Meg is senior this year and is from my hometown.  That means I remember her when she was just thiiiiis tall (*holding hand to below my waist*).  And yep, that made me sound old.  Oh well, isn’t she cute?  I loved spending the afternoon with you-I hope your senior year is amazing!

Lauren and Jesse had “The Big Fat Farm” wedding of the year.  Their wedding was seriously the epitome of DIY and it was awesome!  They DIY-ed almost everything INCLUDING renovating Lauren’s parents’ barn for the reception.  Apparently not even 2 years prior, there was livestock hanging out where the head table was.  The end product was so so so cool….I cannot imagine how much work they put in!  Other cool things:  They LOVE dogs and included their pooches (Apple and Bobo) on the programs and as a shout out to all dogs, they spent a half an hour serving drinks at the bar and encouraging donations for Safe Hands Rescue.  From what I hear, they raised $250!  They also had a horse drawn trailer escort them to the reception, the guys wore sweet hats, they had a “wishing tree” for a guest book, I could go on and on.  It was a great day and we were so happy to be a part of it!  CONGRATULATIONS!

p.s.  Naura Anderson from Above and Beyond Design did all the design work for the paper products as well as coordinated the entire day.  I cannot say enough good things about them!  Amazing.

Remember Sadie from her newborn session and nine month session?  Well, she turned ONE…I can’t believe it!  She has grown so much and continues to get cuter and cuter and cuter.  Happy First (a little late!) Birthday, Sadie!

Lauren is a senior this year.  She is also a basketball player and a swimmer and a lacrosse player.  AND she is awesome!  I had so much fun with Lauren and her mom in the pool (and the water aerobics ladies 🙂 ) and hiking around in the weeds battling large bugs.  You guys were troopers!  I hope you senior year is amazing, enjoy every minute of it and soak up all the endings and new beginnings.  You are beautiful inside and out!

Anna will be a senior at Mayo this year and like a lot of moms, I think Anna’s mom (and dad!) is amazed that her baby is going to be a SENIOR!  As we were talking about what they had in mind for her senior photos, they mentioned they wanted to capture her fun personality and bright spirit.  Vibrant colors were a must and nothing cheesy or weird.  🙂  Check, check, and check.  Then, while we were shooting, her mom was trying to encourage natural smiles and started singing this song by Lee Brice:

Be a best friend, tell the truth
And overuse “I love you”
Go to work, do your best
Don’t outsmart your common sense
Never let your praying knees get lazy
And love like crazy

And though I’m not a huge country music fan, I have been listening to this song A LOT.  Anna, you are BEAUTIFUL, inside and out.  Your future is bright and I hope you always remember the words to that song 🙂

My dear friend got married.  And I got to be one of her bridesmaids.  I left my big camera at home (Katie was in charge of the real photos) but I remember life better with pictures so out came the iPhone (plus it fit way better in my pocket…did I mention my dress had POCKETS!?).  My life revolves around the technicalities of taking wedding photos but there’s something I love about these.  Little imperfect snippets throughout the day.  Brianne + Aaron, I loved being a part of your wedding.  I loved getting all gussied up and wearing a pretty dress (with pockets!).  I loved seeing you smile the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen you smile.  All day long.  I loved seeing you walk down the aisle as a Berge and up the aisle as a Hill.  I loved seeing your family’s skit after skit after skit.  I loved seeing your dad tear up during his speech.  I loved your brother’s song to you.  I love our memories together and I love being your friend.  Congratulations, Berge and Aaron.  xoxo

You all know I have a weakness for dogs.  Especially dogs named Ike.  Especially dogs named Ike that are a part of families with 2 sweet little boys.  An though Ike is pretty adorable, he wasn’t the star of this shoot.  The newest addition, Lincoln and older brother, Jaxon were.  And believe me, they stole the show.  Thanks for spending a fun morning with me!  🙂

Kelly and Philip were married at the Woods Chapel in Orono, MN in June. It was like a cute little cottage out of a magazine and that, paired with all the personalized details made me drool.  Kelly had yellow shoes, yes YELLOW!  Her bouquet was fabulous, Philip made his own cuff links (which he also sells here), her grandpa made their cake plate as well as lots of other decorations at the reception, their card box was fashioned after a camera (a Nikon nonetheless!), they rode these cool, vintage bikes, they had The Traveling Photo Booth (who I LOVE), I could go on an on.  There was another part of their day that was especially unique.  They had both an outdoor ceremony as well as an indoor ceremony!  This wan’t exactly planned, but what else are you to do when it starts raining at an outdoor ceremony?!  They handled is SO WELL.  And though Kelly is a photographer in MN (check out her site here), we had never met before her cousin, Molly Peterson (who I met several years ago at a photography conference and now lives on the east coast) introduced us!  And I’m so glad she did!  CONGRATULATIONS on a beautiful wedding!  We had so much fun with you!

Ryan and Katie were married on a beautiful day in June.  I know Ryan from Concordia (Whoo hoo, Go Cobbers!) and Katie is a total sweetheart.  Their wedding day was ultimately a beautiful celebration of their love for each other but it also was a recognition and celebration of the love of their family and friends.  Congratulations, friends.  We are so happy for you and feel thankful to have been a part of your big day!  xoxo.

As long as I have known Justin, I have heard about Neal.  From what I can understand of their inside jokes and stories, they have been friends since their days in little league.  And when I say friends, I might as well mean brothers.  These guys don’t get to see each other much anymore but it doesn’t matter, they always pick up right where they left off.  And Jessica.  She is the sweetest thing ever.  Oh yeah, and she’s gorgeous.

I know I’ve said it before but I think perhaps the only thing greater than being happy yourself, is seeing those you love happy.  You can see it in the way he looks at her, the way she looks at him.  You can see it in their laughs, their smiles, their hugs, their kisses.  It’s contagious and we love it.  Congratulations on your engagement, Neal and Jessica!  We are so happy for you, we love you, and we are so excited to celebrate with you at your wedding next year!

Click here for their slideshow.  🙂