Mr and Mrs Jim Erdman: Married August 16th, 2008!

Posted on August 30, 2008

OSHKOSH, Wis: Jim and Jessica just may get the award for “coolest wedding ceremony location” so far this wedding season. These two said their vows on the stage of the historic Grand Opera House in Oshkosh. I totally love that place.

As you can see our streak of amazing weather continued. Of course, as I type that, they’re forecasting a 90 degree day for tomorrow’s wedding. Hot hot hot!

Jessica and the girls got ready in the dressing room beneath the stage, which made for a long walk through the guts of the theatre before walking down the aisle. That’s when I caught this image of her.

Jim was patiently waiting at the end of the aisle to help his bride up the stairs to the stage.

Jim and Jessica were married by one of Jessica’s work colleagues. He shared a few funny stories, which really made the ceremony personal.

After the ceremony, we took the bridal party out to do some exploring downtown. They were totally game for walking through the alleys with us.

I think they also got more air than any other bridal party! I was totally impressed.

After our obligatory stop at Jerry’s Bar, we spent some time exploring the grounds of The Waters in Oshkosh for some quiet time with the happy couple. While Karl was shooting that shot…

I took this one. I love that is makes them look like they were in the middle of nowhere! Paradise Found….in Oshkosh!

This just might be my favorite garter retrieval image EVER. I think this is when the dj suggested Jim might need a map to find the garter.

I think every girl dreams of finding a guy who looks at her like Jim looks at Jessica. They really are a perfect match!

And finally, before I share our cheese picture for this week….we need an engagement session flashback…

Remember Trigger? I promised him lots of pretend treats during our engagement session and I still feel a little guilty about that. Well, I’m happy to report Trigger made a cameo at the reception.

He’s officially the first animal ever present in our cheese shot! I may just need to send a dog bone with the proof album…

Jim and Jessica, Karl and I were honored to be a part of your wedding day. You guys were so much fun to work with! Enjoy married life!

Here’s your gallery.

Here’s your slideshow

Monday Moments: Brett and Julie Edition, with a Bridal Show Bonus

Posted on August 26, 2008

Wow, I’m really eeking this Monday Moments entry onto the blog in the very last moments of Monday night. I’ll confess, there were moments today when I didn’t think I’d be able to blog. My to do list is currently a mile long. That’s what happens when we have a wedding followed by a bridal show in the same weekend! This, my friends, is why we only commit to one couple a weekend. Karl and I like to “leave it all on the field” and that means by Sunday morning, we don’t have much more to give.

Even though I’m exhausted and my feet currently hate me, I am happy to be able to share some great moments from this weekend.

Looking at this shot of Julie and her dad makes me tear up. This was taken right as they first saw eachother and Julie was overcome by how handsome her dad looked in his tux. It’s possible I also teared up a little bit behind the lens. The two dads in my life live far away now and looking at this moment makes me wish they were both here so I could hug them. Boy I’m emotional when I’m sleep deprived!

Once again I have to share the “we’re married!” shot. Julie and Brett had a very thoughtful and beautiful ceremony surrounded by a ton of friends and family. It was a full house!

How cool is this cake?? It was a surprise for Brett and bears a pretty strong resemblance to his beloved orange Jeep.

And it even had a license plate and cans tied to the bumper!

I can’t resist sharing just one more picture from Saturday because this is a first for us…

It’s the first time a wedding guest has ever snapped a picture of Karl and I with our own camera! It’s also the first time a song was ever dedicated to us at the reception. It turns out we share the same first dance song as Julie’s sister Kelly…a tidbit I learned when both Kelly and I burst into tears when the song played before Julie’s ceremony. Yes, I am that much of a sap. Anyway, Julie had the dj play the song for us all to dance to, and Kelly asked to use our camera to take a picture! She did pretty awesome, right?

There’s so much more I could say about Julie and Brett’s wedding, but it’s time to share some bridal show images..

This was our booth, before we decided to move the black box to where the tree is in this picture. It was tough figuring out a way to work in all the images we wanted to share! We had a great spot for our booth, with some awesome neighbors! One one side of us we had Always and Forever. These girls know their chair covers and had some awesome candy at their booth. On the other side…cake samples from Artistic Cakes and Cookies in Kimberly. I didn’t taste any, but everyone was raving and the cakes on display were amazing! Our neighbor across the aisle was none other than Stacy and Tim from Lenz Studio. Gotta love the husband and wife teams, right?

Speaking of husbands….

Right after Karl took this stellar self portrait, he had to leave. His day job has him in Minneapolis this week so he needed the time at home to get ready. Thankfully, I had my good friend Barb along to keep me company. We really enjoyed meeting the brides and grooms who stopped by to chat.

I have a feeling I’ll be swamped all week as I try to catch up, but it really was a pretty awesome weekend!

Happy Monday all!

Mr and Mrs Nick Freimuth: Married August 9th, 2008!

Posted on August 22, 2008

APPLETON, Wis.: Almost two weeks after the fact, it’s still hard for Karl and I to believe Nick and Karyn’s wedding is really over. We’ve been looking forward to the big day since we first met more than a year ago! And now that the day has passed, I can say without hesitation that it surpassed our expectations.

I started off my day in Karyn’s hotel room at the Radisson Paper Valley, where the girls were getting their hair and make up done. I love this part of the day, when there’s lots of anticipation in the air and lots of laughing.

While I was hanging out with the girls, Karl met up with the guys who seemed to be having just as much fun. Love this pre-ceremony huddle.

I was SO happy to find this shot of Karyn’s dress while I was proofing. It was captured by our good friend Heidi of HJ Selch Photography. We asked Heidi to come along for Nick and Karyn’s wedding so she could help us out with a photo booth at the reception. Lucky for us, she came to the church too, and while I was busy with the girls at the hotel, Heidi was capturing some awesome details!

Karyn rocks for walking herself down the aisle. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it down myself without two people to hold me up!

Their first kiss as husband and wife got some cheers from the crowd!

Another eco-friendly toss picture. I think I recently found a few pieces of this stuff in my camera bag!

Another AMAZING shot by Heidi as Karyn showed off her bling at the park. The sun kept peeking in and out of the clouds all afternoon, but there was definitely some yummy light here!

Lawrence University was a great place to shoot, even if we did have to compete with a few other wedding parties with the same idea. After a while we left the bridal party in the limo and took Karyn and Nick off for a few more pictures.

After our stop at Lawrence we headed back to the Paper Valley for the most unique reception I’ve ever experienced.

It didn’t take long for the guests to put those foam fingers, thunder sticks, and noisemakers to good use!

Loved this moment during the toasts. I believe this is when one of the Maids of Honor outed Karyn as a grade school gangster.

I mentioned that Heidi was around to help us out with a little photo booth setup. She was quite busy throughout the evening!

The groomsmen jumped in for their closeup…

And somehow we managed to squeeze the entire Freimuth clan into one shot!

But this one is definitely my favorite of the photo booth shots. So glad we had Heidi to get a picture of all of us. It sure beats some of the other “cheese shots” we’ve taken this summer.

Karyn and Nick, we hope you had an amazing time on your whirlwind baseball tour turned honeymoon! Thank you so much for inviting us into your family!

Enjoy your slideshow.

Your gallery is here.

Go Team Freimuth!!!

What are YOU doing this weekend?

Posted on August 19, 2008

After Brett and Julie’s wedding on Saturday, Karl and I will be up bright and early to man our booth at the Fall Wedding Spectacular. It’s being held on Sunday from 10:30-4pm at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton. You can buy tickets online by clicking this link. Hey grooms, you get in free with a paying bride. Sounds like a great Sunday date to me!

The photo you see above is a little sneak peek of our booth from the February bridal show. Unfortunately about 10 minutes after that picture was taken, the show organizer came through and told us the show would be canceled because of snow and ice. So nobody actually got to see our booth! The booth for this show will be even better since we’ve worked with some great couples in the past few months. We hope to meet many more this weekend!

As of right now we have only a handful of wedding weekends still available for 2009, so if you know someone who is still looking for a photographer, tell them to come by and visit us. We expect to close the 2009 season to new wedding bookings by mid September.

One more heads up….we have lots of new and exciting changes planned to coincide with the bridal show so keep an eye on the blog and the website for updates!

Monday Moments: Jessica and Jim Edition

Posted on August 18, 2008

Alternate title: Why I really love these guys!

I love Jessica because she got super excited about this can of Diet Mountain Dew. And anyone who knows me knows the Diet Dew is sacred! Oh, and because she cried over their dog. Dogs are also sacred.

I love Jim because he operated under the motto, “For the next 36 hours I have no opinion.” Seriously though, he was so go with the flow.

I love them as a couple because they introduced us to Jerry’s, a fine Oshkosh establishment that holds a lot of history for them. Oh, and they danced their first dance to “When You Say Nothing At All,” which was our first dance song too.

I loved the wedding party too. The guys were the perfect blend of sarcastic and cooperative. And the girls…well bridesmaids crying during the toast just pulls at my heart. I am a sympathy crier after all.

Happy Monday all.

Katie and Brandon: Engaged!

Posted on August 15, 2008

STEVENS POINT, Wis.: Katie and Brandon witnessed what some have heard about but few have seen: Karl and I the *day after* a wedding. Seriously, there is a reason we only commit to one wedding a weekend. By the time Sunday rolls around we are what my southern friends would call “a hot mess!” But, since Katie and Brandon live in Stevens Point and we were going to be driving through town on our way home from Mark and Andrea’s wedding in Wausau, we agreed to up the caffeine and soldier on for a Sunday afternoon engagement shoot. Lucky for us, Katie and Brandon are adorable and so easy to work with. They were also very patient with us as we worked to get into the groove and shake off the sleepies.

Brandon arranged for us to shoot on the grounds of Sentry Insurance. Holy wow! We were loving on the rolling hills, the green green green grass (Karl was a little jealous that our lawn doesn’t look as good), and the fun little places to cuddle up. You know we made them do lots of cuddling up!

Daylilies!! Love! Never mind the fact that they were practically standing in the pond for this shot.

These two were so natural in front of the camera. I think this one might be one of my favorites!

And now for a little bit of “What Karl saw/What Steph saw”

Karl saw this…

While I was shooting this!

And while Karl was digging the lines of the parking structure…

I was making sure to get my signature feet shot in there. Cute sandals Katie!

As usual, I captured a couple of shots of Karl in action…

And this time he got revenge! Yes, my legs really are that white. And yes, I really did wear black socks with tennis shoes! Sorry!!!

Katie and Brandon, we had such a great time with you guys. Thanks for meeting up with us and digging up such a great location to shoot! We can’t wait to see you in 2009!

Enjoy your slideshow

Here’s your gallery.

Mr and Mrs Mark Meunier: Married August 2nd, 2008!

Posted on August 15, 2008

WAUSAU, Wis.: Our weekend with Andrea and Mark kicked off a stretch of 12 weeks straight for us, and I’m happy to say that we couldn’t have had more fun right out of the gate. After our engagement session in April, we knew Mark and Andrea were pretty fantastic and as it turns out their friends and family are just as great.

We made the drive up to Wausau on Saturday morning to meet Andrea and the girls at Andrea’s childhood home, where the girls were getting ready.

Some people don’t need makeup. Andrea is one of those people. I try not to hate her for it.

But really, how can you hate someone who has such a cute dog? I should point out that even the puppy was wearing some bling in honor of the big day!

And speaking of bling, Andrea’s shoes were hot! I knew Andrea would not disappoint in the shoe department after the super cool shoes she wore for our engagement session.

Mark is a good man. I know this because he lets Andrea buy lots of shoes. Oh, and because he looked so incredibly happy standing at the end of the aisle waiting for his bride.

Mark’s sisters did an amazing job singing before and after the ceremony.

One of my favorite shots at every wedding is the walk back down the aisle as the “Oh my gosh we’re married!” really starts to sink in.

Did I forget to mention that Andrea and Mark are so cool Sally Field showed up to the wedding? Well, not the *actual* Sally Field, but I wasn’t the only person there who thought Andrea’s mom could be Sally’s twin!

Sometimes big wedding parties can drive photographers crazy, but these guys were so much fun to work with as we rushed to make three different picture stops before the reception.

Here’s a shot Karl got of the girls while we were at the sculpture garden…

And while he was working the big picture…I captured a few smaller moments.

We stole the happy couple away from the group for a few minutes.

Karl saw this…

…while I was shooting this.

Mark and Andrea were working it out for their first dance…

As you can see, Andrea’s dress was a good spinner!

And they finished it off with a stellar dip. I’d like to think the practice they got at their engagement session contributed in small part to this awesome performance.

Andrea and Mark, we’re so glad you guys found your way to us. We are honored to have been a part of your special day. I hope the honeymoon was incredible and that your married lives will be even better than you can imagine.

Enjoy your slideshow.

You’ll find your gallery here.

Believe it or not, despite ten or so attempts, this was the best of the cheese shots. Oh well!

Monday Moments: Karyn and Nick Edition Part 3

Posted on August 15, 2008

Honestly, I could write from here to next week about Karyn and Nick’s reception. Karl and I sat at the Rose Bowl table, which if you’re keeping track, was located between Shea Stadium and Mile High Stadium (thanks for not calling it Invesco Field guys!). We walked into the ballroom to find Foam Fingers, Thunder Sticks, and noise makers at each seat. At some point during dinner guests were doing the wave! Have I mentioned Nick and Karyn like sports? Seriously!

Here’s a peek at the fun:

Meet Grandma Freimuth, mother to 10 and superstar yodeler! Yes, before the band took the stage Grandma Freimuth captivated the crowd. Love her!

Why do a traditional grand march when you can announce the bridal party like the starting line up?

And of course, we had to capture the pyramid reception style!

I forgot to ask Nick if his grandma gave any pointers before he took the mic and hit the stage with Brahma.. Musicality must run in the family!

This wraps up the Nick and Karyn recap. Stay tuned next week for their slideshow!

Up next: Katie and Brandon’s engagement and Mark and Andrea’s wedding!

Monday Moments: Karyn and Nick Edition Part 2

Posted on August 13, 2008

So tonight we’re moving on to some of our favorite moments after the ceremony. Normally that first half hour or so after the ceremony is very assembly line for us. We’ve got a list of formals to get through so we can move onto the fun stuff. Little did we know, “the fun stuff” would pop up when we least expected it with these guys.

Behold: the pyramid! I can definitely say that’s the first time something like this has ever happened during the formal portraits. I don’t know who gets more credit here the guys on the bottom for bearing the weight of the pyramid, or Karyn for climbing to the top in a wedding gown!

And lest you think the guys are only good at pyramids, I can attest they were pretty skilled with the champagne bottle opening! That’s definitely a talent to be kept in mind when a couple is choosing the members of their wedding party

Karyn told me before the wedding that she wanted some fun casual stuff with the bridal party, without everyone standing up. I told the group to go channel their inner supermodel and this is what we got. Love it!

And speaking of supermodels, Karyn and Nick know how to work it in front of the camera. We encountered several other wedding parties on our walk around Lawrence University, but I definitely think our bride and groom were the hottest!

Stay tuned tomorrow for some crazy reception moments. Here’s a hint: foam fingers and thunder sticks were involved.

Monday Moments: Karyn and Nick Edition Part 1

Posted on August 12, 2008

I know, I know. It’s already Tuesday. You see, I spent so much time stewing yesterday over which images I would share from this weekend’s wedding that I simply ran out of time. So I decided this Monday Moments will actually be a series of moments shared over the course of the week. I swear this isn’t a ploy to get people to visit the blog more often! There’s just so much to share from our time with Karyn and Nick that I can’t choose!

So over the next few days I’ll split the moments up by time of day, starting tonight with the ceremony.

I love this image that our second shooter Heidi (more on her later!) captured of Karyn right before the ceremony. Over the course of the past year, Karyn and I have developed a great friendship. We have a lot in common and have become regular gmail chatters…particularly early in the morning when Karyn is taking care of her radio duties and I am prying my eyes open to edit photos. I know that she put so much work into planning this day, and to see her so full of joy makes me really happy. Karyn really was smiling all day!

The same could not be said for the adorable flower girl Bailey. It’s a little scary having to walk down the aisle with all those people looking at you. Moments before I snapped this shot she was in tears. But she pulled it together and made it to the end of the aisle.

Oh Nick! The couple kneels down for a blessing, a nice solemn moment in the ceremony, and everyone started giggling. Nice touch. I also love that Bailey is hanging out in the corner, quite enthralled with the ribbons on her dress.

The “Oh my gosh we’re married!” moment is one of my favorite points in any wedding. I love that we get to capture that.

There’s no way I could end my ceremony entry with anything other than this picture! I believe Nick confessed to inhaling some of the environmentally friendly substance used in the toss. And like many a bride before her, Karyn was picking the stuff out of her hair, her veil, and her dress for the rest of the evening.

Coming up tomorrow… I’ll share a few images from our time with the bridal party after the ceremony. I’ll give you a hint…my favorite moment involves a pyramid!

See you tomorrow!

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