Minneapolis Wedding: Merritt & Alex (Part I)

This summer I wandered up to the Minneapolis, Minnesota area to photograph my cousin Merritt's wedding. They definitely embraced the ethos of "A Practical Wedding" even though I didn't point her toward the site until the wedding was already planned. My family is just naturally down to earth and awesome like that, I think. They had an intimate ceremony and said their vows on the Summer Solstice, followed by a celebration and another ceremony on the following Saturday. This is that Saturday. It was definitely a community event. Friends and family all pitched in to every aspect of the day! The wedding was held at the Lodge of the Baker Park Reserve, and most of the guests stayed in cabins on-site that night. The party lived on deep into the night, getting more and more raucous by the hour, I think. Even though I was working, it definitely ranks in the top 3 most fun weddings of my life (including my own). I think the fun, easy-going vibe of the day will be more than evident as you look through the photos below. I love this wedding far too much to cram it all into one post, so check back on Sunday for the reception!

If you're too impatient to wait until Sunday for more photos of this wedding, feel free to check out the entire wedding here.

Seattle Trip!

I went up to Seattle (well, Puyallup) last weekend to visit my sister and her family. We had a blast, as was expected. It's nearly impossible for the two of us to get together without some manner of awesome shenanigans occurring. We spent quite a bit of time harassing the staff at her local coffee shop. We wandered around a nature preserve in the ridiculously cold rain. We went shopping. A lot. We sang in the car. A lot. We ate. A lot. I also got to watch one of her roller derby bouts for the first time, which was of course inherently awesome. Her husband explained the rules to me while she was out there throwing her hips into people and such. I also got to hang out with my nephew a bit. He has grown SO much since I last saw him. Thankfully he was in the midst of a 2-week-long break from his seizures while I was there, so I got to see him at his happy squealy best! Oh, there were chocolate mustaches at one point too, thanks to the aforementioned coffee shop. Here are a few of the photos I took during my stay. I can't wait to get back up again!

Washington is gorgeous this time of year, yes?

My sister, "Gita Kraken" is the one sporting the one red sock and the dark navy tights. You might notice the distinct lack of people on their bench, so she skated a whooole lot.

Enter mustache tomfoolery. My nephew Connor is very dapper.

I miss you sister!

-Mary