Category Archives: Wedding Pictures

A Wedding at the Semple Mansion

August 16, 2013

MN Wedding at the Semple Mansion

Jayme and Mike were high school sweethearts. In fact, even at the age of 15, they both knew they had always been, and would always be, “that person” for each other. Isn’t that a true love story? When they got married this year in Minneapolis, their wedding was like the ending of a fairytale. To Jayme, the ceremony itself was the most special part of the day. It made her love story official. And since her own brother was officiating, it was personal. Familial.

“It was amazing to see all the people we love in the room to witness it and share it with us,” she says.

The ceremony was beautiful. I had the privilege of photographing Jayme and Mike’s wedding at the luxurious Semple Mansion in Minneapolis. Quite an excellent venue for wedding photography; it’s historic, and has a degree of sophistication, ornateness, elegance… it’s almost royal. (That must be why it’s won awards in Minnesota Bride Magazine every single year since it opened for weddings in 2007!)

We shot Jayme and Mike’s bride and groom portraits near Lake Harriet at the Lyndale Park Gardens’ beautiful Japanese-style Peace Garden. The newlyweds wandered under willow trees and across the zig-zagging Peace Garden Bridge, which is constructed out of wood, Minnesota granite, copper, and two stones from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan that were given to our city as a symbol of peace with regards to the bombing of those two cities during WWII. Japanese tradition believes that evil spirits walk only in straight lines, so the zigzag bridge prevents them from following people into the garden.

In the evening, the couple enjoyed a wedding reception in the Semple Mansion’s Grand Palladian Ballroom, where Jayme’s sister and Maid of Honor revealed all of the hilarious traits that qualified Mike as a bona fide rock star, which was important considering Jayme’s intense love of rock music. This was indeed a match made in heaven.

After dinner, Jayme, Mike and their wedding guests had fun posing in our Antibooth photo station! The Antibooth is a wedding photography add-on available to all of our clients. It features hundreds of props, a professional backdrop (when needed – the Semple Mansion had a great space that didn’t require a backdrop), a real live professional photographer, and the ability to fit 10+ people in each photo, making it far superior to a traditional photo booth. Pictures are professionally edited and printed on the spot, and your guests get to take home as many of these archive quality 4×6″ prints as they desire. Plus, clients get all of the digital copies included on their wedding disk. It’s been a popular add-on for the past couple years… scroll to the bottom of this post to see why!

MN Wedding at the Semple Mansion

Ceremony & Reception Venue: The Semple Mansion – Minneapolis
Hair & Makeup: Renae & Lori at The Hair District: Uptown – Minneapolis
Cake designer: Buttercream – Minneapolis
Caterer: Brie Catering – St. Paul
Florist: Christine’s Floral Touch – Minneapolis
Wedding Dress: Posh Bridal – Wayzata
Limo: Total Transportation – Vadnais Heights

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Fort Snelling Wedding Photos | Lindsay + Brad

August 10, 2013

Linday Heagle is not afraid of heights. There’s a pretty cute story about that…

“We were at the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) tower on the Sky Deck, a glass balcony that extends out over the city. Brad looked at me and asked me if I was afraid being up so high. I replied, ‘No.’ And he told me he wasn’t either. Then he looked into my eyes and said, ‘You know what else I’m not afraid of? Spending the rest of my life with you.’ He got down on one knee with the ring… and of course I said yes! There was a crowd of people waiting in line behind us, and one man was kind enough to capture it while it was happening. It was so neat! As you can tell from the pictures, I was very surprised!”

Is that a cute wedding proposal story or what? On top of the Sears Tower! The stuff of dreams! (Good job, Brad.) A year later, Lindsay and Brad got married at the Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel in Minneapolis. I was lucky enough to photograph their wedding and get to know this sweet couple and their love story. Lindsay told me her wedding day was perfect…

“I wasn’t stressed, or anxious at all. I was relaxed and smiling almost every minute. I felt like a princess all day!” (She also had some nice things to say about her wedding photographer… “We loved working with Preston and we love our wedding photos!”) 🙂

I loved working with you too, Lindsay! Congratulations to you both!

Ceremony venue: Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel – Minneapolis, MN

Reception venue: Midland Hills Country Club – Roseville, MN

Officiant: Jeff Heidkamp

Hair & Makeup: Lisa Reinhardt Makeup and Hair Artistry

Cake designer: Buttercream – Minnepolis

Decorator: Illuminations by Lori Cole

Stationer: Tate Stationery (table numbers, place cards, programs)

Florist: Appleblossom Flowers

Bridal dress shop: Weddings by Tess – Apple Valley, MN

Dress designer: Casablanca Bridal

Tuxedos: Savvi Formalwear

DJ: Midwest Sound and Lighting

Linday Heagle is not afraid of heights. There’s a pretty cute story about that… “We were at the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) tower on the Sky Deck, a glass balcony that extends out over the city. Brad looked at me and asked me if I was afraid being up so high. I...

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Red Wing, MN Wedding Photography

June 15, 2013

Abby and John’s story is a good one! They met while working together in college, where they quickly became friends. They stayed close over the years, but it wasn’t until 10 years after meeting they decided they would give dating a try. Cut to 12 years after their first meeting, Abby and John were married at the beautiful St. James Hotel in Red Wing, MN.

The St. James Hotel is a Minnesota wedding photographer’s dream. I love taking wedding photos here! The giant brick exterior and the spacious interior make for some awesome wedding photos. Neither Abby nor John are from Red Wing, but they saw the town as a great spot to gather family from all over Minnesota to celebrate their wedding day. We took some amazing wedding photos in and around the hotel, including some awesome pictures in a nearby train yard!

It was a beautiful wedding day, down to every last detail. Abby’s elegant wedding gown came from the Wedding Shoppe in St. Paul, MN, while her hair and makeup were done at Hair Expressions in Arden Hills. The cupcakes were made at Miss Sara’s Cakery in Hastings to match the beautiful white and green flowers, done by Inspired Home & Flower Studio in Red Wing. Deckci Decor, based out of Roseville, added a classy, casual touch to the decorations, which made for some nice wedding reception photography.

Abby said that her mom talked to John after the ceremony was over and said, “When you first came over to the house in college all those years ago for dinner… I knew then you were the one. I always knew it was going to be you.” I love their story! Congrats to the happy couple!

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Edina, MN Wedding Photography | Jenni & Mike

June 14, 2013

Congratulations to Jenni and Mike on their recent marriage! The couple got married on a beautiful early summer day in Edina, MN near Minneapolis. I love all the awesome wedding photos we got from the day. You can see so much authentic love between this couple, it is really sweet… The June weather gave us the opportunity to take some beautiful outdoor wedding photos at Centennial Lakes Park in Edina. Jenni’s gorgeous white flower bouquet was a subtle accent that made for some amazing wedding photography against the vibrant green of the grass and trees.

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Des Moines Wedding Photography for Iriana and Jared

June 8, 2013

We flew our 6 seat Centurion airplane down to Iowa for Iriana and Jared’s beautiful Des Moines wedding photos. We started off with rehearsal dinner pictures outside the Court Ave Restaurant and Brewery downtown Des Moines. The couple kept things local for their wedding. The bride’s hair and makeup were beautifully styled at Salon Spa W. Gorgeous pink and white flower bouquets done by Stems + Style Floral Design made a great accent for the beautiful vibrant blue worn by the bridal party. I had fun taking the wedding party photographs at the capitol building in downtown Des Moines.

Iriana looked gorgeous in her wedding gown, bought from the Wedding Shoppe here in St. Paul, MN. The day ended with their beautiful wedding reception held at Prairie Meadows Event Center in Altoona, Iowa. We were happy to be part of such a beautiful day! Congratulations Iriana and Jared! Enjoy your Iowa wedding photographs!