Jeff & Jessica are Married! {Owatonna, MN Wedding Photography}

On a gorgeous day at the beginning of August, Jessica and her bridesmaids arrived at Oak View Nursery to help her prepare to get married! Jeff and Jessica chose to do a first look, and the timeline of their day ran so smoothly.

With many places for photos, we enjoyed walking around the property and admiring the decor set up for their reception at the same venue.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Hublit!

Awww!


Outdoor dances are gorgeous!  
We snuck out around sunset to get a few more portraits! 
See more - coming soon!

D Family {Woodbury, MN Family Portraits}

Walking into Jamila and Aaron's backyard was amazing - half sun, half shade; lined with flowers! It was a perfect spot to grab some portraits of them and their adorable kiddos!

We laughed, we played, they ran...but I don't think anyone cried! It was so much fun to get to know this family and try to work in some posed shots while they played.

   

 The bottom one in this collage makes me giggle...SO the opposite of how the evening went! :)

 

:) 

 

Each of the kids brought a favorite toy or two (or more) for our portraits! 

 

See more - coming soon!

Sara & Shawn Are Married! {West St. Paul, MN Wedding Photography}

I couldn't believe it was already Sara & Shawn's big day! They were married on a gorgeous Saturday and everything was perfect! Sara & Shawn's ceremony was at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in West St. Paul, where Sara's parents were married more than 40 years previously. Their reception was held at the Prom Center in Oakdale, MN, with lots of help from Shawn!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Haarstad! I hope you are having a wonderful honeymoon in Grand Marais! (maybe some fishing? :) )

 

 I love when couples take the time to do a first look - they get a bit of time to themselves and the rest of the day is smoother!

 
Some of the wedding party and families got a first look too. ;)  

 The flowers and rings were gorgeous!

   

 The guests danced the night away! 

 

Venues: St. Stephen's Lutheran Church and Prom Center | Flowers: Kathy Krahn 

Videography: Randall Newgren | DJ: JPS Entertainment 

See more - coming soon!

Mudra Family {Minneapolis, MN Red Thread Session}

"We'll be the ones with the cutest baby ever and the biggest smiles in the world!!!"

That was definitely an accurate statement and by far the easiest way for me to find Mike, Lisa, and their family.

I was recently approved to become a volunteer photographer for Red Thread Sessions, an organization founded to celebrate the beauty of adoption. (more to come about the organization & why I chose this one in another post!)

I was so excited to be contacted by Lisa for my first session through Red Thread and didn't have long to wait to meet her! Adoption is close to Mike & Lisa's hearts as Lisa was adopted as an infant - and, as we learned, so was their judge! After taking placement of their son, Milo, at just a day old, they were excited to be "official."

We met at the Hennepin County Courthouse to take some portraits before their finalization hearing and I was fortunate enough to be a part of their hearing as I took candids throughout.

Congratulations Mike, Lisa and Milo! I'm so excited for you to continue building your lives together!

 

This family has so much support!  

This was one of the "funnest" hearings I've been to in a while - what a wonderful judge!

Judge Norris told us that he has pictures with each of the families and weddings he has been involved in - it's a big gallery, but so cool!

See more - coming soon!