fernanda & eric - august 25, 2007

one of the best things about weddings is how they bring people together. fernanda and eric's relationship began when they happened to meet at a wedding. she was a friend of the bride and he was a reader at the ceremony. that chance meeting culminated in their own wedding in eric's hometown of waseca, minnesota. this time it was their turn to bring people together as they both had family and friends travel from all over, but especially fernanda's family who came from ecuador to celebrate with them.

some personal favorites of the happy couple:



i absolutely love this sequence. you have to love people who have an appreciation for silliness:


fernanda's shoes:

fernanda & her sister-in-law-to-be goofing around:


what's not to love about a bride who isn't afraid of some yummy, greasy fries on her wedding day?


this little guy stole my heart:

fernanda & eric had a beautiful ceremony with lots of music. eric's sister and mom even sang during the ceremony:

back down the aisle as husband & wife:

a big bear hug from fernanda's brother:

the newlyweds departed in an awesome red convertible, which happened to be eric's first car:


a view of the bride in the side mirror:

they had a little car trouble on the way to the reception, but they had their friends to help push them as they had a good laugh:

making their grand entrance:

fernanda's dad giving a speech to the guests, which was read in both english and spanish:

fernanda's mom with their new little nephew, who is only a few weeks old:

i thought this was a cool tradition. they had all the unmarried gals pull charms from between the layers of the wedding cake, and the charms were said to tell their fortune:

here they are enjoying a slideshow and video presentation which even had footage of them skydiving!

their first dance:

midway through the father-daughter dance, fernanda's dad called eric over and gave them their blessing and the new couple finished the dance together:

congratulations, fernanda and eric. i had a wonderful time capturing the day for you and i hope you two had a blast in jamaica!

laura & chris - august 18, 2007

i was so excited to be able to shoot laura & chris's wedding. i got to know them at amy & ryan's wedding last fall (chris is amy's sister) and i was really looking forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces. they chose the beautiful lake minnewashta regional park for their outdoor wedding ceremony. their wedding day happened to fall within the one of the rainiest weeks of the year in minnesota, but the rain that day certainly didn't dampen their spirits. i've heard many times that rain on your wedding day means your marriage with be blessed with fertility and good fortune. laura and chris already have many blessings...but a little extra help can't hurt, right?

some favorites of chris and laura:



laura's mom raised some monarchs to be released at the ceremony. it was a bit too cool to release them, but they did make an appearance at the wedding. here is laura's sister with one of the butterflies:

laura's gorgeous dress:


a glimpse of laura in one of the mirrors:


i love this picture of laura that we took at their house. isn't this the coolest chair?

chris at minnewashta doing his best gene kelly singin' in the rain moves:


chris's reaction to seeing his bride was amazing:




one of the most fun things for me to see was how their little guy, cullen, had grown up since i met him last year at amy & ryan's wedding. i love this fun family portrait, even though the little guy seemed not all that interested:


here's the wedding party making their way to the ceremony under umbrellas:


look at how they are just beaming:

laura's parents watching their vows:

cullen was a little more interested in what was going on with the guests, i guess:

the newlyweds:

a hug from mom:

everyone stayed safe and cozy under the tent, which was beautifully decorated:

a cool centerpiece idea:


chris & laura were rockstars and braved the elements to get a few more pictures:

showing some killer dance moves:


the maid of honor and best man toasts:


their first dance:

chris and his mom:

and they partied the night away:

congratulations to a fantastic couple and family. best of luck with the new house!

andrea & mike - august 11, 2007

it is a joy to watch two people that are so in love and are so perfect for each other. that is what everyone got to see on andrea & mike's wedding day. they were married at st. john lutheran church in owatonna and their reception was at the holiday inn. from beginning to end it was a beautiful day and it was great to be able to capture it with ben from 7rendered, who did the wedding video production.

some favorites of andrea & mike:




a beautiful bride:

a view of andrea's updo:

getting quite a bit of help getting in her dress:

a goofy shoe shot. i couldn't help myself:

mike getting prepared:



his first glimpse of his wife-to-be:

the guys:

and the girls:

some pictures from the ceremony, which was very sweet and full of emotion:


the unity candle:

a funny candid of the flower girl:


after the ceremony, andrea & mike planned to stop around town for some more pictures in some great locations:

the whole gang:


i love the detail of the frosting:

at the reception, the dj told the story of andrea & mike based on writings that they gave them about how they met, their relationship, and each other. here are just some of their reactions as they listened to their story:


the first dance:

and i thought this was a perfect image to end on:

congratulations to a wonderful couple. all the best to you as you begin your journey in life together!