Moving On Up - STAJA STUDIOS BLOG HAS MOVED!

Hey everyone, sorry we have been on a mini blogging hiatus. We have been diligently working on creating a better experience for all of of our wonderful clients, family, friends, and blogstalkers who frequent our little slice of life on the web. With that said, although this blog has been good to us, we are VERY excited to announce the release of:

STAJASTUDIOSBLOG.COM

Thats right folks, you will no longer find our ramblings here, but at www.stajastudiosblog.com. We hope you enjoy the new digs!

Katie and Jon

Another fabulous sibling of one of our favorite couples from last year! We met Katie and Jon at Katie's brother's wedding last November; not long after which, Jon popped the question. We are so excited we get to be part of their wedding too! We met up with them at a small park in St. Paul. It was very close to where Jon used to live during college and played a significant role in the infancy of their relationship. Many mornings they would stop by before class and play a little one on one basketball. I can only imagine how flirtatious those games were;) We hung out at the park for a while before heading over to The Stone Arch Bridge. This is where Jon proposed and Katie, of course, said yes. The sun was perfect as was the weather. We finished off with some super cool shots with Jon's OTHER baby...the bright orange Mustang. Sweet ride!
And, since we were so close to that delectable artichoke dip, we swung by Pizza Nea to cap off the evening. (seriously, I can't get enough of that stuff?!)
Check out some shots from the day.

Enjoy!

Stacey

Ruthie and Tony are Married!

Ruthie and Tony tied the knot on a beautiful Saturday in May. You might recall their engagement session photos from last winter which incorporated the "splash of red" theme that Ruthie was planning. How sweet was it that their church actually has a RED front door?! Edina Covenant Church is where the ceremony took place. After the bride and groom got their first looks at each other we all headed off for a quick walk to the movies! Tony's parents have owned the Main Street Theater in Sauk Center throughout Tony's childhood so it was perfect that the Edina Cinema agreed to let us in for some super fun bridal party shots!

After the ceremony and a touching serenade by Ruthie's brothers, Jason and the crew took off in the Hummer to Centennial Lakes Park for some more pictures while I got some great detail shots at their movie theater inspired reception. With bags of popcorn waiting on the tables, these two really pulled some of their personality into the day. Another thing that was very cool was that Ruthie's younger brother made their cake for them and he did a wonderful job (plus he incorporated the MN icon "Spoonbridge and Cherry").

We want to thank you both for including us in your special day and wish you the very best starring in your own romantic comedy!

- Stacey & Jason

Susan and Ryan are Engaged!

Susan is Jenny's little sis, one of our lovely 2008 brides. It was so much fun to connect again and it really made our whole session so relaxed and super fun right from the start! We began at The Sculpture Gardens in Minneapolis and then headed over the bridge to Loring Park. Half way to the park I stopped in my tracks, realizing that I had locked the keys in our car. (Not my most brilliant moment). It was a little less embarrassing though since we already knew Susan and Ryan. After the session, they graciously drove us home to get the second set before ending our evening at Granite City for some yummy microbrew and apps.
All in all it was an awesome time despite my very lame move. BTW, that is the FIRST time I have ever done that! (Next I'll probably run out of gas or something!)
Please enjoy some of our favs from the afternoon.

Stacey

Kat and Jeff are Married!

Kat and Jeff got married on a gorgeous Saturday in May. Their ceremony was held at Richfield United Methodist Church. After tying the knot, the freshly married couple took off in a fabulous, classic 1950's Lincoln. Super sweet ride! Jason was lucky enough to ride shotgun, while I headed over to the Eagan Community Center to capture some details from their reception.

Shortly before dinner began, Kat and Jeff arrived in style for the party. It was a wonderful reception with Jeff surprising Kat by singing her a song:)

The weather couldn't have been better for their day. Everyone certainly was in a summery mood!

Please enjoy some of our favorite shots from the day.

Stacey

Elizabeth and Mike are Married!

Elizabeth and Mike had a fabulous day for their outdoor wedding. We met up with the lovely bride at her hotel for some preparation shots with her and her girls. We then headed over to The Wilds for the ceremony and reception.

It was an intimate patio ceremony including family and close friends. Afterward the party got started inside the ballroom with plenty of great food and some awesome speeches. Mike asked his dad to be his best man which was very touching and clearly meant so much to both of them.

We had such a great time with these two and their families. It was a privilege to be part of their big day!

Thanks Elizabeth and Mike. Hope you enjoy this little sneak peak:)

Stacey

Join Me On The Trip Of A Lifetime!

Hey Everyone,

I can't believe I am writing this! I got a call in April and was asked if I wanted to participate in a truly remarkable experience. To start from square one, Mike Colon, someone I have always admired and considered a mentor in this business gave me a call. It was one of those moments that I will always remember because it's not often in life that you get asked to do something of this scope next to someone you have always respected and looked up to. After learning the details, I was beyond floored. Not only are all of these great photographers getting together to help for a remarkable cause, but we are going to be doing three incredible shoots! We are starting off shooting couture gowns by some of the biggest names in the wedding industry for "Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine". After that, we will be documenting and helping with the efforts that Thirst Relief is working toward in Tanzania Africa. Namely bringing clean drinking water to people that have gone without for far too long. Lastly, we will be going on an African safari (bring the big lens boys and girls)!

All but two of the seats are booked for this incredible experience, but there are still two opportunities to participate. One option is via an auction and the second is by raffle. Check out the announcement below for more details.

I will be updating everyone about the trip and can't wait to share more about this awesome experience. Who knows, perhaps you will be one of the people to share it with me.

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Grace Ormonde Tanzanian Benefit Shoot Raffle and Auction
Two Seats, Two Ways To Win


Join Mike Colon, Jim Davis-Hicks, Jason Thon and 11 other amazing photographers on a once in a lifetime photo adventure! Shoot designer gowns on location in Tanzania to benefit Thirst Relief. Help build and deliver life saving Thirst Relief Bio-Sand Water Filters. See some of the most beautiful wildlife on the planet on an African Safari! Top it off with Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine featuring the whole trip in her Spring/Summer 2010 issue!

Two Seats, Two Ways to Win.

Trip Dates July 13-23, 2009.

Auction Dates: June 8,9 2009

Raffle Dates: June 10,11,

WINNERS will be announced on June 12th, 2009

For more information, visit http://thirstrelief.shootq.com

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED Federal and state laws restrict the online sale of Tanzanian Benefit Shoot raffle entries and the online Tanzanian Benefit Shoot auction to only those state or local residents who specifically meet the requirements as set forth in the applicable statutes, regulations, and terms and conditions that apply to the raffle and the auction and Thirst Relief does not currently allow raffle entry purchases or auction entries outside the scope of these restrictions. Raffle entries are reserved on a limited basis. Thirst Relief does not allow any illegal participation in the Tanzanian Benefit Shoot raffle nor the auction. Proceeds of the raffle and the auction benefit Thirst Relief International, Inc. Raffle winners will be selected by random drawing and all participants have an equal opportunity to win. Raffle winners will be notified by Thirst Relief at the address provided. Must be a U.S. resident and 18 years of age or older to participate and to win any raffle and/or auction prize. This is not a solicitation. This is for informational purposes only.

Darlene & Jake are Engaged!

We met up with Darlene and Jake at Cedar Lake early one Sunday morning. Jason and I had gotten back late the night before from a wedding. The kids were up north camping with Jason's family and I was thinking it would be a perfect morning to lounge in bed til sometime near the lunch hour. Well, that didn't happen and I'm SO glad it didn't! What a glorious morning it was:) It was one of those wonderful, warm summer mornings that make you so happy to be alive (and awake) to experience it. Everyone was out and about enjoying the trails, most of them on wheels. Darlene and Jake were no exception. They brought along their super cool, old school, tandem Schwinn. That baby was awesome!
Apparently Jake's dad had gotten it for his mom one Mother's Day a number of years ago. (It was old then). I'm sure it got some action for a while, but as is true with most things like this, it sat idle and alone for many years hidden in the garage. That is, until Jake and Darlene spotted it and brought her home! Let's just say, this beauty's got a new lease on life! Cedar Lake is their trail of choice, so we decided it would be a great place to shoot their engagement session. Including the bike was so much fun and a perfect illustration of their closeness and unity.

After the session we were all starving, so we hit The Uptown Diner. Love that place:)

We got home around 1pm with full bellies, flash cards filled with awesome images and having made two new friends:) I was so grateful that I hadn't spent such a brilliant morning sleeping.

Please enjoy some images from the day.

Stacey

Sarah and Dean are Engaged!

Sarah and Dean's patience for their engagement session proved to be well worth it. We were scheduled to shoot a couple of weeks earlier, but decided to hold out for some leaves and a warmer temp. What an awesome afternoon we got too! Hanging out down by the Mississippi was so much fun. There were others out enjoying the day and the river, but it kinda felt like we were on a camping adventure hiking through the wilderness. Funny that we were pretty much shouting distance to downtown Minneapolis. I just love that about our awesome city. It's dotted with these fabulous pockets of nature:)
We ended our evening at Pizza Nea (our new favorite Pizza restaurant) Have I ever mentioned their artichoke dip?? To die...
Needless to say, we had an awesome time and can't wait for Sarah and Dean's wedding in July.
Here are some shots from their engagement session.

Stacey

Jesse & Bobby are Engaged!

Holy smokes, what an awesome engagement session! Talk about chemistry:) These two lovebirds are all about each other.
We met up with Jesse and Bobby in Minneapolis about a week or so ago on a really gorgeous afternoon. They will be getting married at Mill City Museum the beginning of June and wanted to use some of that area for their engagement pictures. We love shooting down there. No matter how many times we have been to this particular location, we always come back with unique and interesting images. It's pretty amazing how many different nooks and crannys there are in and around the Guthrie and Mill City.
Okay, so back to this fabulous couple. Can I just say that the passion and love these two have for each other is so blantant it practically oozes from their skin! What a pleasure it was to photograph them.
Thank you so much Bobby and Jesse for checking any nervousness or uncertainty at the door and just going for it every step of the way! We are loving how your images turned out and hope you feel the same.
Take a peek at some of our favs!

Stacey



















Aaaah, The Lounge. This is where they met one another!