Che Bella Archives – Studio Laguna Photography

Rea and Max

October 23, 2016 By katrina 1 Comment

Rea and Max were married yesterday!

The sheer amount of joy present at this wedding was infectious. Rea and Max managed to throw such a party that when the last song played people were yelling, “best wedding ever!” Pretty admirable, especially since they planned the entire thing from the west coast. The day took place at the gorgeous historic Machine Shop in Minneapolis. Getting ready involved pink champagne, love songs, and youtube videos of how to tie a bow tie.

Max’s bouquet had a special detail to honor her dad.

Max looked stunning in her Che Bella gown, and Rea was so dapper in his J.Crew tux. We utilized the awesome natural light of Machine Shop for some portraits, and then headed outside to take advantage of the gorgeous autumn day. So many of the guests were from other parts of the country, it was fantastic to show off our state at the peak of beauty.

Yeah, these guys have a ton of fun together…

After pictures around town, it was time to get married!

Max’s brothers walked her down the aisle, and a good friend officiated the ceremony. Everyone was in stitches the whole time listening to stories about the couple and watching as Rea was welcomed to the family with generous smooches.

After the ceremony, we snuck away to watch the sunset and enjoy a fabulous view of the city.

The reception looked amazing. Sadie’s Couture Floral, Rocket Science Weddings and Events and Avant Decor created a lovely atmosphere for the guests to enjoy. The space was warm, inviting and romantic. Max and Rea entered the room to tumultuous applause, then sat down to a family style delicious dinner by The Deco Catering. Heartfelt speeches followed, and then it was time to tear up the dance floor. DJ Digie knocked our socks off. He played an amazing mix of music that had the floor packed all night. The reception images speak for themselves, everyone had a crazy fun time.

Rea and Max, we can’t thank you enough for trusting us to capture your day. Enjoy your sneak peek!

Alex and Tom

August 6, 2016 By katrina 2 Comments

Alex and Tom were married today!

I don’t even know where to begin with these two. They are such old souls. They share a love of literature, Northest Minneapolis, movies, music, great food, and most importantly their baby, Louis the bull dog. The couple chose to style their day with romance and whimsy, with a bit of quirk thrown in and a healthy does of Scandinavian design. Alex’s sister created a gorgeous invitation suite including a custom family crest for the couple, and a family friend designed the flowers.

The couple enjoyed a sweet first sight on the grounds of the American Swedish Institute where both the ceremony and reception took place.

Alex was a knock out in her lace gown from Che Bella, and Tom’s suit from Men’s Warehouse was so dapper. We loved the plaid tie. Every little detail was planned out, and so many of them were tied to family, like an heirloom ring from Tom’s family being Alex’s something borrowed, something blue. Sentiment ran through this day heavily and purposefully.

Alex and Tom are huge film buffs, and love the work of Wes Anderson as do we, so we were able to really have fun with the group portraits.

And lets not forget the ring bearer. Louis, the best damn dog a gal could ask for. That boy is cherished beyond belief and is a ham for the camera. We had a blast with him.

After pictures, it was time for the ceremony.

During cocktail hour, we took a few more pictures. We love working at the American Swedish Institute because it provides such a great variety of back drops from formal and classic to modern and streamline…and we used every surface.

At the reception, guests were treated to amazing food from Slate and Stone, a doughnut dessert buffet of the couple’s favorites from Han’s Bakery, and a favor of their favorite coffee. Guests enjoyed the summer evening, delicious meal, and great company. It was a lovely party.

A choreographed first dance to La Vie En Rose started off the night.

I cry at every father daughter dance, and this one was no exception. So sweet.

Adagio played Spice Girls to The Coasters and everything in between. It was so much watching these crazy guests dance the night away!

Tom and Alex, thank you so much for trusting us to tell the story of your day. Enjoy your sneak peek!!!

Patrick and Heidi

July 30, 2016 By katrina 3 Comments

Pat and Heidi got married today!

This sweet summer Saturday was made all the sweeter with a tender ceremony in a quiet garden at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Heidi and Pat chose a small intimate ceremony that focused on joining their two families together. Their attendants were their siblings and the cutest ring bearers and flower girls ever were their nieces and nephews. Heidi looked amazing in her lace gown from Che Bella and the couple chose muted hues of grey, blue, pink and ivory which gave everything a soft summery feel.

Seriously, these kids!

Family headed out while we stuck around the Arboretum to take advantage of the gardens in full bloom.

This image truly defines Heidi and Pat, I love it so much.

We then headed to Pat and Heidi’s house, to photograph them in their natural element, and to include their cute dog in some portraits! Considering they fell in love in the backyard of this house, it was very fitting to use the space for some pictures.

Friends and family arrived at Five Event Center to celebrate with the couple. It was beautifully decorated with soft romantic pinks and ivory and mercury glass. The Zacc Harris Trio entertained guests with jazz music as everyone enjoyed the amazing meal from Deco Catering. The evening was filled with laughter and great conversation, two things that naturally surround Heidi and Pat.

Pat and Heidi, I hope you enjoy your sneak peek! Thank you so much for having us tell the story of your day!!!

Ernest and Maria

November 7, 2015 By katrina 3 Comments

Ernest and Maria were married today!

Maria’s dream of a Great Gatsby themed wedding burst forth today in a wash of glitter, smiles, and oh so much fun. The ceremony and reception took place at the lovely St Paul Athletic Club and everyone was dressed to the nines and ready to party.

Ernest and Maria are one of those couples, where you go “are they REALLY this awesome?” and then you get to the wedding and all their friends are just as awesome and you start to wonder how the heck all these amazing people exist in one place.

The wedding party knew how to vogue like no one’s business.

We really wanted to play up a bit of Gatsby drama, and I did such a happy dance when we created this image of Maria. Her Che Bella dress was stunning and fit her like a glove. She literally stopped traffic. This image will go down as one my all time favorites.

And THIS image, well, this is another that will go down in infamy.

The ceremony was also full of laughs, these guys are a hoot!

The Hotel 340 lobby is just perfect for a grand wedding and Ernest and Maria’s guests packed the space on both the first and second floors to watch the ceremony.

This portrait is my homage to Daisy…

Back at the Athletic Club the party was ready to go and when Maria and Ernest appeared in the balcony to greet their guests the crowd went wild!

The guests were so eager to get the dance started, they were dancing at their tables and in the aisles, holding cake and champagne, laughing and greeting old friends. Cut Productions got the ball rolling with first dances and then mixed the rest of the night, with some crazy fraternity dances and even a serenade or two, the place was hopping!

And I’ll close the blog entry with this, because it is AMAZING…

Ernest and Maria, I hope you love your sneak peek! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for welcoming us into your world!

Norwegian Styled Shoot

March 1, 2013 By katrina 4 Comments

Today, we had an amazing styled shoot. I am still hyper, and did all kinds of crazy happy dances today! There is nothing like standing in a room watching vendor after vendor come in and presenting their amazing designs and seeing all the hard work and planning come together! Erin, owner of Blomma Designs, and I cooked up the inspiration for this shoot after realizing we both had such a love for primitive antiques from early America (think colonial times) as well as sharing Norwegian heritage. Erin worked her tush off designing this shoot, and we had a wonderful time collaborating!

So without further ado, here are my favorite images of the day! We’ll start with the lovely invitation suite designed by Patrice Soehnlein.

Our bride and groom were fabulous! Ellen wore a Jim Hjelm Couture gown from the fantastic Che Bella, and her own antique Norwegian selje earrings. The floral pieces, including her crown, were beautifully made by Sadie’s Couture Floral and Event Styling. Colin donned his custom tux designed by Heimie’s Haberdashery, I love a man that wears a real bow tie =)

I wanted to photograph this shoot with a low key style that emphasized the textures of the details. The Minnesota Boat Club was the perfect choice for our location since it has gorgeous mullioned windows that not only poured light into the room, but gave the colonial look we were going for.

The magnolia runner was to die for and looked fabulous on the hand made farm table from Rudy’s Rustic Rentals. The earthy browns used throughout the design made the pewter accents pop, and I love how Erin combined the textures of burlap and lace. The design elements came from the personal collections of both Erin and myself, and from Linen Effects, plus some pieces full of Norwegian heritage that were kindly provided by Ingebretsen’s in Minneapolis.

Sadie’s Couture Floral and Event Styling gave the table a pop of spring with light textures and soft colors. The hint of muscari blooms here and there was my favorite touch, as was the addition of kumquats!

Onsite Muse was the talent behind Ellen’s hair and makeup, and man, she looked smashing! We continued the theme of texture with a loose fishtail asymmetrical braid and kept the makeup fresh and light, to show off Ellen’s beautiful eyes.

Amanda Neeld, the pastry chef for Crave Catering, went above and beyond with her gorgeous desserts! She embraced our desire for texture and created an amazing array of cakes, pies, cookies, bars and tortes that wowed us all. And they tasted just as good as they looked! And in blessed happenstance, both Amanda and Amy at Sadie’s used kumquats as a garnish, I love how these things happen!

We paired Amanda’s gorgeous desserts with a Norwegian cheese platter fit for a king.

We enjoyed every minute of this shoot, what a blast! Thank you to all the AMAZING vendors that were a part of it and to the fabulous Ellen and Colin!

This is my favorite portrait of the day, the bride and groom with their Norwegian wedding pipes.