The secret to a successful marriage is to fall in love over and over again. With the same person.

Rachelle met the love of her life at a family wedding – Jon’s sister is married to her cousin. Soon after, they fell in love, were married by the Justice of the Peace and welcomed their son Thomas. After a tour in Iraq four years ago, Jon returned and presented her with a new diamond ring and in that moment he asked her to marry him one.more.time. Awe!  With a plan to keep it intimate and to honeymoon in Vegas, the date was set.

They are perfectly matched in every way and I knew this was going to be a three hour wedding day filled with love and happy smiles. Prior to the ceremony we ventured out in south Austin for some modern First Look images.  We took advantage of the great weather, after a fluke SNOW day in Austin the day before, we made out with some rad shots! I don’t normally post this many images from one event, but given that I love so many of them I couldn’t choose! Honestly, it’s a bit of pressure to know this isn’t the average 8 hour wedding day and no reception to cover, yet I still needed to capture enough images of their love and a long awaited church ceremony to fill an album. I hope I get their seal of approval once they see their entire gallery

Hey Lovebirds, thank you for trusting me to capture your unique style and your small intimate ceremony. I wish you a lifetime of happiness and big money luck in Vegas!!!!

Rachelle really wanted some images at the iconic Hello, Cupcake trailer. Look closely at her personalized goodie.

Isn’t this the cutest bedazzled bridal cupcake you’ve ever seen. Rachelle made that herself. A DIY bride! Love it!!!

The editing on the next image deviates from my usual style, but I still love the feel of it~

onto the church we go!

I loved this series. Aren’t Rachelle and her sister GORGEOUS.

Mr & Mrs ONE MORE TIME

a portrait of Mr. Thomas kissing his beautiful mom bride

this wall is perfect for them.

Congratulations to you both !!!

You’ve likely seen this session on my website or on the facebook page, but here’s the entire session in a pretty little slide show. This session set a new precedence for me as I’ve always wanted to do a styled/themed engagement session. Honestly, if EVERY session in 2011 goes as beautifully as this one did, then I’m in for a wonderful year of photos. To create these type of images does take prep time by both myself and the client. I will gladly work with you to brainstorm ideas for props, locations, outfits – anything needed to make the session something you’ll cherish as much as your wedding pictures.

This isn’t limited to only those getting ready to walk down the aisle. All of my portrait clients can share in the fun if you’re willing to do some thrifting for perfect little accessories. Clueless as to what we could do? No worries – together we’ll come up with something unique for you.

With some personalized books brought from home, a champagne bottle saved from the day he proposed, vintage mason jars and oh, wait till you see the vintage beachcruiser purchased on Craigslist just for this shoot..it all came together perfectly for this vintage engagement session in Austin at the Duchman Family Winery. Thanks to them for allowing us to shoot there. I look forward to doing a session in the summer when the vines are in bloom and we have yummy grapes in the pics too!

If you can’t view this on you’re phone or iPad, it’s likely due to the flash player not embedding for you. please visit from a computer.

The title is a tad misleading. Loan and Eric live in Houston, but during our session I learned that Loan actually grew up in Austin, attended Tx State University as I did (back when it was SWT the party school) and is a budding photographer herself!  They drove in for a special You & Me photo session because in two weeks they’ll be celebrating their one year anniversary. Congrats for making it to the first year! Tradition says that you’re to give your spouse paper as a gift for the 1st year anniversary. Doesn’t sound very interesting at first, does it?  But if you think about it : money is paper, tickets to Paris are paper, an all day gift certificate to a spa is paper and so are photographs. I love that they chose the last

Loan told me on the phone she LOVES the Soco Area (as we locals call it) so a South Congress Couples Session was in order! This area is probably where the “Keep it Weird” slogan came from as its filled with block after block of quirky boutiques filled with clothing and artifacts from local artisans. Its nice to go into a shop and purchase something that another is never going to find elsewhere. And yes, we did venture into the shops for a little bit of purchase guilt after the session, but DURING the session, OH.MY.GOODNESS. Did we ever have fun! Loan and Eric are so comfortable with one another and stylish I might add. They showcase exactly how the right pieces of clothing can pull quite a fun punch into a portrait session. If I had to shoot boring old “white top  with jeans” portrait everyday like they do at some of the corporate studios not worth naming, I.MIGHT.DIE.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it at least twenty times in the last week to my inquiring couples : it’s all about the layers and textures in your attire. Eric shows that you can still use a traditional shirt and jeans, but the stylish vest and tie make it WORK. Instantly you have a “look” that’s not formal, not stuffy GQ, but edgy in its own right. Loan herself can work it in those fancy 5″ heels. RAWR.

I live and love to be creative and quirky with my clients. With some colorful balloons and a couple ready to have some fun, we walked up and down South Congress and captured their love. More than a handful of times we laughed and in one area in particular, we laughed so hard we were in TEARS. Let’s just say that when you’re posing a couple its very important to pay attention to EVERYTHING or you may end up with something completely unexpected. HaHa!

Once again, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY LOAN + ERIC !!!! I had such a fabulous time with you both. Lunch was yummy and hello, CUPCAKE! haha. Next time we WILL have our DosRita’s!

this last one is for you guys…the outtakes of “the moment”