Carnival Themed Wedding

I’ve spent the better part of 2 months helping my son’s school plan a Spring Carnival. As the carnival is nearing (and because I’ve had carnival on the brain) I thought it would be fun to share some carnival themed wedding ideas.

The most important thing to remember when theming your wedding, whether it’s Harry Potter themed or Starry Night themed, is subtlety. Take your theme and water it down. You can use hints of color to make your point or small elements. When you take a theme and water it down so it’s not so blatant, you create a more elegant wedding design.

The Entertainers: Hire some entertainers for your reception/cocktail hour. Any of the following entertainers would be a unique & fun experience for you and your guests:

  • Fire-eater
  • Contortionist
  • Balloon animal artist
  • Petting Zoo
  • Trapeze artist
  • Clown (though they can be scary for children & adults alike)
  • Have some carnival games for guests

The Decoration: Decorations can make or brake a wedding design. As I stated above, you would want to take your theme and water it down a little. That means, if you want red & white striped fabric (very carnival-esk) either have only one small area that’s red & white striped or have some red and some white in different places but never together.

  • Drape white fabric from the ceiling like the inside of a carnival tent. You can even pair it with twinkling lights for a more romantic tone.
  • Colorful balloon arrangements either hanging like chandeliers or in vases like flowers.
  • Gold silverware or miss matched plates and glasses.
  • Paint some toy animals gold and use them to decorate tables or even as a cake topper.
  • Rent a fog machine to fog the dance floor
  • Send your guests admission tickets with their invitation

The Food: You could have a lot of fun with food options.

  • Carnival Themed Food Trucks
  • Candy Apple’s & assorted candy in jars and Cotton Candy
  • Popcorn Bar
  • Funnel cake or any sort of fried treat
  • Peanut bags (be weary of allergies)
  • Meat on a stick!

Brookwood Community Wedding

In December of last year I had the honor of capturing Landon and Stephanie’s wedding at the Brookwood Community church.

This wedding held a special place in my heart, because Brookwood is special to me. Growing up, I had an uncle with special needs. He would have loved to be a part of the amazing community at Brookwood.

The wedding day was much rainier than I would have loved but thankfully everything was held indoors. Stephanie and Landon got ready inside the church then had a first look in the foyer. I absolutely loved how involved the family was with the wedding.

After the wedding ceremony, everyone headed to the Brookwood restaurant. One of the neatest parts of the reception was the station to take Polaroid photos under the mistletoe. Wedding guests partied and took photos throughout the evening. At the end of the night, the couple exited through colorful streamers.

VENDORS

Venue: Brookwood Community

 

John & Morgan’s Lyceum Wedding

John & Morgan’s Galveston wedding photography at the Lyceum.

Last December John & Morgan said “I do” inside the historic Lyceum building in Galveston, TX. It was a beautiful wedding day as Morgan was getting ready at an Airbnb just across the street from the venue. As night began to fall, the couple exchanged vows on a stage in front of friends and family.

The night kicked off with dances and speeches. There was a cookie bar and a cool “Til Death” neon sign guests were taking pictures in front of. I really loved the geode wedding cake. At the end of the night, the couple shared one last private dance then exited under a spray of dried lavender.

Vendors:

 

Personal – Volunteering at the Houston Rodeo

The Houston Rodeo season has just kicked off!

For me, however, the rodeo season kicks off around Christmas. My mother and I have been volunteering for the HLSR School Art committee since 2010. We’ve worked a couple of different jobs within the committee, but I think the job we currently have is one of my favorites.

This was a picture I sent my son because we were not going to be able to make it to his school for his presentation. We were still working at the Rodeo that day.

 

Within the School Art committee, there are several smaller committees. Each one has a specific job from educating the school representatives on the rules to judging the art and returning it to the schools at the end of the season. My mother and I are a part of the committee charged to handle the art once it is judged.

Each school district has a cubby with their name on it. Once the art is judged, all of the art that is chosen to be displayed is placed in those cubby’s as a holding place until they are displayed in the cases along the inside hall of the NRG arena. All of the judged art is then displayed for a second round of judging. This is the process of selecting the Grand Champion, Reserve Champion and all of the other champion & auction pieces. All of this takes place between January and February.

In late February (usually the same day as opening for the cook-off) we clean the display cases and hang art. The process usually takes all day with 2 shifts for volunteers. This year, we had over 300 pieces of art to display. Fourteen 2D pieces are displayed in the big case. Those pieces are the Grand Champion, Grand Champion Reserve and champions and reserve champions in specific categories like colored pencil and mixed medium. There are also two 3D pieces displayed in this case. The 3D champion and 3D reserve champion. After the champions are the top 72 high school pieces of art that will be auctioned during the School Art Auction with the champions and reserve champion pieces of art.

Because art is subjective, the grand champion piece of art may or may not be auctioned for the most amount of money. Sometimes the pieces that go for the most money are pieces that include an obvious part of the HLSR. In the past pictures of the famous rodeo clowns have gone for A LOT of money. I’ll be curious to see how much the Painting Grand Champion piece goes for since it’s of the infamous Leon Coffee.

Are you interested in volunteering? Be aware that some committees only work during the rodeo while others (like School Art) work before and after the rodeo. Here’s the link to learn more

Midtown Houston Engagement Photos

Caleb & Taylor’s Midtown Houston Engagement Portraits.

It was a warm December day when I met Caleb & Taylor at the old Black Labrador location which(I didn’t know until I got there) is now a part of the University of St. Thomas. We wondered around the location, sad that the colorful doors were all a bold black against the brick. There was a puddle in the parking lot that I was excited to use for some creative ideas.

After taking photos around the building, we headed over a block or two to the Menil collection park. Caleb and Taylor attempted a swing attached to an old oak tree and hid in the old oak tree.

Check out their engagement portraits below!

 

2023 Wedding Trends I’m excited for!

Here’s a list of the 2023 wedding trends I’m excited for.

Color! Even as a child, I’ve been obsessed with color. I memorized the order of the rainbow before I was in elementary school. I’m also flabbergasted when adults don’t know the order (or what primary colors mixed together make what secondary colors). Color in weddings is making a big & bold statement. It’s in bouquets, in bridesmaids gowns and in the decorations. Be bold with your color choices. Consult a color wheel to help you pick the perfect harmonic balance.

Colorful wedding dress: I have always loved a wedding dress that stands out from the norm. Some of my ALL-TIME favorite weddings dresses either had a pop of color, like a floral pattern, or were a solid color instead of white. Be fun and bold… who cares what your stuck-in-the-mud relatives think. It’s your wedding, own it!

Custom Dance floor: This year, couples are opting to deck out their dance floors. Maybe you have an awesome marquee lighting your space or you have a flower bedecked disco ball hanging from the ceiling. If the dance floor is a place you want to be and you want your guests to join you, make it fun, flirty & memorable.

Private Last Dance: Still holding strong from last year. The private last dance is one of my favorite things to shoot. I love that the couple gets one last moment enjoying their wedding night in a quiet space with only their DJ & Photographers for company. One of my favorite things to do during private last dances is to move through the back of the room framing the couple with their dark & empty tables.

Sustainability: I’ve always been a tree-huger and can see how weddings can become wasteful. Some of my favorite things couples have done include seeds and living plants as wedding favors. Some things you can do to have an Eco-friendly wedding — use Eco-friendly invitations & decor, encouraging guests and wedding party to carpool or use a bus to transport guests, use biodegradable confetti for your grand exit, don’t use single use dinnerware and glassware

Capes! Seriously, capes are in this year. I LOVE this for us! I’ve seen brides pin muslin to their gown with gorgeous brioches to make a cape. I’ve also seen some awesome capes with groom’s attire. There’s a very fine line from elegant to gimmicky with capes, however. Be careful & use an editorial eye.

Embroidered veils: This is such a neat idea. I’ve had a couple of brides do this and it really added to the entire look. Make sure to include colors and flowers you intend on having at your wedding to really pull the whole look together.

Comfy & cute shoes: Who says fashion has to be pain? Wear those converse at your wedding. You can really spruce up your sneakers by embroidering them, bedazzling them or personalizing them in any way. Do you have a really comfortable pair of boots? Wear those! As cute as the shoes are, if you’re ditching them halfway through the night, were they worth it?

 

What are your thoughts? What trends are you really excited for and what trends are you ready to disappear?

Arnold & Maritza’s The Springs in Angleton Wedding

Arnold & Maritza’s wedding at The Springs Event Venue in Angleton, TX.

Just before Thanksgiving, Arnold & Maritza gathered all of their friends and family to witness their marriage. The theme for the wedding was Fall & Thanksgiving! The couple chose a beautiful rust orange & sage green color pallet & offered their guests traditional Thanksgiving pie!

Arnold & Maritza chose to have a first touch before their ceremony. We found a quiet place where they could hold hands and talk quietly to each other. After the first touch, Arnold lined up with his groomsmen and Maritza shared a first look with her father.

The couple and their guests danced well into the night!

Vendors:

 

Hermann Park Engagement Portraits

Trey & Cassandra’s Early Morning Hermann Park & Rice University Engagement Portraits

Tristan and I met Trey and Cassandra in one of the Hermann Park parking lots for their early morning engagement portraits. Tristan was bribed with donuts if he helped me with the engagement portraits.

We started the morning just inside Rice University where the oak trees canopied the driveway. We were hoping for sun-rays through the trees, but unfortunately it ended up being a mostly overcast day. I made Trey and Cassandra play a few funny games for their portraits which brought out some amazing laughs and smiles.

Cassandra had on these adorable earrings that said “I do.” I had to make sure I got several shots with them.

There was a lot of construction at the park, so we wondered the long way to the reflection pond. Tristan helped drag the wagon that had purses, lights and a blanket. On several occasions, I made the couple test their balance on the train tracks.

I was just absolutely amazed at how the photos turned out. You would think Trey and Cassandra were seasoned models. See the photos below!

 

We’ve been adopted?

I wanted to attempt to post a personal blog post once a month. Today’s the day! So like the title says, we’ve been adopted?

Let me start at the beginning. We keep a bowl of food & water on our porch for our resident stray cats. There’s one we’ve seen around for a long time. His ear’s cropped, so he’s been captured and neutered. Andy and I both LOVE cats. We used to have 2. However, I am pretty allergic to them. Scratchy throat, sneezing, Quasimodo eyes when I get hairs in them & wheezing… But we love them, so we feed the strays to watch them and in hopes that they help us control the mouse/rat problem we have on occasion.

Several days before the MLK holiday weekend, I heard some cat fights in the front yard. Upon investigation, It was our resident cropped ear cat and a black cat. The black cat lost the territory battle. I watched it slink into the street drain. Over that weekend, the black cat came back (we assume a mother) with two kittens. A grey kitten and a black and white one. She pretty much dropped the grey cat at our door after seeing it’s interactions with us (wanting to be petted and picked up). It felt as if she was finding homes for her babies.

All day Monday while Andy was on the driveway working, the gray cat hung out with him. Occasionally asking for pets or rubbing his smell on Andy. By Monday night I had checked to see if anyone was missing a cat. I hadn’t seen anything, but again it seemed to belong to the feral black cat. We found an old wicker basket, lined the bottom with an old towel and Andy put it in the garage with the door cracked. The kitten was making itself at home including making friends immediately with Rita.

Tristan has wanted a cat, or a hamster, or a pet of some kind for years. When it became apparent that this little guy was going to stick around, I let Tristan name him. He named the cat Ink. We told him that the Ink needs to be an outdoor cat. It broke our hearts to not let the kitten stay in the house, especially when he started mewing at the garage door.

Ink likes to be held and pet. He is a really loud purr-ur like Binx, my late cat. I am going to do my best to hold strong. When my throat starts itching I’m reminded why we don’t have indoor cats anymore.

Consider a Photo Dash

 Have you ever heard of a “Photo Dash”? I hadn’t until this year.

What is a “Photo Dash”?

Photo Dash

A Photo Dash is where you and your spouse run to each table at your reception and take a quick group photo before the song you have playing ends. Each table gets a couple of seconds of your time. Tables will decide what pose they want to do as you and your photographer are running around the reception. It’s a lot of fun.

Why should you do a “Photo Dash”? The why is really simple. Time.

Even though you’ve really only spend 10 seconds with each table, your guests feel like you have spend some quality time with them. Also, you get fun photos of you and your guests before the night runs away with you. It feels like after a couple does a Photo Dash, they get more time to quietly eat their dinner without all of their guests coming up talking and asking for a photo. Photo Dashes are also a lot of fun!

How do to a “Photo Dash”?Photo Dash

Talk with your DJ, wedding coordinator and your photographer. Make sure the song you choose it both fun and gives you enough time to get across your reception. Make a plan where you are starting and where you are ending. It’s best to start at one end of your reception and work your way to the other end, ending with the head table so you can easily sit for dinner right after.

What are your thoughts? Would you have a Photo Dash at your wedding?

Photo Dash

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A Southwest Houston wedding photographer
Richmond, TX
kelly@kellyurbanphotography.com
Kelly Urban Photography

A Southwest Houston wedding photographer
Richmond, TX

A Southwest Houston wedding photographer
Richmond, TX
kelly@kellyurbanphotography.com
Kelly Urban Photography

A Houston wedding photographer

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