Cosmo-tology at the Livingroom Bar
“Groom yourself silly and drink yourself pretty” was the tagline for tonight’s Cosmo-tology event at the Livingroom Bar.
Skinny girl was on hand to sample their line of vodkas (they’re pretty good!) and there were delish drink and snack specials. Ladies chatted, ate and drank while waiting for their spa treatments. MAC Cosmetics had a steal of a deal to get all dolled up and Spa Mobile Event provided massages and manicures. I think this is such a fun event, and a great excuse to meet some friends after work and get pampered for a bit.
Make sure to “like” The Livingroom Bar on facebook so you can be kept up to speed on all of their amazing events!
John and Sara
John and Sara were married today!
John and Sara had a sweet morning ceremony at Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer. The focus was clearly their beloved Church community, where the bride and groom served communion to their guests and beautiful hymns were played. After greeting and ushering all of their guests, the couple was given a grand sendoff with white ribbons and they left in a gorgeous Rolls Royce from HiTech Motorsport. After a quick stop at the couple’s home for pictures, we headed to Black Bear Crossings on the Lake for the reception.
From her darling Anyi Lu shoes to her collared wedding dress to her hair (139 Hair by Heidi) and makeup (Mikaela Croyle), Sara was stunning. John looked ok, too ; ) Especially when posing with that Rolls Royce, which literally turned heads as they drove around town.
I love the design motif that John and Sara used for their day. Pots of herbs served as escort cards, and darling pieces of vintage paper were ready for the guests’ well wishes. Ivy was used throughout the space, including submerged in water in tall cylinders. The colors were all soft greens and blues, and everything had an English Garden feel. To contrast the cool colors, the bouquets were white with splashes of pinks and were simply beautiful. The theme carried through with the Spark Letterpress invitation suite including some lovely lace details and delicate scripts. The couple did quite a fabulous job tying all of the elements together.
One of the best parts about having your reception at Black Bear Crossings is that you get to enjoy their amazing food. The couple had a wonderful brunch ready for their guests including omelet and carving stations and fresh squeezed orange juice. A variety of cupcakes waited for anyone with a sweet tooth and instead of cutting a cake, the couple fed each other Norsland Lefse in honor of their Norwegian heritage. There were sweet speeches, especially when honoring Sara’s recently departed father, and celebrations of long and happy marriages. Then Midwest Sound got the music playing and Sara was ready to DANCE!
John and Sara, thank you so much for having us be a part of your day! Here are our favorite images, enjoy!
Getting Ready on your Wedding Day
I am a big fan of ritual on a wedding day. I feel that taking your time to get ready will help time with your friends become more memorable and help prolong the day a bit. The wedding day goes by in such a blur, this is one occasion where you can really reflect and enjoy.
For the bride, mimosas or some other brunch drink is always nice. It really helps calm the nerves. Of course, saying hydrated and keeping your blood sugar balanced is also important so you don’t wilt halfway through the day, so make sure to have your favorite foods handy. Keep things bite sized and non staining for extra precaution.
Getting ready with all the bridesmaids at a salon or on location is a fabulous way to spend the morning. You are with your best girlfriends, and their stories and antics will help the morning go by without getting too nervous. I have noticed that the most stressful time for a bride is the half hour before walking down the aisle. All the anxiety and pressure becomes very VERY real. And the same can happen if you get ready alone or without distraction. Your mind can wander to the to-do list or other stresses and it can give the start of your day a negative vibe. So try to stay ahead of the stress and plan the morning to be light and happy and carefree.
Pre-plan the morning (who is riding with whom, how are the stylists getting paid, how are programs getting to the church, etc) a couple days ahead of time so there is nothing to think about besides seeing your fiance on your wedding day. Having a personal attendant and wedding planner help with this SO much! It is amazing how freeing it is to brides to hand over the responsibilities to a third party and have no worries.
Create a wedding day soundtrack on your Ipod and bring portable speakers to your getting ready location, music helps a ton! And then have a party mix ready for the limo ride, it is always a buzz kill with the wedding party is saying a toast and ready to party and a commercial comes on the radio. Be sure to pamper yourself the morning of your wedding, and splurge a little bit, this is the one time you get to do this!
Now on to the guys. I am a huge fan of Heimie’s Haberdashery. Think about sitting around drinking a cognac and getting a warm towel shave. It is a great bonding experience and helps the brain prepare for the importance of the day. Quite a few times we have seen the groom get out of bed, put on his tux and say, “that’s it?” and then spend the rest of the morning lounging around. It kind of has an anti climatic feel, and not the way to start the day.
Have an early round of golf with your buddies, or go for a run…some activity that makes you feel great. Just make sure to give yourself enough time to get ready without rushing. Taking a spare moment or two to write a note to your fiance is a great way to go to the top of the Most Awesome Groom list and will make her day. Something I encourage our grooms to do is to spend a special moment with their mom. Whether it is having breakfast, or having her tie your tie, your mom will cherish that time with you forever.
The whole purpose of this blog post is to encourage you to preplan the morning of your wedding day so there is some meaningful ritual to it. This will help prepare you, get your game face on, so to speak. It will help you reflect and to remember to breath throughout the wedding day. It will put you in a positive mood and make that first sight all the more exciting. Happy Planning!
Busy Brothers
Baby Ethan had his newborn portraits yesterday! Big brother Andy seems to be adjusting well and likes to tickle Ethan’s head. We made sure to get portraits with all the members of the family, and I think my favorite is the one where he is looking at daddy.
Ethan was so awake, alert and GOOD. It didn’t take much time at all to take all of his portraits, what a sweet little guy! Here are my favorite images, enjoy!
Little Mickey
Little Dylan was born last week and had his newborn portraits today. He looks amazingly like his sister did for her newborn portraits, and it was fun to see her doting on her newborn baby brother. We used Dylan’s dresser and other room decor as a backdrop for his portraits, and his mom set up A,B,C blocks with Dylan being the D. Then for the cuteness finale, mom pulled out a Mickey Mouse onesie…he looked so darling!
Here are my favorites, enjoy!
Garters and Lace – Bachelorette Style
Things got a little steamy in downtown Minneapolis last night.
A few times a year, I set up a Garters and Lace event. Boudoir, fancy hotel, signature drink, and sessions all day. This time, it wasn’t a list of appointments with various clients, it was a group of girlfriends spending the day together. Over the last month or so, I kept hearing snippets from the friends of shopping trips and makeup ideas…and when the day came, they all got their makeup done, and came over to the fancy hotel room I had rented for the night.
We had music pumping, everyone was helping each other choose outfits and accessories, and making each other laugh. The unforeseen benefit of shooting as a group, was that insecurities were checked at the door and I was able to capture real laughs and subjects that were at ease and comfortable. When all the sessions were done, the whole group (still with gorgeous hair and makeup) got dressed up for a night on the town, and were able to spend the night in the hotel room. I think a boudoir party is the perfect bachelorette party!
And I will not confirm nor deny that there was a pillow fight at the end…I’ll just leave that up to the imagination.
Here are a few sneak peeks. The ladies who are showing their faces have graciously given me permission to do so. There are some lucky significant others that are going to get quite the gift in a few weeks!
Men of Distinction
Yesterday, the W Hotel Minneapolis – The Foshay, hosted a whiskey tasting event in their Prohibition Bar. Delightfully Mad Men in style, there were cigars, well dressed men with chic women on their arms, and many glasses of whiskey. John photographed this event, and really enjoyed finding creative angles and lighting situations in the space (as well as tasting the whiskey!). Here are my favorites, enjoy!
MN Meetings and Events – Best of 2011
Tonight, the magazine Minnesota Meetings + Events had their Best of 2011 event at the Cowles Center in Minneapolis.
I was very excited because Studio Laguna was up for Best Photography! It was such an honor to be chosen by our peers as a finalist. My friend Susan Austin, a fabulous photographer, went away with the prize, but it was fun to be acknowledged. There were some very excited groups of people taking home awards tonight and there was a festive vibe in the spring air. Though all of the nominees were excited to win, I think that the group from Common Roots Cafe were the most thrilled!
Three Sons Signature Cuisine passed around delicious appetizers and had a fondue buffet while Prom Catering served up signature cocktails to the guests. G.L.Berg Entertainment provided a retro jazz quartet that was fantastic to listen to, and Avex lit up the Cowles Center to show off the angles of the space. Overall, a very fun night! Here are a few images, enjoy!
David and Heidi
David and Heidi were married today!
It was no surprise to me that David and Heidi chose vibrant colors and fun details with modern flair for their wedding. Heidi is the definition of the word vibrant, and she and David love to enjoy life.
Today turned out to have fabulous weather, and we enjoyed location hopping in Sauk Rapids for wedding pictures. Since Heidi loves photography, we tried to find unique locations and use fun ideas for her images. The entire wedding party brought boots along that said something about their personality, and it was so fun taking that portrait (we had quite a few locals trying to figure out what we were doing, too!). The guys even managed a Taco Johns run, so the day was already a hit ; )
I really liked the design elements of the wedding day. It was pretty rock n’ roll, with feathers, bling, and design with personality…from the font on the programs to the floral arrangements. Heidi’s gown, from Bella Bridal, was so sparkly and lovely and she made her hairpiece, featuring jewelry from her great grandmother. The Flower Bed’s designs in pinks and oranges, stood out perfectly against the blue bridesmaid’s dresses.
The ceremony at Trinity Lutheran Church also had unique elements. The music choices in the ceremony were classical, but not the typical pieces that one would expect. And the guests gave the couple a sparkler send off. AND the ceremony had one of the cutest flower girls ever!
After the ceremony, things got a bit rowdy…we’ll just say that there are some pictures out there with a bride on a mechanical bull and leave it at that. We’ll also say that the party bus from The Fun Van lived up to its full potential.
With the sun starting to set, we took a few more images at Territory Golf Club before heading in for dinner. Many clinking of glasses and speeches later, the guests were enjoying cake from Cold Spring Bakery, goofing off in The Traveling Photo Booth, and were ready to dance. Dyer Sound Works played all the hits, and this crowd sure loved to party!
David and Heidi, thank you so much for having us be a part of your day. Enjoy your honeymoon in Belize!!!!! Here are our favorite images, we picked some fun ones for your sneak peek =)
Our Lovely Lyra
Lyra turns three this month, and we had a small family get together to celebrate. Her brother has told her that her favorite color is now red…and she agrees…so we had red balloons and punch, and Auntie made delicious cupcakes. Then of course we had to do a portrait session in the gorgeous sunset light. Here are pictures of our youngest, she has an amazing laugh, loves music, and is sweet, confident and bright. I can’t believe she is already THREE!!!!!
