Aria Wedding Photography | Minneapolis Wedding Photographer | Jordan & Andy

As fall days go, the sun was shining through the yellow trees and on the smiling faces of Andy & Jordan!
The groom was one of my more stylish of this year in a deep blue suit with a velvet maroon tie! He was lightheartedly excited to see his beautiful bride Jordan.  The girls started off getting ready at the Minneapolis hotel a couple of miles from their wedding venue the Aria in Minneapolis. 

We went off before the wedding to shoot on the main street to capture fun times with their friends and family!  Once photos were done we headed back to Aria to tie the knot!  Jordan's dad passed away and couldn't be their to celebrate their day. So everyone made sure dad had a chair dedicated to him so he could be a part of such an important part of the day too. 

Their reception details were killer and so elegant, which made it a joy to shoot all the flowers and details in this reception space. 
The party was strong in these two because once they got married the party started and everyone was ready TO PARTY HARD! Spoiler alert: Lots of dancing under the neon sign! 
I wish Andy and Jordan all the happiness! Enjoy their wedding!

All joy and ready to party is the best way to describe this wedding group; I enjoyed shooting this wedding with Gina Zeidler Photography. 

Minnesota History Center Wedding Photography | Holly & Steve | Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

On a beautiful windy September day, Holly and Steve decided to get married at the Minnesota History Center in downtown St. Paul! They are one of the most fun and easygoing couples I have had the joy to serve. We started their day at Kellogg Mall Park for their first look. Steve was quick to show off his bright green shoelaces, excitingly telling us that he has a shoe lace guy in Canada. (Yeah he has connections, message me if you need any assortment of colored shoelaces and I will see what I can do!) Holly was dolled up in a simple sweetheart dress and white flowers in her hair. It was a perfect representation of her spirit, simply elegant and sweet. All morning Holly and Steve were bubbling with energy for their wedding day! It was finally here; it is a cool feeling seeing everything you have been planning actually happen!

They surrounded themselves with loved ones from all stages of life from all over the country. (Their guestbook was a map of the US with hearts over where they had lived! It was so fitting for their two adventure buddies.) As Holly walked down the aisle with her mother and father, she smiled around excited to see so many people come together for them.  As they said their vows Steve had Holly laughing and crying along with everyone else attending! 

Steve's father has a tradition of singing with a group at wedding reception. The halls of the History Center echoed with the beautiful, funny song and laughter because the lyrics were pretty great!

The maid of honors speech was filled with advice of kids some simple and some surprisingly mature for their age.
The whole day was beautiful, but nothing was more beautiful than the love shared between Holly and Steve. I hope their life together only grows in love and they never loose the laughter in between them.
They finished the night storming the dance floor, partying with their friends with the Minnesota State Capital glowing bright in the large picture window.

The best part of an amazing wedding day?? - Holly and Steve couldn't stop laughing and smiling with each other. It was simply the best. <3

When To Change Your Last Name | For the MW Bride

A bride who was SOOO excited to take on her new last name had to shell out additional money to re-book her ticket because it was purchased under her maiden name.  (You can read the full story here ) CRAZY RIGHT!? This national story had me thinking, when should you change your last name?  My story was a little bit different. From Molly Waits to Molly Sanchez, I almost had a little bit of anxiety thinking about a new Molly Sanchez. I know it probably sounds a little silly, but I loved my maiden name. So it took me almost a year and a half to get my last name changed; I don't think it is necessary to wait THAT long, but here are some things to consider before you start the process to change your last name.

Do your research first! I found a couple of websites that I could send almost all my information to and they would fill out everything I needed and I was in the clear. After almost paying to hand over this obligation to someone else, I came to realize that I would still have to submit everything in person at the DMV. At that point I figured I could still do everything, so I just sucked it up and did it. For all my Minnesota Brides you can look here : https://www.dmv.org/mn-minnesota/changing-your-name.php for the DMV instructions on changing your name.

Plan on changing your name when you have time to take off work. If your DMV is the one downtown st. Paul, it literally takes hours of waiting to get through. It wasn't until the day we got back from shooting a wedding in NY that we took the rest of the day and spent at the DMV. The DMV work hours make it impossible to go at a more convenient hour. Grab a good book, (I would say coffee too,but they don't allow food or drinks) take the day off and go get that name changed!  

If you are honeymooning it out of country within a week after the wedding, wait to change you name until after the honeymoon. (Real Life story at the top as example for this) The fees that go into changing your name on your passport and then trying to get the new one in time for the trip is just not worth the additional stress. 

There is no other rush to change you last name right away other than pure excitement, which is 100% understandable! With your wedding adventure behind you, wait for everything to settle down  that is the best time to get your name changed.