Lee and AleaSha contacted me a little over a year ago about photographing their wedding. At the time they lived in San Francisco and were planning a wedding back home in Minneapolis. They had a few venue ideas in the city but eventually decided they wanted to seal their love in a place where they both felt most comfortable: up north!
They got married at Fortune Bay Resort and Casino in Tower, MN - just north of Hibbing. The day, however, started with the bride and bridesmaids at a cabin the couple rented for the week just outside of town. It was a quiet, peaceful morning with the hair crew doing everyone's hair. The flower girls and junior bridesmaids, AleaSha's nieces, were being goofy and adorable and making everyone smile. Later the crew made it over to the resort to get into their gowns and finish getting ready. I loved using the area to capture the details - especially the floor to ceiling fire place with a moose head to take photos of her bridal gown! The girls got into their forest green knee-length V-neck dresses while the guys had matching ties with their black suits. AleaSha's satin gown had some beautiful beading details at the bust and a V-neckline bringing all the ladies' dresses together. She also had a broach she wore on the back of her gown. Both the bride and groom had custom shoes made for their big day. That was something I had not seen before and loved that idea!
Their ceremony was outside near the shoreline of Lake Vermillion. The skies were the prettiest blue and the greenery was still vibrant for their Labor Day weekend nuptials. Surrounded by the great outdoors and some of the closest friends and family the ceremony began. They opted out of a first look and waited until AleaSha was walking down the aisle with her dad for Lee to see her. His face was so full of pride when he saw his bride! And AleaSha couldn't wipe the smile off her face either! True to their style their unity ceremony was planting and watering a tree for them to nourish, just like their relationship, as it grows. They also honored their loved ones who were there in spirit by putting flower petals in a shadow box filled with their photos. One of the cutest parts of the day happened after the first kiss and processional. Lee stopped AleaSha, took out his cell phone and took a selfie with the guests all behind them! If you are friends with either of them you know their selfie game is strong and this was totally "them."
Their reception was inside the resort and filled with images of them as they traveled. They two have been to some amazing places around the world and instead of table numbers they assigned each table a name of a place they had traveled and included a selfie of them at that location. Super fun personalization. After the grand march they went right into their first dance, which they choreographed and was really cute to see! I loved the twirling and embracing they did. You could tell they were both so in love and that's what a wedding is all about. They two sat at a sweetheart table and enjoyed spending some time together on their day! The speeches had laughs and cries and were perfect tributes to them. Then the party started - they wanted everyone to dance, so to ensure they got people on their feet the newlyweds led everyone in a conga line! So so perfect.
I am so happy for these two and loved getting to know them. They were gracious when my husband, sister and I visited San Fran last fall. They met up for dinner and gave us super helpful hints on ways to enjoy the city they called home. Being there to photograph their wedding day was such an honor and I hope they can look back on the photos and remember the love they felt from so many people!
