Date: July 5th, 2008
Ceremony: Crystal Lake Golf Course, Lakeville, MN
Reception: Crystal Lake Golf Course, Lakeville, MN
Hair and Makeup: Cole’s Salon, Lakeville, MN
Touching, friendly, emotional… Perfect! Those are just a few of the words I would use to describe Jamie and Dion’s wedding. From the moment Jamie walked in to the salon with a huge smile, I could tell how friendly Jamie and her bridesmaids were. Not long after arriving, each girl had a grande cup of Caribou in hand and a happy attitude that was contagious. We got some great pictures as the girls got their hair done, enjoyed some food they had brought with, and slipped back into a beautifully lit area for makeup. I could tell that it was going to be a fun day!
The wedding ceremony took place on an outdoor patio conntected to the reception site. The weather was hot and the sun was bright, but everything went great! The ceremony was very emotional and touching, which was a perfect reflection of Jamie and Dion’s personalities.
Of course the reception was amazing! As you can see from the pictures, they did a beautiful job with the room decorations and centerpieces. The reception was also emotional, with one of the bridesmaids putting together an amazing slideshow of the couple. The dinner was beautiful and the dance floor was full with the bridal party and guests having a great time. Dion and friends lead the pack with some amazing dancing, and the DJs made sure everyone else was having a great time. I truly count it a blessing to have gotten the opportunity to meet and work with Jamie, Dion, and their family and friends. I really enjoyed shooting their wedding. They were both amazing people.
These pictures of this amazing couple almost slipped through the cracks, and missed getting posted on our blog, but we have to get these out there for you to see. Savanna and Victor were an amazing couple to work with. We almost didn’t want to stop shooting and used the full two hours of their engagement photography session. We march around the river in Minneapolis, stopping for some amazing scenery and light around the Mill City Museum and Guthrie Theater. We’ll be putting together their best photos for use in our “Engagement Photo Guest Books.”
Date: June, 21st, 2008
Ceremony: First Lutheran Church, Little Falls, MN
Reception Location: Randall, MN
We met up with Rebecca and Jeff at a park not far from Little Falls, MN. It was a bit of a drive out there for David and I, so when we arrived, we were more then ready to walk around and get some great shots of the couple. The scenery was great as we walked throughout the park taking pictures and enjoying the outdoors.
After we shoot some wonderful pictures of Rebecca and Jeff, we headed over to First Lutheran Church where the ceremony would take place. It was a lovely little church with close-knit atmosphere. Jeff played games and rehearsed his lines, and Rebecca’s friends presented her with a beautiful, fun photo album. The ceremony was relaxed and went smoothly as Jeff “kissed the bride.”
After the ceremony, we made a quick stop at a local pub for a few drinks before heading over to Randall, MN for the reception. The dinner reception was held at a family farm in an large tent. The whole event had a very fun, relaxed, picnic feel to it. As guests ate fried chicken and rice, they enjoyed a live bluegrass band. Every detail was had a summer theme. Even the tables were labeled with different kinds of flowers. Wedding guests were invited to pitch a tent on their large property, and spend the night, as the party winded down late into the night.
It truly was a beautiful wedding. Congrats to Rebecca and Jeff!
Arrival in Mexico: Sunday July 20th- Monday July 21st
On Sunday July 20th at 10:30pm we boarded a plane to Mexico. After a 5 plus hour lay-over in Detroit we boarded another plane that would take us to Cancun. We got a taxi and drove the 76 miles to our hotel. The Grand Palladium Resort and Spa is an all-inclusive resort right on the ocean. It’s amazing! When we got to the hotel, we weren’t able to check into our room yet since it was only about 11:30am. We wandered around the resort, ate some lunch, walked down by the ocean… man was it HOT! It was way too hot to be walking around in black pants and a tee-shirt, so we grabbed our swim suits and took advantage of the showers they have in the lobby area. It was one of the top 10 best showers of my life! We eventually got to check into our room, but not before it started to downpour. Thanks to Hurricane Dolly, it started to rain and didn’t let up for the remainder of the day. By evening however, it was dark, cool, and windy which made for a perfect walk on the beach. It was late, we had a long day, but before we went to our room to get some sleep, we stopped by the theater to watch a show. Off to bed so we are awake and ready to have a fun time the next day.
Enjoying the Resort: Tuesday July 22nd
Today we really got to start enjoying the resort. We woke up in time to get breakfast. After breakfast we got our swim suits on and headed to the pool. First stop, the poolside-swim up bar. We hung out at the pool for a long time and then went down to the ocean. I got in the water, but the second I did, I saw two huge fish swim by. One of them actually touched me; I was out of there! I have a huge phobia of fish and sea life which I am completely unable to control. We strolled down the shoreline for a long time. We slowly walked to the salt water pool checking out every shell and all the cool things on the way.
After spending hours and hours at the beach, we decided to take a cab to 5th street in Playa Del Carma to do some shopping. I was glad we went there because David actually got to see a little bit of Mexico and not just the resort. David bought two really cool Mayan masks, and I bought a really pretty bracelet and a Mexican style dress. We had a lot of fun. We got back just in time for dinner at one of the buffets. Tomorrow we’re going to the Ruins for the afternoon. David is super excited to see the Ruins because he really likes that kind of stuff. I hope it turns out to be super cool, and not too hot.
Expedition to the Ruins: Wednesday July 23rd
On Wednesday we took a $20 taxi ride to the Mayan Ruins. By the time we got there the sun was hot and bright, and the place was busy with people all wanting to see the old buildings where the Mayans lived. The self guided tour started out with a 10 minute walk to where the ruins are. I thought it was pretty funny that massive amounts of people were boarding a train that would take them to the ruins. I just couldn’t believe how many people were willing to pay $40 pesos in order to skip out on a short 10 minute walk! When we got to the base of the ruins, we stopped by the bathroom… yikes! Let’s just say you don’t find bathrooms that dirty and gross in America. I was in and out as quick as possible. Haha! We paid the $48 pesos per person and followed the 100’s of other people towards the main entrance. Once we got there we wandered all around, reading the little info posters, taking pictures, and learning more about how the Mayan people lived. The ruins were very interesting; I just wish there weren’t so many people there. It was hard to even get a picture because there were so many people going where they weren’t supposed to and getting in the way. It was all very tourist which kind of took away from the natural wonder of it all. But, besides the blazing heat, and the large amounts of people, it was very cool.
After we got back to the resort, I jumped in the pool as soon as I possibly could. I swam over to the swim up bar and ordered a Miami Vise. Man those drinks a yummy! It is probably one of my new favorite drinks. We both walked down to the beach and started to stole down the shore line. For nearly the next 4 hours we walked along the shore and in the water looking at every little thing that moved. Some of the coolest things we saw were; crabs, hermit crabs, many different kinds of fish, shells, and coral. One thing that we don’t know what it was is this huge blob of white stuff. It looked like a huge jelly fish but it had a bunch of bones, and what looked like teeth. The coolest thing I saw, was a flat fish that totally blended in with the sea floor. It was amazing!
The night ended with dinner at Bamboo. They served Chinese food which was okay, but what was really yummy was the dessert we had! The dessert was chocolate pie with cheese cake and strawberries. If I had known the dessert was going to be so good, I would have just skipped dinner and had dessert twice.
Our Last Full Day: Thursday July 24th
Today we started to get sad because we knew that our time in Mexico would soon be coming to an end. We wanted to get everything in one more time before we had to leave on Friday. We went to breakfast and then came back to our room to start getting things packed up a little. Before long, we were back out at the pool enjoying the hot sun. We went down to the ocean and were very surprised at how much calmer the water was then the day we got to Mexico. Hurricane Dolly and made the waves and tide huge! Now, the waves were back to normal size and the water was calm. We walked on the shore again trying to soak up our last full day at the beach. Before we knew it, it was dinner time so we rushed back to our room to get dressed up. We went to “Rips and More” for a sit down dinner. I got the rips and David got a steak. David said that the steak was one of the best he’s ever had! We both got dessert which, in my opinion was the best part.
After dinner, we went to one of the sports bars for some drinks. The bar was dead and we got talking to the bar tender. He could speak English, but not great so it was fun to try and understand each other. I think he was trying to get us drunk because he served us up several different shots with who knows what in them. I think the last one he made was a little sweet for David. He was ready to get back to the room and lay down. Thursday is over and I’m getting more sad by the minute just thinking about leaving tomorrow morning. I wish we could stay here all Summer.
A Sad Goodbye: Friday July 25th
Today we woke up and was anything but happy to know that we would be leaving to the airport in less than four hours. I wish I could have paused time and stayed at the resort a lot longer. We had to pack up the rest of our stuff before we went to breakfast for the last time. After we ate, we went back to the ocean and walked around longer then we should have. By the time we got back to the room, we had less than a half an hour to get packed, shower, dress, and get down to meet our taxi.
During the 76 mile taxi ride back to the airport there were actually tears shed because of how sad we were to be leaving. We got to the airport with little time for waiting. After spending $2.50 on a can of pop, we boarded the plane bound for Minnesota. On such a sad day, it would only make sense that it was the bumpiest, loudest, most boring plane ride ever! David always gets the window seat, so he took lots of pictures our of the window.
My mom met us at the language claim which was nice and helped us get our stuff to the car. A half hour later, we were back to the love nest, and back to reality. But hey, at least Ringer missed us.
Hair: Minneapolis, MN
Makeup: Maple Grove, MN
Ceremony: Nazareth Chapel, Northwestern College, Roseville, MN
Reception: Blue Room, Northwestern College, Roseville, MN
Other Location: Grumpy’s Sports Bar, Roseville, MN
Nazareth Chapel at Northwestern College is a very beautiful place for a wedding ceremony. David and I have had the opportunity to shoot several weddings in this chapel now. The lovely chapel and surrounding area make for wonderful shots of the bride and groom as well as the bridal party.
Jennifer and Gene’s wedding was a very beautiful, fun day. The ceremony went perfectly. After the “I Do’s” guests moved to the Northwestern Blue Room for dinner. Guest were treated to a slide show with pictures of Jennifer and Gene from childhood to today through out dinner.
After the meal, all the guests were invited over to Grumpy’s for appetizers, drinks, and socializing. Guest enjoyed their time together in the upstairs reserved banquet room as Jennifer and Gene greeted each person and got to share some more time with family and friends.
It was a very special day.
Congratulations Jennifer and Gene!
