2009 Weddings::: A Good Year

Happy New Year, everyone!

I am SO excited for 2010... I have big plans for business, and for my personal life! (No, [insert names of people
who always think I am referring to pregnancy]... we are not planning on having a baby! You just be patient! :))
I just mean different personal goals and such. I'll share them in another post, perhaps.

But before we move onto 2010, let's take a look back at 2009... it was a fantastic year.
I had the honor of photographing 24 AWESOME couples' weddings.

Here are their pretty (and handsome) faces...

Funny faces.

Things are going better than when I had my bad day! :)

I thought to lighten the mood, I would post a few photos of cute and funny faces.

My cousin Laura's little boy...(She has three kids). We just told him to smile, and he did this, and said, "Cheeeeeeese!"


My cousin Katie's little boy (She has two kids).
I think his dad mentioned that he'd get a treat if he was good during the photos...


Yeah, that's how I feel about treats too!! :)

My friend Leah and her cute little family. This photo just cracks me up!!!



Oh Photos, how you brighten my day:)

Just a no good day.

I am having one of those really not so greaet days. So not great that I see I just spelled "great" like I just did.

Nothing is going according to planned!

Sometimes just looking at a pretty photo on my desktop helps a little, and reminds me that although things aren't going perfectly, taking photos is still what I love doing, and I am happy that I get to do that. This is the pic I currently have up. It's from Kelly & Ian's wedding that I shot back in September.



There is a lot of beauty in simplicity. Especially when my life is not being so simple at the moment! There can be beauty in chaos too, but as far as I know, no one ever said that simplicity makes you feel overwhelmed.

I don't know if that makes sense, but today isn't making a lot of sense.

A Great Thanksgiving

It was such a great Thanksgiving.


All photos in this post were taken with my point and shoot, just FYI.
I wasn't "allowed" to take my big camera-- which really was for the best, ha;)

I slept the whole way up north, as I only got 45 minutes of sleep the night before-- I was trying to get so many things done!
Here was our view from our cabin when we arrived on Wednesday:


30 minutes later, I got a massage at the Grand View Lodge's spa... a gift from my parents-- it was SO NICE, and it was
a perfect way to start the mini vacation.


Aaron sat in a huge, but cozy and warm room reading the paper while I was getting my massage. I thought this corner was pretty...

View from our room when we got back:


The next morning, we had a wonderful breakfast, and tried not to eat too much, because at 1pm, we were scheduled to be seated for the huge
Thanksgiving meal!!! After breakfast, we came back and watched the Thanksgiving parade together, which I haven't actually done in years.

Then we headed to Thanksgiving meal!
It was a little walk from the cabin, but 'tis the season for cold weather!!



We not only had turkey, but basically, everything you could want at a Thanksgiving meal... it was a super pretty room
(big chalet-type building, with large fireplaces, and seasonal lighting), and the food was amaaaazing... they even had
shrimp and scallops, other sea food, tons of good cheeses, and of course all the traditional stuff. I loved it all,
but the mashed potatoes were pretty fantastic.

We went back to our room and of course took naps in the sunshine:


In the evening, we sipped wine and ate chocolates by the fire, and watched a re-run of The Office
(Jim and Pam's wedding:)). The next day was relaxing as well... it was really just a great time-- good food,
good relaxation, good company... and so much to be thankful for.
When we drove home, I was awake the whole time, because I finally felt rested! :)

Happy Thanksgiving! Things I'm Thankful For.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!!



I will be out of the office until Saturday, just FYI!


I love Thanksgiving... the food, the company, and the thankfulness.

A few things I am thankful for, in no particular order:
1. My clients, my job, and the fact that I have a job. I know it's a tough economy right
now. And I love my job... I am thankful for that too. And being able to use my gifts to serve others.
2. My home.
3. My health (even though I had the flu of sorts earlier this week).
4. My family... Aaron, immediate family, and extended family; and my family's health.
5. My friends.
6. Having enough food and water.

Pretty standard, right?

Here are a few less-standard things I am thankful for:
7. Lightroom (it helps me edit lots of photos at once, instead of having to do them individually in photoshop).
8. That my husband warms up the bed for me. I hate cold sheets, and he loves them... and so, this means we are perfect for each other.
9. Almonds... I have been eating them lately, and I really love them. And chocolate too, but that's a given. And coffee...
10. Pet meds. We found out that Sparty has always had hip problems, but he started taking a supplement
last week, and it will hopefully help him be in less pain (pain we did not know he was in).
11. Recent contact with long lost family. Pretty crazy.
12. My cozy sweatpants. Then again, that should be under the "standard" list.
13. Bath and Body Works' hand foam... it's a must have for a germaphobe.
I particularly like that Midnight Pomegranate doesn't give me a migraine.
14. That God loves me, even though I am such a mess sometimes!
15. A new desk that just came yesterday... I can't wait to have room to work.

Anne and Drew-- Getting Married Saturday!

Hi all!

I have been busy, as usual, except for even moreso in the past 2 months than ever before. I am afraid I took on too much this fall! But, it is a learning experience none the less. I am already making a New Year's resolution to blog at least 1 time a week. I will reconfirm this after New Year's... but I really think I can do it, and you know what?? I WANT to. There are a couple blogs I read often, and Jasmine Star's is one of them. I realized that what I absolutely love about her blog other than the fact that I love her writing, she is a sweet person, and her photos are pretty to look at-- is that she updates so frequently. I absolutely love having something to read and look at on a regular basis. And while I would suck at being Jasmine Star, or anyone else for that matter, I want to do this for me, and for you-- because it will be fun, because I have so many photos I want to share that I am not posting because my time is squished to the max right now.... but I want it in my plans to be a more frequent blogger.

Like I said, I am crazy busy right now. Basically trying to catch up on all my fall weddings and portraits. But, for next year, I want my blog to have more of a priority. At the end of the wedding season, when I have all the weddings done, I'll do a post where I pick one or two faves from each wedding I did this year (24:)).



Here are some photos from a quickie engagement session I did for Anne and Drew. (Can we call them "ANNEDREW" when they get married? Maybe;)). They are getting married on Saturday!! This will be my last wedding of this year, and I know it will be wonderful. I've known them both since high school, but moreso Drew because we hung out in the same group of friends Sophomore and Junior year... He is such a good and funny guy-- I know he will make Anne very happy for all of their years. :)

Kara & Noah's Wedding: Five Faves

A couple funnies:

Where am I?

Apologies for my absence. As if that is any different than normal for blogging;)

The past 3 weeks have been the busy weeks in my career so far... shooting, editing, and all business related task-wise! Honestly, I don't even know where the past 12 weeks have gone!

That said, everything is going pretty well, and I can't complain that I have work. I feel very blessed.


I'll do my best in November to have at least a few updates!

October 12th... and it's snowing!?

Oh man... While Minnesota weather is always unpredictable, sometimes, it still surprises us! It is, indeed, snowing a significant amount today. The past few days have been SUPER cold-- especially as a photographer, and for my subjects! Julianna and Kyle tied the knot yesterday, and they knew that, while cold, we would still get fantastic shots outside with some of the fall colors. The bridal party and families all braved the brief bit of cold while we did our best to snap some quick photos-- photos I know they will absolutely love, and not ever regret going outside for!

From what I've read on Facebook status updates, most people are enjoying the bit of snow today. People are coping by purchasing specialty seasonal coffee drinks at our local coffee shops, lighting holiday scented candles, and keeping warm and snuggley with sweaters, sweatpants and sweatshirts (Side note: Writing those three words together makes me wonder why the creators of those words used the word "sweat" in all three... sure, they help us to stay warm, but "sweat" is a little gross! I mean, a "Sweater." Why couldn't we have called it a "warmer?" That's what it does for me-- makes me warmer!).

Here are a few photos from out my window earlier today:


As you can see, most of the leaves haven't even had a chance to change colors yet!



A snow this early is never expected to last... So I think that's one reason that Minnesotans aren't' complaining... yet, ha:)


Stay warm!
(I know my friends in other states are... you punks!)

Five Faves: Michael and Erin's Wedding

"What if I posted only five favorite photos from each wedding," I thought. "Would I then blog more?"

So, I thought I'd try it... especially since there are so many weddings that I have not shared... not because I don't want to, but because of how busy I always am!

Five faves turned into 11 faves from Michael and Erin's wedding(I always have more than five faves, ha!)











Michael and Erin = Amazing. As individuals, and especially as a couple. I cannot wait to see them grow old together. Their love is so beautiful, and I can tell that they will have a TON of fun all throughout life. What a great thing to marry your best friend.

Also, I'd like to give a shout out to Lisa:

I met Lisa at Michael and Erin's wedding festivities. I knew of her, because she married John, who I went to high school with. John was one of the ushers for the wedding. When he introduced me to Lisa, he said, "She reads your blog." I was shocked and honored to have the wife of Anoka High School class of 2002's voted "Heart Throb" reading my blog!! ;)
Aren't they super lovely together?? Lisa, it was great to finally meet you-- you are awesome. And it is not just because your gorgeously awesome freckles (I am pretty partial, though!). You are well deserving of the title Mrs. Heartthrob. ;)

Do you read my blog, and haven't said hello yet? I would love to hear from you! Don't worry-- I won't think you're a stalker if we haven't met in person yet. I know that's a common thought about "Blog Stalking." I'm a blog stalker, and I leave comments, and I still wonder, "Is this person going to think I'm a weirdo!?" I definitely won't think you're weird at all. I'm the type of person who talks to strangers in the elevator. Yup! I'm THAT girl. The weird one.