I'm Silly.

I did already post about my engagement photos HERE

Check it out!!

The Phone Box

There's a pub in Minneapolis called Britts Pub. It is, as I'm sure you can tell by it's name, a British Pub. No proper English Pub is complete with out a Phone Box, and as you can see by the photo - they have one.

I felt it utterly necessary that we have some of our engagement pictures taken by it since Alex was born and raised in England and because I'm desperate to go back since it's been 14 years since I was there. So one Wednesday back in September of 2007, we went before the dinner rush, assuming it would be a slower time of the day/week and we would have free reign of the area to get the photos.

We were wrong. The series below is awesome but what you don't see is that that patio was packed. I mean the LITERALLY. A hundred people wandering around, there was even at one point a lady in the phone box, which didn't work of course, talking on her cell phone!

I clammed up at the thought of having to pose for a picture in front of all these people, but my photographer - the wonderful Kari Layland, shooed people off at least a little, so we could get this shot. A crowd was still gathered all watching, I was wondering if my smile looked ok of if I flat out looks stupid due to how anxiety ridden I was. Alex was a bit nervous too and didn't want to get in there with a big ol' kiss because of it, and of course the one shot I really wanted was us kissing in front of the phone box.

Kari kept egging us on to kiss and finally someone in the crowd yelled "Do you want me to come over there and show you how it's done" - laughter erupted and suddenly it was all ok, we got great pictures because of how funny the situation was but as you can see by the following photos....people really were pretty close!


It's nice to not only have great engagement photos - but a story to go along with them!!!

I Heart Photography

You know when you look through magazines and see a photo and go, Oh, wow!" and just gasp!?

That's the kind of photography I wanted for my wedding and engagement.

On top of this requirement, both Mr Sweeney and I had incredibly high standards for photographers as we've both worked in the field in one way or another during our life time. Our perfect photographer was right under our nose the entire time and it didn't take a second thought for us to book Kari Layland Photography .

Kari and I had worked together at a local photo studio some years back and happened across each other by chance on myspace one day, which is very fitting as thats where me and Mr Sweeney met as well! After taking some fun shots of us at a waterfall back in 2005 we knew from here on out, no one else would in charge of capturing the greatest moments in our families life!

Our engagement shoot was done in Minneapolis Minnesota - basically wandering around the city and taking advantage of any landscape that presented itself. Kari caught my favorite photo of Mr S and I dancing in an ally with a trumpeter playing in front of us by seeing the opportunity and taking it! We were actually done with our shoot and on our way back to the car when we passed this man playing his heart out. She suggested we go dance behind him, and we have the most amazing photo now because of it! The trumpeter never stopped playing, he was right in the moment as well I guess! We left him a nice big tip in his suitcase and ended the session with perfection!

She took so many wonderful photos, choosing from the dozens of shots was tough, but in order to not over run this blog with tons of photos!!!! And for fun towards the end I will add in some of the fun shots taken back in 2005 at the waterfall ;-)






And here are some of our photos from the year before at Willow River State Park in Hudson Wisconsin - yeah amazing, we were in Wisconsin and not a cow or block of cheese to be found!



If you're still looking for a wedding photographer - check her out, she will travel! She's worth it! I couldn't ask for a better, more detailed oriented person to be taking care of capturing the biggest day of my life!

If you get a chance check out her web site, and see all the amazing photos she's taken! Kari Layland Photography Pass her name on to anyone in Minnesota or Wisconsin, her talent is unbeatable!