Ali Leigh Behind the Scenes | Birthday + Memorial Day Weekend
What a weekend! We traveled around three states and I turned another year older!
THURSDAY:
I had an engagement session at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. It was so great being back (we just moved away at the beginning of 2016!). Allie and PJ rocked it. Can't wait to share their session! I got back to our hotel, The Depot in downtown Minneapolis where our wedding was the next day. My mother-in-law and I sat on Charley's Grill's patio with garden lights + ate fish tacos, hummus, sweet potato fries (my fav!), and drinks. Talk about my ultimate meal! It was so. good, and I'll be dreaming about it for a while.
FRIDAY:
My BIRTHDAY! All I wanted for my birthday, and a tradition since I was a little girl was a bagel. Our wedding that day didn't start til 5pm, so we had time to enjoy the day. It was raining (first time ever on my birthday I'm pretty sure!), but we went to Stillwater, a cute town on the St. Croix just outside of the cities. We went in and out of shops, got bagels, and had ice cream at Mara Mi (Izzy's Ice Cream). Some of our favorite!
That night, one of Taylor's good friends from college got married at The Depot. Tay played music, and I enjoyed being a guest at a wedding with my mother-in-law for the first time in a LONG time! We had a blast!
SATURDAY:
Taylor let me buy a new lens for my birthday gift. AH! I was pumped I got to use it for that afternoon's wedding. Later that day, we took pictures at Augustine (Auggie) + Julie's wedding (college friends' weddings are so much fun!). I got to see so many people from college, and my best friend + her fiancé were in the bridal party! My other best friend helped me shoot, and her fiancé was the videographer. Talk about fun. It rained, the sun shined, the weather really had no idea what it wanted, but it all worked out! I can't wait to share their wedding blog with you all!
SUNDAY:
We slept in + had a super slow morning. SO rare these days! We went to Taylor's parents' house, four-wheeled down by the river we got engaged by! He decided to take us four-wheeling THROUGH the river, which was crazy. His goal in life is to make me lose all fear I think haha. We had dinner with them, played frisbee + enjoyed the beautiful weather.
MONDAY:
Memorial Day! We had no plans, so we decided last minute we'd head to Door County! We started at Cave Point at Whitefish Dunes State Park. Seriously, GORGEOUS! The water was so clear + a blue that only seems to be in tropical areas. If you're ever in the area, go! There are cliffs + trails, and beautiful look-outs. We set up our hammock 5-10 feet from a cliff overlooking the water. I soaked in all of my thankfulness for that sweet moment. We hiked a bit through the park, and then headed to Fish Creek. We stopped at Lautenbach's Orchard for a wine tasting then went downtown to the walk around the marina + shops. We went to dinner at Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza, then drove to Ephraim to set up our hammock + watch the sunset. We ended up falling asleep because it was so peaceful! It was truly the perfect day.
Thank you all for your sweet birthday wishes + for everyone who made this weekend so great!
With love,
Ali Leigh
Wisconsin Wedding Photographer | Midwest Wedding Photographer
