Campus Club wedding Minneapolis

On having the right tools for this Campus Club wedding

Cari and Mike and their guests enjoyed one of the finest spring days Minneapolis had to offer: warm golden sunlight on the patio of the Campus Club overlooking the Minneapolis skyline; humidity breaking into warm rain right as everyone moved inside for the reception; the resulting heat lighting and raindrops that became part of the stunning panorama; happy, laughing friends alongside them at the Stone Arch Bridge, at Cari’s family church, for toasts, and for dancing.

Yes, their wedding could have been perfect in dozens of other ways – with no rain, with cooler temperatures, with overcast skies, with less enthusiastic speeches. As long as Cari and Mike were there,  as long as their happy, laughing friends were alongside them, it was guaranteed to be a very fine day regardless.

I was thrilled to be recommended (thanks, John!) as their photographer, but I was even more thrilled to be there to document the culmination of so much planning and time and love.

FINDING THE RIGHT (PHOTOGRAPHIC) TOOL FOR THE JOB

Technical tools (like flash composites or night portraits) are never, for me, a success unto itself googletest. They can only ever hope to be the right tool to express a feeling, a moment, that already exists googletest.

In short – never let your love of a concept be more important than making good photographs.  googletest googletest

But when the right tools meet the right settings and people, then its just a ton of fun to play around.

The intense sun on the Stone Arch Bridge can be a real pain for portraits -being on a bridge leaves you exposed to the harshest part of the sun. (I actually wrote an article about all the ways I tackle photographing on the stone arch bridge). A flash composite made that dramatic sun into a super powered backlight for a dramatic portrait of the wedding party – billowing dresses and perfectly accented clouds all aligned for this.

The intermittent evening rain meant the skyline was hazy and saturated for night photos outside on the patio with Cari and Mike. A combination of gelled light here brought more color into the blue sky and made the night skyline pop.

ABOUT WEDDINGS AT THE CAMPUS CLUB

The Campus Club has continued to be an amazing space to host a celebration googletest. The biggest problem is always parking (there is a lot, and in true University fashion, it is connected through a series of elevators and underground tunnels). The biggest asset is by far the professional and attentive staff – prompt, knowledgeable, helpful – these are all traits that are not a given at all venues.

The chef at the Campus Club (who I’ve had the pleasure of photographing a few times on food projects) works closely with farmers and the university agricultural community to bring in fresh and local ingredients in unexpected ways. The full bar and kitchen on site makes for a pretty stress-free coordination of services. At night, the skyline is a perfect backdrop for celebrations googletest.

Cari and Mike’s Campus Club Wedding

Campus club wedding - Cari and Mike's skyline-filled Minneapolis wedding
A little view of the skyline after the rain, from the balcony of this Campus Club Wedding
groom with cuff links
flash composite wedding party outside church
groomsmen laughing campus club of mn wedding
Personal goal – always leave them laughing
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prism bride and groom with minneapolis skyline campus club of mn wedding
Reflections through a prism for this portrait with the skyline at mid day
flash composite wedding party on stone arch bridge with skyline campus club of mn wedding
Putting together a flash composite in the midst of a wedding day requires some speed and some vision, and also a bit of luck. Competing with the mid-day sun is a total win for me on this one.
minneapolis wedding photographer couple at stone arch bridge
campus club of mn wedding cocktail hour
The perfect evening for a cocktail hour on the patio
campus club of mn wedding sitting with skyline
toasts campus club wedding
dramatic campus club of mn wedding
dramatic blue portrait of couple at night campus club of mn wedding
The Campus Club at the university is a beautiful space, and the view of the Minneapolis skyline from the ballroom is a spectacular celebration in itself. There is one corner of the patio that allows for a view of downtown, and so it is a natural space to take photos if you have your wedding there googletest. So, of course, I have to make it more complicated for Cari + Mike’s wedding – a tilt-shift lens, colored gels, and backlighting – to bring in that pre-thunderstorm quiet blue serenity into this image.
minneapolis skyline from campus club mn wedding

Reception: Campus Club googletest