hayley & sam - september 8, 2007

hayley and sam were married at st. mark's catholic church in shakopee, mn. the place and date were special to them because this was the same church that hayley's mom and dad were married in exactly twenty-eight years earlier on sept. 8. this wedding was fun for me because i went to high school with sam. even though we weren't in the same group of friends, sam is one of those kinds of people whose fun and upbeat personalities make it impossible to not like them. when i heard from his mom, pat, that he was engaged, i knew that anyone that he would marry would have to be a pretty awesome person. i was right. hayley is great and it has been a blast getting to observe suh a perfect couple. it was also great seeing a lot of familiar faces at their wedding.

just for starters, some couple portraits:




laughing together, a thing they do well:

getting ready at hayley's parent's house. obviously, the dog wasn't caught up in all the excitement:

her dress:


sam's priceless reaction to seeing his bride for the first time:



the gals:



and the guys (they came up with this pose all by themselves : )


sam watching the guests arrive:

i adore this picture of hayley waving as she is walked down the aisle:

the priest gave a wonderful sermon that had everyone laughing:

a view from above. st. mark's had been badly damaged by a fire and was restored in april of 2007:

just married!

the rings:

each table had their own individual cakes that were beautifully decorated:


hayley & sam's niece, maya, dancing out on the golf course:

enjoying the slideshow:


the first dance:


the father-daughter and mother-son dance:


and the fun crowd kept the dance floor packed all night:

one last favorite of hayley and sam. congratulations!

amanda & david - september 2, 2007

amanda & david celebrated their wedding on the sunday of labor day weekend. it was an uncanny coincidence that amanda and david's ceremony and reception were at the same places as andrea & mike's just weeks earlier. even though the venues were the same, that is where the similarities ended. as a wedding photographer, i often shoot at the same locations, but that is a fun creative challenge. one of my favorite things about weddings is how each couple gets to infuse their individual personalities and styles into their day. just how every couple is unique, so is their big day, and amanda & david's day was no exception.

a couple favorite portraits of the couple:


amanda getting some help with her veil:

i love amanda's face as they drive up to the church:

their first glimpse:


her dad walking her down the aisle:


st. john is a gorgeous church:


dodging the bird seed and rice as they make their grand exit:

cheers!



after the ceremony, we grabbed some more creative portraits. david and amanda were total rock stars and were not shy about trying some fun spots:






like mentioned before, i love seeing the personal and creative touches each wedding has. i mean who doesn't love snowboarding cake toppers?

david & amanda even had custom wines made for each table:


on top of having a really cool regular cake, amanda's mom made some krumkake, a traditional norwegian cake for the couple:


a few happy tears were shed as they watched the slideshow:

their first dance as husband and wife:

one last favorite of the happy couple: