Wendy Woods Photography

Emily and Philip

View Emily and Philip's slideshow here.

Emily Nigon and Philip Olson are to be married on Sunday, September 2, at Concordia University Chapel with a reception at one of my favorite sites, The Grand Ballroom in downtown St. Paul. It was so much fun to learn about them at this engagement session. Both of them are accountants who met at work, and it was a chilly December night when Philip proposed one and a half years ago. They seem so at ease with each other and the camera during our session. I had no trouble capturing their feelings for each other. Right across the Mississippi River, Emily pointed out, was the building where she now works downtown in Minneapolis. They both love creative photography and came up with many ideas so that we were able to collaborate to create some of these great photos. It was a real joy to be their photographer and I very much look forward to our Labor Day weekend wedding experience. Click on any image to open larger.

Kaila and Dan

Watch Kaila and Dan's slideshow here.

The campus of the University of Minnesota in downtown Minneapolis was where Kaila Skinner and Dan Gatz first met and where they went to school. So it was the best place for an engagement session too. I had never been around the campus before so it really challenged my creativity - in a good way! - to use the locations and the light, but I was pretty happy with the results! Kaila and Dan showed me around to their favorite places - in the early evening the light was gorgeous and being summer, the campus was mostly deserted. Kaila and Dan were amazing, I loved working with them - they have a wonderful innate calmness and are very much in love. They will be married at the Landmark Center in St. Paul next February. It should be a beautiful wedding and I look forward to it! Click on any image to open larger and we would love for you to leave a comment!

Joanna Trask

Joanna Trask is a senior this year at Stillwater Area High School, and she is a sweet, smart, and an absolutely gorgeous gal. I really enjoyed doing her senior session along with her mom Chris Trask. As you can see Joanna has this radiant Mediterannean-style beauty that is enhanced by her long, wavy dark hair. The great thing about Joanna is that she can look serious without looking angry - something that's tough to pull off. Joanna's interest are art - she is a painter - and singing. Her musical interests are jazz, folk, rock, and alternative, and her favorite things to do include hiking and reading. The senior session lasted about two hours, which is usual for me, and I have so many favorites from her session. Here are a few. Thank you Joanna for letting me be your photographer! Click on any image to open larger.

We are in People MAGAZINE!

We MADE IT!! Here is the release we sent to the local papers today. Thank you again Chris and Windy for giving us your amazing wedding to photograph:

Wedding by Stillwater-based Wendy Woods Photography chosen in
People Magazine’s nationwide search for wacky weddings

Bride has directed Stillwater Area High School Productions

(STILLWATER, MN) Wendy Woods Photography, a Stillwater-based
wedding and portrait photography studio,
has a wedding featured in the People Magazine “Amazing Real Life
Weddings” issue that is on newsstands now and will be on sale through mid-July.

People Magazine solicited unusual, offbeat and nontraditional
wedding stories and photographs from photographers nationwide,
including through the Wedding Photojournalism Association
and the Digital Wedding Forum online.

Wendy Woods Photography was one of thousands that submitted
photos and stories and among a few dozen selected.

The wedding of Chris Bowlsby and Windy Merrill, on page 53,
was photographed in Minneapolis in 2003. The bride and
groom are theater buffs, so they held their
ceremony in the historic Heights Theater in Columbia Heights,
and held a movie-themed reception at the University of
Minnesota’s McNamara Alumni Center.

Windy is an actress and director and Chris is also an actor and
graphic artist. Windy has directed several musical productions
at Stillwater Area High School including “Guys and Dolls” in
2004 and “Kiss Me Kate” in 2005.

At the Bowlsby wedding, guests wore vintage hats, dresses and
suits with spats. The ushers donned theater-attendant uniforms
with box hats and white gloves. Instead of throwing rice, they threw
popcorn.

Wendy Woods Photography has won top awards from the
international Wedding Photojournalism Association. Wendy won
Photographer of the Year, Peer choice, third place, from the
Professional Photographers of America in 2003.

Wendy and Nick Gorski, a husband-wife
team, have 20 years combined experience as actual journalists for
CNN, ABC, and The Washington Post. Wendy Woods is
also a Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine 5-star vendor.