Joannie & I are very pleased to share with you the beautiful highlights from Nolan & Amanda’s historic Grand View Lodge wedding last Saturday!
A candid moment of Nolan & Amanda.
What a great wedding to photograph! This was one of those weddings that gets our creative juices flowing. It didn’t hurt that these two are such a fun and cute couple. Or that their Historic Grand View Lodge wedding is such a pretty location for a destination wedding. It didn’t hurt that it was 42 degrees outside on January 30th in Nisswa, Minnesota either!
The boys.
Perfect Weather For A Winter Wedding
Well actually, that last one had a lot to do with it! It was 42 degrees outside on January 30th in Nisswa, Minnesota!
I created their engagement portraits in the rain at Minnesota Harvest Apple Orchard & Event Center (which turned out freakin’ awesome, by the way). If you would have told me then that it would be 42 degrees on their wedding day in January, I would have told you that you were dreaming (but I would have taken it in a heartbeat)! Heck, I was just hoping that it would be above zero!
The wedding party at the beautiful Grand View Lodge.
That balmy winter temperatures got us outside with the wedding party for much of the day. At a place as beautiful as Grand View Lodge, that simply means many great wedding photos.
The “Big-Boy” Lens
Our amazing Tamron SP 150-600MM F/5-6.3 Di VC USD lens got into the action quite a bit too! For those of you that haven’t been to a historic Grand View Lodge wedding, the lake side of the lodge is up on a fairly large hill. The long Grand Staircase located there is certainly part of the “grand view” at Grand View Lodge!
The two wedding photographs above would simply not be possible without backing up a quite a bit. I didn’t use all 600mm (because I wouldn’t have been able to give any verbal directions from that distance). It was probably in the 450mm area. I would guess I was about 150 feet away from the wedding party, give or take a few feet. More and more, I love using that monster lens at weddings!
Their historic Grand View Lodge wedding music video also has some fun wedding party photos. Some of them were taken in the bar and game room inside the lodge. You”ll have to check it out.
Amanda and the girls.
Gull Lake Center
The lobby of the Gull Lake Center was were Nolan & Amanda’s historic Grand View Lodge wedding ceremony would take place. Nolan & Amanda’s reception, dinner and dance were held in the Grand Ballroom adjacent to the lobby.
Right outside the Gull Lake Center is where Nolan & Amanda had their first look (yes, outside!). The fun winter wedding photo above of Amanda and her bridesmaids was taken in the snow right outside the front doors.
On the other side of the Gull Lake Center was this pretty patch of long grasses sticking out of a crop of boulders in the snow. That was our next photo stop. Their historic Grand View Lodge wedding music video showcases several great posed and candid wedding photos created in that pretty spot just a few feet from the Gull Lake Center.
An unbelievable winter day in Minnesota!
We went back to the Gull Lake Center for the family portraits. Nolan and Amanda’s families are so nice, and we had a great time chatting with them while we created their wedding portraits.
It’s Time!
Now it was time for Nolan & Amanda’s historic Grand View Lodge wedding ceremony! Nolan and Amanda had a beautiful ceremony presided over by Nolan’s grandfather! Very cool.
The ceremony in the lobby of the Gull Lake Center.
Once these two newlyweds were married, it was back outside (now only 38 degrees) for a few nighttime wedding photos with the beautiful Grand View Lodge as the backdrop.
The wedding party at the lodge.
Joannie and I cut the wedding party loose after the image above was completed and we spent a bit more time with Nolan & Amanda trying a few different night shots with the lodge and The Grand Staircase.
A little night fun!
We’ve even got a post-sunset image down by the frozen shoreline of Gull Lake.
Winter sunset on Gull Lake.
The four of us headed back over to the Gull Lake Center for the social hour and the Grand March. That lead straight into their first dance as well as Amanda’s first dance with her dad and Nolan’s first dance with his mom.
Gull Lake Center Wedding Reception
After a great dinner, the dance floor was open to everyone and I must say everyone had a lot of fun! The evening concluded with an interesting twist on Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”!
One of the last short video clips shows a little birthday celebration dance at the stroke of midnight for Amanda’s brother Jeff who’s birthday was on the wedding day and an incoming birthday celebration for Amanda’s cousin Rachel who’s birthday was just starting on the 31st!
Joannie and I hope you’ve enjoyed some of the great wedding photography we’ve showcased here and in Nolan & Amanda’s historic Grand View Lodge wedding music video. This was a really fun and beautiful wedding for two awesome people, and we want to say thank you for asking us to capture it for you two. -M&J