Hot bride.

Bouquet of flowers for bride-to-be from Josh. Looooove the hanger! And the bridesmaids necklaces. Every detail was just so spot on.

Hot shoes.

Sweet card and gifts (gorgeous ring and a fancy camera!) from (who else?) Josh. Seriously, the guy scored big points. And sister was right there with a mini-fan to dry any tears.

Who wouldn’t want to get married here?

Meanwhile, the stage was being set for a fabulous reception…

Josh and Sarah waited to see each other until this moment; it was very sweet.

We did portraits while guests had cocktails (including a signature pink one).

Sarah’s pink crinoline was to die for.

Isn’t she stunning?

And Josh is pretty stinkin’ handsome, too.

Even when she’s not trying!

Alright, back to the reception for some time with friends and family!

Sweet mercy! Not just a delicious cake and a groom’s cake (Josh is a Yamaha man, as you can see), but a candy buffet. Yum! And I might be the only one who noticed, but “Sugar, Sugar” was played when it opened. Nice touch.

I had a little fun with the fountain in the middle of the room.

Flip-flops for those who might have chosen style over comfort in the shoe department…

We wanted to grab a few photos at dusk, but it was pouring. I grabbed a couple quick shots outside, but then went in to dry off my camera.

Thanks for sharing your wedding day with me, and for putting so much time and thought into all the details that made it so great. I think this might be my longest post ever!

Congratulations, and may your marriage be long and happy!

Hair and Makeup

Videography

Music

Tara is a sweet, lovely soon-to-be senior. She rocked cowboy boots and a leather jacket, both which I wanted for my very own. There’s no way I could have worn them like her, though. Fabulous!

LOVE this pop of green with her outfit.

See what I mean? She’s so freakin’ cool. Do people say “cool” anymore? I sure hope so. Because I do.

Tara’s brother Anthony came along, so we snapped some of the two of them in a park they used to go to. I totally need to bring my daughter there; she would love it!

Beautiful eyes!

The river was really high, covering the walkway, but that didn’t stop Tara. Just kicked off her shoes and waded right in.

And a fun one with a cool old advertisement.

Thanks for a great time, and enjoy your senior year!

Clients, if you would like me to email you a copy of one of these to use while you shop, just let me know.

Used with permission from Pinkletoes.

Lots more to come…

We visited several locations during her session, including downtown St. Paul and a park. The clouds came out, too, which gave us a little respite from the heat.

Tyler’s another natural at posing–she made my job easy!

I’ve noticed my posts getting longer and longer…so many favorites! She really looked fabulous in this peachy/pink shirt, and it fit our locations so well.

Suh-weet. Love this one. Obviously not the one you’d probably hand out to friends, but very fab art.

Tyler is on the swim team at her high school as well as a year-round swim club, and I happen to think Speedo has found their next catalog model!

I had made her get her face wet at this point, but I like this last photo too much not to share!

Thanks for traveling all over the map, Tyler. Have a wonderful year!

I think if I went to school with Lexi, we would be friends. She is in a competitive show choir (I was in choir throughout HS and college, though we didn’t have a show choir), likes to read, hike, and crochet (yay!), among other things.

She got this gorgeous dress in New York when she was there checking out schools. I want a dress with pockets!

Not. Her. Car. But we thought it was cool anyway.

Thanks for a fun time, Lexi! Enjoy your last year of high school!

She has this laid-back, beachy vibe (love the sunny blonde hair!), probably since she spent much of her life in Florida. That’d be a tough transition, huh? Beaches to snow…

The girl can jump! One of my favorite jumping shots ever.

I love her wardrobe choices, too, and how they bring out her gorgeous eyes.

I couldn’t pick between these last few, so I just included them all.

Old Longfellow has a heart of stone to match his (handless) exterior. He was just not gonna give Brittney any love!

Brittney, you are such a sweet girl, and you’re going to make a great vet. I hope you choose my alma mater, NDSU!

Catherine is a busy young lady. She and I have something in common, too–she is the editor of her school newspaper, which was a job I held my senior year. I’m betting her school’s paper might be a step or two above “The Plank,” though (our mascot was…wait for it…a pirate). In addition to that, she is also yearbook editor. So like I said, busy girl.

No one looked anywhere close to this good when I was in high school. We wore giant, baggy t-shirts and equally baggy jeans and plaid flannel. And even though I’m weirded out by some of the fashion trends that are making a comeback (stirrup pants? seriously? weren’t cool the first time, still aren’t cool…), Catherine ROCKED it.

Say it with me…amazing. eyes.

Catherine, it was so great working with you. I hope you enjoy your senior year!

Sweet Rachael, a baker (girl after my own heart!), brought me cookies! And boy, were they delicious! She has her own baking blog and shares the recipe for the cookies here. I highly suggest you check it out.

Anyway, on to the rest of her pictures!

Rachael is a phenomenally pretty girl with a beautiful personality to match. It was so hard to narrow down her photos and only share a few here.

Besides baking, she dances (ballet). I doubt she usually does this in public, but I forced her. I’m nice like that.

I also made her get some ice cream. It was a hot day. And it was Blue Bunny (the ONLY ice cream to eat, according to my husband). Yum!

So don’t let her modelesque exterior fool you–Rachael is sweet as cake. Thanks for a great time, dear!

Kara and her mom hand-stitched the trim and appliqués onto her wedding dress and veil. The appliqués were left from her mom’s wedding dress…isn’t that neat? And her cathedral-length veil made for some very fun photos throughout the day. Take a look at the center picture here; I love the looks they’re giving each other right before he grabs her for the first kiss as husband and wife! I just couldn’t get enough of these three characters and their suspenders. So cute! Suh-weet getaway car! Had a little storm during the wedding that made things wet, and another storm knocked out power during the reception! How can these guys be so suave and so dorky all at once? We talked a bit about families, and since I know that Kara and Adam would like to have a big one, I leave them with the same blessing their friends did on the dash of the car: Thanks so much for a great day, A & K!

p.s. I have to give a shout out to Jordie’s, where the wedding party stopped for ice cream after the ceremony and where I got a great club sandwich for the drive home!