Marla Turns 21

When Marla messaged me that she wanted to hire me as her photographer for her 21st to “capture the fun and careless-ness of a girls night out” I was immediately in! It was so much fun!!

Fall 2021

Since it’s currently March of 2022, I figured I should upload some of my favorite photos from all of the Fall shoots I did in 2021. 🤣

Newborn Photos of Emery

Christine + Anthony and their first few days with Emery. I can’t wait to see you grow as a family! So much love to the three of you.

Kayleen | Boudoir

I feel so honored and lucky that there are people out there that trust me to see them this vulnerable. Kayleen, you are such a strong, loving and incredible person. Plus, you’re hot as shit! I’m so glad that these made you feel amazing + confident and that you were able to give these photos to Andrew on your wedding day. The photo of you surprising him with these made me SO HAPPY!

Kayleen gave me permission to share and asked me to keep the more 👀 intimate 👀 photos for their eyes only. Thank you for your trust and support.

Jacob + Leah | Wedding

I feel like the best way to start this one off is with the photo of the melted cake. 😂  My sweet sister Leah woke up around 5am on her wedding day, unable to sleep. She thought that to help with her nerves, that she’d bake some cookies. With all of the pre-wedding excitement she accidentally forgot that we had stored the beautiful cake that our cousin Sam had made (our favorite Uncle Bill’s special recipe) in the oven. She went to preheat the oven for cookies and well, the picture speaks for itself! Leah, I love you so much and this was such a “Leah” thing to do that it makes me laugh every time I think about it!

Such a gorgeous day for two beautiful souls. There were so many tears and all of the love in the world! Jacob, I am so proud of the partner that you are to my sister and I can’t wait to watch you become a Dad to sweet Baby Bean. LOVE YOU GUYS!

Here are a “few” favorites of mine from the day. 🖤

Awkward Family Photos with Katie + Jake

10/10 would recommend throwing on some jorts + grass stained New Balance’s, cracking a couple of Hamm’s and taking some awkward photos to spice up your engagement shoot. So excited for this wedding!!

Abby, Emory + Everett | Life Right Now

Sometimes getting kids to cooperate at the same time in the same shot for a photo is next to impossible. Going with the flow and letting your little ones do their own thing is how you get genuine, real emotions in photos like these! Let them be a lil’ wild and have some fun with it.

I love this family and their support. Abby has been having me take photos of them for years! Seeing my photos all around her home is like a warm hug after a long, hard day. I truly can’t describe the gratitude that I have for people that have had my back as I’ve grown into photography. I’ve definitely stumbled along the way, but my core people that keep coming back and support me as I try to figure it out as I go… y’all mean the WORLD to me!

Vanne y Lander | Lovers in Oaxaca de Juárez

Thought about writing this little blurb in Spanish, but I've been experiencing a bit of a road block when it comes to being super vulnerable and expressing myself in Spanish. That's a story for a different time however, because we're here to admire the love between Lander and Vanne. Their story is long and adorable and the way they told me in Spanish is wayyyy more poetic than I could ever even come close to try and explain in English. This was a really quick session but look at all of the love that was pouring out of them in such a short amount of time! I am absolutely enchanted by Mexican culture, especially the way they see love and how they express it. I'm getting goosebumps as I type this because I can't really explain it, it's just something that you feel and have to experience for yourself.

Millll gracias por compartir su historia conmigo. Les deseo lo mejor con todo!!

Malatalia | Oaxaca, México

I met Nat back in 2017 on el Lago de Atitlán in Guatemala. When I found out that I had time to make it down to Oaxaca, I had to reach out and see what she’s been up to the past 4 years. Well, amongst a ton of other incredible things, she’s been up to this. Making art and organically dyed products and creations, in a way that also respects the earth, to say the veryyyyy least! Her website is: www.malatalia.com where she explains what she creates and how she does it in a sustainable way! You should absolutely check it out. She invited me to her studio and it was really cool to see her in her element, aaaaand her HANDS. AH! Stunning! She’s currently working on something big and I feel amazing things coming her way. I’m so happy for you and love seeing your journey as an artist.

A few photos of natural indigo dyeing and the woman with blue hands. 💙

Brian + Jill | Just F*cking Because

I can’t sit here right now and write about how much I adore my parents and love them endlessly because I’m currently 2,000 miles away from them and would have a meltdown 😂 Honestly, these photos speak for themselves.

Mom + Dad - you mean the world to me. Love you always.

Katie + Matt | Wedding On Their Front Porch

Over the years whenever my roommate Jess and I would reminisce about where and how we met and all of the people that we used to work with “back in the day”, we’d go through the list, have a few giggles and always wrap up with “I wonder how Katie is doing and what she’s up to…” She was one of our coworkers that we really appreciated, admired and idolized a bit. Nicolette and Heather - you’ve always been at the top of that list as well, which makes sense that the three of you are all still friends. So when Katie reached out to me to photograph her wedding kind of out of the blue, I was THRILLED! Then she told me it would be super small and intimate, on their front porch, and that she’s still a crier and feels things deeply - could it have been a better fit for me? Haha! And trust me, the day was incredible. Filled with tons of love, tears, kisses, laughs, emotions + smiles + feelings that you could see and feel even behind masks, a loving family dinner and a cozy movie night! Katie, Matt and the rest of your family, thank you for letting me tag along all day. Sending you all so much love and light!

Ireland + Maddy | Bubbly Bath Babes

I remember like a year ago my sister told me she wanted pictures of her and her girlfriend in the bath. I’m pretty sure we were a little tipsy and kiiiiiind of joking. Except we actually did it. 🤪 I’m so proud of these two for being so vulnerable and open and free. It take bravery to strip down in front of a camera and have yourself documented fully. Love you both so much. Thanks for a fun shoot. 🖤

Krista + Kevin | Engagement

A pillow fight, dancing in the kitchen, kisses in the trees and a celebratory toast for these two that are getting married next year! Thank you again, Krista + Kevin for showing me a bit of what your love looks like. 🖤

Jess | Boudoir Session

Oh boy. Where do I begin? You’re always the one comforting me and giving me endless amounts of words of affirmation because you know that’s the love language I need most. So here I am trying to come up with words for you. Getting my car towed at the Applebee’s on the U of M Campus during our closing shift in the middle of a blizzard after getting our asses kicked and being in the weeds for hours was probably the best thing to ever happen to me. You let me spend the night in your CA dorm, gave me a pair of socks because I was super self conscious about my stinky server feet, we drank shitty Burnett’s Espresso, ordered Mesa and sang Sugarland at the top of our lungs. And I swear I didn’t leave for like a week. What a way to start a friendship haha! I am SO grateful that for whatever reason you put up with all of my 19 year old bullshit at that time. Here we are almost ten years later and you’re still my best friend/favorite human/partner in crime/greatest roommate/number one support system/person. I am so proud of the human that you’re becoming and especially impressed with all of the incredible growth and strength that you have shown this past year. You are kind, generous, accepting, loving, open-minded, wise, silly, sometimes actually pretty funny, so fucking strong, and easy to talk to and great to be around. Cheers to a lifetime of kitchen floor therapy sessions, late nights of Catch Phrase, outdoor summer activities, hammocking in the park, cuddles with Schmoe, maybe a few tequila shots here and there, get togethers at your fam’s, scream singing to shitty country songs or Taking Back Sunday with the windows down, tuk-tuk rides, self-help books and growth podcasts, decoding your typo-filled texts, and lots of laughs. I love you, friend! May our demons always play well together.

Okay, now that I’m done being sappy as hell. Here are some really f*cking hot photos of you! Gwen and Jenny this post is not for you. Move along. 😂 I did leave a few of the more risqué ones off of here because most people that know me know Jess and although she hit me with the “I don’t care who sees them”, I figured some of the more intimate ones can live safe in that tiny wood box!

Grace + Tyler | Engagement

“Okay, let’s just address the elephant in the room and get it out in the open now. YES, I’m wearing a turtleneck !” 😂 So grateful that these two reached out to me and that they invited me into their home for some cookies and coziness. Congrats to you both 🖤 Cheers to a lifetime of cooking & traveling together, Crown + Coke and Aperol Spritz cookie parties.

Monica + Kent | Wedding

A little bit of rain and a lot of last minute shifting things around due to the pandemic was not going to stop these two from getting married. I have so much respect for all of the couples out there that had to change their plans drastically but recognized that all we have is right now and decided to get married even if it didn’t look like what they had originally planned. Monica + Kent have so much love between them and it just feels so genuine and fun and easy. I am so looking forward to and my fingers are crossed that towards the end of this year they’ll be able to celebrate the way they had in mind with all of their loved ones this time instead of just a few. Although it was a small gathering, you can feel the emotion and outpouring of love in these photos and the people that were able to make it made the wedding feel whole. I hope they felt the same way!

Leah + Jacob | Engagement

The only reason that I’m coming home from México in April is because one of my favorite sisters is getting married and I’m photographing their wedding. Leah has asked me a few times to make sure that I’m not bummed about me not being able to stand up there with her as a bridesmaid during the ceremony but honestly, I could not be more excited! 1. I don’t have to wear a dress and 2. Being the photographer means I get to be by her side more than anyone the entire day. I get to be up close and personal for all of the special moments that someone other than the photographer would most likely miss. It was so fun to see the two of them be all goofy and lovey-dovey with each other in their favorite places in Duluth. I am so happy for you both!!

A few from their engagement session from this summer. | I always deliver photos to clients in under two weeks, yet it takes me months to finally get them up here on my website. Whoops! 🤪

xx Christine + Anthony | Wedding xx

There’s an added layer of extreme gratitude that comes with being asked to take photos of someone’s love/family/wedding/birth during a global pandemic where life is extra scary and a little dark and our futures are even more uncertain than normal. Tell your people how much they mean to you always, but especially right now.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves and hope that they give you a warm, tingly feeling! Christine + Anthony and all of your favorite people, THANK YOU. And if you’re taking the time out of your day to view these photos, thank you. Your support means the world to me!