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. 

Homeowner Problems | First Time Home Owners | Personal

This summer has just hit us in full blast and I am loving every moment of it! This is the first summer at this house; when we first got the house in late winter, we were eager to see what would grow in the yard!
I don't know if you can relate but we held off on getting a lawn mower for as long as we could. The grass height ended up being to my knees!! I loved it but I know the city would not be as understanding. What we ended up doing was borrowing a lawn mower from my dad. It was the same one we had when we were renting, just a simple push mower. The first time I mowed the grass this year it took me 2.5 HOURS!! As I walked in the house and plopped down exhausted on the floor, I told Marcus there was no way that was going to continue to work. 
We finally bit the bullet and went shopping for a lawn mower 2 weeks ago and got a self propelled one! With a little more help from the lawnmower itself the yard hasn't continued to be such a daunting task!  We are blessed with a big yard and we have finally equipped ourselves properly to take care of it!
These photos are a little bit of our yard and some of the beautiful plant life I am enjoying!!
What's your favorite thing growing in your garden right now??

Adult Night at the Minnesota Zoo | Sanchez Adventures | Personal

Do you ever just crave a night out? I sometimes spend hours scrolling facebook events in my area to see what is going on in the outside world and to see if it would be something worth doing.

One event I found was adult night at the Minnesota Zoo! With a free zoo located in St. Paul (Como) I have probably been to the Minnesota Zoo one other time in my life because who needs to pay for a zoo when you have a free one right there! Marcus had yet been to the other zoo so I thought it would be a fun night out and exploring. I was right! 
The entire zoo was open to have you explore; at each big trail they had beverages and food for you to purchase while enjoying exotic animals but this event was 18+ with not kids. 

I found out Marcus could watch monkeys all day and he was completely fascinated by them! The snow monkeys were really fun to watch, but the monkeys on the tropic trail were so interesting to look at. Marcus also really enjoys the bears; they look sooo fluffy I have always been curious how hugging on would feel, but self preservation has won out on that urge. My favorite animal, the red panda, was asleep so not as exciting as a hog with elvish ears that horror movies are inspired from, but I still freaked out when I saw it!

I didn't get too many pictures because I am always torn with the fact that I want photos but I also want to be present in that moment. So for this Sanchez Adventure, I choose to be present.

Overall, it was a fun and new experience for both of us and I am happy we decided to go! It would be an enjoyable date night for anyone who enjoys animals!