Welcome to our 2019 recap!! Though we recap a lot of other things in our lives (aka Top 100 Images of 2019, Our Fav Venues of 2019, and Our Fav Florals of 2019) this is our first year doing a recap of our fav moments. We’re just so excited to share (and look back on this in a few years), so without further ado, here are our Top Moments of 2019!
Hawaii
We last minute bought tickets to Hawaii with huge expectations that we were just going to absolutely love it. Spoiler alert – we absolutely did!! From a helicopter ride, endless snorkeling (Tia’s first time), sushi, and so many hikes filled with waterfalls, it was absolutely amazing. We are counting down the days until we’re back!
Schlick Brainerd Lakes Wedding Weekend
Photographing Sara and Kevin’s wedding weekend was a dream come true for us. An amazing couple with amazing friends, getting married at the most wonderful property. Because we spent the weekend photographing them (besides their wedding also their groom’s dinner cruise on Gull Lake) we really got to know their families and friends and that was so, so fun! We would photograph this weekend over and over for the rest of our careers.
Alaska Trip
This past July we didn’t book any weddings and we didn’t really have a plan for what we wanted to do during that month, but we knew we wanted to travel at some point in there, even if it was just a quick drive up to the North Shore. But no, we traveled way farther than that. Nikki and Evan inquired with us a few months earlier to photograph their September 2020 wedding here in Minnesota at Almquist Farm. Though both originally from Minnesota, they are now living in Alaska and wanted to do their engagement photos there to capture this season of their lives and the beauty (I mean, can ya blame them?!). So in July, we hopped on a plane and got to spend a few days exploring the beauty of Alaska!! A whale-watching boat ride + an amazing couple of shoots with these guys + one of the most unreal hikes we’ve ever done with them = the best trip!!
Portland Trip
Also in July, we were able to take a trip with Cam’s family to visit his sister, Sydney, in her new home state!! The September before we spent a bunch of time on the Oregon coast bopping around and so it was SO fun to head back to our favorite spot – Cape Kiwanda – and get to spend some dedicated time there with the fam; hiking, eating, and playing card games!
Fall North Shore Trip
For the second year in a row, we carved out 5 days in the middle of busy season and peak fall colors and made our way up the North Shore. While there, we photographed two engagement sessions (where travel costs are waived – SO 2021 couples, reach out to us for the dates of our 2020 trip and you can have your engagement photos on the North Shore FO’ FREE!) and we had the most beautiful weather. This was the farthest up the shore than we had ever been together and dang, it gets better and better as you go. We were thankful to have seen the Tettegouche Rock for the first time before it got knocked over two months later. I am so thankful to Cameron for being on top of our editing this busy season because, in a week where we saw so many other photographers getting pummelled by their schedules and so drained, we spent a relaxing week in nature hiking and enjoying the views. Can’t wait for the North Shore 2020!!!
Nikki and Mason’s Cabin Engagement
Nikki and Mason invited us up to Mason’s family’s cabin in Wisconsin and we had SO much fun with them. The property amazing, they were freakin’ adorable, and the fall colors were on point. But, more importantly, this shoot felt like the definition of what we hope to achieve with our couples. After the shoot, Nikki and Mason welcomed us in, cooked us dinner, and we stayed with them until late in the night drinking wine. It was just so freakin’ fun and we are so thankful for them!!
Forrest Jamaica Destination Wedding
We always love a little warmth when it starts getting cold here in MN and the Forrest wedding brought it!! We got to join Hannah and Steven for their destination wedding right as our wedding season was slowing down and Minnesota was turning into a tundra. To be honest, we didn’t do a whole lot on this vacation and that’s why it was so great. We sat around, drank fruity drinks, and just spent so much devoted time together. Thankful for this trip!
Bon Iver Concert
Okay, so this list has a lot of trips on here which makes it seem like we do nothing else, haha. I mean, that’s kinda true, but this year was filled with just so many amazing destinations. So here’s a little personal for ya! At the end of June, we road tripped to Milwaukee to see Bon Iver live. We’ve never seen Bon Iver live AND we aren’t huge concert people, so it was double-y impactful. The next day we got to go to brunch in Madison with our friends Claire and Eli. We got to listen to good podcasts together and have some amazing chats in the car about our future. It was a great weekend all around.
Okay, so this was tough to narrow down, so let us share some other highlights. We photographed 65 senior sessions this year from 10 different high schools, 28 weddings in Minnesota, California, Iowa, and Jamaica. We got to also travel to Atlanta and Madison for engagement sessions with our 2020 couples. Tia hosted a six-month-long mastermind for other wedding entrepreneurs complete with a weekend-long retreat featuring guest speakers, learning, and bonding. We had some amazing dinner dates at new restaurants to us, many gifted to us by our sweet couples via gift cards (a favorite? Spoon and Stable from Mitch and Ellie). We had an AMAZING team of 2020 Senior Spokesmodels and these four ladies will be so hard to replace. Tia photographed over 50 boudoir sessions with Intimates by Tia. We celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary and our nine-year dating anniversary. And we got pre-approved to buy a forever home in 2020!
We can’t wait for another year together! Let’s go 2020!
