ERIN+ANTHONY | crunchy snow, trusty evergreens

Shooting outside in the winter in Minnesota can be a real risk to life and limb, but miraculously the conditions aligned that we all finished this maternity session with all our fingers intact! My favorite way to take pictures in the bleak grey months is to find those trusty evergreens that always looks fresh and full of life. There’s a reason the pine tree emoji is always in my ‘recently used’ section!!!

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TESS + CECIL | respect the uggs
KAYLEY+JAKE | if the Von Trapps really went to Switzerland

TESS + CECIL | respect the uggs

Some people hate the idea of a winter wedding, some people love a winter wedding! Tess is the latter. She spent 18 months as a missionary in Wisconsin (walking OUTSIDE in the cold, cold winter every day!) which is pretty much the most extreme winter I can imagine - I mean Wisconsin is nearly Canada and Canada is NEARLY the North Pole. Then she came home to the mountains of Utah and eventually married Cecil in the middle of a December snowstorm! Here we are, three winters later, doing some anniversary pictures of Tess and Cecil - OBVIOUSLY in the snow again!

Fun fact - in some of these pictures, Tess is wearing the same pair of Ugg boots she wore on her wedding day! Haha! Desperate temperatures call for desperate measures. I am constantly telling winter brides about how smart Tess was to wear Uggs to her wedding!

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EMILY + PETER | lds hartford temple wedding with fresh frozen grass
KAYLEY+JAKE | if the Von Trapps really went to Switzerland

INSPIRED BY SAINT LUCIA | Scandinavian Christmas is my favorite Christmas

I can’t claim any Scandinavian heritage of my own, but that doesn’t stop me from loving so much of the art, culture, design, and history from that part of the globe. Especially at Christmastime! Who doesn’t love a good Scandinavian Christmas? This shoot was inspired by Saint Lucia and the December 13th holiday that honors her. I MAY OR MAY NOT have first learned about this tradition from Kirsten, my Swedish immigrant American Girl Doll. Anyways.

Lucia was a young girl who helped persecuted Christians in Rome around 300 AD. As they hid below in the catacombs of the city, Lucia would secretly bring food for them. She wore candles on her head so that both of her hands would be free to carry as much as she could. Lucia was martyred for her efforts in 304 AD. St. Lucia's Day is now celebrated by a girl wearing in a white dress with a red sash round her waist and a crown of candles on her head on December 13. This Scandinavian holiday coincides with Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, so her feast day has become a festival of light. 

I put together this Saint Lucia inspired shoot and loved learning all about her story along the way. I loved spending the afternoon with my former bride, Leanna, as my Scandinavian model. When you see artistic depictions of Saint Lucia, you see why Leanna was obviously the model I picked! Another lovely former bride of mine, Jana, lent me her vintage stole for the shoot. The tulle skirt was a originally a wedding dress from a thrift store (my sister and I chopped the top!). I crafted the wreath of candles and I’m actually kinda bummed I didn’t keep it to be a part of my holiday decor.

Happy Saint Lucia's Day! 

SEE ALSO
INSPIRED BY GRANDMA | Grandma Kaiser and the nudists
INSPIRED BY THE TETONS | a wind-swept periwinkle bridal wonderland thanks to our gal Faith Hill