How cute are the stories where the guy immediately knows the girl is someone he wants to be with, yet the girl needs a bit more coaxing to come around? This was the case for Isaiah and Kayley; he immediately thought she was dating material, and she was trying to decide if she wanted to friendzone him or not. As you can see, we’re writing their wedding photos blog post though, so something obviously changed. Kayley’s family said he’s a nice guy, so why not continue to be friends and see where things lead. Well, you see where they led: their very own ranch backyard intimate wedding in Farmington.

We first met these two pre-COVID for their adventure engagement photos at Afton State Park (It even included fishing!). They were ahead of the game, already planning an intimate elopement in the Colorado mountains for their wedding day the following year. But their plans for a reception? It got pushed around with all the things we all went through in the last year plus, so they settled on having a wedding reception here in Stillwater, Minnesota, for those near and dear to their hearts right after their one year anniversary.

We first met Reed and Maranda a little over a year ago as their search for wedding photographers began for their wedding day at Historic John P. Furber Farms in Cottage Grove. We had fun chatting, and soon it was time to take their engagement photos, and I remember coming home and telling Mark that Reed and Maranda were the type of people we’d want to hang out with. Reed is out-going and fun, sharing his wealth of ecology if you step out into nature with him, whereas Maranda is supposedly more shy and has successfully completed nursing school. We have to say we didn’t see this shy side in Maranda on her wedding day but a confident RADIANT bride who was absolutely in love with the idea of forever marrying her man.

Challenging would be an understatement when you’re planning a wedding during a pandemic and you’re halfway across the country, and yet, Elizabeth and Robert did it! These native Minnesotans moved to Portland for Elizabeth’s dental school and so once they got engaged, they knew they had their work cut out for them in planning a wedding day back in Minnesota. Then came the mandates and impending unknowns, so they chose to switch things up and enjoy an intimate wedding at Robert’s family home in Finlayson. As they said in their own words, it wasn’t about being black tie, but having fun and showing it.