Pinstripes Wedding Photography | Haley & Jared

My first wedding of 2017 started off the season second shooting with Morning Light Photography. Hannah had reacted out and invited me to shoot this wedding with her and am I glad I did! When the day started and we were getting ready for the first look, I gave Jared a heads up- Haley was gorgeous. Jared replied he knew she would be and commented on how his heart was fluttering like a duck. He enjoyed showing off his new watch he received that morning from his bride. We all admired it together and how well it went with his suit and shoes.
One thing I never saw leave on this day was a smile from Haley's face. The forecast has called for sunny skies but instead we were greeted with wind and grey clouds, which helped keep the heat of running around at a low!
Jared and Haley decided to have their wedding at Pinstripes in Edina; to my surprise it was a beautiful space it filled with windows and natural light! In this space they had the upstairs all to themselves which included 1 bowling alley, 3 spaces for boccie ball, full serviced bar, outdoor patio with fire-pit and a ballroom for the reception and ceremony.
One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was when the officiant asked for the rings, as the best man was struggling to get the rings from his pockets the Ring bearer came up with his pillow determined that Haley had her rings! It was the CUTEST thing I have seen a ring bearer do. He will make a great man if he keeps that giving spirit. 

Over all Haley and Jared's day was filled with fun and laughter and I wish all the best to these two love birds and hope they fully enjoy their time in Jamaica!
 

Our Trip To Mt. Rushmore | Memorial Weekend | Sanchez Adventures

Wedding season has been so full this year with my own MW brides and lots of second shooting. Weekends away from Marcus makes it a little hard making some weekends feel like we have little time for just us. So I started to plan a small trip we could do in an upcoming 3 day weekend.  Neither of us have been to Mt. Rushmore before which in my book is something every American should do once in their life! 

We hit the road in the early hours; Marcus drove us safely through south Minnesota and South Dakota. As we started to hit the prairie fields you could just see for miles sunshine and grass lands. We knew we were getting closer to our destination when the flat fields turned into rolling hills! 

Day one we checked out the Badlands National Park; I stood there in awe of how beautiful and peaceful these hills were. Marcus and I mused over this looking like what the ocean floor currently looks like. We made small stops throughout our trip, one at The Wall Drug Store ( billboards for miles, not worth stopping for) and the Pioneer Auto Show ( if you like cars at all this is for you, huge collection that is entirely unique.  Marcus LOVED it). We got into Keystone later and finally got to Mt. Rushmore. The memorial is HUGE; surrounded by trees it sits alone away from the other peaks close by. Marcus and I decided to do the audio tour because are those types of people, but it was worth it and very fascinating! When the sun was gone so was the warmness of the day,  but that did not stop us from trying the Thomas Jefferson Ice cream from their ice cream parlor. We joked all night that him bringing ice cream to America was the reason he was immortalized in stone. The evening ceremony was cold, but fun to see in person. The only thing that would have topped it would have been fireworks. 

Day two we took a old-school train ride on the 1880 train. We packed into this train with a lot of other people and enjoyed the scenery from Keystone to Hill City and back. I could have done this one way and been satisfied but roundtrip we both got window seats so that worked out well. The train 2 hour ride turned into 3ish hours total, so we decided to cruse the wildlife loop in Custer State Park. On our relaxing ride we saw pronghorns, prairie dogs, buffalo, and burros. We both love and are fascinated by animals so we both really enjoyed this part of the day. We took the back way to Mt. Rushmore with weaving roads and beautiful views of the monument and finished out the day there. 

We headed home on Monday and the drive seemed a little bit longer but I am so glad we were able to take this little adventure! 

Why You Should Have Your Engagement Session With Your Wedding Photographer

My dad has always been a photo enthusiast. In my his eyes having five kids is as good as having 5 miniature models;  my siblings and I have grown up very uncamera shy because of it! For us any excuse to take photos was a good excuse! 

If you have taken a gander at my packages you have probably noticed I don't charge for my engagement sessions when you book your wedding with me. Your engagement session is not just another opportunity to take more photos (which I know your fiance just loves) it is a chance to build our relationship. Through this crazy business adventure I am still building and learning what makes the best experience for my MW couples! This is one golden nugget that I have learned and will standby for my couples.  Here are 3 reasons why you should shoot your engagement session with your wedding photographer.

1) It allows you to get a feel for how your photographer works. Your photographer will direct you to make you look good and have a good time. You will be able to see how they set up a pose or if they make you feel comfortable in front of the camera. It is better to know that and know how to feel comfortable with the love of your life in front of your photographers camera. Do they have key words?  Do they have favorite poses to stick you in? You will find this all out on your session!

2) It allows your photographer to know how you work as a couple.   Each couple has a different relationship; this is the time before the wedding that your photographer learns how you work together. Whether you are high volumes of pda or a little more pulled back, your photographer can then gauge what things you will be comfortable doing on the wedding day! (Like jumping in a near by pool after the ceremony or being thrown in the air by all the groomsmen) This will help put you in poses and do things that are more YOU!

3) There are no bad surprises when it comes to your wedding day photos. After the engagement session, you will then have been shot by your photographer. So instead of feeling like another stranger is shooting your wedding, you will feel like it is  friend excited to be capturing the day along side you! On top of that, your completed engagement session will be the same style as your wedding photos. So you will have a glimpse of what your wedding photos will look like! 

 I  believe it is important!! ♡