This is the third year in a row I’ve won the title, and as in the previous years, I’m proud to win based on work done for my actual clients.  No fake, fancy model shoots here.  Just real brides, real grooms, real weddings. 

One of my images was also selected for the Kodak Gallery Award.   Kodak introduced the Gallery Awards in 1985 as a way to honor and promote the importance and value of excellence in professional photography.  The MNPPA awards one Kodak Gallery Award to a wedding photographer each year.  This year is my third year receiving the award.

I’m so thankful to be recognized and honored by my peers, but I didn’t win on my own.  Thank you to Alicia Oppelt-Musselman for being a great assistant, to Krish Kiefer and Julie Ann Jonker for their expert advice and critiques, and to Erin Dunn for transporting my prints to and from the competition, keeping me posted on their scores, and keeping me from having a total nervous explosion.  I am lucky and grateful to have such wonderful women and extraordinary photographers in my life.

I loved this wedding. I mean I really, really loved this wedding. And let me tell you why. . . because it was like being in the middle of the best romantic movie you have ever seen. There were tears. There was laughter. There was face-touching (which you know is my favorite). There were groomsman shenanigans. There were sweet and sassy bridesmaids. But most importantly, there was love. Giant, rushing, warm, shiny, sparkling waves of love.

(Jeez Louise, I’m crying already and I’m only two paragraphs in.)

Even though several months have passed since this wedding, when I look at the images, I can feel it like it was yesterday. I can feel Kari’s exuberant dance around the dressing room after she put on her mother’s cathedral veil. I can feel the unique (albeit mysterious) bonds of masculine friendship when Logan is hoisted onto his best man’s shoulders. I can feel the pain and pride of Kari’s oldest brother speaking on behalf of the father they lost. I can feel the sorrow, comfort and love as Kari dances the first dance with her mother, and they wipe away each others tears.

And although there was certainly sorrow, there was so much joy. Kari and Logan stood hand in hand in the middle of the dance floor as Minnesota’s Wedding Entertainment Director Extraordinaire Bill Hermann spun the tale of their love – from a match made on eHarmony, to their engagement, to their wedding day. Everybody – and I mean everybody – was hypnotized. Watching the two of them gaze at each other while Bill’s low, melodic narrative carried us along in their story was beyond moving. It was epic.

And then things got crazy.

It’s not often that you get to see a dance floor packed from edge to edge at a wedding. And all the events that might go quietly into the night at a reception, like the garter and bouquet, were done with such flourish that they became events in and of themselves. When Kari threw the bouquet, there were hands everywhere grasping at the floral projectile. When Logan removed Kari’s garter, they were literally surrounded by every man and boy in the place. When they did the anniversary dance, the floor was packed shoulder to shoulder with couples in love, which as you can imagine, is heaven for a mush bucket like me.

 So this is my Valentine’s Day gift to you. Looking at these images will not only make your feel Kari and Logan’s love and joy, it will make you feel your own. You’ll think of how much you love those around you and how lucky you are to have their love in return. And it will feel oh, so good.

 Happy Valentine’s Day!

 Now go kiss somebody, already!

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There wasn’t even a photographer . . . besides Alicia.  Alicia is my capital “A” Awesome Assistant.  And even though she was the one getting married, she was also the photographer.  She set up her camera on a tripod and hid a wireless remote in her hand.   Although I don’t have any of those images to show you, I do have some that we took at her Minnesota reception.

Cecil and Alicia booked The Wilds in Prior Lake  for their reception.  We ran outside just before the first dances and then again afterwards and were able to create three entirely different looks as the sun changed.  As special thanks goes out to Alicia’s cousin and his partner who played the part of Alicia since she was busy playing the part of the bride.  And what a beautiful bride she was! 

 But I don’t have to tell you – see for yourself.

Congratulations, Alicia and Cecil!  

When I shot their engagement session at the Peace Gardens at Lake Harriet, I knew that they were my kind of couple.  They’re fun, genuine, don’t take themselves too seriously, and are perfectly at ease with being schmoopy in front of the camera.  They’re the kind of couple that I can put in good light, take a step back, and give them a two-word direction: snuggle up.   And they are champion snuggle-up-ers.  

Although I would have been more than happy to photograph Erin and Brian in the basement of the local VFW, when I met them at the Calhoun Beach Club for their final consultation, my jaw literally dropped.  It’s a beautiful facility with a very unique style.  Elegant and contemporary with an abundance of natural light, I became positively giddy thinking of all the possibilities.  As fellow photographer Michael Overbeek recently quoted from Top Gun – it’s a “target rich environment.”

Of all the places I’ve photographed, there are only a handful that really put attention and thought into the bride’s room.  The bride’s room in Calhoun Beach Club is one of the loveliest I have ever seen.  It has four separate stations for hair/make-up, gorgeous mirrors, two beautiful white couches with crisp clean lines, and ornamental hooks  high on the wall, perfectly placed for handing a wedding dress. 

But even better than being a gorgeous building with beautiful light and a lovely bride’s room, The Calhoun Beach Club has personal significance to Erin and Brian.   This is where their story began.  Right outside the gated pool area is where they spoke to each other for the first time.  So of course on their wedding day, to bring their story full circle and pay homage to the god of symmetry, we had to sneak away for a few minutes and go to the place where it all started. 

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Ohh, Universe!  What a twisted bugger you are!

Now don’t jump to conclusions.  Alissa, Mike, their families and their bridal party could not have been more sweet, more cooperative, or more fun to spend the day with.  There was no Bridezilla, Momzilla or any other kind of Zilla.  Everybody was in a great mood, we started on time at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in East Bethel, MN, and Alissa and Mike looked fantastic.  But we hadn’t even taken the first formal portrait when Alissa heard something rip as she walked up the alter steps.  Yep.  Her wedding dress ripped.  And not somewhere in the back or under the train.  It was right in front where the gathers from the sides came together underneath a sequin embellishment.  Her personal attendant was wicked quick with a safety pin, and we kept moving.

The formal and informal portraits before the ceremony went swimmingly.  The ceremony was lovely, and the receiving line moved smoothly with lots of hugs and laughter – just in time to let the guests out into the pouring rain. 

Sigh.  We had planned on taking additional portraits outdoors after the ceremony, but it just goes to show you always need a Plan B – and a golf umbrella in the trunk of your car — nestled between a step stool, reflectors, extra extension cords, clamps, and folding chairs (seriously folks, you never know what you’ll need on a wedding day).  So instead of stopping at a park, we went to the bar, grabbed a few drinks (not me, of course, this girl needs to focus – literally), and headed to the hotel.

I stole Alissa and Mike away from the bridal party and wisked them up to their room to create some moody, dramatic images with my fancy new LedZilla video light.  Lordy, do I love that light!  And after I showed Alissa and Mike a few images on the back of the camera, I think they loved it too!

Just like Mike and Alissa, the reception was fun, full of laughs, and full of smooches.  Like always, the reception hit warp speed, time flew by, and I packed my beloved Nikons to go home and have a birthday dinner with my man.

No such luck.

Right as we were rolling our bags out, the hotel staff was at the door ushering everyone into a basement storage room because of a tornado in the area.  Now there’s a story the bride and groom will get to tell for the rest of their lives.  Knowing there was nothing you could do about spending part of your wedding reception in the hotel basement, Mike and Alissa used the time to visit with their guests.  And once staff moved some of us out of the storage room and into basement conference rooms, guests started making their own fun.  The folks in the room we were in played hangman on the whiteboard.  The room next to us had an informal family get-together.  I unpacked my beloveds and starting shooting.

After a few phone calls to my man to confirm that, yes, I could now drive home safely without fear of ending up in Oz and crushing a witch, we hit the road.  Thirty minutes later, I was safe and sound at home, opening up my birthday presents (thank you, Babe!).  And even though that tricky Universe tried to mess with Mike and Alissa’s perfect wedding, it failed miserably.  Mike and Alissa still had a gorgeous wedding, a delicious dinner, and a fantastic reception - including the part that was spent in the basement.  They will always have beautiful photographs of their day (if I do say so myself), and most importantly, they will always have each other.  That qualifies as perfect in my book.

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Even though I had been to the location the day before to scout it out, I arrived at Silverwood Park in St. Anthony about an hour and a half before we were actually scheduled to begin.  I don’t mess around with weddings, boys and girls.  There’s no excuse for being late, and there’s no excuse for not making friends with the location beforehand.  I like to be prepared, know what I have to work with, and know that I have ample time to get situated before the bride arrives.  That way I am calm, cool and collected when the all the frenetic energy of a wedding day begins.  And a morning walk through a beautiful park is definitely a great way to start.

In Silverwood Park, there’s a sculpture that’s a cross between a weather vane and butterfly wings.  My brain fast forwarded to an ethereal, fairytale image of the bride, and when we took the couple to the spot the wind wasn’t cooperative, but Jill sure was.  We waited for the right moment, and let the shutter fly.  I love the image I was able to create from that moment.  It takes me someplace else entirely, and captures a whimsical, magical moment that speaks perfectly to the romance of a wedding day.

Another image I love from this wedding is Cullen walking through the tall grass.  I love it because it was all his idea!  It reminded him of a scene from Gladiator, and I was more than happy to follow his lead. 

We moved on to the bridge and the island beyond and got some great snuggly, schmoopy, sexy, sassy shots – oh, how I love the schmoopy shots!  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’m a sucker for love. 

Before we moved on to family and bridal party portraits, we did a few set-ups indoors which included the following images that were taken, of all places, in the ladies’ bathroom.  Yep, the bathroom.  Jill might have thought I was off my rocker, but she was a champ and played along. 

As with most weddings, this is the time of the day when the pace picks up.  My time with just the couple comes to an end, and we add in bridal party and family members.  But for Jill and Cullen’s wedding, that meant a speed-limit-busting drive over to St. Lawrence Church in Minneapolis for formal portraits, where the best assistant in the word, Alicia Oppelt Musselman, had the lights set up and ready to go as soon as we arrived.  Before we knew it, formal portraits were done, the ceremony was over, and we were back in our cars making the speed-limit-busting drive back to the park for the reception.

Even though I love everything about weddings, toasts are something special.  People are laughing, then they’re crying, then they’re laughing again.  Friends and family take the opportunity to say things during a toast they might not have a chance to say otherwise, like I love you, I’m proud of you, I’m thankful for everything you’ve done, I’m blessed to have you in my life.  I want to bottle every toast I’ve ever heard and keep them all in my pocket. 

And because I’m a big fan of all things schmoopy, I’m also a big fan of first dances.  And I have to say I prefer the hold-each-other-and-sway-in-a-circle type over the let’s-take-dance-classes-and-whip-each-other-all-over-the-dancefloor type.  Although the hold-and-sway variety may not be as flashy, you just don’t get these kinds of moments between fancy dance steps.

As with every wedding, by the time I pack up my beautiful babies (Twin Nikons – they’re soooo adorable), I’m riding a rush of emotion and adrenalin.  I’m pumped and exhausted at the same time – a perfect excuse to take a quick stroll past giant butterfly wings before heading home to my man.

I met with Alissa and Mike Thursday afternoon for a final consultation for their July 17th wedding.  I love final consultations because it gives me a chance to get all wrapped up in the excitement of their upcoming wedding.  We talked about all their details, from getting ready, to what to “borrow”, to first dances.  They’re such a great couple, and gorgeous to boot, that I cannot wait to photograph them again.  We shot their engagement session at St. Anthony Main in the fall, and the image I’ve posted below is a perfect introduction to them as a couple: smiling, laughing, playful, and all-around adorable. 

I am not exaggerating when I say this, even though I am a big fan of hyperbole, but if I didn’t know any better, I would think a photographer planned their wedding.   They opted to do a first look and see each other beforehand (insert giant “YAY” here).  They’ve allowed for plenty of time before the ceremony for photography, and additional time after the ceremony!  They even have a balanced number of groomsmen, bridesmaids, and ushers (4,4,2), which makes the symmetry-loving part of me jump for joy.  And it gets even better – their reception is at the Northland Inn, the same place my husband and I had our reception six and a half years ago.

Really – how did I get this lucky?

And there’s more!

That same evening I met Chriss and Brian for the first time.   From our e-mails, I could tell that Brian is a fellow photographer, and he knows his stuff.  I can say with certainty that he is the first groom to tell me that he likes the way I “work with light and shadow” and my “judicious use of shallow depth-of-field.”  I couldn’t have been more pleased if he told me I was the spitting image of Angelina Jolie.

After chatting about her favorite images, Chriss and I got sidetracked onto a conversation about giant purses after she made reference to my “about me” page and the fact that I keep a tape measure in my purse.  Talking shop about photography and discussing the merits of gigantor purses in the same meeting? These are my kind of people! 

But we didn’t just talk about camera gear and handbags.  We talked about the great light in the Landmark Center, the gorgeous rooms at the St. Paul Hotel, the dueling pianos that will be playing at their reception, table cakes, Brian’s grandmother’s ring, and their “grand entrance” into the reception while Chriss’s friend, a professional jazz vocalist, sings “At Last.”  Doesn’t this wedding sound fantastic?  Don’t you wish you could go?

Be prepared to be jealous – I get to go to this wedding and photograph all of it. Seriously – how did I get this lucky?

And just when you think there couldn’t possibly be more, there’s more.  That same day my precious was delivered to my door  : a brand new, completely awesome, fully adjustable Dedo LedZilla video light.  I had to take a break from writing this blog to play with it.  Believe me when I tell you that this light is a-maz-z-zing!  I am in love.

So that was my day, folks, awesome from beginning to end.  Thanks for picking up the phone and listening; I’ll call you again later.