It happened. I finally started playing the Christmas station on my Pandora radio. It MUST be December!!

Here are the things I’ve been enjoying this month so far!

1. Christmas lights!! We spent Saturday night driving around looking at decorations, picking favorites and least favorites, and sipping hot cocoa in the comfort of our warm car. This was my favorite house!

2. We were photographed!!! Our friend and photographer Jessica took our engagement photos as soon as I was back from weddings in eastern South Dakota and Minnesota last month. We had SO much fun and I am glad to now be able to share this experience with my couples. It is so different being on the other side of the camera!!

3. The ring. I still.can’t.stop LOOKING at it!!!

4. Lance and I have three Christmases. One with my family, one with just us, and one with his family. The one with just us is the one we decided to exchange gifts at this year and I got a Magic Bullet Blender! I’ve already made a homemade caramel frappucino, a frozen peach bellini, and a triple berry smoothie. Next: chocolate mousse.

5. Updated 8×10 prints on my desk. I just love every photo of my nephews, it’s hard to cover up old cute pictures with new cute pictures. PLUS switching out their photos means they’re growing up. Which they are SO not allowed to do.

Hello everybody!

It has been such a wonderful/crazy/amazing past couple of months and I am excited for the last couple weeks of 2011! Remember when I photographed a proposal at Sylvan Lake? And later their engagement session? Brent + Kelcey are having an almost-new-years-eve wedding and I am SO excited to finish 2011 with such a fun and photogenic couple!

In between photographing beautiful people, editing, and running to the post office, I’ve been having so much fun wedding planning!!! No one told me how much fun this was going to be! But then again, I really enjoy keeping things organized, paying attention to detail and being in love, so how could I NOT be enjoying this?? :-)

I know I’m a little behind the ‘being thankful’ train, but seriously, I feel SO BLESSED for so many things that have happened this year. Being asked to spend the rest of my life with Lance. Spending lots of time with friends and photographer friends over coffee. Meeting and photographing such awesome couples. And watching my nephews continue to grow into such smart, handsome boys!

I have been SO blessed this year with such wonderful, sweet, loving couples!! Ever since Tyler + Lindy’s engagement session this spring, I have been counting down the days to their wedding!! I couldn’t wait to see all the beautiful details they had planned. I couldn’t wait to meet their wedding party (all 14 of them!). I couldn’t wait for their first look, first kiss, and first dance. And everything exceeded my expectations.

There were so many fun moments throughout the day – starting with Lindy showing up in kids’ size jeggings saying her 4″ platform pumps “are actually really comfortable.”

I always tear up a little when moms help their daughters get ready. :-)

And this one is just for giggles. :-) Lindy, you are cute no matter what you’re doing – including having a veil shoved into your hair!

The first look!!!!

Lindy was SO ready for some outdoor photos – I loved her wrap she found online!!

DANCE PARTY!!

I love being able to capture moments between the parents right before the ceremony – so much excitement!!

In case you’re wondering what true love looks like, check out these next two images. :-)

And you gotta love a fun father-daughter dance! :-)

ceremony | First Lutheran Church, Battle Lake, MN

reception + catering | Thumper Pond, Ottertail, MN

wedding gown + bridesmaid dresses | Alan Evans Bridal, Moorhead, MN

groom + groomsmen tuxes | Tip Top Tux, Elegance by LinDee, Perham, MN

flowers | Designs by Tes, New York Mills, MN

cake | Mrs. J’s Sweet Treats, Wahpeton, ND

dj | Party 2 Go DJ Service, Kelly Reller, Detroit Lakes, MN

Tyler + Lindy – Thank you, thank you, thank you for having me at your wedding!!!! I can’t express how much I enjoyed photographing you on the biggest day of your lives together (so far)!!

And Tiffany was at the wedding!! I love my studio lb brides!! :-) Special thanks to John for taking the photo! Apparently grooms would rather be behind the camera… ;-)

I was absolutely terrified of the weather forecast for Saturday. One hundred percent chance of snow and LOTS of wind. Thankfully when it did snow, it wasn’t much. And the wind nearly blew it all off the road. So driving was fine, but outdoor pictures were absolutely out of the question. Or so I thought. :-)

I suppose when you plan a wedding for mid-November, you expect there to be some kind of bad weather. So when I casually mentioned that we maybe could do a couple photos outside, if we found a less windy spot, if she’d like…. she immediately responded OKAY! Let’s do it!! And I was SO glad she wanted to. I think Darin was a bit more apprehensive to go, but I also think the photos are a great reminder of the weather that day. Who cares if their hair was a little windblown?

And the details. Oh, the details. The lace overlay on her dress. Her blue suede shoes. The flowers they arranged. The candle-lit walkway at the ceremony. The sparkling reception decorations. So so so lovely! I was in detail heaven! :-)

Okay, enough gushing. Look how GOOD these two look!!! Darin + Michelle, I am SO excited to have been your wedding photographer! You are a perfect match for each other and it was such a treat for me to document that! :-)

Yeah, just a little windy… :-) And you can see their getaway truck in the reflection!!

Hugs from dad! I love moments like these. :-)

ceremony | Bethlehem Covenant Church, Wheaton, MN

reception + catering | American Legion, Wheaton, MN

wedding gown| Jean’s Bridal, Wilmot, SD

groom + groomsmen tuxes | The Affair, Wheaton, MN

hair | Jody Nelson, mother of the groom

flowers | online

cake | Malane Brandenburger (best cake I’ve EVER had at a wedding!!)

Ken + Brittany were SO excited to get married when I saw each of them getting ready on Saturday. But amidst all of that excitement was calmness. Not only were they so excited, they were SO ready. And they couldn’t wait to get started!

Brittany was helping her bridesmaids with their finishing touches and directing her personal attendant to the church over speakerphone. But as soon as her mother walked in the door, she was taking her dress off the hanger – she just couldn’t wait to put it on and go see her groom!

When I went to get Ken set up for their first look, he nearly jumped out of his chair. No hesitation. No teasing joke of “do I have to?” He couldn’t wait to see his bride.

Their ring bearer and flower girl rocked their duties – they were such troopers for pictures, AND those are Ken + Brittany’s ACTUAL rings on the pillow!!

I LOVE secret passageways in churches. I can spy on the couple and get reactions like this without distracting all the guests! :-)

Prayers for the new couple!

ceremony | Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Aberdeen, SD

reception + catering | Best Western Ramkota, Aberdeen, SD

wedding gown| David’s Bridal

groom + groomsmen tuxes | Brides N’ Belles, Aberdeen, SD

party bus | Lifetime Limousine, Aberdeen, SD

flowers | From the Heart, Annette Stein, Aurora, SD

cake | Cakes by Emily, Emily McDaniel

dj | Rat Pac, Elkton, SD