Wedding on the River: Karee and Mariah | Willy McCoy's | Champlin | Minnesota Wedding Photography

Usually when we think of a wedding on the river, the first thing that comes to mind in Minnesota is a place like Stillwater. Mariah and Karee were married on a sunny summer day at Mariah’s parents’ home in Champlin. We had no idea what the house was like until we arrived that morning. We were so excited when we arrived, as they were going to have a beautiful wedding on the river. The house was so gorgeous, with so much character. It was just a joy to shoot their ceremony there.

Their day was so much fun. I know we say that about a lot of weddings we shoot, but this was no exception. Their wedding party and family were awesome. They were all so friendly and happy – exactly what you want on a wedding day. After the ceremony at the house, they followed it up with a reception at Willy McCoy’s. We actually didn’t even know that Willy McCoy’s did wedding receptions. They do though, and their event spot was super nice. When you were in there, you would have no idea you were even connected to the restaurant, which I thought was cool.

Highlights of the day:

Like we said, everyone was so fun. When we arrive in the morning, it’s usually tense if there isn’t music playing during the getting ready time. However, everyone at the wedding was so bubbly and excited that it didn’t even matter.
They had a dog as a ring bearer. He wore a tux. That’s just the best.
Their officiant is probably one of our favorite officiants EVER.
When doing wedding party photos, we had them do an “attitude” photo where no one smiled. Normally, this isn’t easy and you have to pose everyone. We told them to strike an attitude pose and literally EVERY PERSON in the party nailed it on the first try. That was one of the best things I’ve ever seen.
We did sunset photos at the end of the day. Due to the wildfires in Canada, the colors looked very unique.

Thank you to the following vendors for helping create such a wonderful day:

Venue: Willy McCoy’s
Photography: RKH Images
Dresses: Davids Bridal
Shoes: Kohls and JCPenny
Rings: Helzberg Diamonds
Florist: Lexington Floral
Desert: Grandma’s Bakery
DJ: Midwest Sound Entertainment

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