Northfield, MN Wedding Photographer | Rob and Felicia

Since it's so cold today in Minnesota we thought we'd take a look at a wedding that's sure to warm you from the inside out. Rob's and Felicia's rustic nuptials at the Red Barn Farm of Northfield (www.redbarnfarmofnorthfield.com) were special for so many reasons.

We love the way the bride and groom made family the focus for the entire day, right down to couple's children rounding out the roster for the bridal party, and providing readings during the ceremony. A portrait gallery of the kids was also installed inside the main barn.

The country and harvest theme was tastefully applied throughout the site without the treatment becoming too romanticized or corny. And the vintage details were a real treat.

Best of all, the day truly celebrated what the event was all about — bringing together two families. Sure, the wood-fired pizzas made with ingredients grown on the farm, and perfectly sweetened lemonade with fresh mint were fantastic, but the love Rob and Felicia have for each other and their children took center stage.

To view more wedding pictures from this event, visit our Facebook gallery.

Montgomery, MN Engagement Photographer | Matt and Lori

I first met Lori while she was being set up for a proposal and I was in on the scheme put in motion by her then-soon-to-be fiancé Matt. (See more photos from the event HERE). With Lori being such a good sport about the surprise, I knew working with the couple on engagement photos was going to be a breeze.

However, when Matt and Lori first suggested we use the Montgomery Orchard (www.montgomeryorchard.com) as the location for their engagement photos I was a bit taken aback. After all, they don't have too many ties to the area. But I figured we'd have some great opportunities to photograph in the groves of trees ripe for the picking, and that it would make for an easy theme for the fall photo session.

What I completely forgot was that the orchard's six-acre, Be-A-Mazed Corn Maze was also groomed and available to challenge all those who enter — including engagement photographers! Always up for adventure, Matt and Lori suggested we go for it. The eight-to-12-foot stalks would make for a good wind break and hopefully warm them up a bit from the chilly autumn air.

I'm used to working on the spot, and having to make do with whatever conditions are thrown my way, but I have to admit, I was a bit worried about photographing a couple in such difficult surroundings. There's not much space for me to distance myself from the couple, the corn made tough lighting conditions, and honestly, it seemed as though there weren't too many options for compositions to make when you're surrounded by wall-to-wall corn!

Thank goodness for happy accidents, because I ended up being quite pleased with the results. Oh, and the maze is by no means simple. Be sure to stop by fall 2012 if you're up for the challenge.

Trash to Treasure

The wedding was over. My wife and I had returned from our blissful honeymoon. And yet, we were left with a dilemma: what to do with all of this wedding stuff?

You know - the flowers, the centerpieces, all the little personal touches we worked so hard to make special. Well, now that the wedding's done, we can't just throw them away, right?

If you're like me, you held on to the stuff knowing someday you'd think of something to do with them — anything but putting them in a glass shadow box (it makes me think of funerals).

Sometimes you have to wait a long time for inspiration to come along. For me, it was seven years! That's when I met jewelry designer Heather Lawrenz of Lawrenz Jewelry. She makes amazing beads, charms and intricate pieces of art all out of stuff most people would throw away. You wouldn't believe how beautiful she can make a discarded bottle cap or a spent A1 steak sauce bottle look.

After seeing her work and getting to know Heather, she mentioned to me that she can make a piece of jewelry out of old photographs — the wheels started turning. If she could take a three-dimensional object and turn it into a charm the possibilities were endless.

Finally, I knew what to do with all those boxes of wedding dodads taking up valuable shelf space in my basement.

With Heather's talents, I could have her preserve those memories in an exciting new way. I turned my box of "stuff" over to her and let Heather work her magic. (Of course, I photographed everything first, just in case I wanted to look at it later). Within minutes, Heather was taking pieces of the materials and constructing tiny compositions.

It was great to see the way Heather thinks and not to give her too much direction. I knew I could trust her to do her thing and the results would be spectacular. What I didn't expect were some of the happy accidents along the way, like when Heather realized the newspapers stuffed around the dried wedding bouquets to protect the delicate flowers were from the newspaper I worked at during the time of our wedding. In fact, the newspapers had some photos that stick out in my mind since they were from meaningful assignments.

"I'm going to use that as a background for one of these charms," Heather said.

I couldn't believe it — fishwrap to some, colorful interest to Heather, a significant memory for me — and now it would all be preserved on this hip piece of jewelry for my wife to wear every day.

And the best part, my wife and I could finally part with all that wedding clutter. Meaningful, yes, but clutter still the same.

If you want to have one of these ah-ha moments, definitely visit Lawrenz Jewelry.