Joannie & I would love to take this opportunity to share John & Lindsay’s pretty Saint James Hotel wedding with everyone.
A pretty Saint James Hotel Wedding! This was yet another really fun wedding day! We’re on a pretty awesome streak of great weddings this spring and summer!
John & Lindsay.
Just hours after we returned from Brett & Haylee’s beautiful Brackett’s Crossing Country Club wedding, Joannie & I headed out of town for John & Lindsay’s Saint James Hotel wedding in beautiful Red Wing, Minnesota.
Joannie & I arrived to find the boys already ready! That’s a change of pace from most weddings. So not to keep the boys waiting, we set out to get photos of Lindsay and the girls getting ready and some fun of images of Lindsay’s dress and other cute wedding details.
The Historic Saint James Hotel
John & Lindsay’s Saint James Hotel wedding reception was to be held that evening in the Summit Room overlooking the Mississippi River. The Summit Room was pretty much all decorated and looking just stunning, So while Joannie hung out with the girls, I spent some time up there getting some of the wedding detail shots that are very tough to get when a room is full of guests.
The wind and the veil.
After talking to both John and Lindsay, we decided to have the first looks in the Summit Room. It had all of the elements that I look for in first look spots; great lighting, a location that we can keep private, and it meant something to John & Lindsay. The final deciding factor on this very hot and windy Saturday was air conditioning! Perfect!
We orchestrated Lindsay’s first look with her dad and it was very cute and fun to watch with both mom’s looking on. John’s turn was just moments later and it was very nice to see the “King & Queen” together for their wedding day.
We made a stop for some traditional wedding photographs of John & Lindsay in the St. James’ historical lobby just off the hotel main lobby. That beautiful room also holds a Grand Staircase. We would use this pretty room later on for parents and family portraits too. It’s a very elegant room and it’s air-conditioned too!
Window light candid portrait of John & Lindsay.
Time To Turn Up The Heat
The wedding party was up next. That meant a trip outside down to a park right on the Mississippi River, just a couple blocks away. As I mentioned earlier, just like it was the day before, it was a hot and windy one in Red Wing with the only difference being added humidity. It was pretty uncomfortable to be outside very long, but John & Lindsay’s fun-loving wedding party handled it like pros!
John & Lindsay’s wedding party.
We took lots of fun wedding party photos, staying in the shade as much as we could. I think that despite the heat, everyone enjoyed themselves on our wedding photo excursion there. We even got a quick candid image of the wedding party with a string of barges and a tugboat in the background as it passed us by.
Time To Catch A Train (Station)
The whole group made a stop at the nearby Amtrak Red Wing Train Depot for some cold water and some air conditioning. We also got some sweet photos of John & Lindsay and the wedding party in the shade there as well.
The Red Wing train station.
We headed back to the Saint James Hotel for a much needed cool down and then we took all of the family portraits in the hotel’s historic lobby once again.
St. James Hotel Wedding Ceremony
Then it was time for what we all were there for John & Lindsay’s Saint James Hotel wedding ceremony! It was a very nice ceremony with pretty harp music, nice readings and a great message from Pastor Paris Pasch. Before you knew it, John & Lindsay were newlyweds! Nice!
There was a time when we all thought that we might go back outside for more wedding party photos after their wedding ceremony, but with the heat and some nearby thunderstorms popping up (which missed us), John & Lindsay decided to stay cool and relax with their friends inside. So Joannie & I made the rounds in the beautiful Summit Room taking candid wedding photos of guests while they enjoyed themselves and the view of the mighty Mississippi River.
John, Lindsay, and their wedding party made their official entrance during their Grand March and then we all enjoyed a really terrific dinner complete with several nice toasts, speeches, and very yummy wedding cake.
Pretty sweet!
Party Time!
Time to party! Their wedding dance began with the traditional first dance of our two newlyweds, followed by Lindsay and her dad & then John and his mom. Then the dance floor was now open and everyone was welcome to join in.
At that point, John & Lindsay said goodbye to us, but we had one more trick up our sleeves.
The stormy weather that afternoon had created a western sky was looking like it might be setting us up for a pretty sunset, but that meant going back outside in the heat. I asked (ok, kind of begged) them to see if they were up to a quick run down by the Mississippi River to see what might happen sunset wise. They agreed to give it a shot, and so we gathered several lights and met them at the elevator to see if Mother Nature would deliver. And as you can see, she really came through!
John & Lindsay enjoy a beautiful sunset!
To John & Lyndsay: Joannie & I want to give you a big thank you for asking us to be your wedding photographers! We had a super great day with you, your families, wedding party, and friends! We hope you enjoy the Saint James Hotel wedding highlight video we’ve created for you and we look forward to sharing the rest of your beautiful wedding photographs with you very soon! –M&J
“Saint James Hotel Wedding” – ©2016 Michael Anderson Photography.