Good Morning, friends!

Holy heavens, do I ever miss blogging! It’s going to happen again. Eventually. This forever lingers on the back burners of my mind.

“You should really be blogging more.”

“Geez Bailey, why haven’t you posted more wedding & engagement awesomesauce lately?”

“Why are you taking slightly-over-a-day to respond to emails instead of your usual 12 hours or less?”

Don’t worry. None of these questions are coming from friends. Or even clients. Nope, they’re all coming from inside my perfectionist little pea brain.

So right now, I’m trying to cultivate more patience with myself. And keep reminding that inner voice that, “HEY! You are planning a pretty awesome wedding. And it’s happening in less than three weeks. And you guys are not about traditional. Everything is intentional, authentic, perfectly fitting for you two. It’s not a cookie cutter affair. So everything takes more time, more energy, more love. You’re going to be exhausted. And you need to be patient with yourself.”

One thing my soul truly needs: more therapy time with my camera. More earth. More nature. More this:

In other news, it has been bustling over at the flower shop with Mother’s Day, prom, and big milestones (we were voted runner-up for MN’s Best Flower Shop). Although I’m only pouring my heart into flowers a few days a week, it has been so busy-busy!

A couple of weeks ago, the wedding season kicked off with Shayne & Ryan’s gorgeous wedding-in-the-woods. As I steadily work through their images, I find myself giddy with excitement!

In this season, I already see a shift. A shift in my art, my skill, my approach. This work is lighting my heart ON FIRE!

Even if your head is clouded with doubt, remember: you CAN create the images you dream of! It takes work & purposeful change, but you can do it! Here is one image of Shayne & her maids that totally has my heart.

In other random news, we bought a car this weekend! Perfect timing, right? With a wedding just around the corner…ha! It had to happen, though. Poor dear Turquoise Jeep has been strugglin’. Big time. But we’ll miss his vibrant quirks. Sorta.

To my dear couples, and brides in particular: Reality check. It does get crazy. Engaged people are some of the busiest folks I know: planning a wedding, working a job (or two or three), finishing school, maybe owning a business, managing the feelings of fam & friends, and just figuring life out. Being tugged in a million directions, with no real control over the little things.

A note to you (& to self!): Don’t sweat the small details. Let ‘em roll like water off a duck’s back. Be totally in it for the ride, but don’t expect to steer the whole time.

And most of all? Savor every moment.

Image by Gina Zeidler (our inspiring wedding photographer).

XOXO,

Hello, y’all!

It’s that magic time in January when we start to feel the lull. It’s the calm after Christmas, and though the days keep getting longer, they’re lacking that punch of Vitamin D we all need. Spring is still a few months off, but it’s this time of year that makes me truly appreciate four distinct seasons. I have itchy feet, but not to travel: to capture weddings, to be barefoot and energized. To barbecue, to be by the lake, to play in fresh air. Open windows, hallelujah!

Instead of gettin’ the blues, drink in some summer sunshine today. Relive it through images. It’s therapy, I promise.

Part two of Charity & Joe’s divine wedding-in-the-woods. Ready, set, breath it in.

Ceremony & Reception Location: Pinewoods Retreat Center at Camp Miller // Flowers: Designed by a family member

XOXO,

If a tree falls in the park during your engagement session…well, you dust the bark off your shoulders and make some snow angels!

Okay, so Steph & Bronson’s session wasn’t quite that melodramatic, but we did have a mini adrenaline rush when the tree Bronson was leaning on started groaning and then leaned heavily onto a neighboring tree. We abandoned that section of the forest quite quickly, of course.

We had a seriously chilly day to contend with, and these two were troopers. I learned about Bronson’s passion for cooking (he’d made sausages that very morning. As in, materialized them from scratch using sausage-y ingredients. Truly impressive). Steph spoke of her love for running, and I marveled at the number of marathons under her belt. To me, marathon runners are superhuman and super-amazing.

You’ll be able to tell from their session, but Steph & Bronson are truly warm souls. They have giant hearts, and October couldn’t come soon enough. I am honored to be a part of their upcoming wedding day.

(Note to self: For my next winter session, I’ll bring Yaktrax for everyone. And helmets. And maybe a chainsaw.)

XOXO,

I am beyond tickled pink (tickled magenta, even!) to be featured on A Northwoods Wedding today. Click on the image below to see the full feature!

The women behind ANW have impeccable taste, so not only am I honored, but I also encourage all you guys & gals to check out their blog for inspiration. It is pure loveliness.

XOXO,

First, we should take care of some standard engagement session protocol: The Superpower Inventory.

If Tony had superpowers, Anne says, “He would totally have Super Saiyan powers from Dragon Ball Z. I think it’s the ability to become really, really strong. Like the Hulk, without the green.”

Tony believes that Anne’s super awesome skills would be, “Either super speed or time travel so she could get everything done, be everywhere.”

So without further ado, allow me to share the rest of this Super Speedy Time Travelin’ Saiyan duo’s engagement session!

XOXO,

It all started with a blown-out tire on a Wisconsin roadside and a Pirates of the Caribbean movie marathon.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Just start the movie without me,” Sarah insisted. She had planned to meet friends for a Pirates movie marathon after finishing work one night, but suffered a tire mishap on the way home. One of her new friends from the movie crew, Justin, kindly came to her rescue. He kept her company while AAA did its roadside duties.

A couple of days later, they bought a $1 deck of cards and started playing at a patio set inside Walmart while awaiting the tire repair. As they say, the rest is history – life had dealt them a sweet hand. To this day, they’re still playing that same deck of cards.

 XOXO,