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Hey! I'm Andi Jo. Wedding and Family Photographer from Minnesota. Welcome to my blog. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy!

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Bar on Main Wedding | Cora and Nolan | Waseca, Minnesota

The beautifully renovated Bar on Main was a perfect location for Cora and Nolan’s wedding. With their ceremony and social hour at Half Pint Brewery in Waseca, Minnesota

I met Cora when she was in grade school because she was good friends with one of my cousins. I remember playing dolls and running around with her outside playing tag or other childhood games. Fast forward a few years, I had her dad as my High School English teacher. Move on even more years, and we happen to work at the same school (but just missed working with each other by one year). So when she reached out to me for photographing her wedding, I was so excited to be a part of her big day.

Cora and Nolan

Cora and Nolan are some of the most caring and loving people around. When I met Nolan during their engagement session, I just knew that they were destined for each other. The way that they looked into each other eyes, and just the ease with which they walked hand in hand. You could tell that their love is effortless. This continued to shine through throughout their entire wedding day

The Wedding Day

Cora and Nolan wanted to have an intimate wedding surrounded by their closest family and friends and opted to have a less traditional venue by choosing The Bar on Main and Half Pint Brewery as their locations.

The day started off in the Air BNBs upstairs in the Thyme on Main. If you have not had a chance to check out the new addition to Waseca, I highly urge you to go check out what these fabulous women have done to this space. They have truly created a beautiful space.

Cora was surrounded by her best girls, who are also the nicest and most welcoming women around. Their laughs were contagious and their smiles lit up the room.

Cora’s gorgeous laced Wedding Shoppe gown hung up next to her bridesmaid’s green floral dresses from Baltic Born. The bridesmaid dresses complemented the ornate detail of Cora’s dress perfectly.

Shortly after I got there, one of Cora’s bridesmaids surprised her with a gift from one of her student’s parents. They were hand-sewn luggage tags. One of my favorite aspects of Cora and Nolan’s wedding was all the little details that her students created with her. My favorite was the numbered table numbers. Scroll down to see them! Kindergarteners are the cutest1

After getting Cora into her wedding dress, we drove over to Half Pint Brewery for her first look with Nolan. As I was talking to Nolan before he saw her for the first time that day, I asked him how he was feeling and if he was ready. His response was “I’m a little nervous. I just can’t wait to see her.” And their first look was so emotional! Nolan was awestruck when he saw his bride for the first time, overtaken by emotions.

Their love continued to seep into every moment of their day.

The Reception

Instead of having a traditional reception, Cora and Nolan opted to have their dinner at The Bar on Main. Utilizing both the upstairs dining area and downstair event space, offered guests to have a laid-back vibe while they celebrated the happy couple.

They had their special dances and speeches, and then we finished the night in the golden hour of sunset portraits. These are always my favorite part of the wedding day because now we just get to relax and celebrate being husband and wife.

The ivy wall behind the bar was in its full glory, so we had to take advantage of that!

Thank you

Cora and Nolan, thank you. Thank you for choosing me to capture your wedding day. You made my job so easy and fun. Your family made me feel so welcome and it was so great to see so many familiar faces. I wish you the best of adventures in the upcoming years. And again…congratulations!!