Year in Review : Favorite Locations 2015

2015 brought some fantastic opportunities for me with second shooting. I got to photograph the coolest couples and get to shoot alongside the awesome Justin Mark Photography.  With each couple there is a new location I got to shoot at, I thought I would share some venues that became my new favorites! If you get married here I would love to shoot it! 

1) Semple Mansion. Feel : Victorian style with classic details. What I loved: with beautiful wood work, stunning painted ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and a grand staircase to knock your guests off their feet, what's not to love?! Everything about this location just had me desiring to come back and shoot there again!

A:100 W Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55404

2) St Olaf College. Feel: Traditional with a dash earthy.  What I loved: St. Olaf has a glorious campus with lots of room, near by park with grassy field, stone buildings with a castle feel. On of the back of the stone architecture just reminded me of a complete fairy-tale that had me wanting to be a part of the magic.

A:1520 St Olaf Ave, Northfield, MN 55057

3) Mayowood Stone Barn. Feel: Rustic and comfortable. What I loved: It felt private and intimate, it is convenient for both Ceremony and reception space, the stone barn was different from any other barn I have seen which worked great for photos. The staff  was friendly and the area gives a wide variety of backgrounds.

A:3385 Mayowood Rd SW, Rochester, MN 55902

4)Winehaven Winery.  Feel: Outdoor relaxation What I loved: Rolling hills that are best for outdoor space, cute space for indoor reception and I enjoyed the large getting ready room for the bride; it had lots of natural light.

A:10020 Deer Garden Ln, Chisago City, MN 55013

I added links and addresses if you want to check them out further!  

I know that next year will probably add to my list of places I fall in love with but this year I just fell head over heels for these locations! I hope one day I will find more couples who fall in love with them just as much as I have!

St. Paul Portraits | Katrina Shiri

Katrina is a mother of 2 blonde haired/ blue eyed young boys and a wife to her very tall husband.

She cares for her boys, while also starting a new journey with Origami Owl, a growing jewelry company that uses lockets to tell a story. Even though she is just starting out , I can already tell she loves it. (I bought these BEAUTIFUL earrings from her!) 

Katrina Shiri was a fast friend I made in middle school.  Even though I always thought of her as one of the "cool kids," we ended up bonding over a mutual love of manga. (Japanese comic books) From there it was reading books like Twilight that further strengthened and forever bonded us together.  I will never forget sitting in her room and reading New Moon together. We are states apart now, but our friendship is one that no matter how much time passes or how far apart we are, we still can pick up right were we left off.  In my humble opinion it is one of the best relationships a girl can have.

I am so grateful for such a beautiful friend both inside and out! (And pretty sassy too ;) )

Happy Monday!

Learn Something New | Creative Live | Photography

I honestly believe that education is very important; it's why so many people every year are jumping into colleges to learn more about their crafts. Now that I have finished college for over a year( woot woot!!) I have found another place to learn more about what I love, through a source called Creative Live. How it works: CreativeLive brings in specialist/ artists from all over the world and records them in the Creativelive studios in Seattle, Washington. (Learn more about the history here) When you sign up for the class that you want  you can watch the live broadcast for free and if you miss anything you can purchase the class to watch it over and over and over again to your hearts content.

CreativeLive Logo and Design

CreativeLive gives me the opportunity to learn from some of the masters of the photography while I sit back with a cup of coffee and soak everything up like a sponge.   Some of the people I enjoy watching the most has been Jasmine Star, Sue Bryce, Lara Jade just to name a couple. But if photography is not for you there are a load of other classes to choose from - Photo & Video, Art& Design, Music & Audio, Craft & Maker, or Money & Life. 
Seriously, these classes are free when you watch them live and trust me my friend it is totally worth checking out if you have the time. What is amazing is these artists want to help people grow, because if I grow they grow!  It is so refreshing to have people so open and letting me in a small part of their world. They are not paying me to promote (Wouldn't that be nice ;)), but if you are wanting to learning something new or expand your knowledge Creative Live is a great resource and tool.