Today the MMPA had their Summit and Expo at the Earle Brown Heritage Center. About 200 people in the plublishing world came to learn from national speakers about sales, design, audience development and editorial. It was fantastic to see all of the amazing publications that come out of Minnesota and while I was photographing the various speakers, I was able to learn quite a bit as well. This group is full of fantastic creative people, and it is always a joy to work with them. Here are my favorite images, enjoy!
Tony and Lisa
Tony and Lisa were married today!
Lisa looked just like Cinderella today with her elegant hair and detailed gown. Yet, this wasn’t a typical Cinderella wedding, the colors were maroon and gold. (guess where the groom went to school?!?!) Lisa and Tony did a great job combining collegiate colors with an air of sophistication. The red and gold roses were lovely and I didn’t even know the bouquets were DIY! Calvary Lutheran, the church home where Lisa grew up, was also decked out in arrangements of yellow and dark red flowers, which really brightened up the sanctuary.
Lisa and Tony had a private first sight and then we had a great time photographing the different groups of friends and family. The groomsmen kept pulling out their phones and we learned that a few of them were tweeting. We got a wedding hashtag going and it was fun reading what people had to say throughout the night.
After the ceremony, the couple had a bubble send off and then hopped into a gorgeous vintage Rolls Royce. They met the wedding party at a local park and that is where we definitely strayed from tradition. When Lisa and Tony first hired us, Lisa talked about how she wanted her pictures to be different. She wanted the time to be less about the poses and more about having a good time. So we constructed a bit of a set and gave the wedding party an excuse to play. We had a football, picnic blanket, croquet set, and champagne. The wedding party hung out, played around, relaxed, and just chatted with each other. Lisa even proved to us all that even though she was in a wedding dress, she could still throw a football! It was a very fun way for Lisa and Tony to have some down time before the reception when they’d be surrounded by 400 guests!
All of those guests were waiting for the couple at Earle Brown Heritage Center and greeted them enthusiastically. Most of Lisa and Tony’s wedding party are married, so Lisa was given a lot of advice…including using Earle Brown for the reception, and that was a great piece of advice! The food was great, the service was stellar and the space was big enough to handle the crowd. After speeches and the first dances, the party got started. Lisa had been wanting to dance all day and it was so fun watching her twirl in her dress and sing with her girlfriends. There were a LOT of kids, so we got some really fun pictures of their shenanigans as well. And a late night snack of pizza kept the energy up even more. It was definitely a hopping party.
Tony and Lisa, thank you so much for having us be a part of your big day. I hope it was an amazing time for you! Enjoy your honeymoon, and here are a few sneak peeks to tide you over =)
Brett and Jennifer
Brett and Jen were married today!
When Jen saw the weather forcast called for rain on her wedding day, she bought bright colored polka dot umbrellas. That positive action pretty much sums her up =) And the whole wedding party for that matter. We had a fabulous time today, this was such a great group!
We started the day off at the Embassy Suites in Brooklyn Center where a very anxious groom got to finally see his bride. Jen looked so amazing in her ivory gown, it was the perfect cut on her. I think Brett agreed, he was pretty speechless! Jen wanted lots of color in her flowers and was so excited to see what JFH Design Co created! The bouquets and boutonnieres were so fun and such a great balance of bright colors and texture.
After the first sight we walked around the Earle Brown Heritage Center grounds for our group shots, sweet and fun alike. Though the rain barely sprinkled, we did get to use those awesome umbrellas! After pictures, we then went to a gas station for some pictures of the couple. Yep, a gas station…a very particular gas station…the one where Brett proposed to Jen after a fancy dinner out took a bit of a detour. With such a great proposal story, we HAD to go there for pictures! And though we got some quizzical looks, the images turned out so great!
Then it was off to Prince of Peace Lutheran in St. Louis Park. This is the church where Jen was baptised and confirmed, so it was a very special place for the ceremony. In fact, she carried a prayer book down the aisle that she was given at her baptism.
It was back to Earle Brown for the reception. Jen had some really neat details at the reception including a guest book that was a coffee table book about Norway, place cards hanging from ribbons by little clothes pins, rubber ducks as the topper to their Buttercream cake, and different styles of lanterns as centerpieces.
After meeting Brett, who has a pretty reserved personality, I was expecting a fun but also reserved group of friends. I couldn’t have been more wrong! This was one of the craziest receptions we have ever been to! We were laughing so hard at the antics of the friends and family members, and got some of our favorite bouquet and garter toss pictures ever. It was tough to leave the reception, there was always some crazy dance going on!
Brett and Jen, here are our favorite images, enjoy!
