So I must admit to having put my blog and website on the back burner over the past 10 months or so. The primary reason is this little guy. We are also trying to plan to build a new house/studio as well as a host of other big projects that should make some big differences in the upcoming years.
I hope to fix the lack of blogness by coming back with a vengeance this year — I’ve been spending a good chunk of the past few weeks on redoing the website (HTML5) and I’ve got a plethora of images I want to share. We also have had a few engagement sessions already this winter that has kept the ‘off season’ uncharacteristically busy. (that’s a good thing!)
Here is one we did with Chris and Katie at the Guthrie. The original plan was to pop around St. Paul (they are getting married at the Science Museum — how cool, right??) — but with winter carnival happening and a blizzard pounding any outside locations we decided to hit up the Guthrie theater as backup plan. I’m really glad everyone was flexible enough to make it happen because we got some killer photographs (and it actually stopped being horribly windy for a bit so we got a couple on the Stone Arch Bridge after sundown!).
5 years ago today Colleen and I celebrated our own wedding. It was the single best day of my life.
In an attempt to let you know what it was like to be there — This is the wedding ‘slideshow’ I made and we played out our wedding… If you are at work watching this, it is acceptable if you don’t sing along.
Kristina and Aaron have now been married 3 times. I was lucky enough to be there for the second and third times.
An Indian Canadian meets Wisconsin girl, live in Shanghai, China, marry in Wisconsin move back to the US, marry 2 more times (this time on the top floor of the IDS Tower at Windows on Minnesota), donate wedding money to Jakarta Schools, and watch a video of wedding #1 during wedding #3. The whole thing is confusing enough that I think it’s best if I just stop typing and let the images speak for this wonderful, laughing, and emotional* couple. ;)
*You know how wives laugh when their husbands cry? Yeah, Kristina is all about that.
After the wiener-mobile sighting during their engagement session last fall, I thought nothing could top the strange ‘new experience’ excitement of that . I was wrong. This was my first time shooting at the Varsity Theater; all I had previously heard about it was that it was darker than photographing a black cat in a coal mine. Well, it was dark, but the Varsity is sick — concert lighting, informal yet classy and quirky ambiance, chance for moody and finessed images, etc… it was just perfect for Pat and Jeff’s musicly-mighty wedding (they picked Heavenly Day, my own first dance song, to walk down the aisle to… stood and listened to Home after the ceremony… and had a rockin’ band roll the party strong, including some cameos from guests. ) and also provided me with a lot of room to let me creative juices flow…
Pat and Jeff were great — and their family and friends extremely loving, authentic, and kind. It was a pleasure to work with them and get to be a part of their day … and seeing quite a few people from previous weddings (if you remember, Pat was the maid of honor at Anna and Mark’s wedding) is always a blast.
I also want to thank Preston Palmer, from Brovado weddings, for helping me on this day — it was the last wedding before Colleen returned to full duty. Minneapolis has such a great photographic community, it’s wonderful to be able to lean on such great professionals when you need a little assistance…
I always find it interesting that I basically only know people’s “wedding personalities” — one of the most emotional-pressure-cooker, potentially stressful, family-dynamics-laced days in an entire persons life. How someone acts on their wedding day is, very likely, significantly different than how they act in real life. For some reason, I don’t feel that’s the case with Michelle and Cam.
I ‘officially’ met Michelle, sans Cam, to talk about their wedding over a drink and some deliciously cheesy-artichoke dip stuff in uptown. She was so laid back, friendly, and agreeable — at the end of the meeting we didn’t have hours settled, number of photos, contracts, etc… nothing — but she was like “I trust you, we’ll figure it out” and gave me a retainer. Being one that fully believes it’s better to trust and be proven wrong than to distrust and be proven right, I was both proud and happy to be working with her (plus I have a little hero-worship towards Cam – seriously, go here and look up his name). About 3 days later I found out Colleen was pregnant and the next day the doctor told us our due date: The exact same date as Michelle and Cam’s wedding! O.M.G. Long story short, Michelle was the first person (literally the first person) we told about Colleen being pregnant… I gave her my backup plan ideas and also said I’d refund the retainer and help her find another photographer if she wanted to go that route (I didn’t expect she’d want something as important as the photography for her wedding slightly ‘up in the air’). To my humbled surprise she returned with nothing but joyous words of support for our family as well as a reiteration that she trusted me to do right by her and Cam — “and would also be happy if our wedding motivates your little pumpkin to join the world”. I think it speaks volumes to her character that she would put my families happiness and stability over her ‘big day’.
On the wedding day, Michelle did nothing but back up (and improve upon) my very high impression of her – gracious, social, big-hearted and effervescently happy.
Even though we went to the same college, and I cheered my heart (and throat) out for Cam as a Rat Pak member (Go Johnnies!) while he destroyed Mount Union for the 2003 National Championship… I first ‘met’ Michelle and Cam at Paul and Ellen’s wedding… while Michelle was riding Cam like a bull in my first-ever photostation.
Welp, here we are after 4 more years (apparently dating for 73 years is hip and cool… ) and they commissioned me to photograph their own wedding — the photostation being a ‘must have’. Good choice — people clearly had a blast. You’re parents deciding to also replicate the growling bull ride is pretty much the definition of love. Right? That’s why my dictionary says, at least…
I also need to thank Travis Biggs who helped me out doing the photography at the photostation while Colleen is recovering from the birth of Corbin. He did a great job, as you can see….
I first caught Becca on film (film? naw…) back in early 2009 at a charity event I was photographing. She also happens to be the sister of my co-best man’s ladyfriend… so that’s pretty sweet.
Eric and Becca just got a new house in Bloomington, MN so we hit up a park near their new digs for a quick engagement session… they brought their dog, Jake, who is a Brittany just like my super-duper-wonderful little Kona man is. I was quite happy with that choice; he’s super curious and loves life just like my guy and it turned out tha….. SQUIRREL!!!….
. I was wrong. This was my first time shooting at the 
