While I’m so happy to have a three day weekend, with time enough for a triathlon, a bbq with friends, editing my backlog of photos, a trip back to state fair (photos to follow), and hopefully one last dip in the pool, I am sad to see the official end of summer. September has awesome light, and I have 3 weddings booked, so it should be a great month. Enjoy your long weekend.
One of my most popular blog posts last summer was when I recapped all of the gorgeous wedding cakes I’d photographed during the season, so I thought I should do it again, now that I’ve reached the half-way point in my wedding schedule. I just love photographing wedding cakes — they are always so elegant and more importantly, delicious! If I can discern any trend in wedding cakes for 2008, I’d say that they were most often white on white, with very simple decoration on the frosting (polka dots, swirls) and topped with fresh flowers to match the bridal bouquet. Here are a few of the many cakes I’ve seen this summer:
Still catching up on all of my photo sessions from last week, and am editing like crazy to get everyone their photos. I’m thankful for the 3 day weekend so that I’ll have time to catch up!
Last Saturday, I got to photograph the very radiant Jen who will be having a baby in almost one month! Maternity photography sessions are best scheduled in the 7th or 8th month of your pregnancy, in case of an early delivery. Here are a few highlights:
Little Bailey wanted in on all the fun:
Thanks for letting me photograph this special time! I look forward to meeting your little boy in the near future.
I’ll be photographing Hannah and Eric’s wedding in the middle of October at the Living History Farms in Des Moines, Iowa. I’ve been excited for this wedding since Hannah contacted me back in January, because a farm, in Iowa, at the peak of fall? What could be more beautiful. After meeting these two awesome and easy-going folks, I’m truly excited and honored to be part of their upcoming wedding! We spent what may have been the nicest day of the summer (I keep saying that, but it’s true!) wandering around St. Anthony Main and Nicollet Island looking for fun places to make pictures. I promised I’d post 5 or so tonight, but true to form, I couldn’t pick just a few:
[gallery link="file" columns="4"]Thanks so much for coming all the way to the Twin Cities! I can’t wait to see you in October.
Usually, I post a sneak peak of wedding photos on this blog within a week of the wedding. The sneak peak is usually a handful of fun shots that catch my eye as I’m transferring the cards to my hard drives and give a brief story of the day. This time, because the bride was my friend on Facebook, I posted the images to the Sarah McGee Photography Page (I can’t get the link to work!) and was able to tag her and some of the wedding party in the images. That way, all of their friends were notified of the photos at once, and the guests can all tag each other.
This wedding was held in Davenport, Iowa (one of the Quad Cities) at the beautiful Outing Club. This venue is special to me, because it is where my parents and sister were both married. I’m excited that I’ve already booked 2009 reception there, too! I know Ellie worried about the weather for her August wedding all spring, concerned it would be typically humid. But, the day was absolutely gorgeous and unseasonably cool. Here are a few extra “sneak peak” images!
I love when I get a copy of the invitation from the couple, so I can take pictures of it too!
The bride’s wedding band is a combination of diamonds (her birth stone) and peridot (his birth stone).
Ellie, waiting for Brandon to arrive to start taking photos.
A stunning (and huge!) cake, decorated with hydrangeas.
A candid moment of the bride while we were taking couple portraits. The wind was blowing her veil all around.
The groom and his groomsmen, waiting while I photographed the ladies.
Flowergirl, bridesmaids, and the bride. I loved how summery their hydrangea bouquets were.
Ellie & Brandon had several different favors — personalized matches for the cigar bar, and drink koozies that were put to use even before the ceremony.
I know I’ve said this before, but I adore outdoor ceremonies, because I can usually move all around and catch unusual angles. I got this shot from the balcony on the opposite side of the guests. I love the look that the bride has in this one.
Look at that grin as they exchange their rings. If any photographers are out there, I have to put in a huge plug for Lightroom 2.0 here. The bride in white was standing in the sun, the groom in black was standing in the shade, and try as I might, I couldn’t expose for both at once. But the new gradient filters in Lightroom really worked to save these images.
And it’s over — time to party!
Here are Ellie’s “unofficial” bridesmaids, on the lawn during the cocktail hour.
And jumping way ahead, because this has gone on too long already, a quick snap from Brandon & Ellie’s first dance. Mazel tov!
This week has been a busy one, with an out of town wedding gig, a family session, a maternity portrait session, and an engagement session, but hopefully by the end of Labor Day weekend, I’ll be all caught up on blog posts! On Wednesday night I did a family portrait session for Evelyn, Acacia, and their parents. We’ve just had the best weather this August here in the Twin Cities, and Wednesday was no exception. We met at Minnehaha Falls, about 2 hours before sunset. The light was perfect and these two girls were so cooperative! I just love the results:
[UPDATE: I'm adding this entry to the eyes have it contest at I Heart Faces]
Thanks, girls! It was so fun to meet you!
