Everything about Logan and Laura’s garden wedding screamed “straight out of a European period piece,” and I was fortunate enough to document it artful moment for artful moment. 

Documentary-style can mean different things from one person to the next, and Alexa’s and Caleb’s stunning direct sunlight wedding is the perfect portfolio piece to help me define it for you, in my own terms.

Picture it with me. You’re newly engaged. As in, your dream engagement ring was tenderly slid on your finger just a few days ago, your iPhone call log is full of all of the giddy Facetimes you’ve made to everyone you can think of with your left hand up in the air as soon as they answer, your cheeks are twinging with (welcome) pain from the smile permanently pasted on your face for 48 hours straight.

Natalie and Keaton’s once-in-a-lifetime day was filled to the brim with out-of-the-box spring wedding ideas that are sure to stick in the memories of both the newlyweds and their guests.Majestic mountain backdrop? Check. Cascading waterfall? Check. The bluest of blue lakes and lush forest surrounding it? Check. A moderate hike for more active couples? Got you covered. Beautiful vistas for couples who are just there for the portraits? Consider it done.

You might think that, as a Saint Paul-based, documentary-style wedding photographer, my one and only job is to capture your whimsical, adventurous love story through timeless and evocative photographs. And while you wouldn’t be wrong because that is, in fact, what I do with this sweet, blessed life of mine… there is SO much more to it than that. 

Majestic mountain backdrop? Check. Cascading waterfall? Check. The bluest of blue lakes and lush forest surrounding it? Check. A moderate hike for more active couples? Got you covered. Beautiful vistas for couples who are just there for the rustic, adventurous portraits? Consider it done. 

As a documentary wedding photographer, one of the most important parts of my clients’ experience is helping my couples really capitalize on my documentary-style approach. The Anderly’s were such a great example of how creative, unique ideas can totally transform how you spend your first moments together as newlyweds.

I was lucky enough to be there to document it all, but the real lucky ones are Caleb and Alexa. They have such a genuine, playful love that I was able to capture as the golden hour slowly turned to blue, as the earth slowly turned on its axis, as if just for them.

Every single couple and every single photoshoot is special to me in some way or other. But this particular shoot with Anna and Luke in downtown Minneapolis was especially special because it was my first engagement shoot since moving home to Minnesota. It was its own homecoming of sorts, a sweet reminder of how lucky I am to serve my couples… and in a place I now call ‘home’ again. 

The day Peggy and Christian said their ‘I do’s’ was easily a documentary-style wedding photographer’s dream come true. From the magical setting of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the way the sunlight illuminated the newlyweds’ every touch and turn, each part of the day was about capturing what was unfolding right before our very eyes.