An afternoon
in Excelsior.
Before the wedding at Red Barn Farm, there was an engagement session in Excelsior. We had fall color, a stop at Adele’s, and plenty of room for their personalities to come through.
Let them
be themselves.
A photograph can be sweet, and the next one can be a little silly. I like that. Patrick and Karynn gave me a little of both as we worked with the autumn color.
A stop at Adele’s.
We went to Adele’s in Excelsior for frozen custard. A couple of cones, a little laughter, and more fall color behind them. These are the kinds of stops that make an engagement session feel like time together.
A little piece
of local history.
That’s the old bandshell at Excelsior Commons behind them, with geese taking off across the lawn. The new pavilion opened in 2021, so this photograph keeps a little piece of a place that has already changed.
I love that about photographs. You make an image of a couple having fun, and a few years later it holds some local history, too.
Put the leaves
in the picture.
We used the fall color around Excelsior and made time to play. A little movement and a handful of leaves gave us something different from the quieter portraits.
A good place
to finish.
We ended up down in the leaves for a closer portrait together. Golden trees, big smiles, and a little time before the wedding chapter.
Their wedding day.
Patrick’s dad is a friend of mine here in Minnesota, and he works in video, too. Photographing his son’s wedding made this a personal one for me.
Before the first look.
Karynn getting ready, then one last look in the mirror. The window light and the lace details gave us a beautiful place to begin her wedding-day photographs.
Just the two of them.
We did a first look before the ceremony. I like having time for that first reaction, with the two of them together and a little space around the moment.
A little thing
that’s theirs.
During the first look, they did this little gesture with their fingers. It’s something between them. I didn’t need to explain it—I just wanted to photograph it.
A portrait together.
The weathered barn wall made a lovely setting for the two of them and Karynn’s bouquet. After the first look, we had time to make a few portraits before everyone gathered.
A moment
for Patrick.
I made a portrait of Patrick by the window, with the white brick behind him. Wedding photographs include the couple together, but I always like to give each person a moment of their own.
Let the dress move.
Outside, I had Karynn move with her dress. The skirt, the trees, and the little building behind her made this one feel right in black and white.
The place
in the story.
Red Barn Farm is in Northfield, Minnesota. I wanted a wider photograph that showed the red barn and the grounds, with Patrick and Karynn small in the setting.
A little room
to run.
Then a little more movement. They ran together along the grassy lane, with the posts on one side and the trees on the other. The dress and their expressions gave this photograph its energy.
The women
beside her.
We gathered Karynn and her bridesmaids on the lawn with their bouquets. The pale blue dresses and all that green gave us a beautiful group photograph.
Something
on the radar.
Someone was keeping an eye on the weather. I photographed the radar on the phone—a little preview of the rain and lightning that would come later in the evening.
A very special ride.
The flower girl had her own little wagon, complete with a stuffed animal for company. There’s always something happening around the main event if you keep watching.
Before the aisle.
Karynn with her dad, just before they walked down the aisle. I love this little moment with her head against his shoulder.
Patrick couldn’t
hold back the tears.
When Karynn walked down the aisle, Patrick cried. Then she reached up and wiped the tears from his eyes. That’s the photograph I wanted—their connection, right there in front of everyone.
There it is again.
Right before the kiss, they did that same little finger gesture from the first look. I love when a small, personal thing finds its way into a wedding ceremony.
And then,
the kiss.
One more moment together beneath the ceremony arbor, with everyone there to celebrate it.
Two very
happy parents.
Patrick’s parents, Liz and Sam, gave me this wonderful thumbs-up. They’re friends of mine, and their expressions say it all: their son was married.
I hadn’t seen
these before.
In more than thirty years of photographing weddings, this was a first for me: inflatable bride and groom air dancers, like the waving tube figures you see outside a gas station.
These two were dressed for a wedding. I thought they were wonderful.
So we joined in.
I had Patrick and Karynn pretend to be the air dancers, too. Arms up, a little waving around, and a couple of extra guests in the photograph.
A grand entrance.
They came into the reception with their arms in the air. The barn doorway gave me a frame around that energy as the party moved inside.
Everyone
inside the barn.
I made this wider view to show what the reception felt like: the wooden beams, the chandeliers, all the tables, and everyone gathered together. It’s part of remembering the place as well as the people.
The words that
stay with you.
During the toasts, it was Karynn’s turn for tears. Patrick sat beside her, watching and smiling. I kept photographing the reactions as the stories were told.
Their first dance.
I liked having the guests in the background while Patrick and Karynn danced. This is their moment, and the people who came to share the day are part of it, too.
The party
found its feet.
Later in the evening, Karynn and some of her bridesmaids were dancing on a table. From ceremony tears to this—there was plenty of personality in the day.
One last
look at the barn.
The rain had eased, and guests were starting to come back outside. There was still lightning above the barn. Look at the upper left of the photograph and you can see the bolts branching through the sky.
Their own kind
of celebration.
Fall color in Excelsior, a little gesture that was just theirs, happy parents, a few tears, and a pair of inflatable newlyweds. Then the barn lit up against that stormy sky.
That’s what I want a wedding story to remember: the people, the place, and all the little things that made the day theirs.