Ben and Emilee’s A’BULAE Wedding Photos
Joannie and I want to take this opportunity to share some of Ben and Emilee’s fantastic A’BULAE wedding photos with you! These two were married on April 28th on what turned out to be a wonderful spring day (finally) in Minnesota! This was such a great wedding that we’re going to share it in two installments!
Emilee’s beautiful wedding dress on display in her getting ready room at A’BULAE.
We arrived and got right to work capturing Emilee and Ben getting ready for their big day. The two suites that A’BULAE has set up for couples to get ready in are really amazing. Lots of lights and mirrors for the ladies, and two nice sized and well-appointed rooms for the guys, complete with video games. Those suites are big reasons why A’BULAE wedding photographs turn out so well at this great venue.
Disney Fanatics (Like Us)
Emilee, Ben, and Emilee’s family are HUGE Disney fans. Their wedding day was full of cute Disney touches. From the music in the bride’s room, and also during their wedding ceremony, the cake topper, Ben’s cufflinks, Minnie and Mickey Mouse ears for the newlyweds, lots of the decorations, and many more touches throughout. Caitlin, Emilee’s sister and her Maid of Honor, included many Disney references in her speech too! It was truly a wedding with many Disney touches!
So it is only fitting that I’ve been writing this blog post while on vacation with our beautiful granddaughter Riley in, you guessed it, Walt Disney World! That’s why it’s taken me so long to get it written as we left just a few days after the wedding! I wrote this off and on at night while they slept. We’ve just returned a couple of hours ago!
The Power Of Suggestion
If you remember, at Ben and Emilee’s engagement portrait session last fall, we created the awesome image below. A stunning light painted engagement portrait with Ladder 757 at the Falcon Heights Fire Department where Ben serves.
Light painted engagement portrait of Ben and Emilee with Ladder 757.
While the boys were getting ready, I “kiddingly” mentioned to Ben that it sure would be fun to have a firetruck once again for the wedding day. Ben thought about it for a second or two and decided to make a text. I’m not sure who he texted, but we suddenly had a firetruck coming to Mears Park at 2:30!
The tricky part was keeping it a secret for Emilee while at the same time making sure that we had the wedding party at Mears Park when the Saint Paul Fire Department pulled up. There was no point in setting up this cool surprise and then not being there when the rig pulled up.
Wedding day details of bridal bouquets, Ben & Emilee’s wedding rings, Emilee’s earrings and tiara, and Ben’s Mickey Mouse cufflinks.
It was almost 2:00 and Emilee was just about ready, but we needed to make sure she had a first look with her dad and then Ben before we could get everyone to Mears Park before Engine Company #8 appeared.
A short time later, Emille did have her first look with dad and then moments later with Ben. Then as gently as we could, we encouraged the wedding party to make their way over to Mears Park for wedding party photos.
Wedding Party Photos With A Firetruck
Ben, the guys and I headed over to Mears Park just a few minutes before Emilee, Joannie and the girls got there. Since it was a beautiful sunny day (a big challenge in the lighting department), I carried two light stands equipped with our heavy duty strobes to help fill in the shadows created by the strong natural light.
We created several photos of the whole wedding party and some of just Ben and Emilee in the shade of the bandshell when Engine Company #8 appeared at the south end of the park. Emilee’s surprise “limo” had arrived!
Ben, Emilee, and Engine Company #8 at Mears Park.
The Saint Paul Firefighters where nice enough to park the firetruck in a nice shady spot on the west side of Mears Park. We got right to work just in case they got a call and had to leave in a hurry!
Ben, Emilee, and their wedding party, along with Saint Paul Fire Department Engine Company #8.
Joannie and I were able to get quite a few images of the whole wedding party and also some of just Ben and Emilee with Engine Company #8. We said thank you and goodbye to the crew and they went on their way. It was so cool that they did that for Ben and Emilee!
Wedding Party Photos in Downtown Saint Paul
Since the lighting in that area was so good, we did a ton of wedding party photos right across the street from Mears Park. We created several images of the entire wedding party, Emilee and her bridesmaids, Ben with his groomsmen. We wrapped up with some fun wedding photos of Ben and Emilee alone as well.
Ben, Emilee, and their wedding party across the street from Mears Park in St. Paul, MN.
Then it was time to head back to A’BULAE wedding photos of both families. That was followed by Emilee and Ben’s pretty wedding ceremony on the Broadway Rooftop, and then dinner, dancing, and lots of celebrating afterward!
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (almost). This bridal portrait was taken prior to their wedding ceremony near Mears Park in downtown St. Paul, MN.
In the coming days, we’ll have “Part Two” of Ben and Emilee’s beautiful A’BULAE wedding photographs. In the meantime, here’s a fun music video that has many more of their awesome A’BULAE wedding photos for you to enjoy! – M&J