We recently had the opportunity to photograph Tonia and Matt's destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico at the Moon Palace Resort.  Our little adventure started off on a Thursday morning when we flew out with the majority of the guests.  For destination events, we like to fly out a day ahead of the scheduled activities just in case there are issues with flights, etc.  Luckily everything ran smooth, and it was nice to meet a lot of the people that were going to be attending the wedding.  As we were preparing for the trip, they were forecasting rain for just about every day we were going to be there; however, we ended up being blessed with unbelievable weather. 

Tonia and Matt had a beautiful ceremony on the beach about an hour before sunset, followed by dinner with their closest family and friends.  Despite daylights savings playing a cruel joke and happening on the day of the wedding, we were still able to get some beautiful images with the glorious golden light we love so much. 

The following day, we took the newlyweds to a town inland within the Yucatan Peninsula by the name of Valladolid.  Despite a bit of a drive, an encounter with a bus full of happy Italians, and issues with 18 inch curbs, Tonia and Matt made this place sizzle! 

We would like to thank them both, and all of their guests for such a fun weekend.  We are always honored and humbled to be asked to shoot someones wedding, but this feeling seems to be heightened slightly when you are asked to travel with the couple and the people closest to them to capture their wedding!  Not to mention, it is always a nice treat for us, as minneapolis wedding photographers, to get out of Minnesota during late fall and enjoy a little sunshine!  We had such a great time, and can't wait for you to see the rest of the images.  In the meantime, be sure to check out some of the highlights below, and don't forget the SLIDESHOW from the weekend!!!

P.S.  If you would like to be alerted of when all of the pictures are available to view and order, you can get to Tonia and Matt's online gallery by using this LINK.  If you register before the event is released (ie. now), you are eligible for a $5 gift certificate!

Stacey and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  We hope you all had a great day and were able to spend it with those you love.  We spent the day at my Dad's and had plenty of great food, too much pie, played some games, and just enjoyed being around family.  My sister actually asked me to get a few pictures of my nephew Tanner for his Sr. pictures.  The weather was a bit cold so we didn't have a lot of time and did it in a few shifts, but all said and done, I hope they like the results.  Here is a picture from later in the day.



Since it is the season of being thankful, Stacey and I wanted to say thank you to a few people. 

1) My Loving and Supporting Wife - This last year has been an exciting yet stressful one work related.  It has been the goal for both of us to be full time with the business and this ended up being the year!  It wasn't really the plan, but then again is there ever really a "good time" to take the plunge?  Stacey has been so supportive and my biggest advocate to make the jump.  Let's just hope she doesn't change her mind after having to work with me all the time :).

2) Our Families - We both come from wonderful families and owe so much of where we are to them.  From the work ethic and discipline they instilled in us when we were younger to the support that they give us in helping make our dreams come true, we wouldn't be here without our parents and the rest of our families!  I only hope that we can provide the same environment for our children to have a happy childhood, while providing the foundation for them to live out their dreams.

3) Our Clients - It may get to sound repetitive, but it bears repeating that we truly have the best job!  I can't imagine many other professions where you get to be with people and experience some of the most memorable events in their life.  Sometimes we find ourselves just having to step back and pinch ourselves about how lucky we are to get the opportunity to do what we love.  We would never have that chance without all of our wonderful clients!  We honestly feel so humbled and honored to be allowed to capture those special moments in your lives!  Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

4) Our Friends - To our friends, both new and old.  Thank you very much for the insight, support, and countless hours you have shared with us.  We may not get to see you as much as we would like, but you all have given us something that time or distance can't take away, and those are incredible memories.  To all of our fellow photography and industry friends, we owe a debt of gratitude for all of the help and advice you have given us. 

5) My Tanzania Trip - To my friends from the Thirst Relief Trip in Tanzania, I thank you for one of the best experiences in my life!  I couldn't imagine there being a better group of people who were more accepting and unified in trying to make a difference.  You all our the best!  This was a trip that will have forever changed my life.  A special thank you goes out to Jim Davis Hicks and Mike Colón.  Jim, you are a man of amazing faith and dedication to a cause.  Your relentless pursuit in trying to help others is an inspiration and I am thankful for being able to call you a friend.  Mike, you have long been an inspiration to our business and a mentor.  You have always had the courage to follow your own path and blaze new trails.  Above all, your dedication in helping pull this group and trip together was exceptional.  On a personal level, thank you for helping push me off the cliff.  As you say, it's time to learn to swim!

For this weeks Tanzania Thursday, I took the following image of this incredible team (compliments of Phillip Glickman), from the Thirst Releif & Grace Ormonde Benefit Shoot Blog!

Top left to right: Me, Ben Harrison, Mike Colón, Jeff LaPlante, Luke Edmondson, Melissa Jill, Shane Melenbacker, Andrew Bryant, Jim Hicks
Bottom left to right: Ray Santana, David Burke, Phillip Glickman, our new friend Stephen Machua, and David Edmondson
Not pictured, but equally as awesome as everyone in this picture: Laura Parker, Michelle Walker, Kennedy and JP Pierce.

In closing, Thank You all for stopping by our little blog and continuing to come back!  We hope you had a great day!

1) What are you thankful for - As we are approaching Thanksgiving, is there anything you are particularly thankful for this year?  I am thankful to be blessed with a great family.  Not only the family that Stacey and I have started, but both of our families.  We will be going to my Dad's which has been a long standing tradition.  It isn't anything fancy, but it is always inviting, warm, and brings back good memories.  Plus Stacey makes a killer pie :).  I am also very thankful for the support that we have been giving in moving further forward with our business.  It was a big decision for Stacey and I to both go full time with the business, but it couldn't have made either of us more happy.  How many people get to say they love what they do?  We have also been blessed to have made some incredible relationships through our business that have been great and helped us more than they may ever know!

2) Tradition or Entertainment - There are a few things quintessentially American about Thanksgiving.  What immediately comes to mind when you think about Thanksgiving?  Well there's family, turkey, pumpkin pie, and football to name a few.  In regards to football, what teams do you think of?  The Cowboys and Lions of course.  The question I have is, do you like tradition or would you prefer entertainment.  So the Cowboys can provide both, but do we really need to watch another Lions game?  So they had a very entertaining game this week, but overall, I would rather eat the whole bowl of cranberries!

3) H1N1 Hell - I took Lauren and Ian to get their H1N1 vaccines today and I swear it came close to making me contemplate a straight jacket and earplugs.  First off you have to fill out the forms while the lobby is like a "Twilight" appearance at a high school.  I have never seen so many people in a Doctor's office before.  After trying to restrain Ian from thinking he is a light technician on Broadway, while filling out the host of Yes or No boxes you need to check, we made it to the hallway of screams.  Nothing like a bunch of kids all there to get shots!  Needless to say, I felt terrible having to physically restrain my children, but hopefully they won't hate me for it later. 

4) MVP Minneapolis - Green Bay may like to think of itself as Titletown, but after this year we may be called MVP Minneapolis.  Twins catcher, Joe Mauer, just won his first MVP award to go with his three batting championships.  The question is will he be overshadowed by the possibility of Brett Favre winning his fourth?  Watching these two athletes this year has been an absolute treat for a local sports fan!

5) The tasty bite, Thanksgiving wine selection - So you have the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and all the fixings, but what kind of wine do you bring or serve on Thanksgiving?  Each family has it's own traditions when it comes to the holidays and may serve different dishes.  Turkey is kind of basic, and should pair well with a variety of wines.  I recently read a great piece of advice that suggested you think more about the side dishes when thinking of what wine to drink on Thanksgiving.  Do you serve sweet potatoes or might you have a more southern influenced meal that includes collard or mustard greens?  I'm going to offer my suggestion on a couple of wines that should work well for the "standard" Midwest Thanksgiving.

White: Sauvingon Blanc or something from the Alsace region.  Either of these wines tend to be dry and crisp.  The Alsace may have a bit more mineral or earthy bite to it which can work well with Thanksgiving dishes, while they both have some sweetness that provides a nice balance.

Red: Pinot Noir can be an excellent option particularly for those of you who love dark meat.  A well done Pinot is going to provide wonderful fruit flavors while balancing it with earthy undertones.  If you are looking for something fruitier, try a Beaujolai Nouveau.  Either one has long been a Thanksgiving favorite!

Looking to bring something new to the table, try an Albarino.  While being Spain's most popular white, this exhibits a lot of the crispness that the Sauvingon Blanc or Alsace provides, yet is unique and something your guests may not have tried before.

Last but not least, if you know you like something else, drink that!  Bon Appetite and have a fantastic Thanksgiving!   

This seemed like a perfect title for today's blog post!  I had big plans for getting things done today.  Stacey and the kids had left for Wausau for a couple days and I was going to tackle the world.  Well that was the plan anyway.  I woke up and got some images ready for a slideshow that Tonia and Matt had wanted to show at their reception back here after their destination wedding in Mexico.  I had everything burned to a CD and off I went.  Well that is where the technology bug got in the way.  First off, they were using a PC, which I am not as familiar with some of the functionality as my Mac.  For the life of us we could not get the images to play full screen from the PC to the TV.  We tried everything but were literally lost.  Then we tried my Mac with the same hookups that I use at the studio and the TV wasn't accepting it.  Anyway, we found a work around, but Matt and I kind of looked at each other with this stumped look for a decent part of the afternoon. 

After that I had a meeting with a potential client for next fall.  The soon to be bride's mother and sister were in town and it worked out great because I was able to meet them along with her and her fiance.  They had just come from picking out the all important wedding dress!  It left me thinking what it must be like for a mother to watch her daughter come out in "the dress".  It must be a rush of emotions!  I think she was happy that her mom and sister were able to make it from Milwaukee for the weekend and help. 

My day ended with meeting my Dad and some other family members for a fish fry at a LONG TIME family friend's house.  This happens to be one of my Dad's absolute best friends through his life and he was always a fun guy to be around as I was growing up.  Unfortunately he is fighting cancer right now.  The fish fry was a great way for him to be around his friends and family members while hopefully temporarily taking his mind off what he is going through.  On my drive home, I left thinking about how easy it is to get "lost in a moment" for a variety of reasons.  It might be because we are mad, sad, happy, etc.  It just reminded me that despite our intentions, life can take a detour and we occasionally need to step back and take in life's moments.  It made me remember this awesome video short about life being a series of moments and events.  

And since all posts are better with an image, here is a picture of Tonia and Matt getting lost in their own little moment!

I can't believe it has been around 4 months since my trip to Tanzania, Africa for the Grace Ormonde - Thirst Relief Benefit Shoot.  The image I am posting today is taken of three of my fellow photographers who were on the trip.  We were working at the Thirst Relief workshop where the bio-sand filters are built.  Here is a picture of (in order of left to right) Shane Melenbacker, Luke Edmonson, and Laura Parker in one of the steps necessary to get the sand ready for the filter.  The group interest, concern, and effort that was put in by everyone was truly something to witness.  I think I can safely speak for everyone that went by saying that we were all touched beyond words.