We bounced speedlights off blissfully low, white ceilings in a basement bridal room:

We held open doors with our hienies to let natural light into a dark stairwell:

We enlisted the help of a tall groomsman (thank you, Jamie) to hold the a video light nice and high for our stage shots:

 We used Erin’s new portable strobe to create images just outside the sanctuary:

With just a few minutes to spare before we had access to the sanctuary and formal portraits could begin, we found a room with beautiful window light and interesting wall decor:

After we packed all our lighting goodies and gadgets up, we prepared for the ceremony.  Erin took the high road and shot from the balcony while I covered the event from the back of the center aisle.  Mt. Olivet doesn’t allow photographers to change locations during the ceremony and requires that they remain several pews behind the last row of guests.  Although this makes the photographer in me want to cry bitter tears of pity, the grown-up professional in me understands that I am not the most important part of this day.  I will always willingly and respectfully defer to the beauty and significance of the ceremony itself.  

Their ceremony was indeed beautiful and their officiant was fantastic.  He involved the guests and had Kristy and Garret laughing and smiling throughout the service.

 The laughter and smiles continued on to the luxury bus and into the reception.  Each table was adorned with its own gorgeous cake in gourmet flavors like Grand Marnier, Strawberry Torte and Chocolate Mousse.   Surrounding each cake were Target chocolates and stuffed Target dogs – a tribute to the place where Kristy and Garret met and work.

About the time that guests starting diving into their table cakes,  something happened that I have never seen before at a wedding.  The groom walked over to the dance floor, grabbed a guitar, and serenaded his new wife.  It was lovely, and sweet, and romantic, and all the gushy things women wish for on their wedding day.  Insert sighs and shivers here.

Here are some additional favorite moments from Kristy and Garret’s wedding, and like the images above, I didn’t add any crazy treatments to these images in Photoshop.  There are no over-the-top effects or actions.  No textures.  No bizarre colors or filters.  Just simply beautiful moments from a simply beautiful day.

The first wedding was in India this April.  I would like to say that I’m above being jealous of the Indian photographer who was lucky enough to document the multi-day extravaganza, but I’m just not.  I’m crazy jealous.  The colors, the sarees, the rituals, and oh my lordy, the food!  It’s enough to make me salivate all over my Nikons. 

When they returned home to California, Sarah and Abhinav made everything legal stateside by having a simple but functional JP ceremony.  It was as husband and wife that they made the trip to Minnesota for their third and final ceremony.

Because I arrived at the Crowne Plaza a little early for Sarah’s “getting ready” session, I had some extra time to spend documenting details of the day like her fabulous pink heals and stacks of pink and gold bangles.  After the details received their proper due, we turned our cameras to Sarah, her mother, and her sisters-in-law as they put the finishing touches on Sarah’s hair, dress, make-up  and jewelry.  The end result was simply stunning. 

From the hotel we made a quick stop at the fountain across the street for Sarah and Abhinav’s first look.  Abhinav certainly didn’t look at Sarah like this was their third wedding.  A quick glance at the images below, and you’ll see why.  We gave them a few moments to enjoy each other’s reactions and then we headed to the Minnesota History Center for portraits before the ceremony.

If you haven’t been to the History Center, you should.  It’s a gorgeous building with light spilling in from every direction and amazing views of both the Capitol and the Cathedral.  The Capitol acted as a backdrop for the ceremony, performed by Sarah’s uncle in front of floor to ceiling windows.  The ceremony itself was a mix of East meets West, as was the reception and dance that followed.  And even though we weren’t in India, there were still vibrant colors, gorgeous sarees, beautiful rituals, delicious food and one really happy couple. 

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. 

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.

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.

Some children are more comfortable in their own home.  A dark studio can be scary for some wee ones, but their own bedroom is always a safe and snuggly refuge.  They can be themselves.  Jump on their beds.  Show me their favorite toys.  Show me their expert swinging and hula-hooping techniques.  In short, kids get to be kids.   And I kind of get to be one too.

And now for a little more gratitude – Alicia Oppelt Musselman.  BEST ASSISTANT EVER!  Hands down; no contest.  She rocks, and she may be a little bit psychic because she has a freaky way of completing tasks I haven’t even asked her to do yet.  And if there are any photographers out there with notions of whisking her away, think twice.  I am not above biting.  She makes it possible for me to focus on creating images instead of where I left my light meter.

David Grupa and Erin Dunn - thank you both for telling me to quit being such a wimp and just enter the album already.

Some of you already know that my man and I recently moved, which involved a large explosion of boxes, a few broken pieces of furniture, numberous vanishing critical items, and four plastic tubs labeled ”sentimental crap.” 

We moved on a Friday morning.  I shot an engagement session that Friday night.  I made an insignificant dent in the box explosion Saturday.  I spend Sunday morning in the emergency room, Sunday afternoon in surgery, and Sunday night somewhere in la-la land.  I was released Monday afternoon, minus one very disgruntled appendix.  I spent the next two days looking at boxes I was not allowed to move.  On Thursday, my assistant Alicia drove us to Rochester. On Friday we started shooting at 10 am, and we packed our bags to go at 10 pm.  

I’ll tell you the same thing I told my mom: Don’t worry.  I heal like a champ. 

But now that all the boxes are unpacked and the incisions are healed, it’s time for a little gratitude party.

I’m grateful for my man.  I woke up to him petting my head.  Pure heaven. 

I’m grateful for all the incredibly talented and caring nurses and doctors at St. John’s.

I’m grateful for my awesome father-in-law, who helped me pick up Craigslist shelves I needed to contain the box explosion.

I’m grateful for all my family and friends who called, e-mailed, texted, Facebooked and visited me. 

I’m grateful for my wonderful, fabulous assistant Alicia.  I would have been eating Vicodin like Skittles if she wasn’t at that wedding.

I’m grateful it didn’t happen during a wedding and that I had a few days to heal before I did have a wedding.

I’m grateful to have the MNPPA.  If my appendix hadn’t been so considerate in it’s timing, the MNPPA would have helped me find someone to cover my weddings.

And even though I already mentioned him once, I’m grateful for my man. 

Now that I’m right as rain again and all nestled into my new digs, keep an eye out for upcoming posts.  There’s good things to come, my friends.