I had talked with Kelsey & Scott for about 9 months leading up to their wedding, but never had the opportunity to meet them since they live in Chicago.  There is nothing more uncomfortable {in my opinion} than showing up to photograph someone’s wedding without ever having met them in person.  I so loved our quick coffee date 2 days before their wedding to introduce ourselves and hammer out some last minute details.  I left our meeting even MORE excited for their wedding because they were so warm, friendly and extremely trusting of me and my camera. 

Their wedding day flew by and I didn’t look at the back of my camera once that day…It was a treat to get home and see some of my favorite photos of the entire summer:

Kelsey’s classic beauty and style was breathtaking, but her warm heart and welcoming personality couldn’t be beat:

I love some awesome, subtle sun flare:

We made a qucik stop at Kelsey’s family cabin on Pelican Lake:

A lovely reception was held at the always impressive: Breezy Point Resort

I love candy buffets.  period.  A quick shout out to my little sister planning a May 2011 wedding…. Mackenzie, do this:

Gorgeous flowers compliments of: Elegant Memories Floral Design

Beautiful wedding details:

The cutest ring bearer I’ve ever seen:

One of my most favorite moments of any wedding day:

Jarrod, one of the coolest people I’ve met all summer will be Falling For A Cause tomorrow at Paul Bunyan Land in Brainerd, MN

Jarrod, a professional skydiver will be elevating himself 13,000 feet by attaching 100 6ft helium balloons  to himself.  When he reaches 13,000 feet he will release himself from the balloons and skydive down to Paul Bunyan Land.  I know,  I know.  It’s way too awesome. 

So what is his cause, you might ask?  Special Olympics of Minnesota!  Jarrod has been working hard to raise $13,000 to help  Special Olympics and I had a great time photographing him and some local athletes at Paul Bunyan Land last month.

After our shoot, Jarrod handed his 3 balloons to a couple of kids entering the amusement park.  He told them to release them and with giant smiles the kids watched them disappear toward the sky.  Many minutes went by and I looked up only to see a tiny dot of blue.  Not having any sense of distance, I foolishly asked Jarrod, “Is that about 13,000 feet?”  Boy was I off!  That tiny balloon that looked to be forever away, was only about 1,000 feet in the air.  It was simply mind boggling to think that he would be 13 TIMES that high! 

I strongly encougrage you to visit Paul Bunyan Land tomorrow at 12:00 pm to catch a glimpse of an amazing and worthwhile event.

It’s not too late to help Jarrod reach his goal!  Visit here to donate before the big event.

Here is the backside of the field that Jarrod will be taking off from:

We used 3 balloons for our shoot…imagine 97 more:

This photo cracks me up.  Have you ever been to a gift shop and seen the quote: “Who are these kids and why are they calling me mom?”  Kinda reminds me of that…

doesn’t he look totally thrilled to be photographed by me? :