Thank you to all of our 2016 seniors--almost 80 of you--for making this year so awesome! We loved getting to know each of you and customizing your session to your interests and personalities. We faced all weather conditions, from severe storms to 95 degree heat to below freezing temps this fall. We waded through rivers and climbed trees, and on at least one occasion got a bad case of poison oak. It was totally worth it, and we couldn't have done it with out all of you!
A little over a year ago this couple got engaged. When talking to the bride's mom she said something like "They would have loved to have to do their wedding pictures, but they're doing a destination wedding... and you guys have three kids so that's way to hard for you to go." My response was "Are you kidding me? We have three kids. That is an excellent reason to go!" Fast forward about 10 months and we find ourselves at this beautiful beach resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico with about 70 of the couple's closest relatives and friends. It was four days that we wish we could relive over and over.
Sometimes you go into a wedding having certain ideas or plans of pictures that you will take. That all went out the window when we realized the sun ROSE over the ocean rather than set (This is obvious when you think about it, just never occurred to us until we got there!) The bride and groom, as laid back of a couple as they are, agreed to meet us on the beach for their first look at 5:30am for sunrise.
(Caty's favorite)
After the first look pictures we went back to bed for a while, had breakfast, then started getting ready for the real deal. If you didn't know this already, the Cloud Nine photographers are a multi tasking duo.
Kassidy did a reveal to her dad as well...
And a second first look with Cameron...
Mexico is hot... it was completely necessary to take a break to stop at the beach swing bar for a drink.
The flower girls and ring bearer were triplets... and two years old. And even though they weren't going to sit still for a picture even for a split second, they were still the cutest things ever.
A quick picture with the couple...
Three weeks later we photographed their reception back in cold, cold Minnesota.
Resort: Dreams Riviera Cancun
Hair: Caty Larson
Reception Venue: Shooting Star Casino, Mahnomen, MN
Cake: Althea's Cakery
Thank you Lee and Lehmann families for letting us be a part of your week in Mexico! Everything about it was amazing.
P.S. We're also super excited about the fact that Kassidy and Cameron announced just last week that there is a little one on the way!
A little while back Terry and Isaac ended up talking in the local bar about Isaac's upcoming "plans". He said he needed Terry to take pictures in camo. While at first Terry thought he meant Isaac would be wearing the camo clothing, he soon realized he meant Terry would be wearing them and hiding in the woods, photographing him proposing to his girlfriend. When Terry told me this (sworn to secrecy) I thought maybe Isaac had a few too many beers because this sounded like quite an elaborate plan. As it turned out, Isaac had it all planned out, nearly every detail.
The weeks went by and he never called for this "camo event". We thought he maybe chickened out. We knew this was supposed to involve grain harvest... and we've seen all the other farmer's harvesting. No phone call from Isaac.
We were preparing for our busiest weekend as photographers (Two weddings, three families and one senior in three days) when an hour before we were set to leave the phone rings. Caller ID says its Isaac. All I could do was giggle and hand the phone to Terry.
Even though we were busy, we knew we had to figure out a way to get Terry there to do this for him. (Isaac was a classmate of mine and simply a very, very nice guy... the kind that would do anything for you). As luck would have it, the timing worked out perfectly for Terry to leave the wedding we were photographing and get all the way back to his farm with just enough time to go over Isaac's plan.
On this hot Friday night in August, he was going to take her on a little drive in the combine just before sunset then propose to her by the lake... all while Terry hid in his camo clothes in the woods behind an old tractor.
As Terry told me, he was more nervous than Isaac was--maybe. To be asked to photograph an event as intimate and special as this was quite an honor.
Since the combine was running, Terry couldn't hear anything that was said, but by the looks of the pictures she must have said yes.
Thanks Isaac for asking Terry to do this, and congratulations to you and Catelyn!
(We suggest watching the slideshow on a device that plays audio to get the full effect!)
If you're new to following us or aren't a personal friend of mine, I started the 365 project of my kids the beginning of May. I share each picture daily on my personal Facebook page, but thought I'd just do a once a month blog post for our Cloud Nine page. I try every day to capture our life, which usually revolves around our kids, in a creative way. The goal is to make each picture tell its own story. If you'd like to check out the previous month's blog post, just click the "next blog post" button.
I can't remember if I mentioned it in the last post, but I will be teaching a class called "Photographing your life" at the Sisters Sojourn event in Mentor, Minnesota in September. You can visit their website for more information at www.sisterssojourn.com.
About a month ago I decided to start a 365 project... Again. I've done this before, finishing the first year in March 2012. It was that year that really taught me the most about photography because I was forced to take pictures in every situation. It was so nice to be able to look back on the year and remember something from every day.
At first when I finished the project I was relieved that I no longer had to look for something to take a picture of every day. I certainly didn't miss bringing my camera with me every where I went.
After a while I started I started to miss it, so I started again. It ended on August 16th, the day our baby was born.
Life in our house has been busy. Three kids not in school yet. Two businesses. There was no way I could handle taking and editing a picture every day, keeping our pictures organized... it just wasn't a priority. Then suddenly I realized how quickly the time is flying. Our oldest will be in kindergarten soon, our second is at an age that he does the most hilarious things, and our baby will be doing so many "firsts".
I've got one month in the books and it was easier than ever. I am doing my best to take pictures that tell a story just by looking at it-no need for writing a story for each image. My goals for this project are to creatively capture the most exciting thing we do each day, to keep the pictures organized (delete unused images immediately), and to make a photo book as I go. When you get a pile of 365 pictures to design in a book, its quite overwhelming.
I don't want to overload our photography followers with pictures each day of our own kids, therefore each month on the 1st I will be doing a blog like this, recapping the previous month. Hope you enjoy this little peek into life in our house!