Sometimes the coolest moments are the least controlled. That was definitely the case with one of the final shots from Sarah and Derek’s wedding.

Sarah and Derek had just climbed into the getaway car, and were smooching in the back seat when we created this photograph. Dan’s light-on-a-stick hit just the right spot through the back window when I stuck my camera through the driver’s side window to take the picture.

Love it.

I made this photo right after Natalie had finished dressing, as her little nephew Phin came in and saw her for the first time.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

On the left you see Phin’s mom (Natalie’s sister), and on the right is Phin’s sister (Natalie’s neice, who was a bridesmaid).

Since Alissa and Ben got married at the end of March, their post-wedding E-Shoot wasn’t really an engagement shoot… more like… well, Alissa coined the term “Casual Shoot”, and we love that, so that’s what we’re calling THIS:

**Click here to see the slideshow!

Nothing really went as planned the day of Alissa and Ben’s wedding — at least not where the weather was concerned. The blue sky turned dark and cloudy; the warm sun gave way to a cold wind; and a torrential downpour hit Duluth just in time for their wedding celebration.

Then again, EVERYTHING went as planned the day of Alissa and Ben’s wedding. These two best friends joined their lives together, surrounded by their family and friends. Their enormous love for one another was so evident — nothing that could be shaken by a little wind and rain.

We were so honored to be a part!

Ceremony + Reception: The Duluth Festival Center was a truly unlikely venue, but was PERFECT for their large group of friends and family! The portico became a perfect Plan B setting for their ceremony when the rain hit, and the large interior rooms gave plenty of space for dancing and mingling!

Coordinator: Amy DiLoreti of A Flawless Event may have been the only coordinator we’ve ever heard say these words to the bride and groom: “It’s your wedding. Tell me what YOU want and I will make that happen.” She was amazing.

Floral Design: Vividis created GORGEOUS bouquets for Alissa’s 83 bridesmaids (okay, just kidding, there weren’t QUITE 83). But seriously, I LOVED that Alissa’s bouquet didn’t require her to lift weights for months beforehand!

Catering: The food was prepared by the Ben’s family, and it was YUM YUM YUM!

Cake: Alissa and Ben RAVED about the moist, yummy cakes they got from Cecelia’s Cakes.

DJ: Frank and Dana Daniell with The Music Explosion

Now on to the photos…

Alissa takes the stairs out to see Ben for the first time on their wedding day…

Ben catches sight of Alissa…

We snagged the last rain-free half-hour of the day for these photos of the soon-to-be-newlyweds!

Alissa had two groups of girls standing for her during the ceremony: her bridesmaids in pink, and her house party in green! All the little details were so beautifully executed…

The men head down for the ceremony…

Some of Alissa and Ben’s dear friends pray over them during the ceremony…

KISS!!!

Back out to the portico for the introduction and some dancing!

Hugs during the first dance…

Another ring shot!

Definitely a couple of my favorite cake-cutting shots! Love the light…

There was this awesome little corner upstairs in the bride’s room that worked PERFECTLY for potraits! Since it was dark and rainy outside, we had to find little nooks inside for these final photos. This spot was awesome. See more of these in the slideshow!

It’s not a wedding without a cigar, right?

Air guitar…

Wait a minute… Alissa isn’t wearing a garter… she’s wearing… ENORMOUS PANTIES?!?!??? Oh, never mind, those are Ben’s.

;)

Do a little dance…

I couldn’t see a thing when I took this picture. I just knew they were blowing bubbles in the general direction of my camera, and that Dan was back there somewhere with the light. And we got this shot and I LOVE it!

Favorite exit shot of the year! Umbrella, rain, bubbles, and happiness!

Alissa and Ben, getting to know you guys has definitely been one of the highlights of our year. Not only did we get to photograph a really fun wedding celebration with some super-wonderful people, but we now have two awesome new friends! We’re so happy that you found one another, and that you then found US! Much love…

We have SO many gorgeous photographs from Alissa and Ben’s wedding, I had a hard time picking just one! I think it is for that very reason that this simple detail shot was my 1st Pick.

Alissa and Ben each have only one ring — no flashy engagement ring PLUS an additional wedding band for Alissa! I love the uniqueness of her ring. It speaks volumes about this couple, who did everything the topsy-turvy way for their wedding. (E.g., we’re shooting their E-Shoot on Thursday — a few weeks AFTER the wedding! Yeah, they’re doing their own thing! We love Alissa and Ben to death, and we feel VERY luck to get to spend more time with them after their wedding day.)

Dan photographed their rings on top of a bright green lime with the white tablecloth as a background. Simple, simple, simple. But also a little topsy-turvy in itself, with some odd negative space and the shallow depth-of-field. I think it’s a pretty perfect ring shot for these two!

Notes: 1/60 sec at f/2.0, ISO 800, 35mm, daylight

YAY! Gorgeous weather! I swear, the day of Heather and Matt’s e-shoot may have been the first pretty shoot-day we’ve had in WEEKS! The rain seems to revolve around our shoot schedule lately — and not in a good way! But last Sunday was warm and beautiful, and we had a great time traipsing around MLK with this super-sweet couple.

*Great Idea Alert!* We found out that Heather and Matt are planning to do something REALLY cool with their last names when they get married: they’re both getting a NEW one! They’ve decided to CREATE their own new last name, so that they’ll both have a new name with which to start on their new journey together. They’re working on a last name that may somehow incorporate their lucky number, perhaps by combining some non-English words to create a truly unique name. Isn’t that a great idea? We can’t wait to hear what they come up with!

Here are a few of our favorites:

What fun!

Jessica and Brett submitted their wedding to Elizabeth Anne Designs, who published it as a Wedding Profile on their blog! See all three parts below:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Enjoy!

**Click here to see the slideshow!

We were a little nervous going into this because Reggie plays for the NFL, and we know NOTHING – ZERO – ZILCH about football. But, thankfully, there were no football terms referenced at their wedding, and no one asked us who won the Superbowl, so we were totally safe. *grin*

When we got out of bed the day of Megan and Reggie’s wedding, it was actually SNOWING outside. Oh yes. Snow. No big deal for us, who bundled up in hats and coats, but we had to cringe thinking of Megan in her lace wedding dress, standing in the 30-degree weather on the dock at Lake Clara Meer for her wedding ceremony!

But Megan and Reggie and their wedding party and all their big wonderful family braved the cold and came out to celebrate with them! The sun came out bright and warm, too, and it wound up being a gorgeous day for shootin’ AND gettin’ hitched!

Family-Only Ceremony: the Lake Clara Meer dock and visitor’s center at Piedmont Park

Reception/Party-of-the-Century: The Foundry at Puritan Mill

Event Coordination: successfully and brilliantly carried out by Reggie’s managers at Profiles Sports

Floral Design: Sherrie Donnely for Gertie Mae’s (Thank you for sending us home with those gorgeous orchids! They brightened up our loft for several weeks!)

Video: the ever-fun-to-work-with SCG Productions

Catering: yummy Southern goodness by A Legendary Event (trust us; we ate!)

DJ: Jimmy E for Spectrum Entertainment

With no further ado, the gorgeous bride…

And the handsome groom…

This is Neveah, Reggie’s beautiful 6-year-old daughter! She was sitting in the bride’s room with this little Bible just chatting away with herself. It was so cute!

When the guys showed up all the ladies had to peek through the blinds to see them!

Megan and her dad share a moment before the ceremony…

Reggie had the biggest grin on his face as Megan and her dad walked down to the dock. At one point he leaned over toward the minister and asked, “What do I do?” The minister just chuckled and said, “Nothing.”

Reggie’s dad during the prayer…

I love the subtle little details in this shot… the stems from the bouquet… their hands clasped… the wool of Reggie’s suit…

Megan and Reggie kept coming back for another kiss. So sweet!

Their reception was set up in The Foundry’s huge loft-styled event space, with small lounge areas and tons of bright green orchids! It was GORGEOUS!

The first dance…

Megan dances with her dad…

How gorgeous are they?

Megan’s grandmother gets down!

Reggie’s sister totally tore up the dance floor! Well, so did everyone else for that matter! Megan’s words before the wedding were: “We’ll be gettin’ loose!” And they did!

Forget the garter toss… the garter “get” was WAY more entertaining! These two are so totally in love!

At the end of the evening Megan SANG for Reggie, a breathtaking rendition of “At Last”. WOW, can she sing!

Megan and Reggie, thank you for sharing your celebration with us! We can’t wait to get started on your album!