Rain is good luck!

Last Saturday I was privileged to be Hailey and Eric's Photographer for their wedding day. I met up with Hailey in the morning where she had her hair and make-up done at La Grande Salon and Spa on Forest Lake. Her hair was done beautifully in a 1930's sexy wave on one side and pulled back with a flower on the other side.
As I made my way from La Grande to where the ceremony was going to be held, a beautiful 10 acre farm Hailey's parents have, it began to rain and continued to rain all the way up until the bride met her groom at the end of the isle. Miraculously it stopped and the rest of the evening was wonderful!
Here's a sneak peek for the bride and groom, enjoy!

Eric and his brothers- this shot was their idea, love it!

Hailey has the cutest nephew who was a great sport through the day's activities-

One of Hailey's childhood dreams was to arrive at her wedding in a horse drawn carriage. Her uncle was able to help fulfill that dream with his beautiful carriage and Fjord horse.

Oh, and I have to mention, her hair held out beautifully through all that rain!

I hope you love your sneak peek Hailey and Eric!

Josh and Paige

Today I was delighted to join Josh and Paige on their wedding day at the Saint Paul LDS Temple. The day was overcast, but that didn't put a damper on the bright colors of the day!
Congratulations on your wedding and I wish you many years of happiness! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Dance

I love this image because of the way they are looking at each other. They aren't chatting like a lot of couples do during their dance. But there's the unspoken connection between them in this moment. I like that.

A New Favorite

Krista and Brian

Yesterday was the photo session and reception for our friend's daughter, Krista, and her husband Brian. I knew Krista back when she was a teenager in the Young Women's program at our church. She's grown up to be a beautiful woman.

We had planned to spend about an hour at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, but it started pouring rain early in the day and the rain stayed all day long with gusts of wind. We found a few sheltered spots to play around in. I love sessions like these where there's no wedding to rush off to, and the dress doesn't have to stay completely spotless!

Hope you like your sneak peek and look forward to showing you more!

May 16

May 16 was a beautiful day for a wedding! I'm so glad to have kicked off the wedding season at the Loring Pasta bar with Heidi and Dave on their wedding day.

When I first arrived at the location I headed up to the red room. Shortly after I arrived the center piece designer brought up an arrangement. He must not have noticed me because after putting the center piece down and arranging it and then backing up to admire it from a distance, he turned and was startled by me. He said he'd sensed something in the room but knew it wasn't Bob Dyllan because "He isn't dead yet." That got a good chuckle.



This place (and not to mention the couple) is a knock out! So much fun to shoot here. There's color everywhere and lots and lots to look at. The ceremony was held down in the main dining area.





After the ceremony we went upstairs for an intimate reception in the Red Room (which supposedly used to be Bob Dyllan's pad).

Her boquets and the wedding party's flowers were all done by Sadies Fine Floral Design and I have to say these were the most lush beautiful flowers I have seen in a bride's boquet yet. They were fresh and plump and looked beautiful the entire day long.




We did have a little time for some fun shots, I would have loved to have spent way too much time shooting just fun shots, there's so much that the Loring Pasta Bar and surrounding area have to offer.

Wedding Formals

Today I'd like to address the topic of wedding formals.

You've taken a lot of time and spent a lot of hours scouring over photographer's galleries and portfolios when hiring a wedding photographer. You've chosen your photographer for a reason. Perhaps it's their artistic images that captured you. Maybe it was their personality. Perhaps you really loved the albums they offered.

Now that you've signed your contract and sent in your deposit your photographer may ask you for a list of family members you'd like to have included in your wedding formal pictures.

I've had a lot of brides give me a variety of lists, some very minimal, because they want me to focus more on artistic pictures for the day. And some brides have given me a more extensive list, wanting to make sure they are photographed with each member of their day, which is fine with me, but takes a lot of time and also cuts down on the time I can spend doing more creative work for them. It all depends on what the bride and groom really want, when placing images in their wedding album.

There is one issue I'd like to address with future brides in particular, when considering on who to have photographed in your wedding formals. You and your groom are coming together to create a union.

Mark 10: 7-8 (KJV)

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

This is a union between two families. Two families becoming one. You will now belong to his family, and your groom will belong to your family. There is no reason to have individual pictures of yourselves with your family members. There are several reasons why it is not necessary. First, it quite often ends up with redundant images and burned up time, which will make less time for more artistically inspired photography. It can also wear out the whole family having to wait around for their turn in the pictures. In the end it can end up being one long portrait session instead of a wedding session. Please consider having only one image with you and your family together without your bride and groom, and then one image with both of you with the entire family instead of individual pictures of you with each of your family members.

When deciding what images you really want in your album to look back on in the next 50 years, think about what is most important to you. When choosing your photographer, what images were you drawn to most? Are pictures of your family what you will hold most dear, or will you want more artistic images?

You make the call.

© 2009 Jennifer Klingensmith

| Celebrate! |

I love it when people let their hair down and are willing to play around when being shot. I think it makes this shot much more fun and enjoyable... you can't help but smile when you see their excitement.

click on image to see larger version


So the next time your photographer asks you to do something, and you're not quite sure about it... try it! You might really like the outcome!

| Gotta love color! |

The last wedding I shot had such wonderful color! Just yummy!

|Sneak Peek |

Tesa and Joel were married on June 21 at Kordiak Park in Columbia Heights. I normally would have a sneak peek out for them long before now, if not for the holiday and a friend's passing away putting me into a funk.

They had put together a beautiful wedding and reception, and sadly enough not all of the vendors they relied on came through for them as expected (even I experienced major camera issues). Their reception at upscale The Seasons at Bunker Hills, however turned out marvelous! Delicious food, great music, dancing and toasts. It was the perfect ending to a day that started out rough.

I think that it could be a good omen for them. It was cold and wet on my June 19, 1993 wedding day, and I think it brought us all kinds of luck.

I look forward to showing them the rest of their gallery soon!

| Toss Out Tossing the Boquet! |

And trade it in for a fun idea!

A custom popular in Finland- The bride is blindfolded, and the unmarried women form a circle around her. While music plays, the bride slowly turns in place in one direction and the women walk, arms linked, the other way. Everyone stops when the music ends, and the bride walks forward to hand off her flowers to the person directly in front of her.

I like that idea it's much more dignified and lady like. I'm still a sucker for etiquette and manners. ;)

| Just a little suggestion |

for those brides out there trying to decide where to register... this might not be such a bad idea!