Lauren and Justus's Austin, TX Wedding

Lauren and Justus got married last October just off of Lake Austin at a gorgeous wedding venue, owned by the Contemporary Austin, called Laguna Gloria.  Austin Wedding Planners (austinweddingplanners.com) did an amazing job planning this wedding and kept the day flowing very smoothly.  Rosa and her team were so much fun to work with, I genuinely hope I have an opportunity to work with them again some day!  The Flowers were by Exquisite Petals, and were absolutely stunning.  Judge Jan Breland Married them in front of a beautiful flowing fountain on the steps if Laguna Gloria's back patio, overlooking the sunset on Lake Austin.  A wonderful buffet dinner was provided by Austin Catering, and Michelle's Patisserie created an amazingly delicious traditional white cake for dessert.  The couple danced their first dance to "Harvest Moon" By Pearl Jam, and the DJ, Chris Stoffell, played a great variety of the couple's favorites mixed with lots of crowd favorites, keeping the party going til the very end! The tent that housed the  Dance floor was provided by Marquee Tents, and the lighting was provided by ILIOS Lighting Design.  Congrats to Lauren and Justus!

Tracee and Anthony Downtown Dallas Engagement Session

This session was so much fun to plan!  I met with Tracee at her friend's building downtown to scout out a rooftop that she was interested in incorporating into their engagement portraits.  We had initially thought we would do an outdoor location and then go to the roof for a couple of night-time shots with the Dallas lights.  As soon as I walked into the lobby of the building, I fell in love and knew that we needed to do the session indoors with studio lights!  The colors in the lobby worked so well with this gorgeous couple.  The results were outstanding and I couldn't be happier with the images we had to choose from.  Proof that success in photography has so much to do with planning!  I am so glad I decided to go look at that rooftop with her or we may have missed out on that awesome lobby!

 

Lee-Taylor and Riley's Black Tie Wedding

Lee-Taylor and Riley were married on a gorgeous January day in Fort Worth, TX.  Their wedding was amazing!  The wedding ceremony took place at University Christian Church by the TCU Campus.  I have photographed several weddings at this church and I always love it.  They have very particular guidelines for wedding photographers. We are instructed to shoot the entire ceremony from the back balcony which seems to discourage some, but if you come here prepared with a long and fast lens, you can capture some amazing vantage points from that balcony!  It is absolutely breathtaking.   My favorite thing about photographing this wedding was how snazzy everyone looked!  It was black tie and these wedding guests BROUGHT it!!  Everyone looked so glamorous.  It sure did make my job easy!  The reception was held at River Crest Country Club in Fort Worth, TX.  As soon as the bride and groom entered, the party was on!  Live band, delicious food, and a ton of fun guests dancing the night away!  The groom even got on stage and did 2 numbers with the band.  It was pretty epic!  At the bottom of the post, I have included a digital copy of the wedding album so you can see how the images all came together to tell the story of their special day.

Ryan and Kara's Wedding sneak peek!

I love it when I get to photograph a friend's wedding!  I have known Ryan since High School and I was so excited when he and Kara asked me to capture their big day!  Ryan and Kara had the perfect wedding day at Times Ten Cellars in Fort Worth, TX!  (what a great venue and the food was amazing)  The Photo Van was there to entertain the guests at the reception and Linda McEwan (The Flower Lady) made some of the most gorgeous flower arrangements that looked absolutely stunning in this venue!  Thank you to Kara and Ryan for asking me to capture your wedding day memories, I loved every minute of it.  Congrats on wedded bliss and I hope you enjoy this preview of your wedding images!

Salma and Chris- Downtown Dallas Engagement Portraits

I officially love shooting in Downtown Dallas!  Salma and Chris were so much fun to work with!  Our downtown Dallas portrait session could not have gone any better!  We cruised around from Main Street Garden Park, to the AT&T Performing arts center, to the location of their first date, The Fairmont Hotel.  It was a fun time and these two lovebirds made my job easy!  They certainly don't have any trouble making each other laugh, which in my opinion, is the key to a long and happy marriage!  

Stephanie and Kyle's Hollow Hill Farm Wedding

As I was completing the wedding album for Stephanie and Kyle, I came to realize that I never blogged about this super cute barn house wedding!  So here we are, 10 months after the I do's and I am reminiscing about the Texas summers!  It can be really hard as a bride to pose outdoors in a wedding dress in 100 degrees, but Stephanie was out there twirling away happy as can be, while I captured what appears to be true wedding-day-bridal-bliss!  Hollow Hill Farms was a great rustic wedding venue.  Their staff was so friendly.  Not to mention the fact that they are perfectly set-up for The Photo Van! Stephanie booked The Photo Van as part of her wedding package with me. It was a perfect set- up for it and all the guests loved having the coolest photo booth ever at the reception.  I really enjoyed capturing this day for Stephanie and Kyle.  Thank you for trusting me with your memories of your wedding day, it was honor to be a part of it.  I wish you both a lifetime of happiness!

Sabrenah and Aaron's Fort Worth Wedding

 Sabrenah and Aaron got married last November at Art space 111 in Fort Worth, Texas.  What a cool venue!  I really enjoyed working with them and knew from our first consultation that their wedding was  probably going to be the funkiest, vintage inspired, foodie wedding I have ever witnessed and I was right!  Their wedding day was absolutely one of my all time favorite weddings ever! I knew right away that these two lovebirds were meant for each other.  They are both so creative and I think their wedding was a true testament to their style and taste.    It's better that you just go look at the photos because words can't even begin to describe it.  I will tell you one thing, my favorite part was when the Bride and Groom grabbed the mic at the reception and sang (incredibly well, I might add)  "That's all I ask of you" from The Phantom of the Opera.  And they were GOOD!  It was a really cool moment and completely unplanned.  Take a look for yourself at this wonderful day:

Lee-Taylor and Riley: an engagement session at White Rock Lake

Who doesn't love a sun-drenched fall afternoon???  Hanging out with Riley and Lee-Taylor on a sunny afternoon by the lake, I was happy to realize that this gorgeous couple photographs like they just walked out of a Ralph Lauren ad!  I just love my job!  Enjoy this beautiful sunset shoot by the lake:

Elliana at the Park.

So apparently "tween" sessions are a thing now and since my favorite tiny human (Elliana) is turning 12 soon, I decided we absolutely had to go play in the park and take have a tween portrait session, even though I kind of hate the word Tween!  First of, let me say that she is much easier to photograph now than when she was 2!  I remember the kicking and screaming well.  As the years progress it has gotten easier but she never really wanted to have anything to do with the camera.  Now she is like a little fashion model!  Oh how times change. (sigh.)  I have truly enjoyed watching my little munchkin turn into such a beautiful young lady.  Check out how much fun we had playing in the leaves and hanging out with my favorite girl at my favorite park!   



Gabriella's Downtown Dallas Bridal Portrait Session

Lately, my absolute favorite way to photograph bridal portraits is to have a friend drive me and the bride to several locations in the downtown Dallas area.  There are a few things about this type of session that really work for me.  First of all, it  cuts down on walking.  Which you wouldn't think would be a big deal in a portrait session, but with bridals it definitely is!  By having a friend drive us to spots in the city, we are allowed to rest our feet in between shots and cool off or warm up from whatever crazy Texas weather we are having that day.  This session with Gabriella was in the middle of the "hotter than heck"  Texas summer so getting out of the heat every 10 minutes really helped.  I assume this would also help in the winter months when  strapless dress can cause a bride to catch a chill in a few minutes time!  My favorite part about a downtown session is the variety of shots that we can get!  There are so many different backgrounds to choose from and with a chauffeur we can really cover a lot of ground fast.  The shade from the buildings creates such a great lighting that we almost never have to deal with an unflattering light.  If they are timed just right, we can also transition into a glam night-lights session!  So many possibilities in the city!  The only question is where to begin?  

 

Flowers by Linda McEwan