Blog
Love stories and more
Look for my favorite wedding planning tips and tricks, behind the scenes tidbits about my life, and, of course, features of many of the beautiful couples who spend time in front of my camera.
I promise it’s worth your while.
What is Golden Hour?
Wedding planning often involves hours of research, countless decisions, and more than one moment which makes you go, “Wait. Am I supposed to know something about that?!”
As a wedding photographer, it can be all-too-easy to talk to my clients about their photography experience and forget that, while I am capturing special moments all year long, you’re not being photographed every weekend. It’s important for me to to remember that things I’m excited to share with you might not make much sense without a bit of extra context!
Choosing Where You Propose
To quote Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally, “…when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
When you’re lucky enough to find your person and want to make your proposal extra special, here are four suggestions for choosing the perfect location.
Wisconsin State Park Engagement
Kourtney and Jalen both told me (separately!) that 20 years from now they want to look back on this season of their lives and remember being young, in love, and how it feels as they look forward to starting their lives together. They want to recall the beauty in the simple moments, when they’re walking and holding hands or trying new recipes for dinner, and the fun they have together, referring to each other by silly nicknames, visiting breweries, and playing games.
3 Ways to Make Your Photographer’s Life Better
Okay, okay, I know! Your wedding day is about YOU, not your photographer.
But what if I were to tell you there were three things you can do before your wedding day to make your photographer’s life easier - which in turn means they’ll do an even better job hyping you up, keeping you on schedule, catching special moments on camera, AND they will love you even more than they did before?
Cheers to the Groomsmen
We were driving across Wisconsin last week when I asked my husband, “If we were planning our wedding again, what is something you wish you had known more about?” in hopes of catching a little inspiration for my next blog post. Naturally, he read my mind and knew exactly why I was asking him that question out of the blue so his answer surprised me.
Wisconsin Riverside Anniversary
Jacqui and I go way back - if you asked her, I'm sure she could paint a good picture of my awkward pre-teen years while I was rocking braces, new glasses, frizzy hair...the works!
Dollar Dance Alternatives
If you’re not familiar with the term, the wedding party collects money from guests so they can dance with one of the newlyweds. Not only does it round up a little spare cash for the couple to put towards a honeymoon or other future plans, but the real benefit is that it gives you time to chat with your dance partners one-on-one for a little while during a day that FLIES by.
What to Wear for Winter Engagement Photos
Winter engagement sessions: the perfect excuse to snuggle up with your love while making the most of the Midwestern snow (because let's face it, it's going to be here whether we like it or not...so you might as well get some cute photos).
Mastering the Guest List
Setting your guest list can help narrow down your venue options, determine how you plan to use your catering budget, and so much more. That’s why it is important to identify at least a ballpark number of people you expect to invite as you start wedding planning!
Weddings at the Broz Winter Wedding
Is it possible to have client soulmates?
It must be, because Emily and Nick are mine.
Their New Year’s Eve wedding was everything I could have dreamed and more - that is, if I was more stylish and a heck of a lot cooler than I really am!
Planning an Outdoor Wedding in Minnesota
We live in a pretty magical place. Minnesota has it all: lakes, rivers, bluffs, forests, prairies, four real seasons, and the nicest people you’ll ever meet. PLUS, we don’t have earthquakes, hurricanes, or those scary huge spiders that live in Australia. I’m biased, but the land of 10,000 lakes is one of the best places for a wedding.
Intimate Weddings
Intimate weddings are on the rise, and for good reason! Covid forced us to change everything we thought we knew about planning events, but also gave us an unexpected chance to slow down and reevaluate what is most important to us in life.
Howling Moon Weddings & Events Wedding
Ellie and David’s wedding at The Farm at Fairhill was nothing short of a dream. They might be simply the sweetest couple I’ve met in my entire life and they put so much of themselves into the details and planning of their day that it will be a memorable one for me for years to come.
Including Flower Girls and Ring Bearers in Your Wedding
I was ecstatic when my aunt asked me to be a flower girl in her wedding; I wanted to be the best flower girl the world had ever seen. Since her wedding was going to be on the 11th of July, 11 quickly became my favorite number. I would do everything in groups of 11, from the number of skips I made jumping rope to how I would sort my peas on my plate at dinner. (Oh yeah, I was one of those kids!)
Minneapolis Maternity Session
My wish for Marit and Blake’s sweet baby girl is that her life is filled with simple pleasures and true friends that always have her back!
Edina Engagement Session
Is it just me, or does just about everything this spring seem more beautiful since our enjoyment of it was cut short last year? The skies are bluer, the air smells sweeter, and the flowering trees in our neighborhood are popping with even more gusto than usual…all to welcome us back to life after a long hibernation.
Faith-Filled Wedding at Erickson Farmstead
Jordan and Janaé’s summer wedding at the beautiful Erickson Farmstead was nothing short of an absolute dream! If you know me, you know I LOVE a day with overcast skies…and after a night of intense storms, Mother Nature calmed down and decided to cooperate just in time for their big day, providing gorgeous light and a comfortable atmosphere for their guests.
Covid Wedding at Erickson Farmstead
Months of uncertainty due to a global pandemic melted away as Max and Ciara’s wedding day dawned bright and sunny, with perfect June breezes to make us forget there had ever been a question the day might be anything other than ideal.
In-Home Photo Sessions
Choosing a location for your photo session can be an overwhelming process! I'm always happy to provide suggestions, but I also like to ask my clients to think about places that have meaning to them, spots that might match a certain aesthetic they're looking for in their images, and distance from their home so they don't need to travel too far to get there. Sometimes the perfect solution is their home itself!
Engagement on the Oregon Coast
It was a fateful trip to Florida to visit her friend Brittany from undergraduate school when she was first introduced to Aman. He was in Navy flight school with Brittany and he and Laura must have made a good first impression on each other because it wasn’t long before they were dating long distance - Aman still in Florida and Laura back in Minnesota.