The Lumber Exchange Event Center //
Hannah + Brian

There are some people who, immediately upon meeting, you just know are going to be with you for life. Hannah was one of those. It all started on a sunny day in Cancun and has progressed to adventures nationwide. She is fun and open for adventure while Brian is a salt-of the earth type - sweet, nice and always smiling. They’re the type of people you want in your life, like really want in your life.

Couples like this make it easy to create really epic memories. Don’t believe us? You can even check out their engagement session to see the adventure they took us on.

psst - click here for Hannah + Brian // Engagement Session

Anyways, back to the good stuff.

So this successful wedding and event planner calls me up the other day. Her standard weddings are 2-4 million but she has a couple who’s interested in Flow. She doesn’t know much about me and is trying to learn more. This wedding is only a few hundred thousand which she points out “it’s still big for Minnesota.” I comment that “they should be able to create some fun for that.” I think to myself, my record is 275k. It wasn’t my money of course but it still is fun to make records. I was a part of that! I have records for a lot of different things (to be continued). I had a rocking time at a 10k wedding! Smiles were ear to ear for that one and they even had bacon wrapped tater tots (Marcus at Darby’s- you’re a god)! And that’s the spread of Flow’s records to date. I imagine by the end of 2021 that my new record is a million and change. We’ll be running all the important parts and while it will also be a wedding, it will be remembered as a transformational experience. The experience of the moment is everything. 2020 already has some doozies lined up.

She loves my work but says, “like I know, @devonericksen and she’s on your website so obviously it’s just like styled shoots that you put up”...? She’s trying to know what’s real. I started laughing. “I mean, it looks really good” she says and she kind’ve trails out and I say “Well, what do you mean by not real exactly when referring to my work?” She tells me the woman on my website is a famous model and she’s seen her in a bunch of different wedding shoots. “Oh, I get that. She’s a light and one-of-a-kind for sure but that’s actually just a shot from her wedding. Like for real. That’s the guy she makes out with on the regular.” Her tone changes. It’s like we had a breakthrough. She tells me about another video company she loves but at 20k, they may charge a little too much. I guess on the name of the videographer. I’m right! Somebody give me a cookie. “I’m actually friends with him,” I tell her. “I’ve known him forever. He borrowed one of my cameras for a trip to Jordan like a decade ago! We even used to share an office. He’s fabulous. I’m Vegan on Monday’s for him.” Good people like to help good people.

Lumber Exchange and Event Center Weddings

She had a point though. I see photographers out there now who look like they are shooting amazing weddings and they have only shot 3 real weddings so far. I don’t mind the practice at all. I advised them all to do it! Show people what you can create. Talent trumps everything. However, experience of course, will only make talent better. I also advised a 46 year old woman to be a college grad. She feels she got passed over for a position just because someone else had a better degree. College is largely pointless right now. It’s a trap to help out rich people and bound others in debt. College is for doctors and lawyers and those who want to rage in a fun environment with their friends. All that really matters now is what you can do. So what can you do? I’ll tell you my young talent, while talented, all made some epic mistakes that experience would teach them to avoid otherwise. That’s what I do. I keep the flow positive. The inspiration flooding us like a fountain of youth. I make everything better. Maybe alchemy is real.

Lumber Exchange Wedding Video Inspiration

I shot my first wedding in 2002 with my university’s video equipment. I launched Flow officially full time on January 1, 2008! We’ve been busy ever since. Creating stylized weddings seemed redundant and pointless to me. It didn’t seem real or more importantly worth my time. However, after shooting so many wedding that have so many commonalities you start to think maybe we should be teaching people to see outside of the box. The dreams of your wedding day are only limited by your imagination. Focus on the things that matter most, have fun and go crazy with all your loved ones. That’s my general philosophy. I’ve noticed it works quite well. In 2019, we set a goal to show people what this looks like to us! We’re excited to show you!

Experience teaches you how to really be a rock star. After all, according to Malcolm Gladwell, to excel at something you need to log your 10,000 hours in it. It’s so true. I never thought that weddings and events would be where I logged my 10,000 hours but now there you have it and here it is, Rick, this is your expertise.

Experience teaches you how to be efficient with your time and to maximize everything around one goal - creation. Creating fun. Creating art. Creating flow that transcends every day life and builds a moment that truly becomes divine. People hire us to create magic, while also covering all the little details along the way. If you shoot weddings, you have to love weddings to succeed at them. I don’t know what can be better than a celebration with all your loved ones and having someone as excited as you to be there capturing all the perfection. Excitement is contagious. Positivity is an energy that runs through us all. Some call it the Holy Spirit. Others call it Beyonce. For me, it’s some golden hour light, long lines that stretch to infinity, architecture that may have been normal upon the first glance but become foreign and unique upon the second. It’s a song that we all know and rush the dance floor together upon the intro. I don’t recall all the songs playing out of my back pocket on this day where the UE Boom often resides. But I recall dancing as I walked and dancing when you walk is so much more fun.

We, the Flow, are almost always seen after the dances are done, having a drink with our clients, cameras strapped on and I’m still taking pictures, often well after the package hours. I’m here for you! This moment is cool! I’m capturing it. This is very rare in my industry. People leave right away all the time. These people are booked by clients all the time. Some deliver a fine product but golly gee can their flow feel so transactional. What can I say, I like to feel the love. Give the love. Receive the love. My grandma always said, people have to learn to care about something other than themselves and few ever achieve it. I decided to care about a good flow first and foremost. The rest falls into place after that.