Modern Wedding Photography by Madison Wisconsin Photographer Jamie M Swanson » Wedding Photography

Multi-Cultural Hmong American Wedding ~ Lao & Eric

Jamie M Swanson — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:32:41 +0000

Lao and Eric…where to even start.

I knew your wedding was going to be an amazing one after your engagement session where you laid on the wet ground and let us throw leaves at you. Not to mention you’re both incredibly good looking. I mean, Lao, wow. And Eric looks just a little bit like Brett Favre (don’t you think?)

But seriously, I love how you brought together both your Hmong and American families into the celebration. I love how everyone was just so happy, both for you and with you.

It was a good day.

It was a day to celebrate, worship, and thank God for how he brought you together. We wish you many, many wonderful years ahead together.

Lao & Eric did a First Look before the ceremony so that we didn’t have to take all the photos between the ceremony and reception. It was a full of beautiful emotion and allowed us to take a pretty awesome bridal party photo in the lobby of the hotel.

Thanks to my friend Amy for the idea of taking a photo on a moving merry-go-round.

I truly have the most beautiful brides. These next two shots are the behind-the-scenes shots of Eric while I was taking that photo. His job was to make her smile. LOVE. It definitely worked.

I love the emotion in this next shot, with shared tears and laughter from both Eric and his dad.

See more photos on their slideshow. If you see yourself, head on over to our Facebook page and tag yourself and your friends in them.

Are you getting married soon? We’d love to hear more about your wedding and work with you to capture the story of your wedding day with beautiful images. Click to contact us now as 2012 is beginning to fill up. Limited 2011 dates are still available.

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Fun Fond du Lac Wedding Photography at Little Farmer and the Crystal Ballroom ~ Kirstie & Nick

Jamie M Swanson — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:00:10 +0000

I have been excited about Kirstie & Nick’s wedding since their engagement photos. They are such a fun-loving couple that are just made for each other (not just saying that, either!) Their wedding here in Fond du Lac did not disappoint.

This was by far the rowdy-est wedding I’ve been to. Even the dinner was loud and full of joy and celebration. I’ll admit, I love a good rockin’ party, so I was pretty excited.

The wedding was held at First Presbyterian Church and was officiated by a good friend of ours, Pastor Brian Hastings. We took portraits out at Little Farmer, and then we headed back into town for a beautiful reception at Ramada’s Crystal Ballroom. The decorations were stunning, and many of the flowers even included flowers grown in Kirstie’s parents’ garden. It was just gorgeous. I love peonies, and these did not disappoint. Truly beautiful colors and flowers to compliment all the joy that the day held.

I’ve started doing more slideshows as I think they are one of the best ways to share the story of the day here online, so before you look through all the photos below, take a moment to watch the video and enjoy their wedding. Here’s a link if you’d like to download “All I want” by Curtis Peoples.

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EAA AirVenture Museum Oshkosh Wedding Photography ~ Sarah & Heath

Jamie M Swanson — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:15:02 +0000

My parents are air traffic controllers, so when I heard that Sarah & Heath’s wedding was going to be at the EAA AirVenture Museum at the airport in Oshkosh, I was SO excited. Airplanes at a wedding?! Yes, please! It’s even more meaningful when you find out that Heath’s Grandfather was inducted into the hall of fame there. I love it when weddings are planned with personal meaning behind them.

Heath & Sarah were the winners of our free wedding photography giveaway that we do annually with the amazing Andy Stenz, and it was such a joy to work with him again. You can see some of his photos of the day at this post.

Details (wedding planners) also joined us for this giveaway, and having them there helped not only to keep everything running smoothly but also ahead of schedule most of the day. It was really fantastic!

The day was such a joyous occasion, and everyone was laid-back and fun to be around. The wedding party and family were just a joy. We also got to dine with a few “beautiful” pilot friends and we had a really fun and hilarious time. Some of the most-fun guests we’ve ever had dinner with.

Sarah & Heath, we truly enjoyed your wedding and wish you a wonderful marriage full of joy and laughter.

Know someone getting married soon? Have them contact us about photographing their wedding.

Like these photos? Like our facebook fan page. You’ll also see more photos from the wedding and be able to tag yourself in them to share with your friends.

Joyful Indian-American Wedding at Monona Terrace ~ Erin & Michael

Jamie M Swanson — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:33:18 +0000

Brandon and I absolutely love Indian culture and cuisine, so when we heard that Erin & Michael were planning a wedding that mixed both Midwestern wedding traditions with Indian wedding traditions we were quite excited! I absolutely love weddings where everything done has meaning to the couple and isn’t just empty tradition. While the Thali ceremony and Garland ceremony were new to us, it was such an honor to be a guest at this wedding and to be a part of such a meaningful day in their lives.

We shot this wedding in partnership with Andy Stenz, who is a genuinely nice guy and stellar photographer in the Waukesha area. It was great to work with him, and I encourage you all to go and check out his images from the day.

Erin and Michael are so incredibly kind and thoughtful, both towards each other and those around them, and both we truly enjoyed their company all day long. They even took a bit of time a few days after the wedding to send us this kind note, and I couldn’t help but to share:

I just had a take a minute and tell you all how much we really appreciated you at the wedding this weekend. From the second we met there was a warmth and comfort with you all that I’m certain is quite rare. Several times throughout the craziness of the day, Michael and I looked at eachother and said just how glad we were that you were there.

Everytime I thought to myself, “oh man, I hope someone is getting that moment on film” I would look up and see one of you snapping away. You graciously put up with some good-natured joking and very fittingly gave it back to those who deserved it!

In short, you guys were absolutely everything we had hoped you would be and more. We cannot thank you enough and we hope that you enjoyed yourselves as well!

Erin and Michael, we wish you the very best in your marriage. Thanks again so very much for inviting us to be a part of it.

See more of the story of their wedding day in this beautiful wedding slideshow (trust me, it’s worth it):

Download Song: Ben Rector’s “White Dress”

Know someone getting married? Share our work with them and have contact us to book their wedding photography.

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Elegant Whispering Springs Fond du Lac Wedding ~ Mindy & Jason

Jamie M Swanson — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:17:47 +0000

Mindy and Jason are such kind souls and their wedding was full of their rich lives of faith. We had a great time playing and resting at Haentze Floral in their lush greenhouses. Thankfully we were able to reconstruct the garden archway that we “moved.” Mindy and Jason, we wish you all the best in your lives together. Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day.

See more of the story of their wedding day in this slideshow:

Buy “God Gave Me You” by David Barnes

Like this post? Leave a comment below and tell us what your favorite image is!

Whispering Springs Winter Wedding Photography ~ Heather & Joe

Jamie M Swanson — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:45:00 +0000

During my consultation with Heather, I got ridiculously excited when she mentioned that she wanted to do snow angels in her wedding gown. I mean, this is the type of bride that we LOVE to work with, as they always give us all sorts of creative space to make gorgeous images! Unfortunately the 3 days preceding the wedding were unseasonably warm and all the snow melted awat. To make matters even more disappointing, it was about 12 degrees on the day of the wedding with lots of wind so it was very, very cold.

While we ended up doing all the photos inside instead, Heather and Joe still were excited to sneak outside and try one of our new crazy ideas: light painting. We took only one shot because of the bitter cold, but it turned out awesome! Thanks for being such an amazing couple!

Other highlights of the wedding include a meaningful ceremony full of emotion and an amazing reception at the beautiful Whispering Springs Golf Club in Fond du Lac. The staff at Whispering Springs are some of the best I’ve worked with, and they really go out of their way to make the event as lovely as possible. We’re looking forward to shooting there more this year.

Heather & Joe, we wish you the very best in your marriage and many lovely years together in the future!

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Top Wisconsin Wedding Portraits of 2010 ~ A Contest

Jamie M Swanson — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:06:54 +0000

We have a winner! Congratulations to Julie + Kurt! I’ll be emailing you with your canvas code! Thanks everyone for voting!

Over the next few weeks I’m going to be posting some of my favorite images from 2010, and I thought I’d kick it off with a contest giveaway!

It’s been hard to narrow down my favorites as there were so many fabulous wedding portraits taken this year, but I’ve carefully selected the images below as finalists for the contest.

The couple who receives the most votes between now and January 5th, 2011 will get a free 16×24 Canvas Gallery Wrap of their favorite photo.

How to Vote:

You may earn up to three votes for your favorite image (one for each method below).

1. Leave a comment in the Facebook comments section below telling me which photo is your favorite AND WHY. Votes that only have a number entered will not count as I want to hear why this is your favorite image! Please note that sometimes Facebook’s servers are slow to load, so please give it a minute or two to show up or try refreshing the page if you have problems. Regular comments will be closed for this contest.

2. Tweet the following with the number of your favorite image inserted in place of the letter “Z”: “Photo Z should win the contest by Madison Wedding Photographer @JamieMSwanson – Check out their unique work at http://bit.ly/eAnnqu”

3. Write a blog post on your personal blog encouraging people to come and vote for your favorite photo. Send me the link via the contact form once it has been posted so I can go and check it out and confirm your vote.

Without further ado, here are the wedding portrait finalists for 2010!

#1: Adriana + Matt

#2: Kelly + Kevin

#3: Zack + Alene

#4: Julie + Kurt

#5: Bethany + Daniel

#6: Mary + Adam

#7: Nick + Liz

#8: Emily + Nick

#9: Julie + Brian

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Whispering Springs Golf Course Wedding ~ Julie & Kurt

Jamie M Swanson — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 04:28:28 +0000

I don’t even know where to start with this amazingly fun wedding! Julie & Kurt held their wedding at the gorgeous Holy Family Catholic Church in Fond du Lac with an amazing reception at Whispering Springs Golf Course. The day was filled with much laughter and fun, and the atmosphere throughout was one of celebration. I mean, let’s face it, any wedding that includes Johnny Depp has got to be full of fun! There was also a Packers vs. Bears rivalry going on throughout the day (even the tables had names of football teams, players, coaches, etc. and one of the cakes was football themed!) Kurt’s family is from Illinois, Julie’s is from Wisconsin, so you can imagine who cheered for each team! This wedding also wins our unofficial award for the most hilarious wedding speeches I have EVER heard. I was almost crying I was laughing so hard! Good stuff, and ridiculously creative. But enough chatter – let’s get on to showing you some of the amazing images from this beautiful celebration!

Julie and Kurt, thanks so much for inviting Brandon and I to be a part of your wedding day. We truly enjoyed every moment of it, and we wish you many joy-filled years ahead.

If you were at the wedding, leave a comment letting Julie & Kurt know what your favorite moment of the day was! I’m sure they’d love to hear it!

Videography: Vintage Super8 Videography by Don’t Shout Films

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Featured on Rock n’Roll Bride!

Jamie M Swanson — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 15:55:36 +0000

I’m excited to announce that Zack & Alene’s wedding has been featured on Rock n’Roll Bride’s wedding blog! Head on over and check it out. Thanks, Kat!

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Modern Madison Overture Center Wedding Photography ~ Zack & Alene

Jamie M Swanson — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 07:58:59 +0000

When Zack and Alene contacted me to tell me about their wedding, I immediately got excited! Madison Overture Center? Fabulous! A non-traditional afternoon reception with board games all around and ridiculously delicious hors d’oeuvres? Sweet! And their wedding was so laid-back and lovely. They wrote the entire ceremony themselves, walked down the aisle together, and ended the ceremony with a beautiful toast. Such a personal and lovely day overall filled with laughter and fun.

The Overture Center is pretty much a photographer’s dream: perfect lighting, modern architecture, and all sorts of places to get unique photos. Such an amazing wedding venue! Let’s just say that I had a very hard time narrowing it down, so this will be a rather long blog post. There are also lots of ring shots, but there were just so many fun things to take photos with that I couldn’t help myself. Enjoy!

Ceremony: Overture Center Promenade Terrace
Reception: Overture Center Promenade Lounge
Catering: Catering a Fresco

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Happy Wedding Anniversary Sam & Nick!

Jamie M Swanson — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 06:50:28 +0000

I still love how you got out and golfed in your wedding dress, Sam. Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary to the both of you! Here’s the blog posts of their wedding photos and their engagement portraits.

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Elegant Madison Wisconsin Wedding ~ Daniel & Bethany

Jamie M Swanson — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 05:58:19 +0000

You may remember Daniel & Bethany – they were the winners of the Free Wedding Photography Giveaway from earlier this year offered by my colleague Andy (of Andy Stenz Photography) and I. Daniel & Bethany held their wedding in Madison, WI and it was such an elegant and meaningful wedding. They met while serving in missions overseas in Africa and were one of the most laid-back and peaceful couples I have worked with all summer. I can’t think of anyone more deserving to have won the contest and the free wedding photography. They’ve both given much to help improve the lives of others, and it was an honor to work with them.

Their ceremony was held at St. Patrick’s Church in Madison, followed by a few portraits at the UW-Madison Memorial Union Terrace. After that we headed to Restaurant Magnus for an intimate reception and spectacular food.

Want to see more? Head over to Andy’s blog to see his take on the day.

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Happy Wedding Anniversary Mike & Melissa!

Jamie M Swanson — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 06:42:00 +0000

This is still one of my favorite photos to date, taken at South Hills Country Club. I just love it. Happy Wedding Anniversary you two! Here’s the full wedding photo blog post.

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A Fabulous Mexican-American Wedding ~ Adriana & Matt

Jamie M Swanson — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:09:09 +0000

I have been looking forward to Adriana’s and Matt’s wedding since taking their urban engagement photos in Milwaukee. Matt & Adriana are fun-loving and relaxed people, making them incredibly enjoyable to be around and spend time with. Their beautiful wedding here in Fond du Lac was even better than I had expected. Their family & friends were just as welcoming and easy to be with, and I loved how they incorporated Adriana’s Mexican heritage into the entire day. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a father of the bride smile as much as Adriana’s father did throughout the day. He was clearly so happy for his daughter, which was so beautiful to see.

Church: St. Mary’s
Reception: Caddy Shack
DJ Services: Rolling Tunes

To see the entire full wedding gallery, click the link and use Adriana’s maiden name in all lowercase letters as the password.

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Trash the Dress at the Fondy Sports Park ~ Emily & Nick

Jamie M Swanson — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 02:33:23 +0000

Emily & Nick wanted to do something fun the day after their wedding before heading off to their honeymoon and didn’t want traditional portraits. When they suggested getting dressed up in their wedding attire and heading out the Fondy Sports Park to ride in go-carts and play mini-golf, I was thrilled. Talk about a fun time together! And no, the dress was not “trashed” or ruined at all, although it did get a bit wet at the end.

Thanks Emily & Nick for such a fun time!

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