Moriah & Cody's Abella Weddings & Events Wedding

The portraits begin at a tall white barn with a gambrel roof and a wall of multi-pane windows. In one frame Moriah and Cody kiss on the lawn in front of it while the wedding party cheers and walks toward them; in another the two of them stand close to its doors with their dog at their feet. Moriah wore an off-the-shoulder white gown with a long train and a lace-edged veil that lifts and drapes in several portraits. Cody wore a dark olive tweed three-piece suit with a burgundy tie and a pocket square made of feathers, which gets a close-up of its own.

Moriah carried a bouquet of white roses and ranunculus with ferns, dark magnolia leaves and feathers. It appears in a profile portrait, a close frame on the lawn, and a playful one in which Cody smiles through a ring of the blooms held up to the lens. The rings show in a close frame of her hands under the veil.

Their brindle dog is in the day too. It wears a collar of white flowers in several frames: sitting between them on the porch lawn, lying beside the hem of the gown, and in a portrait of its own wearing gold-framed sunglasses.

The wedding party is photographed under a large willow. The bridesmaids wear rust, burgundy, teal and red dresses and carry white bouquets, and the groomsmen wear brown suits with burgundy ties. The last frames move to dusk, with the couple under a sheer veil in tall yellow wildflowers.

These are the features you can see in the 20 photographs.

• A white gambrel barn with tall windows: a kiss on the lawn with the wedding party behind them, and the couple and their dog in front of its doors.
• A white rail fence beside a barn with an ivy-covered wall: Moriah leaning on the rail with her bouquet, Cody leaning against it in sunglasses, and the two of them walking hand in hand along the grass.
• A weathered white barn wall with small windows and climbing ivy: Cody kissing Moriah's cheek while her veil blows across the frame.
• The front porch of a white farmhouse: portraits of the couple with their dog, and the dog on its own.
• A willow tree: the bridesmaids gathered around the veil, and the whole wedding party lined up beneath the branches.
• A white barn with gray trim and a green classic car: Moriah in sunglasses leaning back on the hood.
• A field of tall yellow wildflowers: the couple under the veil as the light fades.

Abella Weddings & Events is at 11720 256th Street in Chisago City. The venue's own website describes a French country-inspired estate on a secluded 19-acre property with a modern reception hall, a historic barn and several outdoor spaces, with open catering. It lists up to 295 guests in the reception hall.

Those details come from the venue, so confirm dates, tours and current capacity with Abella before you plan around them. Our Chisago City and Lindstrom guide lists the other wedding venues in the Chisago Lakes area with the facts each one publishes.

Twelve hours is the length of our Sapphire collection, which is $5,300 and includes two photographers, an anniversary session and a highlight video, along with the engagement session every collection has. It is the right size for a day with several outdoor spaces, because the extra hours leave room to move between a barn, a lawn and a porch without rushing the portraits.

When you build the schedule, start from your ceremony time and the sunset time for your date, then list the spots on the property you most want in the photographs. Tell us how far apart they are, since a short walk is easy to fit in and a long one needs a few extra minutes. A wedding party portrait session also goes more smoothly when everyone knows where to gather.

Our wedding collections run from 4 to 12 hours, starting at $3,100 for the 4-hour Emerald collection. Travel is included within 40 miles of downtown Minneapolis and billed at cost with no markup beyond that. Send your date and venue address through the contact page and we will confirm which side of that line it falls on.