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.
Vincent and Melanie chose to have their engagement photos out around the Hermann park area. They brought their furbaby, Rolley along for the ride. The day was beautiful and Rollie was so adorable with his bow tie!
I took their engagement portraits around the reflection pond at Hermann Park then we went into the Japanese garden to take a couple of shots there. We ended the engagement portrait session around the back side of the park wondering under the amazing canopies of trees and man-made hills.
Vincent and Melanie were super cute. I loved how much fun they had and all of the amazing laughs!
I love taking engagement portraits with furbabies!
Wedding planning can be one of the most stressful events you will ever have to plan. Luckily, there are vendors to help and helpful guides to show you the way. This particular guide will help you with the first chunk of planning. I like to break planning up into chunks to make it easier to handle.
You’ve been engaged for 0-6 months now. What are your first steps?
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#1 Pick your wedding aesthetic. Are you a free-flowing hippy, or a city-slicker? When you think about that moment you say “I Do” what do you see?
#2 Pick your ideal wedding city. Maybe you want to get married in your hometown, maybe you want to have a destination wedding. Either way, figure out the location that would best suit you and your fiance.
#3 What season are you wanting to get married? Be conscious of the weather, temperature and seasonal natural disasters of the city you chose.
#4 Research venues that will help define your wedding style. There are, of course sites like The Knot and Wedding Wire to help you do your research. However, one of my favorite sites to research wedding venues is Here Comes the Guide. If you are a spreadsheet kind of person (I know I am) make sure to include the average cost of the venues. Then, when you’re done researching venues, you can calculate the average cost of a venue based on your research. Make sure to read the reviews of the venues on those sites and sites like Facebook (and not their website).
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#5 After you’ve researched venues and the average cost, you now have an idea of where to start with your wedding budget. A wedding venue should be about 40% of your total budget. Take your average cost and divide it by 0.4 to get your total budget starting point. Please note, this is a guide and nothing is set in stone. If you have family property that you will be getting married on and you’re not paying for it, then you can’t base your budget off of that…
#6 Reach out to your top 5-10 venues. Take tours of the facilities (because photos don’t always do them justice).
#7 Book THE VENUE!! Don’t second guess yourself. Your first decision is almost always the right one.
#8 Take a break. Give yourself a pat on the back or go out to eat for a celebratory dinner & drinks! You’ve done a great deal of work for your wedding and you deserve it.
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Want to know more? Click here to continue onto part two.
Prepared for a rainy engagement shoot, I wondered the paths at the Houston Arboretum with 2 umbrella’s on hand. Like magic, as soon as I met up with Ryan & Allyson the rain stopped. With the weather looking up, we headed into the park. We wondered some of my favorite locations inside the park as well as some new locations I’d never ventured to before.
As we wondered around the park we talked about their wedding plans and their ideas on their honeymoon. It was fun to see them so excited about the wedding, but the honeymoon even more. I told them about the resort Andy and I went to for our Honeymoon and how much we loved it, and talked about the benefits of a travel agent.
I truly enjoyed spending the afternoon with Ryan and Allyson. Congratulations, and happy wedding planning!!
As a life-long scifi and Star Wars nerd, I was so excited to take photos with everyone and their lightsabers.
The day started out beautifully. The sun was shining, despite the Weather Channel’s prediction of an overcast or rainy day. Kirstin was getting ready in the bridal suite. Her man-of-honor was in charge of hair and makeup, and unbeknownst to him, the veil too. I started the day off snapping shots of details and both Kirstin and Konner getting ready. Since the guys always get ready faster than the ladies, I took Konner and his Grooms Men outside for a few photos of them posed and goofing off.
Once Kirstin was ready, we arranged her father for a first look. We positioned him in the bridal suite with his face to the wall as Kirstin entered. The joyful tears immediately started flowing. After her father’s first look, we positioned Konner in a similar place for the couple to have a first touch. Kirstin didn’t want to see Konner at all before the ceremony, so we had Konner face the wall, and Kirstin closed her eyes as she was escorted to her Husband-to-be. They were placed back to back and were able to hold hands and have a quiet moment together before the ceremony started.
The ceremony was beautiful. The sun was starting to set just behind the alter as the ceremony started. A special place was saved up front for family members who were no longer with us. Just before Kirstin and her father walked down the aisle, her enthusiastic flower-man covered the path with petals.
The sun had nearly fully set by the time the ceremony was over. We had just enough time to capture a few quick sunset photos with the wedding party and Konner & Kirstin before switching to night/lightsaber photos. This was the moment I had been anticipating. We had so much fun positioning and playing with slow exposure, that time just flew by. Soon it was time for Konner & Kirstin to make their grand entrance.
Throughout the night, there were games, dancing and lots of support and advice.
Congratulations to the happy couple!!
Venue, cake, flowers & coordinator: Shirley Acres (all-inclusive)
It was a beautiful day when I met Richard and Karlee at Brazos Bend State Park for their engagement photos. After weeks of cold and yo-yoing temperatures, it truly felt like spring had sprung.
we started our journey wondering around in the prairie grasses. I’m always weary of walking in tall grass (snakes and all) but there were several paths (made by animals or humans) that we were able to take and feel safe doing so. I loved how the sun made Karlee’s hair look like it was on fire & the colors of the grasses.
After taking photos in the prairie grasses, we hopped in our cars and drove to Elm Lake. I loved the trees jutting out of the water and the ducks without a care in the world.
I had so much fun with Richard and Karlee getting them to do silly things for photos and learning about their engagement story and their experience at a friend’s destination wedding.
Weather you’re trying to encourage guests to dress appropriately for the condition of your wedding (ie: a forest wedding with no concrete, or an outdoor winter wedding) or you want to encourage your guests to dress in a theme, I’ve got some helpful tips for you.
Polity indicate on your invitations what the dress code is. Don’t get creative, just be straight forward with your instructions, but make sure to word it as a suggestion and not a demand. for example, if you’re getting married on the beach in the summer, you could indicate on the bottom “PS the wedding will be on the beach. We suggest wearing appropriate footwear for sand.” Use words like Suggest, Encourage, Consider.
Reinforce your dress code on your wedding website. Here is where you can be creative with your suggestions and instructions. You have the space and time to indicate on your wedding website why you are suggesting a certain dress code or what the look you’re going for is. Again, be polite and never force any of your guests into a dress code.
Some things you can do/say on your wedding website:
What are your thoughts? Do you have any suggestions you would add?
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I met high school sweethearts Ben & Savannah at the McGovern Centennial Gardens on a gorgeous “winter” day in Houston. After taking some photos in the roses, we headed to the tall grass structure inside the garden (I honestly don’t know what it’s called). Neither of us had ever been to the top of it. We took some photos going up and down, then we were shooed out of the garden because it was closing.
The sun was so gorgeous as it set behind the old oak trees around the museum district. We decided to walk the diameter of the garden. There were lots of smiles, giggles and always some goofing off.
Ben & Savannah have been together for nearly 10-years and plan on getting married later this year on their family’s property. Congratulations on your engagement and your upcoming wedding! I know it will be amazing!!
On a windy, but quite beautiful, day Brad and Jenny married in front of an intimate gathering of friends and family. The historic, wooden church sits behind the Church on the Rocks in Katy, TX. An interesting fact is that this wasn’t the original location of this church. It was moved here after buildings started encroaching around it.
Brad and Jenny chose to have a first look inside the church before their guests arrived. I know first-looks aren’t for everyone, but I absolutely love shooting them. Even though Brad saw Jenny in her dress before the ceremony, he still had the sweetest glimmer in his eye as she walked down the aisle toward him.
During the ceremony, Brad, Jenny & Jenny’s daughter pored colored glass into a jar as a symbol of the family’s union. Some time later, they will have the glass turned into a piece of blown glass art. I hope I get to see a picture of it. I’m so excited for this!
After the wedding, the intimate wedding party departed to Brennan’s downtown for a romantic reception in the wine room. After an amazing, and one of the most elegant dinner’s I’ve ever had, the couple wowed their guests by helping to make Banana’s foster. The pyro in me was most excited for this moment.
Check out the amazing photos below.
Venue: Little White Chapel
Reception Venue: Brennan’s of Houston
Wedding Dress: Torid
Flowers: The Classic Blooms
Step 1: Get a note pad and write down your vision. What do you want to accomplish?
Step 2: Develop a budget for your vision.
Step 3: Research vendors who align with your values and style. You can contact vendors who you’ve already booked to help you find like-minded vendors.
Step4: Reach out to the vendors who best fit the above.
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So let’s break this down into a scenario. You’re planning your wedding and you’ve decided you want to hire someone to decorate for you. DIY is fun, but you’ve already got A LOT on your plate and it’s worth it to delegate that to someone else.
What will you need to complete your vision? Linens? Stemware? Mini light saber centerpiece/lights?
How much money can you allocate to decorations? How much money were you planing on spending on decorations if you did them yourself? Take that number and multiply it. Now you have a base number for decorations. On average, decorations cost between $1,000 – $2,000.
Now that you have an idea of what you want and how much you’re willing to spend, reach out to some of your vendors you’ve already booked. Your wedding venue, wedding planner or wedding photographer are great places to start. They should already have an idea of your personality and vision. You can obviously look into sights like The Knot or WeddingWire, but also try looking into blogs that share your ascetic. Are you planning a unique wedding with hints of a Naboo themed wedding? Try looking into Offbeat Bride or Whimsical Wonderland Weddings. Type in your style to the search bar and add “blog” or your city to the end of the search and see what comes up.
Once you’ve made a list of several potential wedding decor artists, start contacting them to see if they are available for your wedding and if they will fit into your budget. Once you’ve found your perfect vendor, don’t let them slip through your fingers! Hire them!!
Now put a big red check next to that item on your “to-do” list then treat yourself!
The time frame with which you should hire a wedding vendor is 100% dependent on the amount of time they will have to spend at your wedding. This means that if a vendor spends the entire day at your wedding (like a wedding planner or photographer) then you need to hire them much earlier than anyone else. If the vendor doesn’t spend any time at your wedding and can do their job remote and you pick up whatever it is they made/did for you then you can hire them much later in the planning process.
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