Winter in Minnesota

It gets cold here. Really cold. About once a year I have to remind myself that I choose to live here.

With the snow, ice, bitter temperatures, salt, sand (yes, my neighbor sands our sidewalks - the floors in my condo look lovely), shovels, mittens, boots, etc., come some really fun, winter based events. My husband, Dan Dwight, took the pictures above this past weekend during the City of Lakes Loppet, a cross country ski festival that runs through the trails and lakes of the Twin Cities. It's a fun event that gets us city dwellers out of our warm beds to cheer on local athletes, drink beer, walk on icy lakes, and enjoy the season that, according to a certain groundhog I know, will be around for a little while longer.

Joe and Abbey

Abbey and Joe are getting married in October. They asked us to take engagement pictures for them so they could get Save The Date cards sent out as they have a lot of people who will be attending the wedding from out of town. Of course we were happy to oblige! Abbey is a good friend of Kate's and we had an awesome time taking these pictures. We started at the St. Paul Cathedral until our (my) hands were so cold we couldn't stand it anymore, and then we headed to the at Como Park.

After getting a ton of amazing pictures there, we still wanted more! We headed back to Rice Park to take advantage of the Christmas lights that drape the trees at this time of year. We got some amazing shots!!! I can't wait to see the Save the Dates.

Girl Scouts Annual Meeting

We shot the Red River Valley's Annual Girl Scouts Meeting this past weekend. It was inspiring to spend the day with the future leaders of our region. The young gal to the left won an award for saving a life. He fell into deep water and couldn't swim; she wasted no time jumping in to rescue him. A very well deserved award.

The event was based at the McNamara Alumni Center, an absolutely gorgeous venue. They also had two satellite locations and had live video linking the sites together. It was a really interesting use of technology to bring people together for an afternoon. We had a blast and were honored to be a part of this afternoon.

Mike & Genesee's Engagement Session

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our engagement session last week with Mike and Genesee. They are getting married in August so we loved the idea of having the engagement session in the middle of winter. We have 4 seasons so we might as well take advantage of it, right? We scheduled this before we knew it was winter carnival, but I think it just added another fun element to the shoot! Enjoy!!

Vacation

Here are a couple of pictures I took while I was in Florida last week. This last picture of the palm trees is one of my favorites. I took it using the new tripod I received for Christmas and I love the stars in the background.

Schedule time during your busy schedule leading up to the wedding to do these things:

1. SCHEDULE AN ENGAGEMENT SESSION!!! Not only will you get some fabulous pictures of the two of you before the big day, but it will help you become comfortable in front of the camera. Let’s face it – not many of us are models or stars who are constantly followed by the paparazzi. There isn’t a weirder feeling than being followed by a camera that is snapping away, so this is a perfect opportunity to get comfortable so you are the best for your wedding day.

2. Give your photographer a list of “Must Have Photos” for the wedding day. Include names, relationship to you, and any other relevant information. Don’t feel like you have to keep this limited to people! Include your favorite details or backgrounds.

3. Assign a person who knows the list of characters in the “Must Have Photos” who can help gather and organize people. Give your photographer his or her name and contact phone number so they can touch base before the big day.

4. Give the wedding photographer your wedding invitation, reply card, save the date, a ceremony program, and any other printed materials that you may want included in photos throughout the day.

5. Think about activities that you and your significant other enjoy doing together. Make a list and give it to your photographer. It will give her inspiration for additional props that can be used during your photos together.

6. Have your nails done. Your hands will be photographed all day! You don't have to have them done professionally - just ask a friend to help clean and polish them. You’ll be happy they look their best.

7. Have FUN!!! The more fun you two are having and the more you ignore the photographer and the clicking camera, the better the pictures will look and the happier you'll be with your photos.