I’d like to give a shout-out to all the other vendors who participated this weekend.  First, to the fabulous Becca Dilley who was the brains and inspiration behind the fair.  Festivities Event Services decked out the Five Event Center with beautiful tableclothes, flowers, and candlelights.  They really helped create a beautiful, luxurious atmosphere!  Hailley from LeEvent Designs, a wedding planning service specializing in day-of coordination, was on hand to give planning advice.

In between the informative panels, the Urthema Quartet string musicians played beautiful music. They would be a wonderful addition to your ceremony or cocktail hour.  Downstairs, Radio K had a booth at the fair and would be a modern, fun alternative to the traditional DJ.

Jessica’s Cakes brought some beautiful cakes for display and lots of yummy samples for tasting.   The lovely ladies from Sweets Bakeshop brought their delicious corn cupcakes, orange cupcakes, brownies, and vanilla macaroons for tasting.  They also had the most elegant cupcake display I’ve ever seen ~ and of course, I didn’t bring my camera!  Finally, the Chowgirls Killer Catering had a beautiful spread of antipasta, cheeses, and a wonderful pea pesto pasta.  I kept stopping by when I thought they weren’t looking.

Three florists brought a burst of spring with them.  Just Bloomed, Distinctly Debbie, and Diana’s Floral Affairs showed what a range of options are available for weddings from traditional to ultra modern and chic.

Several other photographers participated as well! It was great to finally meet folks I know only online, including Katrina of Studio Laguna and Krista of Never Miss a Moment. Maribeth of Red Ribbon Studio, and brand new mom Jennie of Sewell Photography were there with some inspirational displays! I love talking shop with other photographers. The guys from The Traveling Photobooth also had their booth up and running.  What a fun addition to any reception!

Two lovely invitation designers had their creations on hand – Paperista and Armato Design.  I know when I redesign my branding I need to incorporate some letter press elements.  I just adore the way it looks and feels.

JWP Jewelry Design showed off her beautiful and classic jewelry, perfect for a bride or as a gift for your girls (or mom!).  I was seated next to the lovely Knit N Jules and folks couldn’t stop touching her soft and gorgeous wraps.  She has some great dress options for flowergirls, too.  The flower and bead necklaces by Jessica of  Liebling Designs are beautiful and for sale on her Etsy site!

I am just kicking myself for not bringing my camera ~ I had so much to carry with my sample albums and large canvases that I left it at home.  But there will be some photos on the Independent Wedding Fair site, so you’ll have to check those out.

As part of the fair, I offered a free engagement or “day-after” engagement session to all packages booked between now and March 1st.  I’d like to extend that offer to all of my blog-readers, so just mention it when you set up your consultation!

During the workshop, we had the opportunity to photograph some Atlanta-area musicians.  Here are a few photos of Ryan Horne ~ his new album just came out this week {iTunes link}.  Good stuff!

Calling all 2010 (and 2011) brides!  Have you heard about the upcoming Something New: Independent Wedding Fair?  It’s taking place this February 6 at the fabulous Five Event Center in Minneapolis.  And I’ll be there as a a vendor, in great company with lots of other amazing local vendors.

The event is meant to showcase a group of hand-selected vendors that are all locally owned and independently minded. Tickets are now available, and I will post more updates in the coming months.

The reception was held at Gibbs Farm in St. Paul.   Because it was the 4th of July, there were many patriotic touches to the decorations.

Lettuce Cater provided a beautiful buffet and selection of grilled meats.

One of my favorite parts ~ Cindi and David cut the cake with his sabre!

In lieu of a first dance, the entire wedding party performed the Virginia Reel.

And the couple exited the wedding to sparklers on what turned out to be a gorgeous night!

Congratulations again, David & Cindi!  And a big thanks to Nancy Van Thorre for second shooting with me.

The first was on Friday, July 3rd, at the Minnesota History Center.  We started at the lovely Estetica Salon, in Cathedral Hill, where the bride, bridesmaids, and grooms women had their hair and make-up done.  I have to give a huge thank you to the always-awesome Becca Dilley for shooting this wedding with me.

We then moved down the hill to the classic St. Paul Hotel for the ladies to get dressed.

A few of the many details, below.  And a tip for brides:  send your photographer an invitation, so we can be sure you have a picture of it!

We then headed out to Rice Park, downtown St. Paul, for the couple’s first look, on this unseasonably cool July day.

Finally, we arrived at the ceremony site, and took advantage of  Minnesota History Center’s terrace for some more picture-taking.

Judge Thor Anderson provided over the ceremony, that over looked the State Capitol.  Judge Anderson also wrote one of the more entertaining legal opinions of  2009.  (PDF).

The tables were decorated in shades of pink and green, with a subtle scrabble theme.

The Woullett cupcakes for dessert were delicious.

The live band, Orange Whip, kept the dance floor packed until midnight.

And did I mention fireworks?  The Taste of Minnesota Fireworks were viewable from the History Center’s terrace.  Such a great end to the evening!

Katie & Jon were featured the next day in the New York Times‘ style section.  Best wishes for a long and happy marriage!

See the 7 minute slideshow on 1 Fine Day’s Facebook page!

The Gale Mansion has beautiful, spacious rooms for getting ready upstairs.   Much more light and color than the typical church basement!

The bride and groom were willing to see each other before the ceremony, so I set up a “first look” to capture their reaction.

The ceremony was held indoors as the sun peeked through the mansion windows:

Here’s a better look at the full bridal party, taken in one of the mansion’s beautiful parlors.

Tiffany’s friend Liz (who was married in September) designed beautiful printed materials for the evening, including the programs, seating cards, centerpieces with meaningful song lyrics, menu cards, and many other special details.  Tiffany also made her own custom guest book using their engagement session photos.

The reception was a lovely sit-down dinner, starting off with short, sweet and funny toasts.

And a few photos from the first dance. 

Please visit my Facebook page (and become a fan!) to see a few more sneak peak photos.   Congratulations again and have a great time in Hawaii!

First, you should know that Liz is a very talented person!  She designed their invitations, thank you cards, programs, and myriad other details for the wedding.  She hand-crafted gifts for the bridal party and really thought of every possible detail for the wedding.   Check out this fabulous, trifold invitation:

I met the ladies at Liz’s parents’ home, where a make-up artist had set up in the sun room.

Here’s Liz getting some assistance with her dress, and the reaction to seeing Liz as a beautiful bride!

Liz picked a beautiful color palette for the wedding, with rich pinks, oranges, and turquoise.  Usually, I’ll convert about a quarter of my photos to black and white or split-toned, but everything from this wedding was so colorful, most have stayed that way.   Even Liz’s shoes fit the color scheme:

From there, we headed out to the Elm Creek Park Reserve, where Noah was waiting to see Liz.  I asked Liz to hide behind a building, so I could set up the couple’s “first look,” where she was promptly stung by a bee!  Liz handled it so calmly, and was ready immediately for more pictures.  I don’t know how she did it — I think I would have been in tears!

Needless to say, we did many of the pictures without the flowers, so as to keep the bees away!

Finally, Liz and Noah see each other for the first time — one of my favorite parts of the day.

And Noah takes care of Liz’s bee sting:

We then did some more portraits and the family formals.  A big thanks to Greg of View From the Tundra for second-shooting with me.  At this point the clouds looked a little threatening, but they made for some dramatic photographs.  Here’s the whole wedding party on this great bridge over the bike path.  I love the variation in the bridesmaid dresses!

Shortly thereafter it started to sprinkle, and a quick decision was made to move the ceremony inside.  An aisle was cleared, decorations and chairs were moved indoors, and the wedding was saved.  Within a few minutes it was absolutely pouring, so it was definitely the right call.  While everyone else scrambled, I took the time to photograph a few more of the many details.  Here are the wedding rings, sitting on top of a felt coaster that Liz also made, one of many that decorated the tables.

Instead of a ceremony overlooking the park, the ceremony was instead held in front of a giant & roaring fire place.  The fireplace seemed very fitting for our suddenly fall-like weather.   On top of the fire place were dozens of glowing candles, it was quite stunning.

Liz and Noah then snuck outside for a couple pictures in the rain.  And then later, after the rain cleared, to grab a couple sunset snaps.

Wow, my sneak-peek blog-posts (say that 3 times fast) keep getting longer, and longer.  Here are a couple more from Liz & Noah’s first dance, to Van Morrison’s Someone Like You.

Liz and Noah — Congratulations again!  It was such an honor to be part of your wedding day.  I hope you’re enjoying your honeymoon, and I can’t wait for you to see all of the photos I couldn’t fit here.