Studio Noveau Blog

Amazing!  This wedding was simply amazing. She’s a teacher, he’s a doctor. She’s detailed and gorgeous, he’s thorough and handsome. Together, they an unstoppable team. Does it get any more perfect than this?

Recently, I had the honor of driving down to Des Moines for Bridget and Kyle’s tastefully elegant wedding. And, as many of you know, my husband Ben was acting as my second shooter and joined me on this trip! This wedding was especially fun for me in several ways in addition to Ben shooting with me. A little history on Bridget and Kyle is that they met on Facebook through mutual friends, and much of their early communication was done in person and on Facebook. So when Bridget found me on Facebook, we all thought it was fun that they decided to choose Studio Noveau as their wedding photographer.

My day started at Bridget and Kyle’s condo, where the girls were getting ready. Bridget planned ahead to reserve the beautiful community room in the building. With floor to ceiling windows, this room was gorgeous, uncluttered, and had simply amazing light. Future clients, please take note. This combination makes for gorgeous, relaxed pictures! I loved Bridget’s {blue} shoes and her dress.  Maybe I’m kinda partial to Pronovias dresses because my own wedding dress was by designer Pronovias.  Bridget also wore pearls (so did I!) so I couldn’t help but love her entire bridal attire!

Did I mention she was a radiant bride?  Just look at that smile!

I love this moment with Kyle and his mom!  And I also loved the curvy wall above, located in their church.  Of course we had to grab a quick portrait there!  Their church was the amazing St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines.

Their first look was one of the sweetest I’ve EVER seen!

These next two were taken by Ben.

How cute is this one!  By the time Kyle got Bridget and all her layers into the car, it was such a cute picture that I had to jump out of my car, run over to theirs, and grab this photo.  :)

Off to the Rose Garden, the location where Bridget & Kyle got engaged.  As such a meaningful spot, they knew all along that they wanted photos taken there.  And with the fun architectural pieces, the amazing light, and all the green vegetation around, I was one happy girl!

Ben took these next three.  Apparently Kyle likes golf.  (Isn’t that a requirement for doctors?)

After the Rose Garden, we had one more fun stop.  Their reception was at the historic and beautiful Hotel Savery in downtown Des Moines.  Kyle and Bridget rented the penthouse for a small pre-party for their parents and wedding party during the cocktail hour.   We were able to grab some fun shots up there on the roof that had great views of the capitol building and other cool things.  This post is already getting super long so I’m only going to post a couple, but there were so many great shots!

Reception:

Bridget and Kyle, congratulations! Thank you for allowing Ben and I to share such an important day. I’m looking forward to your Rock the Dress session in June!

So I’m VERY guilty of not keeping up on this blog. But in my defense, I’ll just say that the benefit to not keeping up like I should means I have fresh weddings and sessions to post during the slow months.

On that note, meet Matt and Mallory! They were married a couple months ago (I refuse to say exactly how long for fear of incriminating myself on the grounds of late blogging) in Iowa. Matt and Mallory seriously brought the awesomeness to their wedding day. They got married in a church that many members of their family were married in, and found so many fun ways to personalize their day. About half of the couples I work with choose to schedule a “First Look”, which is a private moment for the bride and groom to see each other before the ceremony. The benefit to a First Look is that you have the opportunity to take photos together before the ceremony, reducing the time needed for pictures between the ceremony and reception.

Here is their First Look… I LOVE these ones for the sheer happiness that you can just sense!

I LOVED Mallory’s shoes. I mean really, who doesn’t love a red, high heel, peep-toe, glamorous shoe?

And I love this picture of Mallory herself. She’s just radiant!

We didn’t have a lot of time to wander around town before the ceremony, so the beautiful bride and handsome groom ventured outside for just a couple fun pics before their ceremony started.

This shot of Mallory and her dad is so sweet! They saw each other in the hall, and this candid shot is the result. Doesn’t he look like a proud daddy?

Time for the ceremony!


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Next, we headed over to the college to get some wedding party photos. I loved all the brick buildings and arches!

Time for the reception!

Matt, being the thoughtful guy that he was, knew his reception was taking place during an Iowa game. Okay, it’s been a while and I don’t remember exactly what game it was… but I think it was important! So while there were regular reception things going on like cake cutting and dancing, there was also the game playing on TWO large screen tv’s at the Grinnell Country Club.

And look at this adorable little guy!

Groom’s cufflinks:

The cufflinks coordinated nicely with the newest addition to their centerpieces:

I love when everyone has so much fun with speeches:

And I also love old wedding pictures. As a wedding photographer, I’m probably biased in thinking that wedding photos are one of the most important parts of the day… since it lasts generations, and serves as a lasting reminder of the love that resulted in entire families coming together for marriages of their children. I always wonder which of the photos I take will end up on a table in 50 years at their children and grandchildren’s wedding.

Groomsman by day, Iowa fan by night



Can you see everyone in this room watching the game? Just on the other side of the wall was the dance picture above. Haha.

Matt and Mallory, I hope your last few months have been wonderful! Thanks again for letting me share such an important day with you!

Wow.  When I announced the photo session giveaway contest, I didn’t expect that choosing a winner would be so difficult!  Thank you to everyone who entered.  There were 22 comments entered, and it was difficult narrow it down to even the top five entries!  But… I did it.  Drumroll, please!

The winner is… Angela and Ben!  Here is Angela’s entry:

• I think it could be awesome to do a high fashion photo shoot at a Christmas tree farm.  Ben in a full Tuxedo (along with bow tie) carrying an axe and chopping down a tree. I would be in a formal evening gown… I’m thinking black satin and lots of sparkles! I’d wear a lot of over the top accessories and jewelry, a faux fur coat, and faux fur boots. We’d bring our dogs, and we’d stomp around in such a juxtaposition that I think the pictures could be awesome! I keep thinking this could be great for our Christmas card this year! And we’d probably get some really awkward looks romping around in formal attire, followed by a photographer, and chopping down a tree.

As I was reading her entry, I kept thinking how fun this particular session sounded, and getting all these great visuals in my mind of what the pictures would look like.  Congratulations, guys!

Because there were so many great entries, I decided I couldn’t give away just one session.  Though it was hard, I narrowed down the list to four additional sessions that really showed some creativity.  This is where you all enter the picture.  Please vote on the “People’s Choice” award by leaving a comment below.  The entry with the most comments below will win a free session as well!

So?  What do YOU all think?  Please comment below with the name of the girl you think should win the People’s Choice session!

Thanks again to everyone who entered. This was an extremely difficult decision and so many of you had wonderful ideas!

Don’t forget, for first-hand sneak previews of sessions and weddings PLUS special promotion announcements, make sure to join Studio Noveau Photography on Facebook!

Ceremony Venue: Elkader Opera House

Reception Venue: Monona Community Center

Dress designer: Megan’s Mom

Saturday I crossed the border into Iowa for the wedding of Megan and Curtis.  (Yes, I had two weddings last weekend.)  This wedding was one I’d been looking forward to for quite a while because the ceremony was going to be in a historic opera house.  It was gorgeous!  I am in LOVE with this venue.  Seriously.  The really fun thing about the location was that Megan and Curtis had both been in plays at the opera house in the last 10 years.  In fact, there was a neat wall where every cast member signs their names and what play they were part of.  I found Megan’s name twice!  Anyway, pictures… I know that’s why you are here! (P.S. Do you think Megan looks like Rachel McAdams from The Notebook? I thought so.)

This is Megan’s dress on the baby grand piano on the stage.  Isn’t it awesome?  I love lace wedding dresses.

See?  Formals CAN be fun!  Especially when you find cool wooden thrones (chairs) sitting around…

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my booth in McGregor, Iowa yesterday. The bridal show was held in the McGregor Landing and Event Center- a very cool old place that has been renovated into a neat building with a “western” feel to it. It would be an awesome place to have a wedding (and dare I say photograph a wedding?) !!!

First of all if you haven’t been to McGregor before, you should totally check it out. It’s a couple miles from Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, and right along the Mississippi River.

Here are a few neat pictures of the venue itself. I am such a sucker for antique and vintage locations/details!

Isn’t this a neat bar? It’s called Uncle Sam’s Saloon, and I think every bridal show should have a bar for the grooms who get dragged along.

One of the many cool light fixtures in the event center.

The fashion show is always a neat way to see what styles will be popping up throughout the year. Two things that I LOVELOVELOVE are the dresses that have all the ruching, or gathering of fabric, and I also love the presence of suits and tuxes for guys that are grey or brown. I do like a nice black tux, but have to admit that a grey or brown tux/suit really sets a wedding apart, and looks really nice. And a lot less formal!

My seat for the fashion show wasn’t the greatest, but I did get a couple of pictures for ya’ll!

My favorite combo.  It was a grey suit with a platinum ruched dress.  Wow- it really made me look twice!
I couldn’t help it… Awww!  What a cute flower girl!

Normally I like tea length bridesmaid dresses, but I’m starting to change my thinking.  This was such an unusual dress, almost with a vintage feel.  It was long and flowy with that ruching that I really like.  It kind of reminded me of a 1970′s style.

I love the simplicity of this dress, and it was so flattering!  My best friend, Jen, would love this!

Cute flower girl dress… isn’t the sash cute?

Group picture from the end.  I love wedding dresses!

Strawberries and CHOCOLATE!  Yup, I definitely wish I would have had a chocolate fountain at my wedding!  ;)