What can I say about this beautiful family that these AMAZING images don’t already say?! I have been taking Torrie’s family pictures for a couple years now and every time I see them they are always really fun, go with the flow and ready to rock the entire photo session. Seriously this family cannot take a bad picture, ever! This sweet girl has such an infectious smile!
The light this evening was to die for, the golden hour definitely was on our side! The golden hour, in photography language, occurs when the sun is low in the sky, but not quite setting. At this time, the intensity of the direct light is reduced and everything in front of it look illuminated. It really created some amazing light, for some perfect shots! So gorgeous!
Almost a year ago, I received a call from a client who was requesting family pictures. This is a pretty typical request I get, as I am a family photographer. I had taken photos for her family before, the only difference was that this time her mom, dad and siblings were there. She was in a hurry to get them done, which again, is not too out of the norm for me.
That was when they share the heartbreaking news with me. Stacey had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
This was a first for me as a photographer and definitely out of the norm. To have this happen to a client, so close to home, my heart ached. I am very passionate about what I do and consider all of my clients friends and care about all of them. I followed her journey though this and hoped and prayed that this ended with Stacey being cancer free.
I am happy to say and rejoice with her that STACEY KICKED CANCERS BUTT!!! To see the difference a year makes and the dreadful phone call she had to make to possibly take family photos for the last time. Then, to get the message she would like a goodbye to cancer session? My heart is bursting with happiness for her! She is such an inspiration to everyone!
Thank you Stacey for allowing me to be there with you as you said your final good bye to cancer.
I met this couple quite few months ago for their engagement session, which was so much fun! They had me a tad worried when we drove down some random dirt roads and man-made paths, but the session turned out amazing, what an adventure that was! I had a blast with them and was looking forward to their special day!
Now, I feel like I blinked my eyes and it was already June 18th! The sun was shining and the drive down to Mount Frontanec Golf Course was a dream. Far enough away from the cities to have minimal traffic and no road construction. In June? I know! I think that was the best part of the drive! I arrived at Mount Frontanec Golf Course. I slowed down, thinking I was there when I pulled in, but then I realized it was still a mile straight up a HUGE hill. I later found out, this used to be a ski resort so this massive hill made sense. At the top of the very steep hill was, hands down, the most gorgeous golf course I have ever seen. To be honest, I have not been on many golf courses, as I do not golf. I have done a handful of weddings on them, but this one had a one-of-a-kind view. Being so far up on that ski hill they had a very unique and mesmerizing view of Red Wing, Minnesota. I made sure to capture some of the killer view, plenty to see below in the pictures!
I was greeted by the sweet owners and they were just the most helpful couple. They showed me around to some of the places to take photos and where everything was going to take place. I love when someone can show me around and let me know where the nooks and cranny’s are! When Mara arrived, everything went according to the plan. We hopped in the car and ventured our way back down the steep hill to head into Red Wing, where Jeremiah was waiting to see his beautiful bride. They decided to do a first glance before the ceremony, I love when couples do this so I can catch the grooms face! So glad she chose the river for her first glance, couldn’t have been any better if I picked it myself! After that, we all rushed back to finish up formal pictures, then it was time!
The ceremony was beautiful, the music, the dresses, the flowers, everything. The reception definitely was their style and the food was so good, I mean sooooo good! I LOVED the adorable cake toppers! When it was about time for Gretchen (my second shooter) and I to pack up, we were so lucky to get to take Mara’s ’68 Purple Mustang out to the beautiful bluff overlooking Red Wing. These were definitely some of my favorite shots of the day! Thank you Mara and Jeremiah for giving me the honor to capture your special day. It was perfect in every way. Thank you to Mount Frontenac staff and owners for being so amazing!
I met tons of fun and out going brides and grooms in February when I was out at the Plymouth Creek Wedding Expo. Vlad and Carmen were one of them! When they met me for the couple minutes walking by my booth, I knew we would be a great fit; I was ecstatic when they said they for sure wanted me to capture their memories! Vlad and Carmen wanted their engagement session in Minneapolis. They love the downtown skyline and the Stone Arch Bridge and so do I, We even walked across the Stone Arch Bridge to explore St.Anthony on main too.
I definitely had a first on this photography adventure. As we were walking down a heavily wooded gravel path, I thought I saw a cat run across the path. Nope! It was a big fat beaver!! Seriously, I could have reached out and touched it if I wanted to! It was just chomping along on leaves, not a care in the world we were there. Towards the end of the evening the sun started to set as we went back over the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. The sun set and the Minneapolis skyline looked amazing. Naturally, they had to dance, right in the middle of the bridge. These two definitely love each other and I cannot wait to shoot their wedding in a few short months.
Meet Blaine and Adrienne! My word, these two are unbelievably cute! Blaine is Captain of the Plymouth, Minnesota Fire Station 2! So, naturally, we had to get some fun shots at his station. These two were so natural behind the camera I just couldn’t get enough of them. Kissing in the fire truck?! Adorable! After a few AMAZING shots and laughs at the fire station we headed over, way over, to Stillwater, Minnesota.
For those of you who have never explored the fabulous and historic, Downtown Stillwater, I highly recommend taking a trip to see this cute town. Check out their website for events and things to do! It’s a cute little town right on the St.Croix River, they have tons of stuff to do year-round. Its filled with unique shops, a beautiful one of kind lift bridge and a breathtaking view of it all, at the top of a really, really high set of stairs. I love doing photo shoots here, every time I come here, everything is a little different.
There are tons of historic buildings, nooks and doorways to take a few moments to smile by. I love that it can be rustic and urban at the same time! They have an ice cream shop right on Mainstreet, called Leo’s Malt Shop. Ice cream is their “thing”, so of course, we had to stop! There is always a line, but its worth the wait!
We ended our session where it all began, where Blaine proposed to Adrienne! Remember those really, really high stairs I mentioned earlier? Well, at the top is a beautiful over look of everything and that’s where he popped the question!
Simply stunning. We went up there at just the right time, to get some beautiful golden sun shots, right before it went down!
Congrats you two, I cant wait to capture your special day in just a few short months!
70 degrees, sun shining bright, light breeze, wine waiting to be poured and a beautiful view. These two love birds couldn’t have gotten married on a better day! But, before I go into the details of their big day, I thought I would share with you a little bit about these two. This is how they met and how Tim proposed!
“We met at my work–He started bringing his dog to the daycare that I worked at, at the time, and continued to bring him, just to see me! Tim proposed when we arrived to move all of our stuff into our new house.”
Renee started her special day at Regis Hair salon, in Apple Valley, with her favorite hair stylist! I love to capture all the fun getting ready shots, so many of them are spontaneous, and not posed! It really captures how much us ladies go through to complete the look of one of the biggest days of our lives! After her hair was all prettied up and she had that beautiful bride glow, we hopped in the car and headed to Cannon River Winery in Cannon Falls, MN. It was about a 35 minute drive from the St.Paul, so great that a place this gorgeous is just a short drive away! The winery has a quaint small town feel, plus, it is adorable and elegant at the same time, I can see why they chose this location. Renee finished getting ready there with her bridesmaids. Once she had her dress on we hopped on a shuttle that brought us to their secret vineyard about 15 minutes away.
Yes, I said secret vineyard, how romantic! We got there and words cannot begin to describe this place, it was just gorgeous! As you pull up the long dirt road, you see where the ceremony is going to take place, with a cute little shelter to keep the sun off guests, as they watch. Then, you look out and realize, all you see for miles are grapevines! With it being only the middle of May, the grapes and leaves were just starting to form. That touch of extra green definitely made the pictures pop! Tim and Renee had their first look in the shelter. Once we were done with pictures, the ceremony started. Everything was just perfect! We headed back to the winery via shuttle, no one was to drive out to the secret vineyard location, I thought that was fun! The rest of the night was priceless, filled with smiles, laughter and making memories. They had the winery decorated perfectly, the food was excellent and the DJ’s were a blast. There could not have been a better day or location for these two to tie the knot!
Thank you two for choosing and trusting me to capture your BEAUTIFUL wedding day! Congratulations again and I wish you both many, many years of happiness!
Thank you Dakota and Evan for being my first wedding this year! I cannot believe it’s already been just over a month since these two walked down the aisle! I met Dakota and Evan through their fabulous wedding coordinator, Jackie! I actually took her family photos and she referred me to them! When I finally got to meet them, we had some of the best burgers ever, at the Lions Tap in Eden Prairie, MN. YUM! I knew they were some pretty cool people when they wanted to eat there! The day of their wedding was so beautiful! The sun was shining, it wasn’t too hot or too cool, it was a tad windy, but that is what hair spray is for! The entire wedding party was really into the shots, which is always a plus on my part! The ceremony was so beautiful, it was so bright and magical! The reception had such amazing natural light, it just makes my job so much more exciting! Then, to end the night with the bon-fire, just perfect!
Thank you guys for choosing me as your photographer, you couldn’t have asked for a better day! Also want to add, a huge THANK YOU, it is because of your sacrifices that I am able to enjoy our freedoms. So I just want to say simply, THANK YOU for all you’ve done and continue to do for me, my family, my friends and our country.
Now, here is Dakota’s and Evans story of how they met and how he proposed!
“We met our freshman year at Iowa State. We were both starting ROTC and met at the freshman orientation. We became friends quite quickly and began dating in May of our second year at Iowa State. In late May of our junior year, we decided to go to dinner to celebrate being done with finals week. Evan said he had to go to a scholarship interview first, so he went and I came to pick him up for our fancy dinner. When I got to the building of his interview, one of our good friends was waiting with flowers to escort me to Evan, who promptly got down on one knee!”
I met this wonderful couple a few months when they booked a Holiday Mini Session. We had that session at Krueger’s Christmas Tree Farm in November when it was FREEZING! Not only did they come to me for pictures for their Christmas card, they also had some very exciting news to share with the world… They were pregnant!
Now let’s fast forward almost six months…
Scott, Robyn and I were trying to brainstorm some beautiful locations that fit their personalities. I suggested Interstate State Park in Taylors Falls, I have been wanting to capture some more memories here for a while. They thought that was perfect! This is one of my favorite locations here in Minnesota to shoot, mostly because you would never expect to get shots like these here in the Midwest. The view is just breath taking. I love to just sit and take in everything. This park has so much to offer! There is a little bit of everything for everyone. They also had some exciting news at this session…Robyn and Scott are happy to announce they are having a beautiful baby boy in just a few short weeks! Robyn did great trekking across the rocks. To be honest, I was a little nervous bringing a pregnant woman up all those cliffs to take pictures but, she was a trooper and rocked every shot! (Ha, rocked every shot)
These photos turned out so amazing and I am so thankful that you chose me to capture all of these memories for you and your growing family! I simply cannot wait (ok I will wait…) to meet your sweet little boy in just a short few weeks! Congrats again you two!
I love that they used the same sign as in their annoucement!
I cannot believe how big Little miss Adrienne is getting! Six whole months already! Her sweet personality is definitely coming out, from sitting up on her own to being very alert to everything going on around her! I love seeing my clients grow! This cutie patutie definitely made me work much harder this time around, but we still got some amazing shots! Such a happy and smiley little girl, but once the camera came out nothing but seriousness! I was able to capture a couple little smiles and those big bright blue eyes. I cannot wait to see her again in a few months at her nine month session! Hopefully she will show off that precious dimple!
Thank you so much for letting me capture these adorable memories for you and your family! Adrienne is so sweet and I cannot wait to see you soon!
Can you believe Easter is already this Sunday?! Last weekend I held my Easter Mini Sessions with LIVE bunnies! Which is always so much fun, for not only the kids, but me too! This year was even more wonderful– no one was really scared of the bunnies! Previous years some little ones are so afraid of these cute, cuddly creatures! They make for pretty funny pictures, but the poor kiddos are just traumatized! This year was different! It went so smooth it was even better than I could have hope for! Meet Cocoa and Maggie! I have to give these calm, cooperative bunnies their credit too. These bunnies were so accepting of all the love the little ones gave. These sessions are so bright and full of spring colors! Its time for old man winter to go back to sleep so we can enjoy spring!
Thank you so much to everyone who came out to meet these bunnies! Cannot wait to see you again soon!
