Studio Noveau Blog

First of all, Happy Birthday Heather!  

Heather and Brandon were married yesterday and had the most fabulous country wedding!  I loved their reception venue, the quaint Pedretti’s Party Barn in Viroqua.  Not only was it charming and rustic, it had a vineyard and some great details!

I’m not quite ready to post a preview BUT I couldn’t let this birthday girl/bride have her first day of wedding bliss without seeing a picture of their special day.  Well, maybe two pictures…  more to come soon!  

AND their 22 person wedding party.  That is an all-time record for me for the largest wedding party… but they were a blast to work with!

Don’t forget to check back in the next few days for more images!

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…

Ceremony: Gregg’s parent’s house in Coon Valley, Wisconsin
Reception: Baus Haus in La Crosse

I posted a preview of Kathleen and Gregg’s wedding details last night, but here is their official preview. Their wedding was a beautiful day. In a word, it was timeless.  All the little things, the way they looked at each other, their wonderful families, and all the little touches were amazing.  The rain held off until about 10 minutes after the ceremony, and even though it was humid and sticky outside, everyone was in great spirits! Their theme was “shabby chic”, and with so many great details and fun elements to their wedding, it was such a great day.

They started out with a “private moment” where they first saw each other, and then some private portraits.

Then we did some portraits.  I LOVE this next picture!  

Meet Strider, the ring bearer:

See?  Formals CAN be fun!  I think my quest for the summer will be to get fun, creative formals for as many weddings as possible.  :)

The speeches by the Matron of Honor and Best Man were absolutely amazing.  Probably the best I’ve ever heard.  Seriously.  The Best Man referenced everything from Kathleen being as essential as the third “G” in Gregg to meeting him in high school when he looked like a chipmunk with too many shocktarts.  I kid you not.  If anyone is looking for tips on how to give a good speech, you need to look this guy up!

If the guests wanted Kathleen and Gregg to kiss, they had to sink a putt.  Mini-golf… in case you are not sure what I mean.  

I love photo guest books.  It’s such a fun way to combine your engagement session AND your guest book to create a lasting momento of the day.

And they had an awesome band!  I love bands at weddings… it’s such a fun element!

K & G, congratulations!  Have a great life together!

What a great wedding!  Yesterday I headed to Coon Valley for Kathleen and Gregg’s wedding ceremony and then to La Crosse for the reception.  Today I’m off to Elkader, Iowa for Megan and Curtis’ wedding but I first wanted to post one fun photo montage from Kathleen and Gregg’s day.  The details were amazing!  So I created an ode to K & G… the real preview will follow in the next few days.  Enjoy, and check back soon for more photos!

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of shooting Kelli and Nate’s wedding.  Of all the weddings I’ve shot in the last few years, this one was one of the most meaningful for me.  I’ve known Kelli for about 12 years, ever since her older sister and I became good friends in high school.  And since Kelli and my little sister were friends, I’ve watched her grow up into the wonderful woman she is today.  (Wow, that makes me sound old!)  

Anyway, Nate is currently in the military ROTC program, and will be beginning seminary training to be a minister soon.  I just met him last weekend but I can tell that he and Kelli are going to be so incredibly happy.  The way they looked at each other just took my breath away! One detail I thought was particularly sweet about their wedding is they had decided they would hold off on kissing during the last few months of their engagement until AFTER their ceremony.  Since we were taking photos before the ceremony started, we got pretty creative.   Another detail I loved: instead of a traditional cake, they had strawberry shortcake at each place setting and a large one to cut.  I LOVE strawberry shortcake.  Love it.  That’s why my famous “ring shot” for this wedding involves their wedding rings and my strawberry shortcake.  Ha!  More fun details: instead of a bouquet toss, Kelli tossed a frisbee.  Rather than a dance, the couple chose to play bocce ball, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and croquet.  The flowers were all picked in fields, ditches, and Grandma’s house.  I know… I helped arrange them!  

I’d like to thank my MOM for helping me out as my second shooter.  Thanks, Mom!  Anyway, I know you are all here for PHOTOS!  

Kelli and Nate, congratulations.  I’m so happy to be a part of your day and wish you all the happiness in the world!  

And one last “Out-take” shot… I love the girls’ expressions in this one!

After having our original session date AND our rain date cancelled due to rain, Laura and Jake knew we had to get creative to make their engagement session work out.  After all, with Jake in Oshkosh, Laura starting an internship in northern Wisconsin, and me living south of La Crosse, we were pretty spread across the state.  But as luck would have it, Laura’s internship was 15 minutes from my hometown of Chetek, Wisconsin.  And even luckier, I had a wedding last weekend in Chetek!  So Jake made the drive and we made the session work.  Not only did these two get to experience the wonder of this charming little community, they even got to meet my dad and have a cup of coffee when we took pictures at his place.  (Thanks for the coffee, Dad!)

Anyway, here is the sneak peak!  This first one is typical for Chetek:

And the final location of the day…

The end!  Laura and Jake, I’m glad we could figure out a time and place for your engagement session.  :)  And you really know how to end the day with a splash.  I’m looking forward to your wedding next year!

Yesterday was the wedding of Melanie and Joe in Madison, Wisconsin.  For this wedding, I was fortunate enough to be joined by Mandie and Anda as my second and third shooters.  We were pretty worried about being rained out since it drizzled all morning.  But luckily, the clouds held out for the entire ceremony and a few portraits around Olbrich Gardens.  Let me just say that the rain clouds were such a mixed blessing!  The light was absolutely amazing for some fantastic portraits!

We started out at Olbrich Gardens.  Here is Melanie… isn’t she radiant? 

Some details:

Ceremony:

(This next one was taken by Mandie)

Portraits (and I’d like to add that Melanie is a trooper… it was sprinkling and COLD but she toughed it out for beautiful images!):

Next one also taken by Mandie:

We headed over to the Capitol and went straight inside.  It was wet and cold so outdoor pictures weren’t sounding terribly appealing.  Besides, the inside of the building is gorgeous, and so many people just take pictures outside!

My favorite:

I LOVE this next one…

So apparently when the Capitol building closes, they don’t like you to stick around and take more pictures.  Oops.  :)

Reception:  

This is one wedding where everyone definitely hit the dance floor.  Wow- there are lots of great pictures of the guests grooving to the music!  Fun, huh?  Anyway, Melanie and Joe, thanks for letting Studio Noveau be a part of your day.  It was a beautiful day and I wish you a lifetime of happiness!

And now for a few “Behind-The-Scenes” shots of me, Mandie, and Anda.

This is me! Photo taken by Anda

Me and Mandie in action. We were trying to motion to the wedding party all the way across the rotunda and two flights up without being too loud. We were pretty creative. :) Photo taken by Anda.

Me and Mandie... our first picture together in several years because we are always the ones TAKING the pictures. Thanks, Anda!

Have a great day!

All I can say is “WOW!”  Rebecca and John, you guys did not disappoint me!  :)

These two were the winners of my second annual free photography giveaway, so I’ve been waiting for this wedding to happen for quite a while.  Rebecca and John got married at a beautiful cathedral in downtown La Crosse.  Wow.  It was gorgeous.  They had a beautiful and friendly wedding party, a great family, and a gorgeous venue.  I loved Rebecca’s dress (Pronovias- the same designer as my wedding dress), her name (same as mine), and her easy-going nature.  John was such a handsome, fun-loving groom… he didn’t hesitate to crack jokes, jump on a groomsman’s shoulder, or give his bride a great big ol’ kiss!

I’d like to give a huge thanks to Emily, my new-found friend and holder of the mighty light-stick… without her, the cool lighting effects wouldn’t have been nearly this effortless.  Thanks, Emily!  I hope we meet again!

Okay, enough talk… here is what you are really here for!

The Cathedral… St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral if you are curious.

Rebecca was one of the happiest brides I’ve ever seen!  I don’t think that big smile left her face all day.

Her mom played a gorgeous song on the organ just prior to the mass.

I don’t normally post formal pictures on the blog, but this one was just begging to be posted.  How fun is this?

My competition…

One of my favorites of the day:

Isn’t the emotion on this one great?  Love it!

Yes, groomsman on the left, we see you.  Ha!

For the record, I adore cathedral veils.  Adore them.  Love everything about them except when they get stepped on and stop the bride in her tracks.  But they are SO awesome for pictures!

Don’t you just hate when your groom sweeps you off your feet and your poofy dress flies up?  Well, I hate when that happens.  :)

What a romantic photo to end this post!

Rebecca and John, congratulations.  Thanks for being so wonderful to work with, and enjoy your honeymoon in Italy!