July 26—Northwestern alumna Emily Steffen '05 was recently named Wisconsin Bride’s best wedding photographer of 2011. Vendors in nearly 30 categories were nominated for the ‘Best of’ awards. The magazine’s editors selected three finalists in each category, and then invited their readers to vote for the finest vendor in each category.

Steffen photographs more than 30 weddings a year and has had weddings featured in several popular industry magazines and blogs including Minnesota Bride, Wisconsin Bride, The Knot magazine, Style Me Pretty and The Wedding Chicks.

In her fifth year as a professional photographer, Steffen reflects on her journey into photography. “The event of a wedding draws so much emotion and grandeur that it makes my job amazingly fun,” she said. “I started my business because it combined my three loves: art, people and business.”

Though she graduated with a degree in studio art from Northwestern, Steffen hadn’t studied or planned on pursuing photography.

“My senior show was about printmaking and fabrics. I didn't even have photography on my radar until after college,” she said. “I started photographing weddings on the weekends to make a few extra bucks and fell in love with the people, emotions, and industry of weddings! Even though I did very little photography at NWC, being a studio art major taught me a lot about people and plays a HUGE role in running my business today.”

After college, Steffen moved back to Hudson with her husband, where she owns and operates her business out of their home. Samples of her photography can be viewed on her website, http://emilysteffen.com/.

Photos courtesy of Emily Steffen.