a wedding at the fine line. { frost on flower }

I scheduled this wedding way back in February.  I remember meeting with the couple at one of our few coffee shops on the northside - Victory 44 Coffee Bar and Provisions.  Honestly I prefer the old shop that used to sit in the same space - it went by the name of Steamworks.  But Victory 44 has good coffee.. so I guess that's ok.  It's just a little fancy for a neighborhood shop and is almost always too loud to have a decent business meeting there - in the evening it turns a little more into a wine bar and the crowd is louder and during the day the music is almost always too loud to talk.

But this isn't a review of the coffee shop... so back to the couple.  :)

Nancy and Kristi, after years of being together, tied the knot at the Fine Line Music Cafe in downtown Minneapolis.  When they planned this, obviously farther back then February, no one knew that by the time their wedding rolled around they would be able to legally tie the knot here in Minnesota.  So I assume that was a big perk!

I was excited for a full but relaxed wedding in a great little venue.



I met Nancy and Kristi downstairs in the band rooms - this particular room happens to be the room that Tyler was camped out in way back when his band Lindberg made the trek up to Minneapolis from Chicago to play a show.  In fact, there is a still a photo of the band on the contact page for the venue.  They're famous.



Anywho... Kristi and Nancy and their close family began the getting ready process in the basement.



Being that we were in a popular music venue I thought photographing these details on a stool would be fitting.  Plus there was a huge lack of other decent surfaces in the room.. but I love the texture of the wall.







It looks like I kind of had a bit of a shoe focus for a few minutes..



There was a small suit and shoes waiting patiently for someone to wear it.. I was excited to meet the children that I had heard so much about at our meeting back in February.



Someone reluctantly, or at least not enthusiastically, the youngest began to get dressed.



We started the dressing process with Kristi in Band Room A.  With just a tiny door between the rooms we had to be strategic going back and forth so the ladies wouldn't see each other dressed before the ceremony.



Kristi was not one for being photographed while getting dressed.  So I stole a couple of photos of the process from unique angles.  The dressing part is possibly the most awkward part of being a wedding photographer.  But Kristi was tons of fun.  :)



She seemed a little uncertain about the whole wedding dress thing and was convinced that we all had to say that she looked great... but she did!



Her daughter helped out with her necklace.



And her sister prepared the bracelets.



Then it was time to head over to Band Room B to check out Nancy getting dressed.  Unfortunately as soon as we entered the room Nancy was just closing the door on herself with her dress in the teeny tiny bathroom - she wanted to put it on by herself.  So I photographed her helpers standing around with no one to help!



And then she emerged and need a little help fluffing.



And tying...



And pulling and tugging...



I really like this photo.



Don't let him fool you - he had a great time.. once the dancing began.  :)



The ladies were ready and guests were getting seated so I went upstairs to prepare for the ceremony.



The bar was covered with the centerpieces for the dinning tables - I thought it looked very romantic and lovely like this.







The ceremony was relatively long - a few stories to start with and long personal vows read by both Nancy and Kristi.  This allowed me enough time to run up to the balcony a few times to get a different perspective.

















Honestly, this was the most amusing wedding ceremony I have ever witnessed.  Almost the entire thing was full of jokes and humorous stories.  They squeezed in the serious and important things but grinned and laughed almost the entire time.









We spent just a few minutes outside snapping some family photos and some of Kristi and Nancy - they weren't too into the whole being photographed thing.  But that made it fun and got them to smile for real.. despite feeling a little awkward.







Right after family photos the marriage license appeared and they signed it.  I had them pose for a photo since this moment was likely somewhat unexpected.



I was happy to get the chance to photograph two brides in dresses - its a unique thing and I love the way it looks.











A long time was spent by this wall working on bustling both dresses.  Thank goodness for Kristi's younger sister.



I really liked Kristi's jewelry and hair piece.





I requested a shot together of them both bustled.



And couldn't pass up the chance to get Kristi with her lovely shoes.



The ladies spent a little time chatting outside before heading in for the grand entrance before dinner.





After they finished eating they made the rounds to all of the tables to greet their guests.





And then it was announced that their youngest son would be stationed at the cupcake table to help out and a huge line formed immediately.  He didn't last there long though.. I think he just wanted to enjoy his cupcakes in peace.





The first dance was in line with the entire evening... pretty fun.  :)





And then a spontaneous father/daughter dance started.





And after that everyone else joined in.. Save for two cupcakes and a few cups of juice, I photographed their guests dancing for the following few hours.



























What a fun night.  :)

Congratulations Kristi and Nancy!