But seriously, her hard work and amazing talent has brought her recognition from judges that are some of the top photojournalists in America yet again. Isn’t this the type of photographer you’d want to trust capturing your wedding day?

Fifth Place – Groom Getting Ready

The judges said, “I haven’t got a clue what is happening in this photo but the beauty of a great photo is that we don’t need to know because the image has a voice of its own. That’s how moments work.”

Ninth Place – Reflections

How’s this comment from one of the judges? “Here’s a first. I’ve judged tens of thousands of top level wedding photos from some of the best photographers on the planet but I can’t remember ever seeing this scene. But, the onus is on the moment. Thus, not only is this photo unique (at least to my experience) it also includes the bride and groom. Mostly I like the ’seeing’ of this scene combined with its wonderful execution by the photographer.”

Eighteenth Place – Departure

The Reflections photo and this Departure photo are both from Tahnee and Greg’s July wedding.

Britta placed in last year’s contest and now a photo of Dave’s won first place in the Bride and Groom category for 2010. The photo of super-couple Laura and Reid is one of only 10 images to be published in the current issue of BRIDES Magazine or online at Brides.com. The contest was open to Wedding Photojournalist Association photographers around the globe and the first-place images were selected from over 3,200 entries.

First Place – Bride and Groom

“In the middle of a chaotic day, the couple found the time to steal a few seconds for themselves. The sweet kiss on the end of her nose, her lace veil, his wedding ring—they tell the story of the day in a single close-up. A dramatic snapshot like this works best in black-and-white.”

It’s an honor to represent North Dakota and the entire upper midwest with our award winning work. Other winners of the annual contest spanned the globe from New York to Milan and Moscow.

We’re so lucky to be able to do what we do. We get to hang out with awesome people, they give us great moments like this and we get to tell their stories. Who wouldn’t love it?

Thanks to all our fantastic clients that help make us a worldwide top-10 WPJA studio!

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Here’s a little background on the contest: The WPJA consists of over 1,800 wedding photojournalists from around the world and not just any photographer can get it, you must apply and be accepted. Their were over 10,000 images entered in the latest contest which the judges narrowed to 140 place winners in seven categories. The contest was judged by some of the most well-known and award-winning photojournalists and editors in the country.

Among those 140 place winners from 10,000 images by 1,800 photographers Britta and Dave had four place winners. I’ve mentioned it before but I’ll say it again: We’re really proud that we’re able to make these international, award-winning images right here in North Dakota and Minnesota. No mountains, no 500-year-old cathedrals and no tropical locations – just great clients that allow us to make great images.

Our hard work places us in the top 10 in the world for the number of WPJA awards we’ve earned, imagine what we can do on your wedding day!

Dave placed in the top 10 of the Getting Ready category with this image of a bridesmaid relaxing before Kelly and Tom’s wedding.

As I mentioned, Britta rocked the Kids (Being Kids) category by having three images place in the top 20. This image of a ring bearer from Sara and Rick’s wedding snapping a photo placed seventh.

Two places behind at ninth is this photo of Jeanmarie trying to give a ring bearer a kiss before her wedding to Preston.

Rain didn’t stop Ame and Sean’s wedding at all and it made for a great image of these boys attempting to catch rain drops.

How international is the contest? Photographers from England, Poland, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil, Australia and many more countries had photos place. We love that our North Dakota wedding photos do so well against the rest of the world. More proof about how great our region is!

Britta placed in the Emotion category for this photograph of Tahnee hugging a friend at her reception earlier this summer. Yet again Britta captures one of those fleeting moments that makes a wedding day so special.

Dave placed 10th for his photo of Sara and Alec posing in a comic book store in downtown Fargo. It’s a great photo because we’re all in on the joke – the viewer gets to enjoy the graphic elements while Sara and Alec love the American Gothic aspect.

Dave earned a 17th place in the Humor Category with a photograph from Ellen & Wesley’s wedding day. Cool tattoo, huh?

I was lucky in the humor category as well. Check out my eight place win for a photo I took at Laura & Brant’s spring wedding.

I also took a 16th place in the weather category of Amy (of Amy & Justin).

These results are just another recognition of Britta’s standing as one of the premier wedding photojournalists in the country.

First Place – Bridal Party

“What looks like a practical joke is actually the preparation for a group photo. The groom, on the left, and his ushers are attempting to climb onto a missile-shaped monument in St. Paul’s popular Como Park. Figuring the process would be as interesting as the final pose, Trygstad snapped the boisterous party launching their assault.”

Second Place – Bride

Judge’s Comments: “This bride is having so much fun! The smoky sparklers and dramatic background make for a great contrast to the bride’s radiant expression. A moment of pure bliss within an atmospheric tableau creates a lovely image. Dramatic lighting and peak emotion combined with clean composition come together perfectly. The bride’s unpretentious sweater over her wedding gown adds a sweet simplicity to the photograph.”

Here’s our winning photos:

Sixth place, Weather

Tenth place, Toasting

Ninth place, Kids (being Kids)

The awards are presented by the Chamber of Commerce of Fargo Moorhead to finalists in several categories. We’re honored for the recognition and it’s due to the hard work of the Milestones team.

Cheers for Britta!

This photo placed second in the Cake Cutting category:

And Britta placed sixth in Silhouettes and Shadows category with this photo:

I’d also like to congratulate our good friends Shawna and Chad for also placing in the Q3 contest. Congratulations!