Overall Event & Floral - Sadie's Floral
Paper & Signs - A Milestone Paper Company
Cake - Jessica's Cakes
Food - We Cater to You

Stacey and I were incredibly honored to be asked by our friends and local wedding photographers, John & Katrina of Studio Laguna, if we would capture their vow renewal.  They recently had their 10 year anniversary and wanted to publicly renew their vows to one another and their three lovely children.  In preparation for the big day, John has spent the past summer putting in a patio and retaining wall, while Katrina came up with a beautiful orange and blue backyard picnic theme for the event. 

The guests were invited to come with blankets and chill out to watch the ceremony and then go through and fill up apple buckets with the food for their picnic.  It was a gorgeous day and a lot of fun for us to watch our friends enjoying themselves with the people they are closest to!

Here are some of the highlights and gorgeous details of the day!  Everyone involved did an amazing job at helping the couple pull together a day that was distinctly them.  Congratulations John and Katrina, we are so happy for the two of you and your growing family!

This past Tuesday for the Minneapolis PUG meeting, Stacey and I hosted a photo shootout, and it turned out to be a lot of fun.  We will be posting more images later with a rundown of all the fabulous professionals that participated.  In the meantime, Stacey gets a huge round of applause for putting a lot of time in and coordinating all the final details.  Here is one shot from each of us showing the two beautiful gowns that Foat Design created. 

This is going to be a multi-faceted post, but I found it perfectly fitting.  It's a quick sneak peek at Rochelle and Jeremy's wedding, but also a chance to explain why it is we love what we do. 

I recently had the opportunity to attend a presentation by a VERY well respected wedding photographer, Joe Buissink.  His images have always been so moving and he challenged everyone in the audience to really search what images of our own speak to us and grab us at the core.  He followed it up by saying, that is who you are as a photographer. 

As I was looking through some images from Rochelle and Jeremy's wedding this past weekend, this sequence from when they first saw one another really spoke to me.  In my opinion, we wouldn't have to show any other images from the whole day and these two would be enough to show the love Rochelle and Jeremy have for one another.  Given the opportunity to capture moments like this is truly an honor.  I couldn't think of anything more rewarding than being invited in to someone's life to preserve their true and deepest emotions!

We hope you find it as moving as we do!

Wow, where is 2010 going?  It seems like not too long ago we were with family celebrating Christmas!  The start to the year has been pretty chaotic over here with Staja Studios and the Thon family.  My dad had some heart problems that took me out of town in January and March.  However, I am happy to report that he is doing much better.  Stacey and I have been searching for a new studio space, which we have found (more on that in a new post).  Now it's getting to be summer and we will be in full swing as Minneapolis wedding photographers.  All the while, our little babies just seem to keep getting bigger.  The other week, I thought I would bring a camera with me to Ian's ECFE class and try to capture a few moments in time of him and some of his classmates.  It was a bit of a slow day which was nice, but unfortunately not everyone was there.  I just can't believe how much he has grown in what seems like a short span of time.  I keep joking that he reminds me of a puppy trying to grow into his feet.  At any rate, as today was his last day of ECFE for the spring, I thought I would put a little slideshow together which you can find HERE!

P.S.  The music in the slideshow is by a great singer of children's music by the name of Elizabeth Mitchell.

Wow, what a fun day I had in the Las Vegas area before all the chaos of WPPI started.  After getting back from my experience in Tanzania, Africa, I made a conscience decision to try and stay involved with Thirst Relief International.  When the chance to help out with a new fundraiser came up, I jumped at the opportunity.  Plus who could pass up working with three people that I not only have the utmost respect for, but also consider mentors and friends!  When I knew Mike Colon along with David and Luke Edmonson had committed to instructing the shoot, I knew it would be a success. 

For anyone who has had the opportunity to shoot with any of these guys, you know why.  Not only are they are all committed to the craft of photography, they have also helped a great deal of photographers along in their careers.  What I liked most about the concept of this shoot is that the participants would see the different approaches they take and get their own chance to direct the shoot for a while.  Mike has a more lifestyle approach to his photography, while the Edmonsons were brought on because of how well they utilize non-ambient light sources.  It was a total win/win for the participants and Thirst Relief.

In addition, even though I am primarily a Minneapolis wedding photographer, I always look for opportunities to shoot outside of home.  I find it very inspiring to work in new places, different light, and with other people.  It is so easy to become stuck in your approach and way of doing things that sometimes you just need to shake things up.  I always learn something new and come back more inspired!

I would like to thank everyone involved for their participation.  A lot of people gave of their time, skills, and money in an effort to save lives.  Despite the economic climate, I encourage anyone reading this to find a way to help others in need.  Even if you don't have available money, we all have some sort of skill that can be used to help others!   

In closing, here are a few of the images I particularly enjoyed from the day!