I love the title of this post, because I feel like it fits Abby perfectly. If I had to describe Abby’s style in two words, it would be “rustic couture.” On the surface, Abby is a typical Texas country girl. She owns a horse, she wears her cowboy boots regularly, she attended a university known for its agricultural history, she competed on an equestrian team, and I’m fairly sure she would feel right at home on a four-wheeler bumping down an old gravel road. That said, she’s also one of the most stylish brides I’ve ever had. She’s got a great sense of fashion and style, and put together a truly smoking hot look for her wedding day. She’s a great catch – a down home country girl who also knows how to work it in a pair of Louboutins! She also happens to be a real trooper when it comes to photos. Her bridal session was FREEEEEZING (and her Day After session in snowy Paris was even colder) but she never complained once. Here are a few of my faves:
In true Deziree fashion, we shot her bridal session at two fabulous locations. We started off at Iron Bed at the Shops at Legacy, which is quite possibly the most beautiful home decorating store of all time. They specialize in iron bedframes, but they also offer high end bedding, home decor, and bath accessories. Jason knows that he can never take me near The Iron Bed because I MUST go in, I MUST lay on one of the amazing beds, I MUST try out some of their perfumes, body sprays, and lotions, and I MUST buy a ridiculously cute throw pillow. I simply must. The second location was the NYLO hotel, which I have been dying to shoot at for months now. The NYLO has the most unique decor of any hotel I have ever been to, with a really trendy, modern, loft-y vibe. I could have shot Deziree at these locations for days! Here are a few highlights:
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- These are beautiful!
- Simply stunning! I especially love the photo where she's throwing open the orange curtain. Really though, every photo is epic! :)
- Love these! And now, I have to go check out the Iron Bed. :)
- Gorgeous! Not only the portraits, but her hair/makeup/veil as well. Especially the veil. I think it's time for me to sign up to accompany you on a shoot, I'm really curious about how you lit all of these!
- success!!
- Beautiful! Happy New Year, Stacy. I'm adding your blog to my reader... I have NO idea why it wasn't on there already. You've been very inspirational and SO helpful in starting my business the RIGHT way. Thank you very much! I'm also adding you on flickr and Facebook... lest you think I'm stalking you, I promise I'm not. :)
- These are absolutely stunning. Probably the best photography I've seen anywhere. -Pierre
- Gorgeous photos!! ... and I LOVE the dress ;)
- These just took my breath away!
- This shoot is amazing! Wow. Great work!
- [...] You can see more of Deziree’s gorgeous bridal session on Stacy’s blog. [...]
- Stunning. I especially love the photo of her with her hand on her chest in bw. Amazing job! :)
- um, these are fantastic. i couldn't even narrow it down to 3 faves, that's how much i love it!
- Wow, you are good! She is beautiful and you did a wonderful job!
- Very nice! I love NYLO!!
- [...] Deziree bridal portraits [...]
- gorgeous! I really can't pick a fav
- SO gorgeous. REALLY beautiful. GREAT job!
Now that Autumn is married, I can finally show off her bridals! I adore Autumn, especially when she’s in front of my camera. Her bone structure paired with those amazing blue-green eyes, not to mention how PERFECT her dress is, made my job incredibly easy. Here are a few of my favorites from her session at the Arboretum:
Autumn was generous enough to model a few of my new bridal headpieces for me. I collect all things bridal related – veils, headpieces, sashes, brooches, and anything else that can be used to adorn a bride. I’m not quite sure why I do this, but every time I see an amazing bridal accoutrement, I have to buy it! If you’re one of my brides and you’d like to use either of these pieces (or any from this session) in your bridal session, let me know!
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- Stunning! Her eyes are gorgeous! Great job with lighting and posing.
- Oh my gosh. This is the perfect session. Seriously this girl is STUNNING! I can't get over how beautiful she is, and her dress, and the location! Wow. Awesomeness. Your photos are incredible :) Keep it up.
- Stacy - these are awesome! It looks to be early afternoon in these photos, but they look great despite the difficult light. So jealous.
- wow. these are stunning and autumn is gorgeous. beautiful work.
- These images are absolutely beautiful - a perfect collection. I bet the bride is thrilled with them. If I had to pick a favourite I'd go for the understated beauty of the bride lying down with her eyes closed, but they're all absolutely gorgeous!
- WOW! Gorgeous eyes!!!! Beautiful photos!!!
- Nice job! I really like the colours.. the bride is beautiful and this give's a big plus! Youre right, she did u're job easier :) P.s. Tanks for writing down u're thoughts about pricing, I just fininshed reading u're guide.. pretty helpful!
- These images are breathtaking! Her eyes say it all.
- She is so beautiful! These are gorgeous!
- awesome shots! love all the veil photos!
- gorgeous! love her dress!
I have had the pleasure of knowing Lisa for many years now, but somehow I don’t think I had ever had the chance to see her all dolled up.. That is, until her bridal session. Since Lisa and I were involved in a camp organization together as counselors, we were used to seeing each other in typical college and nature wear – shorts, jeans, t-shirts, flip flips, etc. When she walked up in her dress (which perfectly shows off her envy-inspiring silhouette) and her three – yes, THREE – veils, I was floored. What a stunner! I can only imagine what was going through Grant’s mind when he saw her for the first time, but I can imagine that he was thinking about what a lucky man he was to have such a stunning bride. Here are some of my favorite images from her session at the Dallas Arboretum:
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- Stacy, these are BEAUTIFUL! I am in love with the bw one with the veil blowing in the breeze and the one where she is standing underneath the wooden archway crossing her arms(?) So delicate and beautiful!
- These are AMAZING!!!
- One word: Beautiful!
- Stunning! Simply Stunning! Your posing is so natural, the Bride just shines.
- these are lovely!
- so, so beautiful! i'm in love with that first photo...but they are all gorgeous!
- love these, love the posing, the processing....great job! Did you get that t/s?
- Lovely Stacy!
- Beautiful pictures again! Love them!
- These are absolutely stunning. What a great mix of fashion + natural expressions! Lovely.
- Beautiful photos, Stacy! Love the first one! Love the blur but sharpness together. Can't explain it, but I like it.
- So pretty! I LOVE the first one!
- Wow! Gorgeous! I love the one where she's vamping it up!
One of my favorite parts of what I do is the bridal session. Texas brides may not know this, but bridal sessions are virtually unheard of outside of the South. I often get e-mails from photographers in other states asking me why we do them, or how we talk brides into doing them. The reality is that here, it’s simply expected. Most of my clients come to me expecting to do them because their friends, parents, and siblings already have. Personally, I think all brides should do them – it’s a great chance to do a trial run in your hair, makeup, accessories, and the dress to make sure that you perfect your wedding day look. It’s also a great opportunity for me to bond with my brides and make them feel as beautiful as they are. That was an extremely easy task with Ashley. Her natural joy and her upbeat personality would be enough to make her beautiful, if she wasn’t already gorgeous! Plus I just adore Ashley’s fashion sense – her Lela Rose gown is stunning! Here are some of my favorites from her bridals:
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- They are all gorgeous of course, but my favorite is the black and white of her laughing in the chair. Could definitely be in a magazine! It's true... nobody does bridal shoots up here in BC!
- These look great Stacy! I love the photos with the veil and the bride is so cute jumping around in those boots. :-) Beautiful!
- The location is and bride are beautiful! Great lighting as well!
- Hi Stacy!! These are absolutely stunning. I know you are super busy lady but if you have time to share I'd love to find out how you get your clients to lay/sit on the grass or floor outside. I've had a lot of trouble with my clients being super worried about getting their dresses dirty before the wedding. It makes it hard at times to get creative although I know their are other ways to get creative w/o laying or sitting on the floor ect but I just love those type of shots. Any advice? Love love love your work! Celina
- I love how much her personality comes through in these!
- Hey Celina, to be honest with you I really don't have a problem getting my clients to do this, so I'm not sure what to tell you.. If a client says they don't want to do it, then I don't push it or try to persuade them to do something they don't want to do. When they do sit, I make sure that they are sitting on their butt, not on the dress (in other words, lift the skirt up and have them sit, then lay the dress flat around them, or else I have them sit on a small cloth *usually my Shootsac cover) so the dress isn't touching the ground. In this particular set, the only part of the dress that ever touched the ground was the underside. However, you also need to educate your clients that most of the time the dress will need to be cleaned after the session. No matter how hard you try to keep it clean, floors are dirty, and even careful posing will result in a little dirt around the edge.
- Love, love, love her in her cowboy boots! That dress is to die for!
- These pictures are stunning!! I love your work! Thanks for sharing your tips on how to get brides to go for these type of pictures. Beautiful work!!
- These are gorgeous! Love the location and the lighting.
- Love the fourth one and the happiness you captured. She is just lovely but you definitely were able to capture her beauty and joy. Great session!
- These are beautiful!! I looove the boots :):)
- Love the smile! Love the cowboy boots! Great photos!
- LOVE how happy and smiley she is in all the photos. You really brought out something special in her. I came over from a link to your pricing guide as I am thinking about starting PBing and an eventual business. Thanks for sooooo many tips!
Poor Heather had a bit of a stressful wedding weekend – can you imagine spending the night before your wedding in the Emergency Room? Luckily everything came together beautifully in the end, and Heather made a truly stunning bride. Here is some visual proof, courtesy of her bridal session at the Shadow Hawk Golf Club and Houstonian Country Club in Richmond:
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- What a gorgeous woman!!! She really is beautiful. Every one of these pictures looks like a high-end perfume ad! Are you using an action to bring out the blue light in the first photo? It's your signature looks so dn't expose any secrets... but any hints?? ;)
- I agree with Sarah..I couldn't get over how pretty this bride is! Great work!
- These simply take my breath away. You are phenomenal!
- WOW!!!! These are GORGEOUS!
- Work it work it!
- Simply stunning! The set 7th from the top are my favourites - who am I kidding they are all my favourites!!!
- Stacy - these are beautiful! They rock - great job!
- wow stacy the way you work with your light is just exquisite... Your creativity is through the roof...
- Absolutely stunning, I always like referring back t your site, as your work really does inspire me
- Wow. You are an amazing photographer!! These photos are beautiful!!
- We all know Heather is a knockout, but you really captured her beauty in such an amazing way. Absolutely gorgeous!! Heather, you look beautiful!!
- Beautiful portraits! #3 is my favorite!!!!
Jenny and I are total wedding soulmates.. Last year I had a wish list of things I wanted to shoot, and shortly after posting it, Jenny contacted me to let me know that her wedding would be featuring several of those things (a bride with long hair, a birdcage veil, a monochromatic dress code for wedding guests, a vintage chapel in a small town, and a Day After session in an abandoned factory). I knew immediately I had to be her wedding photographer, and lucky for me she agreed! Here are a few from her lovely session:
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- You're work is amazing... You never cease to amaze me!
- Love her birdcage veil, shoes, and parasol! She's such a doll and these are amazing images.
- Magical pictures! :) I'm watching you blog from some time and I adore your pictures. :) Amazing job! :)
- I love the "Mary Poppins" one! ;) Beautiful work, Stacy.
- amazing photos. (probably my favorite......yeah, def my favorite)
- these are stunning!!! i love every single one!
- These pictures are amazing! Your work is exquisite and I love the lighting and details in each picture.
- Just found your blog today, WOW these are amazing! The shot with the bride jumping with the parasol totally rocks!!!
- I love that jumping one....this set is really cute & sophisticated all rolled into one! nice variety!
- All are wonderful and very inspiring, but my favourite is the jumping one with umbrella! Stacy rocks! :-)
- Beautiful images! I love the one of the bride with her girls and the guys and the Abbey Rd. image. I did the same thing (with 9 groomsmen!) at a wedding a couple weeks back and it was harder than it looks! :) LOL Also love the one of the bride with the umbrella...it's blowing her hair perfectly and is a suberb image. I'd get a BIG canvas of that one! Lovely work....
- Hey Stacy, I love your pictures from all the way up here in Vancouver thanks to the wonderful internet! I know you use totally rad actions... I'm wondering how you are getting the vintage "blue" look? And more specifically what you did to the "Mary Poppins" shot, it's amazing. Thanks for any help!
Rachel Perry - I love the second and last photograph! Great job!
Sweet Caroline Photo - Stunning super awesomeness.
ken kienow - you do pretty amazing work stacy.
Lauren Larsen - YOU ARE AMAZING! Beautiful, Stacy! As always.
Liz - Floored.
Lisa H. Chang - Great job! These photos are beautiful ~ and right on the money w/ the idea 'rustic couture' :)
faith - Yay Abby!!! you look absolutely gorgeous!! you captured her perfectly, stacy!
Jeremy Gilliam - Wow, beautiful post Stacy. The photos in the woods are my faves.
Stefanie Hampton Morrow - WOW! Beautiful bride and beautiful photos. I love your light, she just pops out of the photo!
cindee bae - I love this shoot! The gorgeous diva+rustic background is a perfect combo!!
sierra - beautiful!! i love the cold feel to the images and how bright she was, especially her purple bouquet. i like how you use the tilt shift(effect or lens) in the image (third one from the bottom). LOVE your work!
martin zuckermann - Hello Stacy, I love the way you framed Abby at the bridge and the entrance way, like the poses, too!
Kat Speyer - Ooh, Stacy! I was a rustic bride myself, and these are to die for. Nice work!
Serendipity Photography - That 2nd shot is my fav!! Great work Stacy!!
Camilla Photography - Holy cow! These are incredible! All of them. Really great job!
Teresa K - Completely amazing...you are such a talent Stacy.
Wedding Colors: Vintage Purple ~ From Stacy Reeves Photography | Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog - [...] Stacy’s website. There’s also a positively beautiful bridal portrait session right here {click}. The many looks of [...]
Tara - I LOVE the one in the woods with the bouquet. Who knew that bridal gowns in the woods would look so fabulous? Stacey Reeves, I guess. :)
roz and sev - FANTASTIC photo's!!