High School Senior Prom Fashion Session

Did this fun Prom Fashion session last night - thanks to Carol at Our Shop, Steph and Joe at Japa Salon, and Tina at Luna Rosa! Here are some of our favorites and video. Judd, Josh, and Allie

Click here for the link to view all pictures.

Melody's Gift

We were honored to capture these images yesterday of Melody -- here's her story:

Melody's sister and two cousins have all chosen their wedding dresses at Our Shop in downtown Stillwater. The beautiful gown she is wearing in these images was her mom's favorite, and the second place dress. Take special note of the beautiful locket she was wearing -- a family heirloom passed down to her. Melody's mom is very ill with cancer and loves this dress that was not chosen, so Melody and Carol at Our Shop had an idea: They asked us to come and make a portrait of Melody in the dress to give as a gift to her mom, and we were honored to do so! I wish we could be there when Melody presents the image to her mother. Thanks Melody and Carol for a wonderful idea! -Judd and Josh

Senior Portraits 2009!

Check out some of our favorite High School Senior Portraits from 2009 in this short video, we wanted to show you more, but hey, that would take all day!! There are more sample images on the main website.

Thanks for watching! - Josh
(and of course the Studio J family)

Amanda + Mike = Married: 01.23.2010 (United Methodist - Maplewood and Five Event Center - Minneapolis)

Wedding Links:

Album Pre-design

Link to all pictures (sign up here to receive two complimentary prints - must be in the next few days)

Our Facebook page (Become a fan and tag your self in these photos and more!)

Last August 20, Amanda and Mike were in town from South Carolina for their engagement session but their photographer unfortunately fell through. They looked us up on the 20th, we met and booked their wedding and scheduled their engagement session the next day before Ryan and Kami's wedding in Stillwater. Today the weather is a little different but we're going to try out some fun locations and I'm bringing my Jimmy Kleinsasser jersey!

The weather was so bad today we couldn't get any outside shots even though Amanda had an elegant winter ensemble. Our plan B location was amazing and challenging, and a spot we normally wouldn't have even tried had the weather not been so bad. Both Mike's and Amanda's families were amazing and hospitable - Mike's dad's "southern ways" toast was perhaps my favorite EVER. I took a little video and will post it with the slideshow which should be ready Wednesday.

Some favorite images below, and many more on facebook (link above). Hard to really describe these images that come out of my brain and the edit so I'll let you just look. Some of my favorite moments were when Lee ripped on Amanda's NHS friends for all the trouble they caused in 8th grade during her speech, Mike showing off his All Star's, watching Mike shaking his head when "Chicken Fried" came over the playlist, almost capturing Jana's shaving cut on her ankle, Amanda's eyelashes, and making those amazing "end of the night" images. The Vikings shot would have been way better has the game turned out differently, but the Vikes have rice and Brinkley - Carolina alums. Have a great trip back to South Carolina Mike and Amanda!

Best of 2009 - please comment to vote on your favorites!

DEADLINE FOR first round of voting is Feb 1, 2010. We'll do the final 5 vote on facebook until Valentine's Day.

This past week we went back and previewed many of our weddings and wow there were some great moments!! We decided to let everyone vote for what their favorite moment is! We tried to narrow it down but it was really hard. So if you want to vote, make a comment to this blog post with your favorite image number (up to 3 images) and you can comment about it! Make sure to leave your name and the number of the image (located above the image). All comments need to be approved by us before it is posted so your comment won't show up right away. The winning couple will receive two free 8x10 prints of the winning image. Thanks everyone and have fun - Judd and Allie have a bet on which one they think will win!

1. "Dock Dip" - Anna and Tom make an old beat up St Paul loading dock look good.

2. "Van Halen (Might As Well) Jump" Ted and his groomsmen rocking the air guitar. - Stone Arch Bridge

3. "Pensive at Pioneer Park" - Steve and Cristina with their serious face, but the image still makes us smile :) (Stillwater)

4. "Draft passers-by" - Sam, Elisa, and Draft horses in Stowe, Vermont

5. "Colorful Kiss" - Bisi and Kossy change into their traditional Nigerian outfits for their reception

6. "Overtime" - Kevin caught Rachelle flirting with their photographer Josh!! (For the record this photo was Kevin's idea, but we love it!)

7. "Going Up?" - Tarrah and Jeff riding up the elevator at the end of the night.

8. "Paper Dolls" - Tarrah and her bridesmaids in late October (Stone Arch Bridge)

9. "McSky" - Tim and Nikki in front of the McNamara Alumni Center with the beautiful clouds above

10. "Midnight Moon" - A candid moment between Grant and Michelle (Cancun)

11. "Stacks" - Dan and Bethany kissing with their reflecting in the table

12. "Windy Kiss" - Cat is trying to kiss Chris and hold her veil down from the wind (Stone Arch Bridge)

13. "Red Veil" - Monica showing off her beautiful gown and veil (McNamara Alumni center)

14. "Dancing Shoes" - obviously not the flower girl's (Union Depot)

15. "Sassy Sarah" - Sarah giving some attitude in front of the spooky Landmark center (Rice Park)

16. "Rearview Kiss" - Brock and Elaine sharing a kiss while Judd captures them moment in the mirror (Wisconsin - just over 94 bidge)

17. "Fingertip" - One of the ring bearers barely holding onto his mom's finger during Brock and Elaine's wedding ceremony

18. "Tools" - Brock and Elaine with their bridal party showing off what they found in her father's shed, nice American Gothic poses!! Name does not apply to ushers in hay loft.

19. "Trash the Sunrise" - Grant and Michelle sharing a moment while they watch the sunrise in Rivera Maya, Mexico

20. "Ballerina Bride" - Grant and Michelle took a swim in their tux and wedding dress!

21. "Sway-Z" - Dirty Dancing move: we are impressed, notice that Grant is on his tip-toes!

22. "Dock Walk" - Grant walks out to see Michelle for the first time on their wedding day, care to share what you were thinking Grant?!

23. "Red Bull" - Michelle and Grant have a little fun during their engagement session, notice the red bull can in the bottom right corner that Grant and Judd insisted had to stay in the image. That's why we stopped the car - for a little pick-me-up and this interesting building happened to be there!

We look forward to hearing what everything thinks about these images!! :)

-Studio J Family

Award - Wedding Wire Bride's Choice!

We love it when we get notified of these awards without entering anything! The highest compliment is a referral or positive review from clients; 80% of our weddings were referrals in 2009 and we're shooting for higher in 2010!

Stillwater, MN – January 20, 2010 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Judd Sather Photography and Studio J, Inc. has been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Photography & Videography! The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Judd Sather Photography and Studio J, Inc. is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. “We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Judd Sather Photography and Studio J, Inc. is among the very best photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards! - Judd and the Studio J family