amy & alec - october 28, 2006

it's been an amazing october. five great weddings and five great couples. i couldn't think of a better grand finale than amy and alec's wedding. their ceremony was held at the incredible wooddale church in eden prairie, and their reception was held at the golden valley country club. amy wore one of the most beautiful wedding gowns i have ever seen. (for those who love wedding dress & pop culture trivia, this was the same monique lhuillier design that the singer pink wore when she married carey hart...)

a simply stunning bouquet:

another cute pic of amy:


a picture of the couple in the church balcony:

just as they entered the church, the sun came from behind the clouds and illuminated the bride and her dad:


their vows were very touching, with some tears and laughter:


a view from above:


some of my favorite pictures of the couple...it was hard to narrow down:


a moment by lake calhoun, with the minneapolis skyline in the background:

it may have turned chilly in the afternoon, but we got some gorgeous clouds to make up for it:

framed by the lake harriet bandshell:

the cake, covered in fall leaves:

alec's grandfather gave some wonderful advice to the couple:

the first dance:


congratulations, amy and alec. you are a wonderful and fun couple to be around, and i enjoyed being part of your day. have a fantastic time in st. lucia!

tori & paul - october 21, 2006

tori and paul were married at bethlehem lutheran church in minneapolis, and their reception was at the college club on beautiful summit avenue in st. paul. they planned a great day that was classy and easygoing. it was such a fun day to shoot that i had a hard time narrowing down some of my favorites to put on the blog. that is a good problem to have, right?

i absolutely love this picture of tori. she looks so elegant. her bouquet was a beautiful mix with hydrangea and orchids:

i was fortunate to get to know tori's bridesmaids at her friend meghan's wedding last year. it was a blast to spend another fun day with such cool gals:

the girls were not the only cool ones. here is a pic of paul and his groomsmen and the ushers:

paul has a great sense of humor and an appreciation for silliness. this shot was his very own idea:

tori and her dad walking down the aisle:


paul's first glimpse of tori that day:

here is the happy couple giving hugs to paul's parents:

a caught moment just after the ceremony:

some more pictures of the couple:


stopping for a picture on summit avenue, right in front of the governor's mansion:

somehow, paul and his best man found time to fit in a game of stratego before the ceremony. in honor of that, here is my favorite ring pic of the day:


enjoying the company of their families during dinner:

tori's grandmother having a good laugh during dinner:

tori and paul had a 'family tree' theme for their wedding day. they had their parents' wedding pictures there, and also those of past generations, going back to the mid-1800's. as a photographer, i loved looking at their display, and it reminded me how much meaning a photograph can have:

the couple's first dance:

tori and her new father-in-law brought out some great dance moves that were a hit with the guests:

just before everything was about to close down for the night, tori's dad asked the band if they would play one more song so he could have a dance with his bride:

congratulations, tori and paul. i have enjoyed getting to know you and i loved that i was able to play a role in your day. you are blessed with amazing family and friends, and it was great being able to spend time with them, too. have a wonderful, romantic and relaxing time up north!

stephanie & ryan - october 14, 2006

stephanie and ryan's day couldn't have been more wonderful. their ceremony was at st. john lutheran church, and their reception was at the holiday in, both in owatonna. i thought it was great that they had put personal thought into even the smallest details, which made it very fun for me to photograph.

here's a fun ring shot. they even had personalized m&m's, which i think are so cute:

i absolutely loved their color combinations. the deep chocolate color with the punch of oranges and pinks was absolutely stunning. here's a small sample of kris amazi's gorgeous floral arrangements. we end up working together often at weddings, and i am constantly in awe of her talents:

here's stephanie getting her makeup on. one of her bridesmaids, who is also a stylist, did her hair and makeup, which i thought was very neat:

moving around in a wedding dress can be hard. luckily, steph was surrounded by friends who were more than willing to lend a hand:

a shoe shot i particularly like. i just love symmetry and negative space (oh, and shoes):

while some of the guys were getting ready, i was able to get some fun pix with stephanie's brother:

the vows:

lighting the unity candle. i just love the natural light pouring into the church:


some of my favorite shots of stephanie & ryan:


stephanie told a funny story about how she was given advice on her wedding day to tell herself throughout the day, "i am hot.". here she is, being just that:

ryan doesn't look too shabby himself:

one of my favorites of steph. her smile is as cute as her personality:

here's a peek-a-boo shot of the cake:

the bride's mom thanking the guests:

the happy couple at the reception:

thank you, stephanie and ryan, for letting me enjoy such a fun and special day with you. have a wonderful time in florida!