images that embrace your personality
Madalynn had a portrait session on Sunday. Between her chubby cheeks and the habit of sticking out her tongue, this beautiful girl had me grinning the whole time. THEN her mom put her in her Halloween costume…we were dying of cuteness!
Here are my favorite images, enjoy!
It is tough for some brides (and moreso the bride’s parents!) to get their head around a trash the dress session. The misconception is that you have to destroy your dress or float in a lagoon. To move away from this stigma, many photographers have started calling their sessions a Day After Session or Rock the Frock or Encore Session. The main purpose of this portrait session is to get fun bridal portraits without the stress of the wedding day. A benefit to this is that you can wear your dress again (yay!) and not worry about it getting dirty, as well as do something different with hair, makeup and accessories that may not have fit with your wedding day style.
Here at Studio Laguna, we like to call our session a Reprise Session. It can be with just the bride or the couple, more fashion forward or more relaxed, with a theme or without, whatever the client would like.
On Sunday, I photographed Ashleigh’s Reprise Session. If you haven’t seen Ryan and Ash’s wedding yet, go to our weddings category and scroll down until you find them, it was AMAZING! Ash has a great sense of style, and wanted to up the glam factor while still keeping the rual feel. Luckily, I came across an amazing location while driving around a couple months ago, so we had a wild west set to work with. Ashleigh got her hair teased like it has never been teased before and threw on her cowboy boots. The shoot ended up with a 60’s western vogue feel, and I love the images! Check out the favorites =)
Anne and James had a family session on Saturday with their little one year old. And we definitely got our cardio workout that afternoon! When you’re one, and can finally be mobile, you tend to want to do your own thing, not sit and pose for pictures. Apparently, looking at the camera was the last thing this little guy wanted to do! So we ran all over the place, singing songs and dancing like crazy people…three adults circling one baby that really wanted to be anywhere but where we were. I think to outsiders we looked pretty hilarious!
Towards the end of the session, all tuckered out, we were able to get some portraits and then the very last shot of the night turned out perfectly. See, patience and persistence is worth it! Anne and James were troopers and I’m so glad we got a nice set of portraits out of the session to remember that crazy hour =) Here are my favorites!
I had a wonderful family session yesterday in St. Paul. Kenzie was getting her one year old portraits and also some family pictures.
I truly enjoyed this very interactive, happy family…and not just because I think I found my interior design soul mate in Kenzie’s mom! They had a beautiful home that provided quite a few backdrops for lifestyle portraits, and we made sure to show off as many cute outfits as we could. We then headed to a local college for some beautiful outdoor pictures. Towards the end of the session Kenzie was running all over the place on a mission, but if mom and dad sung the right song, we were rewarded with a big smile!
Here are my favorite images, enjoy!
I had the pleasure of working with such a darling family today!
The little boys both wore Union Jack shirts to honor their dad’s Brittish heritage, but we also had a football…so we balanced it out with some American as well =) Kristie and Oliver are such great, laid back parents and it is obvious that they enjoy their children. With little ones this age, you have to constantly be moving, so we explored in the woods, raced with dad, and enjoyed the fall weather. The result was a ton of great images that show a family that enjoys each other.
Here are my favoirtes, enjoy!
Matt and Erin were married last month…in Alaska =) Today was their Minnesota reception and I was so honored to be asked to photograph the event (and how cool for Erin that she got to wear her lovely dress twice!?!?)
The weather tonight was perfect for the fall harvest themed reception at the Theodore Wirth Chalet. Erin and Matt, with help of course, decked the place out with hay bales, pumpkins, and orange and brown decor. Matt’s mom is the owner of Buds N’ Things and she designed all of the floral pieces using bright sunflowers and cattails in mason jars. S’Mores packets were laid out to keep guests occupied as they enjoyed the outdoor fire and a candy buffet was ready for the taking. But that isn’t the best part. The best part was the amazing spread of cheese, crackers and sweets created by Cocoa and Fig. The guests were raving! My personal favorite was the carrot cake cookie…TO DIE FOR.
Matt and Erin, I had such a fabulous time with you tonight! Here is a sneak peek of your images, enjoy =)
Back in college, I loved going to Theater de la Jeune Lune in the North Loop. It was such a fantastic space, and when it closed, it was such a sad event. So I was very excited when a friend told me that Jeune Lune was being reborn as a wedding and event space called Aria.
Tonight was the open house for local industry folks to view the space. It is very industrial, and you are surrounded by three stories of stone walls and alcoves. The space itself can hold about 1000 people or 700 seated for dinner. It still has the stage and other elements that made this place so unique as well as a side room that has sparkling chandaliers and a long harvest table for smaller events. With caterers on their list including Fabulous Catering, Create Catering, D’Amico and Chowgirls Killer Catering, you know the food will be amazing as well.
The space is pretty bare bones, so clients will get to exercise their imaginations dressing the space up. For tonight’s open house Adagio showed how lighting could dramatically change the walls with a wash of color. There was an exclusivity contract at the event so I’m not able to post pictures of the space, but I know Sally from La Vie Photography got some gorgeous shots that you can feast your eyes on! The website also has images from two events in it’s gallery. I am so excited to see what people do in the future with this venue!
IVEY sure knows how to throw a party!
This year’s IVEY Awards had an emphasis on costume design, and all the guests were dressed to the nines. With a paparazzi filled red carpet, stars of the Twin Cities theater scene were posing for pictures, chatting with friends and enjoying the adrenaline rush of an awards night.
The opening act showed off the variety of costumes designed that year. From the amazingly detailed Victorian gowns from the Guthrie‘s HMS Pinafore to the outrageously funky designs from Chanhassen Dinner Theater’s Hairspray to colorful puppets from Mixed Blood Theater’s Avenue Q, the audience was treated to a song and dance number that had this variety of genres interacting together.
Notible moments from the awards included a beautifully sung solo piece by National High School Musical Theater Awards winner, and Minnesotan, Ryan McCartan (all the ladies were a-flutter, seriously), a scene from The 7-Shot Symphony performed by Live Action Set, and Don Shelby, strutting on stage in a suit, fishnets and heels to introduce the final performance of the night from Rocky Horror Picture Show. He stole the show, in my opinion.
Here are a few images from the night, and please support our amazing Twin Cities theater!
Check this out! John wrote a blog post =)
Parkour is gaining massive momentum within the Twin Cities. So much so that traceurs Chad Zwadlo and Mitch Andrejka decided to open Fight or Flight Academy in Edina. It is the only parkour and free running based gym in Minnesota and there are only a handful in the US.
Not everyone knows what parkour is but everyone is familiar with chase scenes from any blockbuster action flick. From Jacki Chan to 007, the movies have had parkour for years without the label. Actor A runs after Actor B = parkour. Civilizations have been doing it since war existed. The modern version started a couple decades ago in France and has since spread into two main camps. Parkour and Free Running. Parkour is the art of overcoming obstacles within one’s path by adapting movement to the environment. Free Running takes parkour and adds some form or expression (tricks and flips). They really are different but most people tend to use the terms interchangeably.
Fight or Flight is open to parkour, free running, break dance, and martial arts. Now you see where “fight or flight” comes from. It’s unique. It’s a niche market but there are so many in the Twin Cities ready for it. The open house had amazing attendance throughout the day. Here are a few pics from the day.
Jason and Myra were married today!
The afternoon started with the ceremony at the Minneapolis Golf Club. Jason was so excited to see Myra as she walked down the aisle. With a royal theme to their wedding, it was no surprise that Myra’s dress was covered in sparkles and that she looked like a princess. The officiant, Rabbi Rothman, was amazing! He had people laughing and crying and was even good at improving. Myra and Jason were so happy to be married, they literally danced down the aisle.
Event du Jour planned the wedding, and Valerie made sure Myra got a sneak peek of the reception space before the whirlwind of pictures. Jason and Valerie designed the reception hall without Myra knowing what it would look like and she was brought to tears when she saw everything put together. The color scheme of royal blue and silver was very evident with black and royal blue linens, silver chairs and chargers, and sparkly chandalier centerpieces from Linen Effects. The head table had an amazing silver sparkly table cloth, and the floral arrangements created by Chanhassen Floral were of varying heights and styles…all in blue and white. Midwest Sound gave the room extra pazzaz with blue uplighting, and Queen of Cakes designed a cake that took the royalty theme literally, with a castle cake topper.
For pictures, we headed to a nearby park with Forever Films to capture the antics of the group. With the entire wedding party in black, the bride and groom really stood out in their white and ivory outfits. We had a great time in gorgeous weather with a lot of laughter and energy. Select Shuttles did a great job driving us to and fro and we got back to the Golf Club as the cocktail hour was winding down.
During a delicious meal, the couple mingled with their guests, gave passionate kisses, and laughed with their family and friends at the speeches. The DJ from Midwest Sound started getting the guests amped during dinner, so by the time the dance started, their energy levels were through the roof. The wedding party dance quickly turned into a packed dancefloor and everyone was ready to party. There were many memorable moments, with the garter toss (well the fetching of the garter) as the winner in my book. What a fun group!
Jason and Myra, thank you so much for having me be a part of your day, here are my favorites!
