One of the big things I notice at weddings is a lack of time. When you schedule photos and events at your wedding, an unrealistic timeline is created. So how can you alleviate this?
Get started earlier than scheduled. If you intend on being at your venue at a certain time, make sure you’re actually there at least 30 minutes early.
Make sure, if you’re having to bustle your dress after your ceremony, that someone knows how to do it. Go over the instructions with your person before the wedding starts. You can do this while you’re getting your makeup done and the dress is hanging up.
When taking family photos, make sure everyone you want photos of stays put and that you have someone (it could be you and your new spouse, or a family member or friend) to wrangle your family for photos.
Make sure to give yourself more time than you think is needed for each element of your wedding. Give yourself some breathing room.
Try to be ready about an hour before your ceremony. This gives your photographer time to get a few bridal portraits, groom portraits and portraits with your wedding party.
By the night before your wedding have everything you need for your wedding packed in a bag or two. When I’m packing, I like to make a list that I keep by the door about a week before. As I think of things, I add it to the list. When I start packing, I can cross those items off my list, ensuring that I don’t forget anything.
Delegate! Delegate, delegate! Put trustworthy friends & family in charge of certain things and give them a time to make sure it’s done by.
The most important scheduled parts of your wedding to try your best to keep are:
Arnold and Maritza’s engagement portraits in Kleb Woods.
It was a gorgeous spring day when I met up with Arnold, Maritza and her two daughters. We decided to take a combination of engagement portraits and family portraits, because of course the girls are a big part of the wedding. This was my first time exploring Kleb woods. There were old structures around the main part of the forest and trails that lead all around the park.
We chose a path that lead to a small lake. Unfortunately, we also found so many mosquitos on the path. I was thankful for my AllTrails app to let us know where we were on the path and how far away from the main area we were.
The engagement portrait session was filled with laughter, smiles and of course mosquito dodging.
Check out Arnold and Maritza’s Houston engagement portraits below.
The step-by-step guide (and worksheet) to your first few steps in your wedding planning process.
By now, you’ve hopefully completed the first eight steps from my previous post. If you haven’t, go check it out first. Here’s the link — So you’re engaged, what’s next (part 1). The next steps should be done between 12-10 months before your wedding.
For the next few steps you will be working on hiring wedding vendors. It’s important to be conscious of two things, #1 is the importance of the particular type of vendor at your wedding and #2 is the amount of time the vendor will need to be there.
The rule of thumb is the more time the vendor needs to be at your wedding, the more likely you will need to hire that person earlier than others. If the person can’t work multiple weddings on the same day (ie wedding planners, photographers, entertainment…) they are a higher booking priority.
#9 Research! Now’s the time (if you haven’t already) to start your spreadsheet full of potential wedding planners or coordinators, wedding photographers & videographers. You can use one tab for each vendor to keep them in one place.
Ask important questions like: Are you available, what’s your average cost, what do you provide, how long have you been in the wedding business?
It’s important to note, while the average cost is important, it shouldn’t be a deciding factor. Yes, you should try to stay within budget, but if your heart is telling you to pick someone outside your budget, maybe there’s a reason for that. See if there is anything they can do to work with you before you count them out.
#10 Whittle down your list to the top 2-4 from each category. Schedule meetings with them. Make sure you either talk on the phone, meet in person or over a zoom-like chat.
This is important because it’s much easier to get a feel for a company/person to see if they’ll be compatible with you and your wants and needs in person or over the phone. You don’t want to just hire someone because they are cheap or because they were the vendor for your cousin’s wedding. What works for others may not work for you.
#11 Hire your wedding planner/coordinator. You can provide your whittled down list of photographers and videographers and see if they have any insight on them. There are so many wedding vendors in the Houston area, thought, that there’s a high chance that the planner hasn’t worked with them (yet). Don’t count vendors out just because they haven’t worked with your planner.
#12 Hire your wedding photographer and videograper. Not everyone hires a videographer, but if you are wanting one, now’s the time to hire.
#13 Since you have a location, date and most likely time for your weddings. It’s time to work on your save-the-dates and your invitations. There are loads of options for both. You can make magnets, interesting trinkets with the dates inscribed. There are large online companies that do invitations and small individuals. You can get invitations designed and printed from an online shop or go into a store and pick some out. You can even make them yourselves. Below are some ideas of where to start your invitation hunt.
Vistaprint.com
Etsy
Google “wedding invitations”
Check Instagram #WeddingInvitationDesign
#14 Now that you’ve got some of the bigger vendors out of the way, it’s time to think about food. What kind of food do you want to have at your wedding? What kind of food do you want at your rehearsal? Make sure to talk with your parents & in-laws to be if they will be helping you throw either your wedding or rehearsal. Once you’ve come up. Research your catering options and whittle the list down to a couple. If you want, this is a part you can delegate to someone else.
#15 Pat yourself on the back! You deserve a big break or a special date night. Go out & have some fun. Don’t think about wedding planning at all.
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Nick & Jennifer’s Engagement photos in and around the Post building in Downtown Houston.
I met Nick and Jennifer on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the park just across from the Post building downtown. This was my first time exploring the park in that part of town. We started on a cute hill overlooking the city skyline then explored the lower parts of the park where bikers zoomed past us every few minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to find a man-made waterfall there just by a cute wooden bridge.
After walking around in the lower parts of the park, we made our way to the top of the Post building to get some more of the skyline then we took photos on the different types of staircases (there’s such a variety!) Check out Nick and Jennifer’s Houston engagement photos below
Stuart and Laura’s wedding photography at Bridal Oaks in Cypress, TX.
It was a bright and beautiful day in April when Stuart and Laura were getting ready for their wedding day. Laura had not one but three first looks!! She had the first look with her father in the bridal suite, then she headed outside to have a first look with Stuart. After her soon to be husband had a few moments alone with her, Laura had one final first look with her bridesmaids.
The ceremony was short and sweet. The wedding party made their way down the stairs to the outdoor alter where a plethora of gorgeous blooms lined the rows and seats and two breath taking arrangements punctuated the aisle.
While we were taking family portraits and wedding party portraits, the guests inside were getting a quick dance lesson. Stuart and Laura, avid dancers, wanted to make sure that all of their guests felt comfortable on the dance floor and would help to keep the party hopping. It also helped that a decent chunk of their guests were all avid dancers (west coast swing) as well.
One of the funniest things we did while we were taking wedding party photos was the mad dash to the beer. I got a Crawford Bock from the bar and told the wedding party the first person to get to the beer got to keep it. I was pleasantly surprised with the competitiveness of the party. The women were all taking off their shoes (good choice, I wouldn’t want anyone to twist an ankle before the evening even got started).
Some unique things that Stuart and Laura did for their wedding were to have tables of games out for their guests who were more into playing games with friends than dancing on the dance floor. They also had a fingerprint guestbook where guests put their fingerprint down like a leaf on a drawn tree branch. Bonus, now they have everyone’s fingerprint & name if they need it in the future 😉.
At the end of the night, after everyone had danced until their feet were barking, the guests lined the exit with streamers in hand while Stuart and Laura had one final private dance. After their dance, they exited through their guests (in an avalanche of streamers that they were practically swimming through) to their getaway vehicle.
James & Chelsea’s showed me the hidden haunts and gem’s of Houston during their engagement portraits this April. I love this city. It’s crazy that you can live here your whole life and still learn new things. I am slightly obsessed with learning about haunted sites and (though I knew of some of them) loved hearing the details about the haunted places downtown.
Our second stop (just after the “Houston is Inspired” mural) was the La Carafe Bar, one of the most haunted bars in Houston. As we made our way to the second floor to take some balcony photos, Chelsea was telling me about the ghost who likes to push women down the stairs. Needless to say, I was white-knuckling the handrails & still managed to slip on something at the top of the stairs.
After the bar, I took James and Chelsea to a little baby waterfall I discovered hiding under the street level along the Buffalo Bayou, then we headed to the place James & Chelsea had their first date. Unfortunately, COVID took it down, so we were only able to take photos around the building.
We ended up back along the waters edge where the haunted Spaghetti Warehouse is located (which is now replaced with a bar). We walked along the water then up to the Sunset Coffee Building and lastly to a colorful bar across the street.
I must tell you, as I was writing about the haunted spaghetti Warehouse building, something pushed over Andy’s golf clubs upstairs (everyone was downstairs at the time). Everyone freaked out. I told Andy the ghosts must have read my blog and decided to let me know they’re watching…
Crystal and Melissa had a rainbow themed wedding at the Texas Town Hall on April Fools day.
It was such a pretty spring day and the temperature was very pleasant for a wedding held in a venue that didn’t have any walls. I loved the look of the chapel and my ability to move around without feeling like I was disturbing people during the wedding.
The wedding party was each in a different color and some wore rainbow ties and shoes. There were several April Fools jokes that Crystal and Melissa pulled on her guests and wedding party. During the ceremony, the ring bearer brought his ring box and the couple extracted a red and green ring-pop. After the laughs died down, the couple exchanged the pops for their real rings.
Crystal and Melissa started their reception with a sweet first dance to SONG. Later in the evening, the couple gave their son’s the outfits they were to wear for their mother/son dance. The men proudly wore their lei and grass skirts for the dance where they switched partners half-way through Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of Over the Rainbow.
Throughout the night, wedding guests applied rainbow temporary tattoos to each other, they danced, signed a guitar instead of a guest book and enjoyed rainbow cupcakes and cake.
What a beautiful wedding! Congratulations to Crystal & Melissa!!
Payton and Katlyn chose to explore a new brewery both in location and taste buds for their engagement portraits. It was a gorgeous afternoon when I met them at Walking Stick Brewery, North of 610. I loved the contrast of the metal and old machinery against the fresh hydrangea bouquets placed on every table and the winter wonderland like sculpture affixed to the ceiling.
I loved getting to see the couple goof off and truly be themselves in front of the camera. I asked them to do some crazy stuff, and they didn’t even blink an eye… maybe they’re born with it, or maybe it was the liquid courage?
On a gorgeous spring day, Nick and Rachel exchanged vows atop the Sunset Coffee building looking over Downtown Houston.
Weeks before their wedding, Nick and Rachel decided to take some couple portraits around the Hermann park area. We started in the Cochlear Butterfly museum and ended in the Japanese garden.
On their wedding day, guests arrived to the Sunset Coffee Building by the busload. Guests milled about and found their seats overlooking the Buffalo Bayou as they waited for the wedding to start. Nick and Rachel made their way up the side stairs together and walked down the isle hand in hand. They chose not to have a wedding party, however include several of their friends and family in reading passages from poems and other pieces of literature that spoke to them and their lives together.
After the wedding, the guests made their way down to the second floor where the cocktail hour. Guests cooled off and wandered around the level taking in the sights of downtown or taking photos in front of the gorgeous floral sculpture that SOMEONE made.
Dinner was served on the ground level (which is actually below street level) under tents with glowing lights. An amazing collection of flowers littered the three long tables. After dinner, guests were welcomed to join Nick and Rachel back on the second floor for dancing and cupcakes.
The couple choreographed a first dance that included all of their closest friends. TO WHAT SONG? After the first dance, the DJ did a reverse anniversary dance. He started with couples married the longest and worked his way to couples married for less than 5 hours. I loved how they actively worked to get people onto the dance floor. The last thing the DJ asked was for everyone to come to the dance floor to take a series of photos. One photo of everyone looking at me and smiling. One photo of Nick & Rachel kissing and everyone going “eew” and the last photo of everyone with their hands in the air. As soon as the DJ counted to 3 (for the photo) he started a song to get the party started. This was such a clever way to break the ice and get everyone on the dance floor dancing.
Congratulations to Nick & Rachel! May they have years and years and years of happiness.
Brad & Christy’s Brazos Bend park engagement portraits were set on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The birds were chirping and the bees were busy pollinating. Spring had officially sprung!
I enjoyed walking around to some of the places I’ve been before and exploring some new locations within the park. Check out the engagement photos below.
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