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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

Blayton & Ryleigh’s Addison Woods Wedding

In early November I photographed a wedding for one of the sweetest couples. Blayton and Ryleigh, more than high school sweethearts, said “I do” in front of friends and family in the gorgeous chapel at Addison Woods.

I first met the couple for their engagement portraits at Addison Woods. They were coming down from College Station and would have a nice date night after their engagement portraits.

The day of the wedding was gorgeous. The sun was shining bright through the crops of trees on the Addison Woods property. We took a couple of quick photos of the bride with her friends in their adorable silk pajamas before having a little fun with some champagne. Ryleigh wanted to have a first look with her father and grandfather as well as her bridesmaids. The reactions to Ryleigh all dressed up brings tears to my eyes just thinking about them.

As the wedding night progressed, I had the opportunity to chat with Ryleigh’s Papa, who not only married the happy couple, but now shares a wedding anniversary with them. He told me that when Blayton was in elementary school, he told Papa that he was “going to marry that girl.” When They were 12, Blayton asked if he could date Ryleigh. Her parents asked him to wait, and wait he did. When they were in High School, they started dating, unknowingly on the same day as Ryleigh’s Papa & Nanna’s wedding anniversary. As the years progressed, the couple started celebrating their anniversary together. It’s only fitting that they will now have an even stronger bond.

Many phones, and a TV in the Grooms suit were playing the Astros 6th game in the World Series that evening. As the night was wrapping up and guests were getting into their car, I heard cheering. The Astros managed to get out from their 0-1 rut and got a couple of runs.

 

Vendors:

Wedding Photography at Addison Woods Wedding Venue

James & Chelsea’s Texas Renaissance Wedding

In October, James and Chelsea had a magical wedding at the Texas Renaissance Festive.

I’ve lived in Houston most of my life, and I have fond memories as a child at Renfest swinging a wooden sword at my brother hoping to jostle the flimsy wooden shield out of his hand. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to shoot a wedding there. This year, James and Chelsea made my dream come true!

The wedding was so magical. Both James and Chelsea had costumes made fitting for the Renaissance Festive. Chelsea was resplendent in her light blue gown and iridescent fairy wings. Even her jewelry was on point! James looked dapper in his wedding doublet. I loved that his sleeves could detach and be replaced with a different style of sleeve.

Chelsea and her wedding party started a promenade from the entrance of the park to the Globe Theater. There, she and James shared their first look before jumping into a carriage. The whole party, including the King’s guards, walked in a small parade to the ceremony location. Guests thought the wedding was a part of the show.

James and Chelsea sent an open invitation to all of their friends and family to their wedding. Anyone who wanted to attend could, they would just need to get to the ceremony location early if they wanted a seat. The Cathedral Wedding Chapel was overflowing with guests. People (including guests who didn’t know the couple) were all around the building looking into the windows. Even several of the Renfest’s regular actors were in attendance.

After the ceremony we took oodles of photos with all of the guests who wanted a photo with the happy couple. Once that was done, we wondered around visiting James & Chelsea’s favorite places within the park. We went to their bench in the fairy garden and the swings. The couple tossed axes and fished for rubber ducks. In the end, we wound up at the Pirate bar where they met up with friends for a pint of mead.

What an amazing wedding!

 

Vendors:

 

Moody Clay Family Eastern Glade Engagement Photos

Lorenzo & Blanca’s Early Morning Clay Family Eastern Glade Engagement Portraits.

It was just before sunrise when I met Lorenzo and Blanca at the Clay Family Eastern Glade park. At that time in the morning, the track was filled with runners trying to get some exercise in before the heat took over.

Lorenzo and Blanca wanted a more moody style, which isn’t my norm. Blanca had seen my post from cemetery engagement shoot and had fallen in love. Who am I to deny anyone art? Plus, I love messing around in Photoshop trying new things.

Lorenzo wanted some shots with his motorcycle so we started there before the sun had fully risen. After their motorcycle portraits, the couple put the bike back into a parking spot then did a quick outfit change before we walked around the park.

The sun rise was GORGEOUS, and their photos were breath taking! Again, I’m not usually a moody styled photographer, but these photos made me double guess myself. Check out the photos below!

 

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

A Southwest Houston wedding photographer
Richmond, TX

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

A Houston wedding photographer

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