Trettel and Bruce Vassar in eight top markets.

Eager brides will line up around city blocks for their chance to get advice from the most trusted name in wedding dress retail, Randi Fenoli. On every episode of this splashy new series, Randy will roll into a different city in a tractor-trailer packed to the gills with wedding dresses. Inside the event space created by The Wedding Guys, Randy will have a team of consultants, working various fitting stations, to help each bride find the perfect dress. Each hour-long episode will focus on three particularly interesting brides. Doing much more than helping women find the right dress, Fenoli will design their entire look from “head to hem” as he calls it (dress, hair makeup, bouquet). As part of each event brides will visit with ten excusive exhibitors in each market to find out how to create the perfect wedding.

“This is an exciting venture for The Wedding Guys’ family of brands and the perfect marriage of professional event production and reality TV,” says Matthew Trettel, President of The Wedding Guys. We are excited to work with the talented team at Half Yard Productions and TLC on the production of ‘RANDY TO THE RESCUE (WT).

About The Wedding Guys®
The Wedding Guys are visionaries. Spotting trends across the globe, and envisioning how those trends could translate to weddings, They provide a glimpse of what’s possible in the future of the wedding industry. They produce UNVEILED – The Ultimate Wedding Planning Event, the hip and authoritative venue for leading wedding specialists to engage their customers. Considered the premier wedding event producers in the country and ten-time award winners by Bridal Show Producers International, The Wedding Guys® have revolutionized the wedding market, integrating cutting edge marketing expertise into high caliber boutique wedding events; totally redefining the traditional bridal show. They also produce the Wedding TrendSpot Press Fashion Show for Couture Bridal Market in New York. With unmatched expertise, The Wedding Guys® create their Signature Weddings as an immersive experience, the ultimate celebration for select wedding couples.

About Half Yard Productions
Half Yard Productions is an award-winning entertainment development and production company with offices in New York and Bethesda, MD. From character-driven reality series and documentary narratives to historical specials and educational programming, Half Yard Productions delivers high-quality programs on a diverse array of subjects to networks such as TLC, Discovery, Oxygen, Bravo and Animal Planet. Productions include Hillbilly Handishin’, Say Yes to the Dress, Modern Marvels, American Loggers and The Real Housewives of DC. Go to www.halfyardproductions.com to learn more.

About TLC
TLC is a global brand that celebrates extraordinary people and relatable life moments through innovative nonfiction programming. A top 10 cable network for women, TLC has built successful franchises around the Cake Boss, Say Yes to the Dress and Police Women brands. In the first half of 2011, TLC had 23 series averaging 1.0 million viewers or more including Extreme Couponing, Sister Wives, 19 Kids and Counting, What Not To Wear, and Kate Plus 8.

TLC is available in more than 99 million homes in the US and 75 million households in 34 countries internationally. A destination online, TLC.com offers in-depth fan sites, exclusive video content, and original editorial covering style, home, food, and more. Fans can also interact with TLC via On Demand services, on mobile platforms, including an iPhone App, and through social media such as Facebook or @TLC on Twitter. TLC is part of Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world’s number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 210 countries and territories.

Tucci Bennuch and Twin Cities Grill

September 29, 2011 By katrina Leave a Comment

Yesterday I headed over to the Mall of America to photograph the food and interiors of Tucci Bennuch and Twin City Grill. For those of you foodies that have signed off on the Mall of America restaurants, you have got to revisit Tucci Bennuch! Chef Asher Miller has been working on their menu, adding creative twists on traditional favorites (the green pea and white truffle raviolis were my favorite this summer!) and including a fresh farmers market seasonal specials. Here are my favorite images from the shoot. I love getting up close with food and am so excited that the restaurants like that style of photography as well! Also, I’m an eater, not a writer, so here is a nice review from the Star Tribune that reviews Tucci.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/124723928.html