Lime Canary Vintage Rentals Archives – Studio Laguna Photography

Chris and Sarah

September 7, 2012 By katrina 8 Comments

Chris and Sarah were married today!

Their lovely wedding, produced beautifully by The Wedding Guys, incorporated Sarah’s laid back aesthetic with Chris’ stylish vintage one. Neutrals were used along with sparkles and glitz to add to the natural beauty of Camrose Hill Farm.

Following an anxious morning of getting ready, their first sight was AMAZING.

Chris and Sarah are magnetic. You are just drawn to them. In fact, over the course of the night we heard many stories of how friendships were formed over this “instant bond”. The love these two have for life and each other is palpable.

In true Minnesota fashion, the weather couldn’t quite decide what to do. There were two short rain showers before the ceremony, but everything cleared up right before it was time to go down the aisle. In one of my favorite moments of the day, the bride’s cottage was filled with the sound of singing as everyone sang “Goin to the Chapel” (in 3 part harmony no less!). Appropriately, the rain stopped and the sun came out, right before Sarah walked down the aisle to “Here Comes the Sun”.

Chris and Sarah wrote their ceremony, and it was lovely, funny, touching, and sweet. The personalized vows included Sarah promising to be Chris’ Sunny Day and Chris promising to be Sarah’s Shady Tree.

After the ceremony, guests enjoyed the beautiful cool weather. Croquet and badminton games started, champagne was passed around, and friends and family reunited. Camrose Hill has so many nooks and crannies to explore, and each space was a little unexpected vignette. Antique dressers, couches, and other pieces of furniture from Lime Canary Vintage Rentals and BeEvents were arranged throughout the many spaces so guests could cozy up.

QUITE the fun wedding party…

Lettuce Cater provided food that not only tasted amazing, but looked gorgeous! Food stations gave variety and interest to the reception, and stayed full the entire night to encourage constant snacking. The desserts, by Jessica’s Cakes, were devoured in no time! The layout of the space, quality of the food, and use of antique furniture as serving pieces kept the vibe refined yet relaxed.

Time for the first dance…

Dances and speeches were scattered throughout the night, and Level 11 did a great job emceeing and keeping the dance floor packed.

These people knew how to have a really REALLY good time =) I’m not sure when the craziness truly started…maybe when the bottle of Jameson started to be passed around, or maybe when guests started playing air guitar, maybe when the ties started coming off and ended up as Rambo headbands, or the heels came off and were replaced by cowboy boots…

Oh, AND there was an afterparty at a local bar…and guess who got on stage?

Chris and Sarah, thank you so much for having us be a part of your day. It was such a joy telling your story! John and I will now join the crowd of people that consider their lives more the richer having meet the two of you. Enjoy your sneak peek!

Groom’s Night with the Independent Wedding Association

October 13, 2011 By katrina 2 Comments

The Independent Wedding Association is known to embrace creativity and do things outside the box. Take, for example, our new inspiration magazine titled Hearten. Jello molds and Minnesota shaped pie on a stick are just a few of the unexpected beauties in this magazine!

Another example happened tonight at Pinstripes in Edina. The IWA presented Groom’s Night, a wedding fair with a manly twist. It is about time grooms get their time in the spotlight and we wanted to celebrate all the things about a wedding that are manly! Cigars, whiskey, bowling, pizza, The Traveling Photo Booth, Superman, manscaping, etc. It was all here. Brides, of course, were welcome as well, and we saw many couples equally chatting up vendors and attending the mini educational sessions.

Though all the vendors exhibited lovely work, the booth that really stood out was Cocoa and Fig. They designed an indoor s’more station that was TO DIE FOR! House made graham crackers and decadent chocolate squares were set out for guests to assemble after toasting their gourmet marshmallow to perfection. It was a fantastic idea and I would love to see this food station at weddings this upcoming year (especially any weddings where we are the photographers so we can eat the treats!).

Overall, the show was a big hit, and a huge round of applause goes to Becca Dilley who founded the association, enthusiastically keeps it up and tirelessly keeps planning new and cool events like this! Please visit the IWA website to see a list of vendors. We are member run and funded and are very proud of what we are bringing to the Twin Cities wedding community!

Here are some images of the fair! Images are showing the booths of Munster Rose, Posh | Rebel, Festivities!, Sassafras, Redshoes26 Design, a list of the mini sessions, Cocoa and Fig, and the entire group. Enjoy!

Rocket Science Weddings and Events

September 9, 2011 By katrina Leave a Comment

Every once and a while, I like to interview other wedding professionals. It is fun to see their perspective on weddings and share their insights with readers of this blog. This time around I asked Gretchen, owner of Rocket Science Weddings and Events to share her expertise.

Gretchen Culver is a fabulous person and a think outside the box type of creative. She is a go getter, a mom, fantasy football smack talker, walking taco eater, and a great date to networking parties. I love her passion for her brides, and her creative ideas. She knows how to work a budget and be the calm force on the wedding day that makes everything go smoothly. She is also a member of the Independent Wedding Association which makes her an all new level of awesome =)

Here is our interview, enjoy!

What is your experience as a wedding planner?
I have been planning weddings since 2002 in some fashion or another. I launched my own company is 2009, Rocket Science Weddings and Events.

What is the biggest logistical issue on a wedding day that most couples overlook?
Who is going to pick everything up at the end of the night. There are a million different pieces that need to come together, especially if there are any DIY projects involved. Thought is given to how everything is going to be set up, but not how they are coming down.

Another logistical issue involves cars. If the bridal party drives to the church, but then gets in a limo after the ceremony to go to the reception, all of the cars are going to be at the church and the wedding party will have to figure out how to get there at the end of the night or the next morning.

What is the benefit of hiring a wedding planner first before your other vendors?
There are many!!! First, the amount of stress taken off the bride and groom. Some of the biggest decisions about the wedding day come first (venue, budget, guest list, etc.) and many couples try and tackle them on their own. This can be very stressful. I see a lot of couples coming to me after they have found the venue because they are too stressed out and done with planning. Getting engaged changes family dynamics too, which can be stressful.

Second, expertise. You are only getting married once, I help people get married every weekend. My expertise is going to translate into time and money savings for you. Who wants to spend hours and hours researching vendors?! And how do you know you are getting the best price? We are going to help you find the perfect vendors for your budget and style.

Third, design. Some brides have lots of ideas about how they want their wedding to be, without having any way to translate those ideas into reality. Additionally, a good designer can create more out of your vision than you thought possible. Not all wedding planners are designers, but can direct you to a designer if need be.

Do you do destination weddings as well as local?
If you count Wisconsin, I do destinations! I would love to do more destination weddings, but currently I do most of my events in the greater Twin Cities.

How many hours does a typical day-of planner work?
I am sure it varies from planner to planner, but my day-of package entails 30-40 hours of work. The day of can be 10-15, plus all of the preplanning.

If you have to trim a budget, how do you go about doing that? What goes into the decision making?
I think about what the bride and groom value, and trim everything else. For example, if they really really want letterpress invitations and the budget is already maxed out, we may have to cut from decor or somewhere else to accommodate. However, a well planned budget from the get go should account for all those expenses.

What is your favorite hidden gem wedding business in the Twin Cities?
I love Gold’n Treasures, it is literally a hidden gem. They are a jewelry shop like no other. As you enter the shop in the basement of a brownstone, you are greeted with dum dum suckers and diamonds. It is great!

For vintage rentals, which I love, the up and coming Lime Canary Vintage Rentals is a great resource.

What is your favorite first dance song?
“Stay with You” by John Legend. It was my first dance song, that is probably why.

What colors do you see being big for 2012 and 2013? Any other trends we should be aware of?
Colors – metals, bright colors and mixing and matching. A pale blue with a neon turquoise or something like that. A big trend I am seeing is creating lounge areas in the reception space. Oh, and my favorite trend, pre-ceremony cocktails! I really like to plan non-traditional weddings so the rules go out the window, I like to think of my brides as trendsetters.

What wedding tradition do you wish would go away? What tradition do you love?
The tradition I wish would go away is definitely the dollar dance. It just isn’t right. One tradition I love is using a signature flower for the bride and groom. This flower is only n the bride’s bouquet and the groom’s boutonniere and nowhere else in the arrangements or decor.

So there you have it! I can’t tell you how through all the weddings we have photographed, we have realized how invaluable a wedding designer and planner can be. Gretchen immediately puts you at ease and really does have the talent to wow your guests. Go look up Rocket Science and follow her blog for fun ideas!

Ryan and Ashleigh

August 27, 2011 By katrina 1 Comment

Ryan and Ashleigh were married today!

We have been looking forward to this wedding all summer. One – because Ashleigh and Ryan are so in love it is beyond adorable…it goes past sweet and romantic into comfort and home. It is the kind of joyful warm love everyone wants. Like a cute kitten and a warm blanket. Ok, getting corny, but what can I say, I just love these two. The second reason we were looking forward to this wedding is because Ashleigh embraced her farm wedding like no one else. We emailed back and forth about ideas and she took her style to a whole new level, and did it beautifully.

The details were a photographer’s dream. Ryan and Ashleigh fixed up Ashleigh’s parents’ hobby farm in Medford, MN, for the big day. Taking down a corn crib, building benches and tables, landscaping the clearing where the wedding would be, cleaning out the shed where the reception took place, building a patio and repainting the barn were all done in the recent months. Ryan is amazingly handy, and he and Ashleigh put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into the place. Ashleigh and her mom amassed a huge collection of vintage tea cups, plates, silverware, frames and milk glass vases. Ashleigh paired up the delicate look of these pieces with sturdy burlap as the tablecloths and a bright modern navy blue on white pattern for the runners. The main colors of the wedding were a dark pink and navy with the floral pieces adding white and green to the pink. The entire farm had little vignettes tucked into corners and it was a blast going around photographing them all. Besides the large amount of pieces they built and purchased, Ashleigh also rented a few pieces from Lime Canary to round out the collection.

Ashleigh looked stunning in a one shoulder sheath gown and Ryan bought a beige suit and a bold pink tie. Ryan’s twins were also involved as ring bearer and flower girl, and looked adorable in their sweet country outfits. Even the horse, Reba, got a garland of flowers to wear around her neck. All of the flowers were designed by Ryan’s aunt, owner of Flora in Lester Prairie, that went above and beyond with her arrangements. They were so natural and fresh, and she found dark pink ranuculous that was the perfect shade. The flowers framing the ceremony site were all white, which stood out against the dark green trees. Bales of hay covered in white fabric were used for seating at the ceremony along with a few vintage chairs and hand made benches.

Ryan salvages as much as he can with the homes he works on and has an amazing collection. He hung old window panes and a crystal chandalier from the trees shading the ceremony site. He also built a bridge leading to the platform where the ceremony took place. The pastor had a wonderful analogy for walking across the bride to their new lives and joining their families together. To emphasise that point, the kids joined Ashleigh and Ryan for a sand ceremony, blending all of their colors of sand together. During the vows, Ryan stole the show with an exuberant “I DO!” that he repeated twice, and the couple was just beaming as they came back down the aisle.

The reception was under the stars. Lanterns hung between the trees and the tool shed, which served as the food staging area and dance floor. As guests walked over to this area, they signed the guest book, which was a poster of a tree that each guest put their thumbprint on to add leaves. The bottom of the tree had the couple’s names and their wedding date. At each table setting there was a mason jar tied with pink and blue yarn, both a favor and drink holder for the night. Not only was there a water station, complete with pink striped straws, but also a horse trailer that served as the bar with root beer and beer on tap. Home made pear wine was with custom labels were at each table as well, a gift to the couple from a family member.

The food was delicious and country perfect, prepared by the Owatonna Hy-Vee. The dessert table, set underneath a sign reading “love is sweet”, was laden with goodies. Ashleigh’s dad is a phenomenal baker, and his cookies and bars were devoured. Ryan’s parents run Farm on Wheels, a popular St. Paul farmers market stop for organic meats, so it was only natural that the cake Ryan’s mom baked was all organic and used from the farm products…no high fructose corn syrup here!

After dinner, the band Wide Load performed country and bluegrass music for the guests to dance to. Ashleigh hung a variety of vintage picture frames in a cluster from a tree to use as a backdrop for a photobooth, which proved to be much fun. There was also a fire pit set up, surrounded by hay bales, and all the fixin’s for s’mores. Guests enjoyed a gorgeous evening under the stars.

Ryan and Ashleigh, we feel truly blessed that you have welcomed us into your lives and had us photograph your wedding day. Here are our favorites, enjoy!

Semple Mansion Bridal Fair

March 13, 2011 By katrina Leave a Comment

Today I photographed Brett Dorrian Artistry Studios in action. The team was hard at work dolling up the models for two fashion shows in the Grand Palladian Ballroom. The fashion show I photographed was for Andrea’s Vintage Bridal. I love how Brett used the heritage of the model’s gown to inspire the makeup and hair. There were iconic images of women from the 20’s to the 80’s in the room where everyone was getting ready to serve as inspiration, and the models looked amazing. To compliment the looks, Adagio paired each model with music for their era, it was so fun to see each model come down the runway and have a blast from the past.

Any time I’m in the Semple Mansion I HAVE to stop by Posh Bridal Couture and Paperista. Any interior design lover will just flip over how amazingly chic these spaces are, and of course everyone will appreciate how fabulous the owners are =) Posh’s gorgeous dresses also have a new addition. Luxe is a gown company that focuses on gorgeous plus sized dresses, which is a concept I truly appreciate.

Up in the ballroom were many familiar friends including The Traveling Photobooth, We Cater to You, and Chowgirls Catering. I was also able to finally meet the talent behind A Day in Provence. I simply loved the booth and the creative elements in the floral designs! I also made sure to visit Floral Logic’s space. I have always admired Eric’s designs and it was fun to chat with him for a while.

The find of the day is a new company that I am very excited about. Lime Canary Vintage Rentals. Amanda started collecting vintage pieces for her own wedding and decided to open a business dedicated to rentals for vintage weddings, events, theater, and staging. I think this is a fantastic idea and I will definitely be using her services in the future.

Here are a few images from the day, enjoy!