Lea + Jared | Brainerd Minnesota Wedding & Breezy Point Resort Reception

The air was "crisp", the kind of crisp that tells you to go to an pumpkin patch for a hayride and apple cider.  Every stroll outside was accompanied by the rustling of leaves, that had mostly already blown off of the trees at the lovely Breezy Point Resort, that would race past and around your feet as the wind swirled them up and down the lanes throughout the grounds The reeds along the sandy beaches were a mix of green and brown and still lush enough to sway in the breezy, but with that cracking of their brown tips in the wind's gusts.

It was just the kind of weather where a bride wants to cuddle up to her groom to stay warm.

That's what Lea and Jared did.  It was beautiful.

 

Alyssa + Jared | Staples, MN Wedding in the Fall

They hop in the car and kiss while the driver speeds off to Dover Lake (as fast as a mid-50's Mercury can go anyhow) to catch the last glimpse of light and the sunset!  When they arrive they run, hand-in-hand, to the end the dock where he wraps his arms around his brand new wife and squeezes because it's late October and the chill is giving her goosebumps while they stand at the end of the dock and watch the sun drop below the horizon.

Alyssa, you have a spell on Jared's eyes and his heart. Jared, you are Alyssa's hero. 

God Bless and thank you.

Tim

 

Gabriele + Justin | Perham, MN's Saint Henry's Catholic Church Wedding!

What a beautiful wedding day! I've seen many weddings (over 150 now) and Gabriele and Justin's first dance was indeed my very favorite!  The dance to Swept Away by The Avett Brothers and Justin would start Gabriele on a spin, let go and just let her spin and spin and spin.  It was so beautiful.   

Super fun wedding party, beautiful Catholic wedding, a lovely golf course and my friend Garrett Tetrick helping me shoot. It was a great day. 

 

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Shelly + Brent | Grandview Lodge Summer Wedding in Brainerd

Brent and Shelley had a beautiful wedding day at Grandview Lodge just north of Brainerd Minnesota. Grandview Lodge is among Minnesota's premier resorts and is a terrific choice for a couple looking to host an elegant yet "up north" and casual wedding.

The wedding day started with Brent getting ready at the Roy Lodge resorts, which is part of Grandview, proceeded to Shelley getting ready, then onto St. Francis Catholic Church in Brainerd. After the beautiful wedding ceremony celebrated by their families friend/Deacon the couple got away in a 70s Lincoln Continental that Brent's dad procured for the occasion!

When we returned to Grandview we made some awesome photographs on the beach before heading to the reception in the new Grand Ballroom in the Gull Lake Center.

 

Emily + Nathan | Interstate State Park Fall Engagement Session

Emily and Nathan's original engagement session was rescheduled due to rain and I didn't want to reschedule again due to a sprained ankle.  So I cinched the hiking boots extra tight, popped four Advil and met an awesome couple for an exploratory stroll around the spectacular Interstate State Park near Taylor Falls, MN.  The fall colors were almost peak, so the timing was great!

 

Kirby + Ryan | Fritz Loven Park Gull Lake Fall Engagement Session

This is my first engagement session to have to shoot the day after I severely sprained my ankle (seriously swollen, purple foot and ankle, sausage toes, the whole thing) but it went terrifically!  The fall colors were in full glory and Ryan and Kirby were ready to have fun.  They even braved the seriously cold stream.  The entire time they were in the stream my ankle was thinking about how nice it would be to be in that freezing cold stream, but alas I waited until I was back home.
 

 

Jeff + Katy | Madden's Resort on Gull Lake Summer Beach Wedding

What a beautiful day for Katy and Jeff's summer beach wedding on Gull Lake at Madden's Resort!  When you call Madden's make sure you ask for Meredith to help you plan you wedding because she's terrific.

I met the girls at their cabin where they were getting ready, enjoying mimosas and music and sharing their stories about Katy: how they met, why they are friends, what they love about Katy.  It was great fun.

Once we got the men's ties sorted out Katy, Jeff and I explored the resort for their engagement session before meeting up with their wedding party and family.

Jeff and the guys both arrived and departed the ceremony on a pontoon bringing the ladies with them on their way out.  While they enjoyed a pontoon ride with cigars and champagne I shot the amazing details by Kate at Bloom Designs in the Wilson Bay's Pemican Room.

As always, the food at Madden's was amazing but as their guests were finishing dinner, I stole Jeff and Katy for a quick portrait session on the beach and docks of Gull Lake because those are some of the main reasons people host their wedding celebrations in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

As the light faded away outside, the band FlashMob! was heating up the dance floor as a terrific ending to an awesome wedding day.

 

An Authentic Bow-Tie... GO FOR IT!

How many fake bow ties to I see every year?  Lots.  The ones with the adjustable metal slider with the hook. Guys, a real bow-tie is NOT hard to tie and it looks about, now I'm just estimating here, a thousand time better!  Check them out really. Whether your thinking fun colorful patterns or the dapper black bow tie, make it a real one.

This video is from "Trunk Club" an awesome service for guys that I just joined.  I can't wait to receive my first "trunk"!

I'm sure Panache or Petals and Beans can hook you up!

 

 

Chris + Jenny | Minnesota Outdoor Lakeside Wedding at Lake Benton

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I met Chris and Jenny at the Brainerd Wedding Association's "Unveiling" wedding expo only to find out that their wedding was going to take place on Lake Benton, one of my old fishing hot-spots back when I was growing up.  In fact it was the lake that my wife (girlfriend at the time) caught her first walleye!  I used to drive to school in my 1986 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (I loved that truck. Think of the Jeep in The Great Outdoors) with my 16' fishing boat on the back.  I'd call my mom during band class, which was first period, and ask if I could get out at lunch to go fishing.  My great friend Mike would do the same and we'd take off right from school to Lake Cottonwood or Lake Benton!

Jenny and Chris's wedding was full of charm, fun, laughs, yard games, pontoon rides, a rope swing and lots of photobombs!  It was terrific!

 

Jason + Whitney | Breezy Point's Antler's Pavilion Wedding and White Birch Room Reception

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The rain held off, the sun poked through once in a while, the wedding party was fun and enthusiastic and the couple was in love.  It was a gift to be able to witness Jason and Whitney's wedding at Antler's Pavilion at Breezy Point Resort's Whitebirch Golf Course. 

Then, Lissa from King Garden's in Longville, MN did an AMAZING job with the decor at the Whitebirch Room at Breezy Point Resort for the reception... amazing!  To top off the night, the band October Road was incredible.  If country music is your thing you need to check out this group.