Saturday, October 25, 2014

Stephanie & Brandon Get Married!

Such a gorgeous fall day for a gorgeous couple! Stephanie and Brandon are husband and wife and it couldn't have been a more beautiful fall Minnesota day for it! Every blog post I try to think of what the focus will be. Some posts have a better focus than others.... but the thought is there. ;) Today, I couldn't get over the light! Photographer's best friend or worst enemy: light. We had silhouettes, we had sun flare, we had sunsets and even sparklers! And Stephanie was backlit like an angel during the ceremony from the afternoon sun. Gorgeous light was everywhere! (so please excuse, or enjoy, the mass of sun-drenched images.) 

We made our way south to Red Wing to meet the bride and groom at Church of St. Joseph's where we started right away with the first look in the church's garden. I always like to take a few minutes following the first sight for a little "romantic" time with the bride and groom allowing the emotion to linger a bit longer before starting the hustle of group photos. And this is where the lovely light started. Beautiful silhouettes of Stephanie and Brandon in front of the stained-glass windows! Couldn't be sweeter! 

Since it was a full Catholic mass Stephanie and Brandon were sitting for a majority of the time. This can sometimes hinder the number of images of the bride and groom but, not today! The location of the sun and the couple had Stephanie literally glowing as the sunlight lit up her cathedral length tulle veil and Vera Wang dress from David's Bridal. After a beautiful ceremony we headed down to Bay Point View Park for a gorgeous backdrop of the river. Total Limousine escorted the wedding party, and myself, down to the park and then for a little bar hopping. 

We then headed up (literally, up) to the reception venue at Mount Frontenac Golf Course. Stunning views from way on top of this bluff (this city girl would call this a mountain but I have been corrected on this before... ;)). Once we made our twists and turns all of the way to the golf course we took full advantage of the warm fall sun. DJMV from Events by MV then announced the wedding party with a fun grand entrance. Lots of clinking of glasses, sweet toasts, yummy pasta and delicious cupcakes from Hanisch Bakery filled the evening before the dances began. We then of course had to capture some of that gorgeous sunset with the bride and groom! 

Stephanie and Brandon warmed up the dance floor with a sweet first dance. After the father-daughter and mother-son dances that dance floor was flooded with wedding party and guests! DJMV was definitely keeping these folks going all night! Just before we left for the night a tunnel of sparklers was orchestrated for the bride and groom to run through! A perfect finish for this perfect day. 

Stephanie and Brandon, enjoy your recap! It was a pleasure!