Anna Page Photography Blog-Milwaukee and Madison Wisconsin Wedding Photographer bio picture
  • About the Artist

    My name is Anna Page Wheeler. I am currently living near Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. I have a wonderful and supportive husband named Jonathan. We have three dogs that chew on our furniture and are very spoiled by me of course. I love Japanese food, music, traveling, anything and everything vintage, being with my awesome family and of course, photography.

    As a photographer, I am constantly thinking of new ways to create art. Everywhere I go I am always studying light. It completely consumes my thinking, and I love it! Every photo shoot is unique and I like to bring that uniqueness out every time. I want you to see how I see you! Thank you for visiting my blog!

    All images on this blog are Copyright Anna Page Photography. Please DO NOT take any images from this blog without prior consent.

Our trip to Door County

Last year in late spring Jonathan and I decided to take a spontaneous quick trip to Door County, Wisconsin before the wedding season got really crazy. Summer is my favorite season and although I love my job to death, I still really want to squeeze in relaxing trips like this if I can. All the years I have lived in Wisconsin I had never been to Door County except for a couple weddings but never stayed to really enjoy it. We were probably there for a couple days and I have to say that was the perfect amount of time for me since I’m addicted to working, lol!

There is a video we made at the end of the post. After we got back from our trip we sort of put the video on the back burner as we got busier. I’m sort of happy to get it done now since the video makes me long for the summer again. All color photos were taken on my Yashica-A and the two black and white images were taken on my Hasselblad 500 c/m.

We decided to make some stops on the way up. For lunch we stopped at this very interesting diner called The Penguin Drive-In in Manitowoc. We decided to only eat at local establishments on our trip. The place was cute and the burgers were yummy!


accidental double exposure on the left

We also stopped at a beach and took some pictures. It was crazy windy that day!(another double exposure. Oops!)

We stayed at the White Lace Inn in Sturgeon Bay. For this particular trip we didn’t have any plan other than just going. We didn’t book a hotel or B+B ahead of time. I think we were able to do that since we went during the week. Because we were a walk-in, we got a better price on our room than if we booked online. Dennis the innkeeper was very friendly and let us look at all the available rooms and choose which one we liked the best. We ended up picking room D in the Washburn house. I don’t have many pictures of our room(very dark for an old film camera!), but you can see one on their website.

We picked a perfect time to go there. It was sunny and beautiful every day except the day we left. Perfect timing! As soon as we arrived at the White Lace Inn, we were immediately greeted by the Inn cat. It also even sort of escorted us to breakfast the next day as if saying “puurrrr, let me show you the way to bRRReakfast”. Too cute! We lovingly named it Paul. If you’ve seen a certain episode of Family Guy, you’d know why:)

On our first morning we got a seat by the window for breakfast. The breakfast they serve is lite and tasty which is perfect for me. I usually don’t like to eat a lot at the beginning of the day. The living room and dining area is very relaxing, quiet and charming. On Thursday nights they have a local folk band that comes in and plays for a few hours which we enjoyed a lot. You’ll see some of the footage from that in the video below.

The grounds of the Inn are lovely. I enjoyed walking through the gardens(and finding my favorite flower, Lily of Valley), lounging on the pink and white lawn chairs, saying hello to the fishes in the pond, and playing some b-ball with Jonathan.

After enjoying the gardens we decided to head off up farther north to Egg Harbor and Fish Creek. The drive is beautiful and isn’t too far from Sturgeon Bay. I swear I listened to Billie Holiday on my ipod the entire trip.

The weather was wonderful for a picnic, so that’s just what we did once we arrived in Egg Harbor. We picked a spot by a candy store that overlooks the lake. I felt like a kid again when I saw the candy necklace and candy cigarettes. Those were my favorite candies as a kid so I had to splurge.


Double exposure, again! Blech! Ah well it looks kinda neat:)You can see me lounging on the pink and white chairs and also the view from our picnic in Egg Harbor.

After our picnic we decided that we needed to see Peninsula State Park so we did a quick drive-through. There are certain areas in the forest that are amazing! I wanted to take pictures of SOMEBODY in those beautiful blue flowers. The pictures I took just don’t do them justice though. They are so delightful in person! We couldn’t stay in the forest for too long because of the skeets.

My parents always stayed at the White Gull Inn whenever they’d visit Door County for their anniversary. They told us that we HAVE to go to their Fish Boil. We also highly recommend doing this if you’re ever in Fish Creek. The dinner also comes with Door County’s signature cherry pie. No pictures of our food, but you can see that in our video below.

After dinner we enjoyed the most amazing sunset by the White Gull Inn.


Jonathan looks so tough in this photo!


The millionth double exposure on this trip, lol!

The next day we decided to take a break from filming and pictures a little. I have to mention the place we had lunch though and PLEASE, you MUST go there if you’re ever in Fish Creek. We found this pizza place called Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza and Grille. We highly recommend it! The reviews online of this place are all good and for good reason. It MAY have been the best pizza I’ve ever had in the states, and the cheese curds on top of our pizza MAY have had something to do with that. The atmosphere, service, and of course the food is excellent. We have been talking about taking a one day trip JUST to this place because the pizza is that good.

We spent the rest of the day antiquing, walking, shopping, and going to wine tastings. Our favorite winery was Simon Creek in Sturgeon Bay. We ended up buying a couple bottles of their cherry wine.

And now for the video! Enjoy!:)

Door County from Jonathan Wheeler on Vimeo.

Theo & Megan

I shot Theo and Megan’s portraits last winter. Thought it would be appropriate to post their chilly winter session, well, during a chilly part of the winter. We went to Madison to hang out with these two for an hour or so. We loved getting to know them. They are a beautiful couple indeed!

Just be

My “slow season” is in full swing and I don’t mind it one bit. I’m happy for the break but I know that very soon I’ll be dying to get back to work. This is the time where I look back at my last wedding season and sort of reflect. I think about my work, my improvements, things I need to improve on, all the happy moments I got to capture at the weddings, etc. One thing that has stood out to me that I’ve recently been pondering is: couples on their wedding day should take a few minutes to breathe in and relish the moment…alone. Yes, even without me.

I shot a wedding last year where a couple did just that. Immediately after walking down the aisle, they sneaked away into a room for a couple minutes, just the two of them. No receiving line, no bridal party, no photographer. They wanted to be ALONE for just a moment. Only they know of the sweet words exchanged, the possible tears and kisses.

I’ve shot over a hundred weddings and this had to be the first wedding I noticed something so sweet like that. It made me think that all couples should take a few minutes, go hide somewhere from all the craziness, and just be. I guarantee that it will be one of the best moments to happen during the whole day(and I can say this from experience). Jonathan and I got to have a few moments to ourselves during our wedding. It is probably the most vivid memory I have from that day and definitely one of the happiest.

I highly recommend to all engaged couples yet to wed to take a few minutes on your wedding day to just be alone. A good time is immediately after the ceremony when your adrenaline and emotions are high. The day will go by in a flash so taking the time to really soak in all the emotions with your new spouse will for sure be a cherished memory from your wedding.



Seven


Images by Barksdale Photography.

Jonathan and I got married on a cold, foggy day in Salt Lake City, Utah seven years ago on January 20th. Our wedding was small, understated, and not fussy, just how I like it. I didn’t care about flowers, the cake, or any of that stuff. I just wanted to be married to Jonathan, forever. We were very young when we got married(I was 20!). We are completely different people from when we first got married, but we have grown together.

I’m truly thankful for having Jonathan in my life. He is my rock, and knows exactly what to say to me when I’m not in the best of moods. Since we work together every day, I don’t get to say goodbye to him in the mornings like most couples have to do. Some people may think I’m crazy for saying this, but I love having him with me all day, every day. I miss him like crazy when he leaves to run errands or goes to visit his parents in St.Louis when I can’t come. I love hearing him laugh in the other room while I’m working(and anyone who has heard him laugh knows he laughs loud!).

He puts up with my crazy moods and my “do I look fat?” questions like a pro. He is a good person and is kind and loving to everyone he interacts with. He is the most non-judgy person I know and I’ve learned, from him, to not be as judgmental about others.

Sometimes we act like kids, and with every passing year I feel like we get sillier. I hope when we’re really old we can still act silly together

Happy seven years my love! I can’t imagine life without you:)

Black and white film…

…is lovely:)