Melissa Oholendt | Minnesota Wedding & Lifestyle Photography

Contrary to (my) popular opinion for most of my teenage (and admittedly, some of my adult) years – I have recently decided that despite all odds, I have pretty cool parents. Even though my dad tends to ignore the fact that yes, you CAN wear too much denim all at once and even though my mom proudly displays a 6-foot (terrifyingly lifelike) Nutcracker named Sir Frederick every Christmas season at the bottom of the stairs (where, really, there is no creepier place for him to be when you are sneaking downstairs in the dark at 3am on Christmas morning), they still manage to hold status as two of the most fun and awesomely hip parents I know.

I guess it’s possible that their relative coolest factor increased as my definition of cool morphed from Care Bears to Jonathan Taylor Thomas to Seven Jeans to hooray-no-yoga-pants-on-a-Friday-night; but it’s also possible that they were cool from the very beginning and I was just too busy fashion-policing to notice. As a 27-year old undecided in the chicken before the demin-clad-egg war, I guess we will never know for sure. One thing I do know? I got my joy of laughter and sarcasm from that guy and my intense drive to succeed from that lady. You can thank them later for that.

Dear Mom & Dad. You will lose considerable cool points if you long-distance ground me for this post. Just saying. LOVE YOU.

So long. I dreamed about this shoot for so, so long. I hope you love it as much as I do.

(PS. These vendors rocked my world. If you ever have the opportunity to hire them? Please do. You will not regret it.)

Event Design: First Blush Bride
Fashion Styling: Faith Brue
Dress: Grace Bridal Boutique
Flowers: A Day in Provence
Cake: Sweets by Natalie Kay
Stationery: Kelley Burfiend
Hair & Make-up: Smart & Chic
Published on the Minnesota Bride Blog & (yesterday!) on my very favorite fashion & design blog, Jeune Marie.

If 2009 was a year of growth, 2010 will be known as the year I loved deeply. 2010 is also the year I traveled big, photographed big, dreamed big, changed big, failed big and then succeeded big.

I traveled to California, Las Vegas, Utah, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Utah (again), Cabo, Pennsylvania, Phoenix, Maryland & Colorado. And still (still!) did not earned that elusive elite status.

I took workshops; photographed lifestyle sessions, engagement sessions and lots and lots of weddings. I also learned the value of taking photos just for me.

I made lifelong friends, cried until I couldn’t cry anymore and changed the way I thought. I listened to beautiful music, watched amazing movies and had conversations that both wrecked and spellbound me.

I was published!  More than once! Actually, like 6 times!

I stayed out too late, laughed a LOT and shared a 50 piece Chicken McNugget with 7 other people.

I crossed items off my 5-year goal list faster than I had ever hoped. I emailed a hella lot. And then I learned how to make sushi.

My marriage turned 5 years old and my dog turned 3. I remodeled my office and color-coded my bookshelves.

I spent months rarely sleeping and crying a lot but in those same months I experienced the highest highs of my photography life.

I rebranded ALL YEAR LONG but it turned into something I am emphatically proud of.  I saw my bestie two times this year; two times! (For those of you who don’t know – that is WAY more than usual.)

I planned, executed and photographed the most amazing concept shoot that would make me lose my mind and fall in love all at the same time with a team of vendors that I am pretty sure could change the wedding industry as a collective and then? Two days later I turned 27.

I think it’s safe to say, 2010 was pretty much the most amazing year yet. You have some big shoes to fill 2011; let’s get started.