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!

Jessica and Tim’s Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel wedding was 100% them. By that I mean it was adorable, intimate, and filled with jokes and laughter.

 

Their story begins with a change meeting. Jessica was working at Nordstrom, where she was a stylist (she used to work at The Wedding Shoppe so it goes without saying that she’s got bomb taste!). Tim worked at the café at Nordstrom. Can you see where this is going?

Many have asked me what makes a wedding great? I don’t think there’s any one answer and tastes, as in all things, are incredibly subjective.

However, with all of the weddings I’ve worked and attended as a guest, I have found a surprising amount of similarities between the weddings that I’d deem “great.”

Ok y’all…this summer got me like WHOA. Not only did I get to photograph a bunch of weddings but I also got to meet, connect with, and photograph 30+ high school seniors!

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

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! 

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!).

Here we are again friends. Part 2 of my top 10 questions all couples should ask their wedding photographer. 

We’re digging in a little deeper with these final five questions, and I’ve gotta say…they’re good. So sit back, maybe have a cup of coffee, and enjoy questions 6-10!