Katie and Mark's Wedding

This had to be the cutest wedding we have captured this year. Katie did such a fantastic job of paying so much attention to detail in the planning and it really came out so awesome during the day. I don't know even where to start to explain the day. It was also so awesome to see Katie AND her mom so excited and so giddy about the wedding day. Mark even started to get misty-eyed as Katie walked down the aisle.

We started out at the home of Katie's mom. Her parents have a lush and beautifully landscaped backyard that was ideal for a background for group portraits. We hung out there for a while and captured a lot of fun moments. The only 'downer' was that the forecast was rain, rain, rain and the ceremony was going to be outside at Avery Ranch Golf Club. We waited until the last hour or so before it was decided whether or not the wedding would be moved to inside, or stay outside. Fortunately for us, the rain went north of us, so my streak of ZERO wedding ceremonies with rain was NOT broken (but it finally was a few days later at another wedding - :( ).

We then headed over to Avery Ranch to meet up with Mark. We felt pretty safe since he and many of his buddies are police officers with APD. One thing that I forgot was that they were going to involve their little doggie in the ceremony. They even dressed him up in a little tuxedo! How cute is that! The ceremony was also preceeded by the beautiful sounds of a bagpipe. Katie's heritage is Scottish.

The ceremony went with no rain, and we even upset some golfers by doing some group portraits on the 18th hole. I'm glad they decided to NOT hit any golf balls our way during that time! I also did a gopher search, but couldn't find any. They must have awesome greens-keepers there.

Katie and Mark were then whisked away in their own limo over to Bella Notte on Main, a nice and cozy wedding reception facility in downtown Round Rock. Their reception was unique in that they had all sorts of awesome desserts to choose from (as well as regular food). The reception was filled full of fun and laughter, as well as I know their marriage will.

Kelly and Stan's Engagement

We made our first visit of the year to Austin Botanical Gardens, and we had some awesome weather and some awesome scenery thanks to all of the recent heavy rains. We had bunches of fun with this couple, and we even found some flowers that almost matched the color of Kelly's shirt!

I will admit there was a bit of humidity, and I almost felt like I was back in Louisiana. There was a nice cool breeze that popped in and out, but it could have stayed longer.

Kelly did a great job of having fun and bringing out the best in Stan. This couple and my wife and I both share something in common - our spouse's birthday is on the same day as ours AND it's five years apart - how unique is that?

We'll see this cute couple again towards the end of the year at The Terrace Club.

Kirsten and Jeff's Engagement (co-starring Shiner)

How unique is this - I do 'Kirsten and Jeff's engagement' the day after 'Kersten and Jeff's wedding' (these are two different couples). This was my first 'doggy' engagement session, too, so it was a lot of fun.

This couple drove in from Houston, and we went walking around the hill that overlooks Pennypacker Bridge. We almost got rained out, but the clouds went away at the last moment.

This couple was fun to work along and it was my first chance to see them in person. I'm really excited that they chose us because I really enjoyed their laid-back personality, and the chance to get to know their recent addition to their family, Shiner.

We'll see this couple again next year at Vintage Villas.

Kersten and Jeff's Wedding

Another beautiful day for another beautiful wedding. It's getting harder and harder to do this job because I grow so close to my couples and then they go off and get married, and I hardly ever see them again! Why can't they just hang around some more? :)

We had such a fun time with this couple. We started out the day at New Sweden Lutheran Church, where Kersten's dad is the pastor. The church is a registered historic landmark and is a beautiful church both inside and out. Kersten and her mom were so filled with tears of joy, and I'm so glad they trusted to us to capture these moments. Kersten was so beautiful in her dress and she had the longest veil of any bride that we have worked with (I always say 'the bigger, the better'). Jeff came looking 'very dashing' in his tux, and we took some really awesome groom images. I can't wait for the couple to see these images!

One of the ways that this ceremony was unique was that Kersten's dad is the man who is 'her father, her pastor, the man who gave her away AND one of her employees'! (He works for their Krav Maga studio). It was really funny to hear him mention this during their ceremony and it received a lot of laughs.

We then went on to the Hilton hotel and had some alone time. The skies were gorgeous and we had a nice sunset. They partied the rest of the night and had a great time.

I finally got a chance to work with Lindy from 36th Street Wedding Coordinators, and they were on top of everything. They even brought Mountain Dew to Kersten's pre-wedding massage - how personal is that? Stafford (AKA 'the veteran') from Complete Music did a great job of keeping people on the dance floor and keeping the party going. The flowers from Coby Neal were precious and they lasted all night long. The couple chose only one bride's cake from Lucy's Cakes that was quite yummy with chocolate on the inside and white frosting on the out.

Here are some of the moments that we captured and one of my favorites from her bridal session. This small sample can not even cover how many awesome images that were captured.

Melissa's Bridal

We had another awesome session at Dun Vegan Keep with another awesome bride. Melissa was so silly and so beautiful at the same time - I really see how she and Mike were so attracted to each other. She also has some stunning blue eyes (you can view their engagement session for a preview). I can't really say too much more because Mike is VERY adamant about not hearing any details about the dress. Regardless, I know he will not be able to keep his eyes off of his bride on their wedding day.

We'll be seeing this couple again in October at The Terrace Club.

Carlie's Bridal

We went out to Dun Vegan Keep despite canceling twice before because we thought it was going to rain. As you would guess, the third time was a charm. We had some beautiful weather and the bride was gorgeous. It's a very simple dress, and she did a great job of getting all of her jewelry to match her dress (and that's ALL I can give away!).

Martin is going to be very pleased with how beautiful his lovely bride is going to look on her wedding day.

We'll see this couple again soon at The Terrace Club.

Kendra's Bridal

All I could say was 'WOW' - Jeff is going to have a hard time keeping his hands off of his bride to be on their wedding day. Kendra was so much fun, and she was so playful. We went to Dun Vegan Keep and we took advantage of the beautiful greenery and the awesome diffused lighting from the overhead clouds.

Her dress really goes with her wedding theme - simple, sweet and sexy! We will see this couple again in September at the Barr Mansion.

Carlie and Martin's Engagement

We took this fun couple out to the hill that overlooks the Hwy 360/Pennypacker bridge. This is SUCH a beautiful area and the couple did an outstanding job of just hanging out and relaxing in front of the camera. The terrain was a little rugged getting up there, but there's so much wilderness that is just awesome for backgrounds.

We will see this couple again over Memorial Day Weekend, so stay tuned for the upcoming bridal teaser and wedding highlights!

Lisa and Rich's Wedding

We made our first trip of the year to Green Pastures and we had a lot of fun hanging out with the peacocks. I never knew they could fly up into the trees! Ok, enough distractions about birds and onto the couple.

We started out the day at Bethany Lutheran Church for the ceremony. I really enjoyed the 2-minute trip to get there (we live right around the corner!). It's a new church and I really love the modern look and the architecture of the church. They actually used a lot of the local limestone to build it.

Lisa and Rich arrived separately, and they were ready to get this going! They worked so hard to get everything ready, including their home, and they were ready for their reward. Lisa was so glowing, so radiant and tearfully-emotional throughout the day. It was too cute. Rich even shed a tear sometimes, too. Lisa even had the opportunity for her 93-year old grandma to attend and she gave Lisa her wedding band to wear - how sentimental. They both are Aggies, so this isn't a mixed marriage - :)

Lisa's second-cousin's husband is the pastor of the church and he was the officiant. Her wedding was also unique in that she had a 'man of honor' instead of a matron of honor. Lance is her lifelong friend and he really provided some hilarious moments. I know it was really special for her to have him there.

My favorite part of the night was the toast. I never could imagined her dad to be so animated and funny! He had the place rolling with laughter for quite a while!

Green Pastures was awesome and it's really a beautiful place for a wedding. They had some yummy food, too, including crawfish etoufee - my favorite - YUM!

Also, since our business is expanding, I brought on an assistant, Hsin-Ju. She did an awesome job of capturing some great second angles.

Here's just a sample of the awesome moments that we captured.

Elisa's Bridals

Fun, fun, fun! That's what we had with Elisa! We went out to Dun Vegan Keep and had some awesome weather, despite the intermittent rain we have been seeing from day to day. We got to meet her Mom, too. It was cute to see her a bit timid at first (as most brides during their bridal session), but as the session went along, she really opened up and we had a great time.

I really loved her dress, and it really suits the style that she wants to present at the wedding - elegant and simple.

We will see her and her groom, Javier in June at the Round Rock Marriott.

Kersten's Bridals

I'm so fortunate in that I have many opportunities to bring out the inner-beauty with all of my customers. Some brides have the 'girl next door' look, while some others have the 'barbie' look, some have the 'innocent and sweet' look, and then some have the 'I can be on America's Next Top Model because I have distinct european model facial features' look (that's a mouthful!). Well, we have the last one in this case.

This bride, as like many others, was truly great to work with. In less than 10 seconds, she can go from a simple smile to a deep pouty-lips look. She even has the walk!

Jeff (her groom) is going to be SO blown away by her bridal images when sees them AFTER the wedding! He is of course going to blown away, too, when he gets to see her for the first time in this dress on their wedding day.

Lindsay and Albert's Wedding

Ok, I know, I know. I'm behind on blogging. I've done a bunch of portrait sessions, made quite a few wedding bookings, captured a few weddings and finished a few album designs. I hope to catch up by this weekend.

Anyway, we made our first trip to Barr Mansion this year. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but it was c-c-c-c-c-cold! The high was in the upper 50's! The bride and her bridesmaids really had to brave it in their beautiful strapless dresses. I felt so sorry for them!

I felt a really strong connection to this couple because the groom, Albert, is currently serving in the military. I was in the military (US Army) for 11 years, and it was quite an adventure. Albert has already served two tours in Iraq, and unfortunately will have to make another one very soon.


This was one wild reception, too! Many of Albert's buddies from Fort Hood came down, and it was non-stop action from minute to minute. We were able to capture a lot of fun times.