WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVES

Pioneer Park + Rivertown Inn Wedding Photography | Brian + Liz

Pioneer Park Wedding Photography

Brian and Liz worked with me as their wedding photographer for their Pioneer Park and Rivertown Inn wedding photos in Stillwater MN. Pioneer Park is a spectacular location that overlooks the St Croix River and town of Stillwater.

Rivertown Inn Wedding Photography

They began their day with preparations at the Agatha Christie Room at the Rivertown Inn. Rivertown Inn is a gorgeous B&B on a hill in Stillwater, and the rooms are amazing in their detail and display. We held many of their portraits on the grounds of the Inn, as well as some family portraits. We then headed over to Pioneer Park for their wedding ceremony. Such perfect weather and gorgeous view overlooking Stillwater and the St Croix River.

After their wedding ceremony, we headed down to the St Croix Riverboats for a paddleboat dinner and reception cruise that traveled along the St Croix River. The cruise gave beautiful scenery to their guests, including a spectacular sunset over the river.

Thank You!

Thank you so much, Brian and Liz, for allowing me to be a part of one of the biggest days of your lives. I loved working on your Pioneer Park + Rivertown Inn wedding photos. I am so happy for you both, and wish you an amazing and adventurous life together!

If you are planning a Stillwater or Riverboat Wedding, contact me soon to discuss how we could work together!

Take a look at another of my Stillwater weddings! And take a look at my Stillwater engagement photography too!

Olympic Hills Golf Club Wedding Photography | Amanda + Dan

By Joanna Carina

Olympic Hills Golf Club Wedding Photography

Amanda + Dan hired me to create their Olympic Hills Golf Club wedding photos in Eden Prairie MN. The day couldn’t have had more perfect weather. The Golf Club held their outdoor ceremony in front of a small pond near the clubhouse surrounded by amazing gardens, trees and scenery. We were also able to take some time to travel over to the nearby Staring Lake Park to take some of the bridal party photos there too. Such a fun day!

Thank You!

Thank you so much, Amanda + Dan, for working with me as your wedding photographer. I also loved working with you as your engagement photographer. I wish you a long and happy life together!

If you are planning an Olympic Hills Golf Club wedding, contact me soon to discuss how we could work together!

BONUS: Be sure to check out some other golf club weddings I have photographed around the Twin Cities, including a Troy Burne Golf Club wedding, Mendakota Country Club wedding, a Bearpath Golf Club wedding, a Columbia Manor wedding, and a TPC Twin Cities wedding!

Watch their highlight video for more images here:

Our Lady of Victory Chapel at St Catherine University Wedding Photography | John + Annie

By Joanna Carina

Our Lady of Victory Chapel Wedding Photography

I’m particularly happy about this wedding from earlier in July, because it features my brother-in-law John and his long-time girlfriend, Annie! I was SO happy when I found out they were engaged, and then when they asked me to be their wedding photographer it was like icing on the cake. John and Annie moved to Seattle several years ago, so we miss seeing them often, but it was great that they still decided to come back to Minneapolis to get married. Annie is an alumnus of St Catherine University, so they were allowed to use the gorgeous Our Lady of Victory Chapel for the ceremony – a stunning 90-year-old chapel modeled after a similar location in Provence, France. We were able to spend a lot of time together before the ceremony in a beautiful garden, as well as by the lake right outside the front of the church, before getting in a few photos at the chapel itself right before the ceremony.

Congratulations John + Annie! We are so happy for you!

If you need photography for your Our Lady of Victory Chapel wedding, contact me soon to discuss how we could work together!

Six Tips to Help Plan Your Wedding Day Timeline | Carina Photographics

By Joanna Carina

Wedding Day Timeline Planning Tips

It seems like something so complicated: plan the timeline of your entire wedding day, even though you’ve never planned a wedding before in your life! Thankfully, there are some tips that you can keep in mind to help you plan out and organize the time needed for the events on your big day. Here are a few:

1. Allocate more time than you think you need for all events

The makeup artist took longer than expected. The dress had wrinkles and needed to be steamed prior to wearing. The limo was delayed by road construction. The florist didn’t arrive on time with the bouquets. The dinner took an hour longer than the catering company anticipated. If something were ever to be delayed, chances are it would happen on your wedding day. So make sure to plan in more time than you think you need to accomplish everything. That way, you can probably accomplish all of your events without adding additional stress.

2. Delegate, delegate, delegate!

Prior to your big day, make sure to delegate any tasks that must happen on the day itself. Things like paying any vendors, organizing posed photo subjects, and announcements, can be delegated to members of your wedding party or family. This will help things run much more smoothly and quickly.

3. Leave plenty of time for your first look or couple portraits

Many times people don’t give much thought to these photos, as they are more concerned with figuring out the family portraits. However, the portraits of the bride and groom alone often end up being the most cherished photos of the day. These are the ones you gift to parents, relatives and friends, as well as hang on your own wall. Make sure to plan at least half an hour for your portraits, and more if you are able.

4. Be at the ceremony location a minimum of 30 minutes prior to the ceremony

You’ll want to be finished with all hair, makeup, photos and travel well before the ceremony starts. It is safest to plan on being ready at the location 30 minutes, and sometimes one hour, prior to the ceremony. This way you are prepared in case something runs too long. At the very least you have time to breathe and relax before the big moment!

5. Plan 3-4 minutes per photo grouping

When planning out how much time you will need to take formal photos, a good rule of thumb is to add 3-4 minutes per photo. That is assuming all participants in the photos are ready when needed! And don’t forget to make sure everyone needed for the photos is aware of where they need to be prior to your day. (I’m personally guilty of that one – sorry Laura!)

6. Arrange for most reception activities to happen early

Make sure to plan the cake cutting, first dance, parent dances, bouquet toss, and any other special events early in the evening. Often times, many relatives and friends won’t want to stay too long after dinner. This way you will ensure that most people are still available to watch the fun!

Wedding Day Timeline Planning Tips

If you can keep these six wedding day timeline planning tips in mind while organizing your day, you will be much more likely to keep your day running smoothly – helping to alleviate any unneeded stress on one of the biggest days of your life.

If you’re looking for a wedding photographer for your big day, contact me soon to discuss how we would work together!

Looking for More Advice and Opinions? Check out my other help articles:
To Look or Not to Look? Having a First Look on Your Wedding Day
Wedding Day Photography Tips
Engagement Photography Tips
Top 10 Things to Look for When Hiring a Wedding Photographer
Should You Have an Unplugged Wedding Ceremony?
How to Care for Your Digital Photographs

Landmark Center Wedding Styled Photoshoot | Carina Photographics

By Joanna Carina

Putting together a styled wedding photoshoot is sort of like creating a painting. The first thing you see is a blank white canvas. You plot and plan – forming ideas, letting your imagination run wild with thoughts of what the painting could be, what you want it to look like, the “message” you are trying to convey. You start mixing up the colors – talking to people and finding others who subscribe to your vision, have aspects of their own vision to contribute, and offer amazing thoughts that make your ideas even stronger than before. Then finally, the day arrives to create your masterpiece. You apply the paint to the canvas – your partners contribute their amazing talents to the photoshoot, and you see your dream realized right in front of your eyes.

St Paul MN Wedding Styled Photoshoot

That’s exactly how it felt to work with this amazing team of people crafting our beautiful winter styled wedding photoshoot at the Landmark Center in St Paul, MN, as well as a gorgeous Summit Avenue mansion. It went off without a hitch and was as amazing in real life as I could have possibly imagined it to be. Thank you again so much everyone for contributing your exceptional talents! I’ve truly enjoyed participating as a wedding photographer.

Take a look at some real Landmark Center wedding photography here:
Katie + Brett
Chris + Antonio

Be sure to take a look at some of my other styled wedding photoshoots too!

Considering a Landmark Center wedding? Contact me soon to discuss your plans and see if we’re a good fit for your big day!

VENDORS
Models: Katie Lietz and Brandon Kaschmitter
Hair: Brooke Valley
Makeup: Laurie Charboneau at The Hair District
Rings: Commers Custom Jewelers
Dress: The Wedding Shoppe
Florals: Paisley Garden Design
Desserts: Cocoa and Fig
Photo Stylist/Photographer: Carina Photographics
Invitations: Carina Creative
Venue: Landmark Center and private residence in St Paul, MN

Want to see more of my styled wedding photoshoots? Take a look at others here:
Paper Wedding Dress Styled Photoshoot
James J Hill Center Wedding Styled Photoshoot
Formal Garden Wedding Styled Photoshoot
Garden Wedding Styled Photoshoot

Garden Wedding Styled Photoshoot | Carina Photographics

By Joanna Carina

Garden Styled Wedding Photoshoot

I’ve been anxious to try my hand at a styled wedding photoshoot for some time, especially one that took place in a stunning garden. It took a whole summer of planning, finding and meeting a lot of people, pinning ideas on Pinterest, and a lot of running around and busywork, but we were finally able to create the styled wedding photoshoot at the end of September. It turned out better than I could have imagined, and I am so thankful to be the wedding photographer for the team of people that worked with me to make this amazing session happen! I had so much fun doing it, and I love the images so much, that I am tentatively starting to think about working on two more photoshoots next summer (including one more in a garden!)

VENDORS
Hair/Makeup: Brooke Valley
Jewelry: Wendy Witherspoon @ Stella & Dot
Rings: Dolce Vita
Milliner: Anna Lee @ Ruby3
Florals: Nicole Chittenden Design Studio
Photo Stylist: Angie Hanson
Invitations: Carina Creative
Venue: Private residence in St Paul, MN

Backyard Wedding Photography Hudson WI | Niki + Robert

By Joanna Carina

Back Yard Wedding Photography

We’ve had nothing but wacky weather this year. Freezing cold winter with piles of snow that went on all the way through April, then more cold throughout May, and it finally seemed to be warming up in June. However it was raining almost every day. We were hopeful that Niki + Rabert’s wedding would be spared any of the chaos, because they had planned a backyard ceremony at Robert’s family home in Hudson, WI. Unfortunately we got a little nip of the rain even then. Ironically, the rain only came as the ceremony was ending, and then stayed throughout their portrait time. Luckily, there were a lot of trees in the yard to shield us. Also luckily I brought lots of umbrellas! And it is true, it is good luck to get rain on your wedding day. More power to you, Niki + Robert!

Minneapolis Wedding Photography

Niki + Robert were married in Niki’s parent’s backyard in front of about 100 of their family and friends. I was lucky enough to be their wedding photographer. They even had their sweet little 8-month old son dressed in an adorable little matching onesie “suit” with argyle leggings and tweed hat. The backyard was a beautiful location for photos, with a lot of trees and even a lovely garden pond.

The sun did finally make its appearance right in the middle of dinner, so we had a chance to sneak in some more portraits before everyone was off to party the night away. Congratulations Niki + Robert!

Mendakota Country Club Wedding Photography | Bobby + Susan

By Joanna Carina

Mendakota Country Club Wedding Photography

They met half a world away while stationed in Afghanistan. He is a dentist and she is a doctor. When they returned to the States, Bobby went home to Minnesota and Susan went to Washington DC to finish out her service. They maintained a long-distance relationship for several years, but once Susan’s service time was ending, they decided to get married and settle down in Minnesota.

Church of St Joseph Wedding Photography

Bobby + Susie worked with me for their Church of St Joseph and Mendakota Country Club wedding photos. Their guests hailed from all over the country, including some from Susan’s original home of Delaware. They also had many military friends, as well as guests from around the world. Susan’s father even found the beautiful saris that the bridesmaids wore on his frequent visits to India. And Susan wore beautiful Indian henna art on her hands.