Wedding photographer and portrait photographer - Shannon Porter Photography

September 26th, 2008 - My first wedding of the weekend was on a Friday and I went to Drugan’s Castle Mound Country Club for an outdoor wedding on the outskirts of the golf course. It was a warm, Autumn afternoon and the colors for the wedding fit perfectly…

As I arrived, I met with Stacy in her dressing room and she was adding some finishing touches with her bridesmaids…

The location near the supper club was a perfect backdrop for an autumn outdoor wedding…

After the ceremony, we used the beautiful scenery of the golf course to create some great wedding portraits…

After photos, we headed back to the Grand Norway banquet facility where the wedding reception was being held. After dinner and toasts, the dance began and the fun continued. Stacy & Rich’s first dance was filled with smiles of happiness…

While it was a tad warm and the gnats came out while taking family portraits - it was still a beautiful wedding nonetheless. Love really is one of those things that will outlast some of life’s inconveniences - big or small. The tears, laughter & smiles proved that last Friday with Stacy & Rich. I wish you both a wonderful future together for many, many years to come! Congratulations again!!

Click on the photo below to see more wedding photography from Stacy & Rich’s wedding day!!!

Tags:   Drugan's · Holmen WI · wedding photographyNo Comments.

September 28th, 2008 - Just like to wish my daughter a wonderfully happy 5th birthday today!!!

You are daddy’s little girl… I love you, Sweetie…

Tags: 1 Comment

Check back soon as I had a busy past two days - a wedding at Drugan’s in Holmen, WI on Friday and a wedding in downtown Rochester, MN near the Mayo Clinic campus. I’m going to try to get through the initial pics soon and get preview pics up as soon as I can!!!

Tags:   wedding photographyNo Comments.

September 24th, 2008 - I met with a Rosemount High School senior and her mother for a senior portrait session in Red Wing, Minnesota. It was an awesome session and we had a lot of fun as well! She was a great subject to shoot. You could see this on her beautiful, wonderfully smiling face.

One thing that I mentioned to them was that I really wasn’t that familiar with any particular place to shoot. I’ve been to & through Red Wing many times but never really stopped to see the sights, other than being stopped at an intersection waiting for a green light. At the same time, I go through this basically every weekend at some of the weddings I photograph. Chances are likely that I haven’t been to the venue before. I make due with what I’m given for locations, combine that with willing subjects and we create wonderful imagery. You’d be surprised on how the simple locations can make for great photography. We found all these unique little locations in less than one block radius.

Here’s a little sampling of her senior portraits…

I totally love her expression on this next one and I feel the digital post-processing fits it well…

Even after the sun set, we still shot near this parking lot. Isn’t it amazing how simple locations combined with a willing participant can make for great photos??

I wish you the best during your senior year of high school!

Click on the photo below to see more from her senior portrait session

Tags:   Red Wing MN · Rosemount MN · senior portrait photographerNo Comments.

September 20th, 2008 - I drove down to the Winona Levee to board the Julia Belle Swain for the wedding of Janelle & Steve. It was a picture perfect day which made for a great day for a wedding as well as a ride on a paddleboat ride up & down the Mississippi River.

It’s not every day you go on a ride in a paddleboat and then to have your wedding on one is pretty cool! It was a wedding consisting of close family and friends. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate your wedding while going for a paddleboat cruise with the ones you love most.

Here are a few photos from their beautiful wedding day…

The little ring bearer enjoying some bubbles…

Just a picture perfect day for a wedding on the Mississippi River…

The story of how Steve proposed was very special as well. As the story goes, Janelle was unable to where rings to work so she told Steve that she just wanted a $9.99 ring from Wal-Mart. He said once he found $9.99 worth of pennies, only face up, he would propose. The day of his proposal he picked her up and they went out to eat. As they returned to the vehicle, Steve had found a penny on the ground. Janelle had mentioned that he should count up his pennies to see where he was at. As they arrived at her apartment, to Janelle’s surprise, there was $9.98 worth of pennies, face up, in a heart shape on her table. Steve placed the last needed face-up penny to the heart shape and knelt down on one knee to propose…

very cool.

It was my pleasure to be your wedding photographer, Janelle & Steve! I wish you both the best!!! Congratulations again!

Click on the photo below to see more of Janelle & Steve’s wedding photography

Tags:   Julia Belle Swain · La Crosse WI · Mississippi River · wedding photography · Winona MNNo Comments.