Taylor and Janna in Stillwater

I was privileged to join a small, immediate-family-only ceremony last week in Stillwater, Minnesota. Janna is sister-in-law to two of my brothers... Her and Taylor are two of the kindest, most giving people that I know. Living in Minnesota for these past few years, I have often benefited directly from their generosity with time, resources and energy. THANK you guys for all you do.

When I heard that Taylor and Janna were getting married in Stillwater, I was excited. Stillwater is a must-see next time you are in the twin cities. Its a small town situated on the river front with sailboats, festivals, sodas at the soda shop and family picnics going on all the time. (Okay, maybe not all the time, but thats the feel of the whole town. :))

But then when I heard that she was wearing teal shoes, that sealed the deal.

At the Stillwater riverfront.
Isn't Stillwater cool?
Who are the movie stars in town?
Sweet.
Love the feel of this. And they are as sweet and beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside.
Favorite! Love pretty much everything about it.
A quiet little ceremony outside a bed and breakfast, in front of their families.
Mr. and Mrs!
Many blessings to you guys! May your generosity be abundantly returned to you two in your life together!

And its high time to blog about my summer apart from weddings. Coming soon!

Joel & Stacie and a few of my favorite things

Every once in a while, wedding photography becomes a job, just like everything else (shocking, I know). :) Then along come couples like Joel and Stacie... There were many times throughout the day where I thought to myself, "that is one of my favorite things about weddings".

I liked Joel and Stacie right away. Down to earth and sincerely interested in other people, even though they are completely into each other. Joel is so attentive to Stacie and makes her so happy. Stacie is sweet and laid back as can be. That would be enough right there, but there's more! A few of my favorite things...

1). A FUN wedding party. This is at the rehearsal dinner.
Joel and many of the wedding party played football together, hence the football theme.2). Awesome wedding shoes.
3). Sweet "first meetings"...
Did I mention the fun bridal party?
4). Cool churches with big stained glasses.

5). Great venues! If anyone is getting married in the Goshen area, check out the Spohn ballroom. Just beautiful.
6). Some couples dance their first dance and then barely see each other throughout the rest of the evening. Not so with Joel and Stacie. They hardly left each others side, having so much fun together. Another one of my favorite things.
7). Marvelous get-aways. This picture might be might be my desktop right now. I love it that much. (is that weird?)
Thank you so much Joel and Stacie. I and my fantastic assistant, Christine, had such a good time. I pray that your lives together are blessed as you bring so much life and joy to everyone around you!

Cool Engagement Pictures

Meet Forrest and Emily. We had a really fun, out-of-the-box shoot last week. In fact, I titled this post this way hoping it would come up next time they google "cool engagement pictures". :) They really did google that before they came and had all sorts of fun ideas. I love what we came away with!










Thanks for being so open to "weird" stuff, guys! :) You all were great!

Jordan and Charlotte

I woke up last Sunday knowing that it was going to be a good day. Jordan and Char were getting married! And it was. Time will tell, but I'm pretty sure this will go down as one of the most memorable weddings I've been a part of... for several reasons.

Char's colors were a dark blueish teal, with gold accents and the embroidery on her dress was gold also.
Charlotte's dad wanted in on the "painting" process.
Absolutely glowing all day long!

This is Jordan. And this is SO Jordan!
A friendly game of football...
If you ask yourself, "how did those fragile boutonnieres hold up with all that rough housing?"... the answer is that they didn't. :) Not very well anyways, but the guys managed to repair/replace the damage and were looking good again for the ceremony.
Love this shot of the girls.
All the lovely ladies!
Perfectly happy.
Okay, so here's where those unforgettable memories start. 1.) It rained. The whole day. I've always kind of wondered in the dozens of outdoor weddings I've photographed, what would happen if the unthinkable happened. Now I know – and its fine! They decided to keep it outside and just rolled with it. And Charlotte might have been overheard to say, "Getting married in a gentle rain...sigh... What could be better?" And it really did add that certain something.

2.) Jordan and Charlotte have been high school sweethearts (not in the same high school, but you have to broaden the definition when one of them was home-schooled. :) ), so this sweet, God-honoring relationship has been in the making for several years. And this is what anyone would point out as the defining mark on their relationship... the desire to live out the Gospel for the world around them to see. This was their first kiss, and they would tell anyone – its worth the wait.
Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Schneider.
Then we headed over the hill for pictures. This is my favorite... maybe because its a kissing in the rain picture, maybe because it looks like Ireland. I just love it.

Its amazing to me how fresh Charlotte stayed in spite of standing in the rain for hours. They might have been soaking wet, but their spirits weren't dampened at all!
Pretty!
Also love this one.
And this one.
They got married in a place the Anne of Green Gables would have "named up" in an instant. Lovers Lane.
Blossom Way... (okay, Anne is better at this).
And it will be forever!
Thank you for the privilege of being a part of this day. God was glorified and it was beautiful! And I'm not afraid of rain on wedding days anymore. :) Love you both!

On a personal note...

I've successfully avoided blogging about my personal life for a long time now. I've felt that this blog should be about my wedding photography, for brides, and a link to give to excited relatives. And I always thought that if someone really wanted to read my life journal, they would just come to my room, dig through my things and read it (better yet, just ask me!).

Long story short, there are many people that blog better than I do, have more profitable information and are a better use of your precious time. If you come here to just see pretty pictures, go ahead and just skip over all of this. I won't be offended.

That said, I am going to start blogging some personal events/thoughts just because God is working mightily in me and around me. I want His glory to be extend beyond this one little life.

Many of you know that I am attending school in Minneapolis right now for my Associates in Graphic Design w/ a Web Design emphasis. I love it! I'm not totally sure what the next step is, but I am sure of one thing. I want to design for something that matters. Design is powerful. It inspires, motivates, and calls people to action. I don't want to only promote the latest mouthwash, hand creme or movie that you have to see. Not that there is anything wrong with those things, but there is something more eternal. I want to glorify Jesus Christ and the gospel through design. I want people to hear the good news that Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

And the next step in that dream is my internship for the summer. I am incredibly excited to say that I am moving the Buchanan, MI in 9 days to join the Life Action design team for the summer.
Life Action is a ministry focused on revival in the hearts of God's people. Here's an excerpt from their website:

Listen . . . You’ve heard it before . . . that sound. The thirst is there; the cup is empty.

It happens all the time—churches full of parched, despairing people who crave water but drink air. Our lives are packed with work, sleep, family and interests—too much for our own good. As a part of Life Action Ministries, our THIRST team holds 4-day conferences at churches. Plain and simple. Sunday through Wednesday. We want to see people thirsty for God, not dry on substitution.

And many of you may know Life Action better through Revive our Hearts, which is Nancy Leigh DeMoss' ministry to women.

I am so blessed to be able to spend the summer with people who have invested their lives into impacting others for eternity. And along with many graphic design goals, direction-for-my-life goals and a focused learning time, I am most excited about watering the thirst in my own heart for more of God.

And for the inquiring minds, yes! I will be posting many great sessions soon (including a beautiful wedding in the rain).