MW photography

Fort Snelling Engagement Photography | Alyssa & Adam | Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

Adam and Alyssa both work at a resort in northern Minnesota. The first meet as they were working at the resort; Alyssa really had a crush on him first but nothing happened until Adam took a different position in business and that's when they started to become friends.  Building on their friendship they started to grow closer and closer until they decided to start to date.

Last January, they decided to escape the minnesota harsh winter and headed to Arizona to visit family out there. Unfortunately they encountered a colder Arizona with plenty of snow and it ended up being warmer in MN the week they were gone! While they were there toward the end of their trip Alyssa had lost hope of him proposing because she thought "he would have already done it by now". As they went on a hike to enjoy their remaining vacation, Alyssa started to worry they were lost! She took out her map and start to try and figure out where they had ended up on the trail. While she was busy working on making sure they didn't die in the vast Arizona wilderness, Adam sneakily set up a camera and video to capture the coming moments.  Now Adam announced it was time for a photo because they had hardly taken any on their trip. After a couple of attempts that "weren't good enough" Adam told Alyssa that they were going to do one more. Setting the camera on a timer Adam hurried back to Alyssa's side and as they waited for the camera to click Adam got down on one knee and asked Alyssa to marry him. She said YES!

Their engagement session took place on the trails of Minnesota's Fort Snelling with their little pup Nova. Nova was sure to pose for us when we were motivating her the whole time with Cheeros! WIth the help of Alyssa's sister Angie, we had a great time shooting in beautiful 40's weather which is unseasonably warm for this time of year! While they were holding the bag of cheero's Alyssa kept saying how much she felt like she looked like a mom. I (along with Adam and Alyssa) are super excited for their fall wedding later this year!

Favorite Wedding Photos of 2017 | Favorites | Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

This year has been a blessing! I love sharing my top favorite wedding images of this crazy year of 2017! So for the first part of this post you will see my favorite wedding photos.  Originally I intended this post to be my top 20. As you see there was just too much love and goodness not to share more.
Although this year was wedding packed it wasn't the only thing happening in 2017. So the second part of the post will be my  favorite parts of 2017 from my life! 

Ugh these photos still have me keeping a smile on my face! But like I said weddings where not the only thing going on in my life this year. Here are some of my favorites for 2017 in my life.
 

 
 
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Personal Favorite Moments of 2017

We bought our first house in 2017. I don't think I ever felt so much a grownup until we bought something that is really ours. We are slowly filling it with memories which I hope keeps filling for a long time! My favorite thing about our house is the…

We bought our first house in 2017. I don't think I ever felt so much a grownup until we bought something that is really ours. We are slowly filling it with memories which I hope keeps filling for a long time! My favorite thing about our house is the living room gets the best view of sunrise. Some of them just take my breath away when I get a change to see them. 

Sunset over St.Paul MN
This is Benjamin Winter Waits. He is my first nephew and this was one of his first photos. He turned 4 months old this December and is at the point where he smiles and giggles and just steals my heart every time.

This is Benjamin Winter Waits. He is my first nephew and this was one of his first photos. He turned 4 months old this December and is at the point where he smiles and giggles and just steals my heart every time.

Marcus and I got to go to Mt. Rushmore for the FIRST TIME! I was truly in awe of how magnificent it was! Around this time I was just itching for a trip and we jumped in the car the first opportunity we had a 3 day weekend. I love road tripping with …

Marcus and I got to go to Mt. Rushmore for the FIRST TIME! I was truly in awe of how magnificent it was! Around this time I was just itching for a trip and we jumped in the car the first opportunity we had a 3 day weekend. I love road tripping with Marcus. We just have a fun time listening to music and talking. The Airbnb we stayed at had a corgi which i have been crushing over for the entire year. THEY ARE SO CUTE.

We drove to Iowa to visit Marcus cousin Jessica for a day! This is downtown and while we were there we saw 3 wedding parties and a whole school of prom kids. It was a little crammed but beautiful! 

We drove to Iowa to visit Marcus cousin Jessica for a day! This is downtown and while we were there we saw 3 wedding parties and a whole school of prom kids. It was a little crammed but beautiful! 

We also got to check off a track on Marcus's NASCAR list! We went to the race at Chicagospeedway. And then we walked around downtown Chicago which I haven't done in years. I totally forgot how big this city is! Besides paying outrageously for parking, we did a found tour which was really enjoyable! 

Thanks to my sister Jenny, I was also able to experience some amazing seats at my favorite teams! Not only that I felt like a queen with getting amazing food and hanging out with my sister! I was able to experience my FIRST Wilds game! It was really fun and I would love to go to another one in the near future. Marcus and I need to hit up one that is against and AZ team.

My last time to Texas was in 2011. 6 YEARS since I had been down to see my second family, the Glawes. It had been 2 YEARS since I had seen my forever sister/ BFF/ laughgenerator / high school-sweet-heart/partner-in-crime. Katrina and her family moved to Texas from Minnesota in high school and I think that was truly my first heart break. 
She has been up to MN loads of time and it was my turn to surprise her! Thanking the Lord for cheap tickets I hopped on a flight and spent the week with her and my second family. We were driving all over the place, singing Taylor Swift at the top of our lungs, and trying freezy pickle juice for the first time. One of my favorite moments was in the evening when we were all sitting on the couch and her two little boys were praying before bed time. When Carlile's turn came he prayed for Auntie Molly and my heart just melted. UGH SO CUTE! We also got to see sea world and magnolia studios in Waco! 

It's been a good year for us. I am so thankful for the abundant amount of blessings that have been sent my way in 2017.Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, nei…

It's been a good year for us. I am so thankful for the abundant amount of blessings that have been sent my way in 2017.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17

La La Land Inspired Styled Shoot | Raspberry Island Wedding Photography | Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

I LOVE movies; they have always captivated me by the stories that help my enrich my creativity. Earlier this year, I saw La La Land (2016) for the first time. I was so captivated by a moving story of two lovers following there dreams, but that was only a fraction of what drew me to this movie. The cinematography and the brightly vibrant colors blew me away!
Lala Land was also well received everywhere with help of Emma Stone and heartthrob Ryan Gosling; it was a topic conversation with my of my friends who were also just fangirling all over it.
 So to share my love of the delightful La La Land (which I got on Black Friday at Target!!) I dreamed up this shoot. But you know what, I didn't do it alone! After reaching out to a good handful of other creatives, some amazing ones chipped in to make my movie dream a reality!

Planners: Joyous Moments Happen
Hair and Makeup: Hair and Makeup by Heidi Edwards
Florist:  Glassing Florist
Movie Ticket Invitations: Anchor Paper Co. (Roseville Location)
The Suit: The Black Tux
The Dress: Modcloth
The Furniture: On Solid Ground Vintage Rentals
Photography: MW photography

And our shoot has been officially featured in Artfully Wed! Yay! Check out the feature here.