Studio Noveau Blog

Occasionally I get requests from a couple that is already married but would like some “engagement-style” photos.  So what would you call those?  I’ve heard the term “Connection Session”, so I’m going to start using that term.  

Anyway, my good friend Mandie (fellow photographer and owner of Red Gecko Studio in Madison) and her husband drove out to Gays Mills last night for some fun portraits.  It was a blast!  They brought their two dogs, a pug and a French bulldog, and a willingness to try anything.  The really great thing was we did a portrait swap.  It’s not often that photographers get pictures taken of themselves, so I took advantage of Mandie’s amazing talent to get some shots of my husband and I. So here are Mandie, Eric, Panda, and Fifi:

I loooooooove off-camera lighting, and it was so much fun to use it at night!  (And of course, sparklers are always fun.)

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes shot for you!  We got into a shoot-out! 

I just love this one I grabbed of my husband while we were between shots with Mandie and Eric (but don’t tell him I posted it here!)

That’s all for now!

In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m a people photographer.  Occasionally I play around with other types of photography, but I love to work with people the best.  Friday night, Ben (my husband) and I drove to Prairie Du Chien to meet with two potential wedding clients.  It was cloudy and stormy looking, and on the way home we saw a beautiful landscape that was just asking to be photographed.  So you are witnessing history: this is the first landscape photo I have ever posted online!

How cool is this?  These shots were taken just three miles from my house.  See the valley where all that fog is?  Yeah, that’s where I live.  Down in the valley.  Gorgeous, isn’t it? Oh, and if you look at the post right below this one of TJ and Kelly’s engagement session, that is the same location as their first picture on the hill. Cool, huh?

So I admit it.  I live in the middle of nowhere.  However, nowhere happens to be a beautiful gem of a small town that has more than it’s fair share of great valleys, cliffs, rock quarries, tobacco barns, apple orchards, and amazing views.  So when Kelly and TJ said they were willing to make the 2.5 hour drive from Janesville out to Gays Mills for their engagement session, I was uber-excited.  I’ve been looking forward to this session for many weeks!

I love these pictures.  They were so great to work with and willing to try anything including trespass, sit down in weeds, climb rocks, and so much more!  Yup, our session was action-packed!! And these two were so sweet together.  They were naturals… hugging, kissing, playing around.  It was hard to choose favorites to blog because there were so many fantastic shots!

Okay, enough talk.  You can see for yourself:

Kelly and TJ, thanks SO MUCH for making the drive!  You made my photography dreams come true today… I’ve been waiting for so long for the chance to do an engagement session here in Gays Mills!

Yesterday Jen and I headed out to Prairie Du Sac to be a part of Becki and Ben’s wedding.  What a great day!  Not only do Becki and Ben have great names (my husband and I are also Becky and Ben!), but they were such a great bride and groom.  They chose to get married at the family land which was absolutely gorgeous.  However, the DOT decided it would be prudent to rip up the highway for several miles on either side of that land.  Um, yes… lots of constuction!  This is what Jen and I arrived to:

At least the bride and groom had a good sense of humor about the whole thing! And the crew working on the road wanted to make sure the road was at least driveable for Becki and Ben’s wedding, so that was nice.  They even went so far as to prepare this special present for the bride and groom.  I just love their choice of placement.

When we got there, Jen went to take pictures of the guys and I stayed with the girls.  (Yet another reason to upgrade your package to include a second photographer!) It was really windy and a bit chilly for an outdoor wedding in May, so the girls were great sports (in spite of freezing!) The beautiful blue skies were just fantastic for a backdrop!  Here are some of the girl’s pictures:

Unfortunately the poor girls had goosebumps, which aren’t the greatest for picture-taking.  So we didn’t get *too* crazy with our pictures.  But they were definitely good sports!  

The guys on the other hand… yeah.  Normally the guys are too hot in their tuxes, but in this case, they were ready to play around on the farm.  Here they are:   

This next one is so great!  Yeah, I know what you are thinking: the guy on the right has his eyes closed.  Well, sorry people.  This picture is all about the brotherly love.  :D

Ceremony:

We weren’t at the reception too long, but we did love some of the details. In case you are curious, the location was the Dorf Haus in Roxbury. I’ve been playing around with some specialty lighting off-camera… isn’t this cake shot dramatic? I love it!

Becki and Ben, congratulations!  You had a beautiful and enjoyable wedding.  Have fun on your honeymoon, and thanks again for choosing Studio Noveau for your wedding day photography!  You were both so enjoyable to work with!

Even though I specialize in weddings, I do love shooting other types of portrait photography.  Last night I had the pleasure of taking photos of Kay’s family in Viroqua.  Kay and I used to work together so it was nice to see some familiar faces.  Anyway, Kay’s backyard was perfect for family portraits!  There was an awesome rock formation and they had set up a cool old farm implement and hay bales.  Sweet!

Their photos are already posted for proofing, but I thought it would be fun to showcase a couple here.  So… here they are!

Kay and Family- thanks for letting me join you last night!

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick status update: it’s the middle of May and I’m over 25% booked for next year!  If you are thinking about booking Studio Noveau for your wedding photography, don’t wait too long…  

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me.  Planning a wedding can be daunting, but your wedding photography shouldn’t be.  I’m here to help with your timeline planning or even vendor recommendations.  After all, I attend nearly 30 weddings each year!

Thanks to all the fantastic couples that have already chosen Studio Noveau!  I can’t wait to work with you!  

NEWS:

 If any of you read Greater Madison InBusines Magazine, check out page 42!  This blog was mentioned in the article on “10 Tips For a Better Website”.  Tip 6 says, “Incorporate Blogs to Pull Readers In”, and there’s a nice screen shot and write-up on the very blog you are reading now!  How cool is that?  I had know idea they were going to do that until I was reading the magazine at 11pm last night.  

So if you are a regular reader, a first time visitor, or a brand new client, please feel free to leave me a comment after this post!  Let me know what you think, whether it be about the blog, pictures, life, weddings, or whatever!  I love hearing from you.

This is the final “preview” post of Jen and Tim’s fabulous wedding near Green Bay, Wisconsin.  This post will focus on the reception which was held at the SC Grand in De Pere.  I loved their cake.  Loved it.  (And it tasted as good as it looked!)

They had such fun details throughout their reception, like the place cards and table cards.  And there were the same lanterns from  their ceremony sprinkled throughout the reception site.  

The dinner was great, and the toasts were so touching and fun! Tim even served his bride dinner (which the guests loved to tease him about.)  They had their own sweetheart table.  That is one detail that I just love!  After all, it’s nice to have just a few quiet minutes to enjoy being with your new spouse.  :)

Fun fact: Jen and Tim didn’t kiss when their guests clinked on the glasses.  Instead, the guests had to go visit the DJ who would ask them a trivia question about Jen and Tim.  If they guessed correctly, the happy couple would kiss.  If they guessed incorrectly, the guest had to find someone to kiss.  Fun, huh?

They kissed a lot.

Dancing, dancing, dancing:

With Dad:

With Mom:

Everyone:

Do these guys look familiar?  Think “Trash The Dress” in the water at Devil’s Lake State Park.  Yup, it’s the super-adventurous-awesome-surprisingly good at dancing- Angela and Ben!  They tore up the dance floor!  I was impressed.

Cake, cake, cake.  Mmm… and check out this groom’s cake!

I couldn’t decide which ring picture to use.  So I’m posting all three!  

Jen and Tim: have a great honeymoon and a wonderful marriage!  

Thank you for allowing Mandie and I to be such a big part of your day.  

Jen and Tim’s wedding will be a three-part post.  Let me start this second post out by saying that this wedding was amazing!  I’ve been looking forward to it all winter.  Jen actually contacted me after seeing the Trash The Dress session I did for her friends Angela and Ben at Devil’s Lake State park. One of the really neat things about her and Tim’s wedding is the location.  They chose to get married at a small country church in Denmark, Wisconsin.  The coolest thing (in my opinion!) was that they wanted to have pictures taken at the Maribel Caves Hotel.  Rumor has it that the hotel is haunted: it’s burned down several times in the last century.  

Another fun thing about this wedding is that Mandie from Red Gecko Studios accompanied me on the trip.  If anyone is still looking for a 2009 wedding photographer, she still has a few openings.  I’m booked except for November and December, so she’s your girl if your wedding is this summer or fall!

But anyway, back to Jen and Tim.  We got there just in time for a few last minute shots of Jen and the girls getting ready before the ceremony:

Their ceremony was beautiful.  I loved the sanctuary of the church and the gorgeous dark wood pews.  

Mandie took these next two photos… I love the second one because it’s such a sweet, private moment!

After the ceremony, the wedding party headed over to the Maribel Caves park.  There we got some fun group shots.  I love how the little ring bearer was holding up “Uncle Tim”.  

Next we headed over to Maribel Caves Hotel.  This is the hotel itself:

And this is what we saw when we first pulled up: (But we didn’t let it stop us!)

Isn’t this place seriously awesome?  If there are any other Green Bay brides out there, I would love another chance to shoot here!  

Next one taken by Mandie:

Tim took this next shot.  And the shot after it is pretty self explanatory.  :)

Jen and Tim, thanks for allowing me to be a part of your day.  It was a great wedding, and Mandie and I loved being there to capture it for you.  I’ll post more soon!

Wow!

This weekend was Jen and Tim’s wedding.  A full preview is coming in the next day or two, but as I’m uploading pictures to my computer, I’m too excited not to share.  Here are just a few of my favorites from this beautiful wedding!  

(The picture with the yellow door was taken by super talented Mandie of Red Gecko Studios.  More on that later!)