Words almost can’t do Betsy and Colin’s wedding at the Historic Concord Exchange in St. Paul, MN justice. “Excellent” seems too basic, “Enjoyable” seems too blasé, and “Meant to be” seems too cheese. And yet, they’re all true in the most fantastic way!

Y’all…when they talk about a couple that can “weather any storm” I’m pretty sure they’re talking about Grace and Nick. Their April wedding at Leopold’s Mississippi Garden is proof of that.

Meet my new best friends, Kirsten and Mike. They’re hilarious, down to earth, and their infectious laughter makes my heart sing.

We met a few months ago and I kid you not, as soon as we sat down to talk and get to know each other it felt like we had known each other FOR YEARS! You know that feeling you get when you hang out with a friend from high school whom you hadn’t seen in years and you pick up right where you left off? Yeah, it felt like that…and we literally JUST MET.

I’m so lucky to be able to share a guest blog post from my friends over at Event Supply Shop.

They reached out to me and asked if my readers would find a post about doing a DIY wedding and I said, “Um…HECK YEAH!”

So, without further ado…

How to Design the Perfect DIY Wedding

Dana and John’s Edinburgh USA Golf Course wedding in Brooklyn Park totally felt like it could have been in a castle in Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

The charming pair met on Tinder in 2015 shortly after John moved to Minneapolis from Madison. After a postponed first date thanks to the flu, the two finally met in person. They went to Ginger Hop in Northeast Minneapolis and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now that we’re officially in the thick of wedding season, I thought we should discuss an often forgotten-about-until-it’s-too-late subject: how the HECK do you put on those darn boutonnieres?!

If you’re reading this, don’t worry…you’re in good company. I’m pretty confident when saying no one actually knows how to do this because at EVERY. SINGLE. WEDDING. I’ve ever photographed, someone Google’s, “How to put on a boutonniere.”

So, let’s put the subject to rest once and for all in 6 easy steps.

Bridal detail photos…we’ve all seen them on Instagram and have probably pinned a butt-load of pretty photos of wedding dresses, ring photos, and flat lays on Pinterest.

I for one LOVE taking these photos but I’ve found that oftentimes they get over looked in the chaos of the wedding day. You’ve put so much thought into what jewelry you’re going to wear, the design of the invites you sent out to your guests, and the flowers you’ll be holding and I want to capture those details for you. I mean…you spent money on all of those things and they’re part of your wedding story so it *should* be documented, right?

Aliya and Taylor’s Minnesota Boat Club wedding will surely be one that I will remember for a very, very long time. Everything about the day was memorable but my two top highlights from the day (aside from the amazing weather) have to be: 

1)    The beautiful, heartfelt vows the brides wrote…I seriously almost cried…

And 

2) When Aliya’s veil blew off and almost fell into the Mississippi River!! Luckily, it stuck on the stucco of the bridge and my second shooter was able to grab it when the wind came up again. Talk about DRAMATIC! 

I know I say this about every couple I get to work with (and I mean it 100% of the time), but Kaylin and Connor are two of the sweetest, giggliest people in the world and I’m so lucky they chose me to be their wedding photographer! 

After a snowstorm canceled Connor’s trip to MN, the three of us met up in late April in Minneapolis to take their must awaited engagement photos.

These two lovebirds are as spunky as they are sweet. Caroline and Garvin met at college where they were both theater majors (see? They’re my kind of people!).