Hotel 340 Archives – Studio Laguna Photography

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!

Chris and Lisa rang in the new year with their wedding yesterday! Words can’t describe this fantastic, warm, sweet, hilarious, playful, goofy couple or the wonderful people they surround themselves with. All I can say, is that Saint Paul’s heart grew 100 times when all of these fabulous humans converged at the Hotel 340 to celebrate the long awaited moment when Chris and Lisa would wed.

The day started off with Glam Doll Donuts, ’nuff said.

The wedding took place at the St Paul Athletic Club, a beautiful historic building in downtown St Paul. Lisa and her ladies glammed it up…

…while the guys got in a workout.

Um, yeah. No words, these guys were the bomb.

Wedding pinup? Why yes, please!

We all braved the cold (sorry about the potential frostbite, Chris!) for some outdoor portraits. The new Pedro Park was perfect for this group, bright, colorful and larger than life.

One more quick stop for a portrait with the Peanuts gang.

Chris and Lisa used elements from the theater throughout the day. They named their wedding “Meet Me in St Paul” and their wedding program was a playbill, complete with cast list and a four scene ceremony. They started off the ceremony with a rude guest on a cell phone being escorted out by the groomsmen. Then the bride entered to the most elegant traditional wedding march, which transitioned into the theme song for The Muppet Show, which immediately told the guests this was no ordinary wedding.

A friend of the couple did a fantastic job officiating, and even dabbing the bridal tears during the vows.

A little known German wedding tradition called “Amalden Sagen” was performed.

After the ceremony, the brave couple ventured outside to take advantage of the gorgeous lights in Rice Park. WORTH IT!

A couple more portraits (showing off the lovely flowers designed by Lund and Lange) back at the Hotel 340 and then it was time to party!

I love the elegant ballroom at the St Paul Athletic Club, and the fact that WA Frost is the in house caterer. Shimmery metallic decor bathed in candlelight worked perfectly with the space, and a Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy cake topper kept things lighthearted. The couple chose comfort foods like meatloaf and ravioli to fill their guests’ bellies so they could party hardy all night…there was even a surprise wedding party dance! DJ Joe kept the tunes spinning and the guests held nothing back when dancing. No words can express the following pictures, I’ll just let you all enjoy!

A celebration full of joy and humor! Chris and Lisa, thank you so much for letting us tag along for the ride! Enjoy your sneak peek!!!!