Julie & John

Wow, the rain stopped and we had a great day with Julie and John for their pre-wedding shoot. They're getting married in November, so decided on the pre-wedding shoot while the mild weather is still with us. We started out at Como, where the wedding will be, then headed to Fort Snelling Park and back to the Stone Arch Bridge, just past the tame deer for the final shots. I think their images are sensational, don't you. To see more great wedding photography, visit DCharles Photography.

Wendy & Scott

My niece Wendy, married Scott on Sept. 20 at the Resort. One huge tent, two great bands ( one polka and one R&R), one limbo that lasted forever, and one bouncy room for the kids.....Wendy and Scott decided to join in with the kids, one flower pot dance and a fireworks show that filled the tent with smoke. I hear some other adults invaded the bounce room later on that morning. That was a great time, I haven't danced that much in years. Good luck Wendy and Scott!

Dawn & Ryan

Back to my home township for the wedding of Dawn & Ryan. What a great time to see everyone again. The wedding party was great to work with, and the Sugar Camp town hall still stands as it has for years. That place has hosted so many weddings over the years, it's an icon for big parties, at least that's the way I remember it. And special thanks to Kent for letting us use the Edsal, he washed it for the first time in years, just for us! Good luck you two!

Briana & Andy

This summer has had great weather and it didn't fail us for Briana and Andy's ceremony and reception at the Landmark in St. Paul. We had one very short rain shower which just freshened up Rice Park. This was a fun jumping crew, and jump with enthusiasm and attitude they did. Briana's cathedral veil was absolutely stunning and added to some flowing photography. They ended the evening with a carriage ride, then headed out on their honeymoon. To see more stunning wedding photograpy, visit DCharles Photography.

Portrait St. Croix

What a great session on the beautiful St. Croix River. We ended up using two locations with two different wardrobes. That doesn't always work out, but in this case it was great, with the kids being very patient and saving me lots of time. We even took individual portraits of the children. When they had time the kids explored along the shoreline and watched the hot air balloons, boats, skiers and other St. Croix water action. Noah even found some fish scales on top of the huge cottonwood (he was the bold guy to go way out there).

Picnic Portraits

Here's a casual way of taking family portraits that gets the whole crew involved, happily. Have a Picnic Portrait party. That's what Jan J did for her family. These days with many families having members living in various parts of the world, we need to make the most of the time spent together. To help, combine the family portrait with the family picnic. The Picnic Portrait. In this case we took the large group photo then sub-families and singles, kids, dogs (Jackson) and whatever you feel like doing, it's open. Eat and smile at the same time....what a deal. Books are a great way to present these photos so everyone has a copy of the entire session.

Open House Invitations

I have a variety of open house (or other occasion) cards available. Here is one of the senior open house cards I used for Jake. This is a two sided card, other options are folded four sided cards and three panel cards. Jake's entire senior session was held at the Maplewood fire department since that's what his profession will be.

Pre-Wedding shoot

Pre or Post-Wedding shoots are a great way to express yourself and your creativity. Pick any location, anywhere, let your imagination roll, some place exotic or down the street. Take some of the pressure off the actual wedding day so you can enjoy the guests. The following photos were taken in San Diego where Briana and Andy live, but the wedding is in Saint Paul later this summer. What a great way to combine both environments in the wedding book. "Thank you so much for coming to San Diego to take photos of us for the wedding! We had a wonderful time and can't wait to see the pictures. We are really looking forward to working with you for the actual wedding". Briana