Duluth Wedding Archives – Studio Laguna Photography

Matt and Amanda

August 22, 2017 By katrina 1 Comment

Matt and Amanda were married on Saturday!

These two love the north shore, the outdoors, and historic architecture. So naturally, they chose Duluth, Minnesota, for their destination wedding. Incidentally, they also chose it for their north shore engagement session. Amanda knows every corner of this neck of the woods, and picked all the locations for the wedding portraits. Perhaps it is this kinship that led this normally temperamental location to deliver gorgeous weather for the entire day, allowing the guests to dance the night away on the veranda…it was like Lake Superior wanted to show off her best qualities to the visitors.

The entire day took place at the gorgeous Kitchi Gammi Club, and Matt and Amanda did a fantastic job marrying modern simplicity and vintage details. From her knockout of a gown, to an invitation suite that featured handwriting you would see on blueprints, to dried violets on the cupcakes, every little detail had such thought behind it. My favorite, of course, was the signature drink called “Liquid Luck”. Any time I get to photograph a Harry Potter fan’s wedding, I’m a happy camper!

We shared the storytelling with videographer Nick, owner of Make Your Memory, so naturally we all had a blast driving around Duluth and shooting in all the corners of the mansion with this crazy fun group! Keep scrolling to see our favorites from the day!

Dan and Sara

September 21, 2014 By katrina 5 Comments

You know you’ve lucked out when your client says, “this is a north shore wedding, my dress is going to get a little dirty, that’s fine” YESSSSS! This north shore destination wedding embraced the up nort’ mentality through and through. Sara and Dan are foodies that love good music, good people, and having a good time, and their wedding covered all the bases. Friends and family stayed at the Larsmont Cottages on Lake Superior and made a weekend out of it. The day was THE MOST PERFECT North Shore kind of day…a light breeze, beautiful skies, perfect temperatures, and a very enthusiastic group of people!

Sarah Trotter, of Lasting Impressions Weddings, worked with the couple on the aesthetics of the day. Laid back darling art by Ello There set the tone for the weekend, and Angela’s Bella Flora created soft organic designs for everything from the bouquet to the flower girl wreaths.

We covered the day along with the videographers at Lola Visuals and truly enjoyed running around Duluth with Dan and Sara. And the dapper couple drew attention wherever they went. Sara wore a fabulous gown from Brides of France and Dan was in a custom suit from Heimie’s Haberdashery. Since we’re in Minnesota the weather changes constantly, and this is especially true on the North Shore. We went from 80% chance of thunderstorms four days ago a cloudy morning the day of to a vibrant blue sky just a few hours later. And we took full advantage!

The ceremony took place outside along the shore. The couple included meaningful poems and songs and gave an enthusiastic “I do!”

Cocktail hour was followed by a few more portraits just as the clouds rolled in.

This is the part where the best man stood in a divot and ended up a good foot shorter than everyone else 😉

Guests were treated to a delicious dinner, including the AMAZING cake (peanut butter chocolate, the BEST!!!!) by How Sweet It Is Cakes. Dan surprised Sara with a slideshow of their favorite travel pictures, and Sara’s sister surprised the couple with a group sing along.

Multiple guests were inviting everyone back to their rooms, and the party naturally ended up at the bride’s parents’ room. The raucous sounds of singing and general merriment coming from that cottage can only be compared to an Irish Pub. It was awesome. The clouds rolled in, the bonfire was lit, and sky lanterns were sent into the air to remember loved ones. It was a beautiful evening.

Dan and Sara, thank you so much for having us tell the story of your day. We are HONORED.

Jim and Kacie

September 10, 2011 By katrina 3 Comments

Jim and Kacie were married today!

The couple had an autumn theme to their Duluth wedding, with brown and cream colors and a natural northwoods focus. Kacie had all the details thought out and must have spent hours on etsy sites putting together all of her details. Kacie and Jim are also a wedding vendor’s delight, choosing vendors they trust and letting them do their thing. We were excited to learn the Erin Mullin (message me if you want her contact information) was designing the invitation suite and she did a gorgeous job as always. The designer at Engwall’s Florist and Greenhouse was ecstatic to get to work with the seed pods, grasses, and greenery that Kacie chose, and went all out to create beautiful arrangements. An unexpected plus? The room where the flowers were stored smelled so good…and we could have eaten the kale if we got really hungry ; )

Kacie was stunning with her romantic curls and a one shoulder gown that was sophisticated and fit her like a glove. And Jim cleaned up nicely as well. ; ) Since the couple has been together for almost 12 years, the wedding wasn’t a joining of families, but simply a gathering of people that already loved each other and couldn’t wait to have a good time. The members of the wedding party were so proud of their Duluth origins and have all known each other since about 7th grade, so their antics were fun to watch (and document). The bridesmaids kept Kacie laughing and calm, right up until it was time to walk down the aisle and see Jim for the first time. The ceremony was very sweet, with a few laughs thrown in and there was an exuberant first kiss.

After the ceremony, we hopped onto a trolley from the Duluth Transit Authority (they are GREAT by the way!) and drove to a couple favorite spots for pictures. Even though there was a harsh sun and the girls were in 3″ heels on the rocks, they were all troopers and we had a blast taking pictures. Since there was quite a bit of driving, there was also quite a bit of fun had on the trolley, including a “tour guide” pointing out all of the landmarks in Duluth where Kacie and Jim had history making moments.

The trolley got us all safely to Clyde Iron Works, a fairly new venue in Duluth. This space is great! The design shows off the industrial nature, with exposed beams, brick walls, iron railings, signs with rusty patina and concrete. It is a lovely blank slate. Kacie dressed it up with white draping from Avant Decor, and tables with a centerpiece of river rock and candles hanging from branches. There was a candy buffet for guests to nibble on before dinner, Red Swan Catering cake and cupcakes for dessert AND a late night snack of pizza, so the guests were well fed and happy. Intrigue entertainment did a great job as host, making sure things went smoothly and playing a good mix of songs throughout the night.

Kacie and Jim, thank you so much for having us be a part of your day! Here are our favorite images, enjoy!