Cool news :: Some of my work is featured in the latest issue of Weddings in Houston Magazine!

Hillary Smith, the wonderful wedding coordinator at the Hotel Derek in downtown Houston, sent in some of our wedding photography images to the editor, and they chose Alex and Nick to be one of their featured weddings for this issue. I am so happy for these two - it couldn’t happen to a more deserving couple! I’m honored that I was able to be the photographer for this beautiful wedding, and I can’t wait to shoot at the Derek again for Jennifer and Anthony’s Houston wedding next year. Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Luton for all your love and support! If you live in the Houston area, pick up the latest issue of Weddings in Houston and check it out!

A cool, random note: Most wedding magazines will only feature wedding photography vendors who have paid a lot, lot, lot of money. I know that it requires tens of thousands of dollars to become a featured vendor with most major wedding mags (The Knot, D Weddings, etc), despite the fact that the magazines often pass these advertisements off as “real recommendations by real brides.” I think it says a lot about Weddings in Houston magazine that they would feature my work, even though they have never gotten a dime of my money. That is respectable, and very unusual in the wedding industry these days.

Regular readers may already know about my love of Etsy.com, but I found a new store on Etsy that I am OBSESSED with.  Adrienne of Luxe Deluxe is a lovely Brit who makes some of the most beautiful vintage jewelry I have ever seen.  I have seriously favorited at least 25 of her pieces.  Here are a couple of my faves:

I love love love her work, and her bridal collection is so feminine and delicate.  If you’re looking for something unique to wear on your wedding day, talk to Adrienne, she is super talented!  My personal recommendation:  The initial cameo (bottom right corner) would be great for a bride - get one with the first letter of your new last name!

Anyone have any cool July 4th plans?  I was supposed to have a mini-family reunion in Little Rock, but a sick little kitty and Jason’s unpredictable work schedule have probably nixed that.  Tell me what you will be doing Friday and let me live vicariously through you!

Hello from Omaha!  This place is swarming with baseball fans from all over the country for the College World Series, but the REAL big event was Darbi & Neil’s wedding last night!  It was so beautiful, I had so much fun with them and I have a ton of stories to share, but that will have to wait a bit until I get the many, many photos edited!

I did want to share something with you all though.. At yesterday’s wedding, the shutter on my camera died, the autofocus on my most-used lens died, a flash went on the fritz, and we had a memory card go bad on us.

I am happy to report that none of these things interrupted the wedding day coverage AT ALL!  Whew!  We didn’t miss a beat, and we have a wealth of fantastic, beautiful images from throughout the day.  The reason for this is that we came prepared with backup cameras, many many lenses, backup flashes, and TONS of memory cards.  If we had not had backups in virtually every aspect of equipment, yesterday would have been a very tragic disaster, as there would have been parts of Darbi and Neil’s wedding we would not have been able to cover.

If you are a photographer, and you do not have backups for EVERYTHING (and possibly even backups for your backups), you should not be shooting weddings.  If you are a bride, you need to be absolutely 100% sure that your photographer has at least one backup camera, several lenses, a backup flash, extra batteries, and more memory cards than they could ever possibly use.  If your photographer is not equipped with this, you might want to rethink signing a contract with them.

In the future I’m going to post a lot of “Tips for Brides” and “Tips for Photographers” but no tip I can give will ever be more important than this.  Hopefully it will be of use to some of you!

Now I am off to shoot Darbi & Neil’s Day After session.  They are both pretty smokin’ hot, so that will make my job super easy!  I’ll be back in the Big D on Tuesday!

I spend a lot of time looking at weddings and wedding related things, and I love living vicariously through my brides. I am constantly clipping out photos and ideas from wedding magazines, looking at other photographer’s wedding shots, and creating a “perfect wedding to photograph” in my mind’s eye. I would love to share some of the things that I am dying to shoot with you guys. So, without further ado, my Wedding Wish List ::

1. A bride wearing a fascinator/birdcage veil

2. A bride with long wavy hair (wearing it down, not in an updo)

3. a reception in a fabric-draped tent with chandeliers or paper lanterns everywhere!

4. a wedding with professional color wash lighting

5. a wedding in Venice! (hands down my favorite place on earth)

6. a wedding held at the Angel Orensanz in NYC

7. a white/black, all-white, or all one color wedding, where all the guests and vendors are asked to dress in the same color scheme. I got this idea from an all-white wedding the incredible Jessica Claire shot in Greece last year

8. a New Year’s Eve wedding! Complete with confetti and balloons at midnight!

9. a wedding with a full choir at the ceremony and a full jazz orchestra at the reception

10. A bridal session shot at the Old McKinney Cotton Mill

11. A Las Vegas engagement/bridal session.. That place is like a playground for photographers!

12. A scottish wedding - KILTS!

13. An outdoor wedding where the ceremony guests sit on pillows instead of chairs

14. A club lounge style reception, with artsy, fun furniture

15. 2-3 loooooong tables at a reception, instead of a bunch of small ones

So, if any of you are planning any of these things, let me know - I would LOVE to photograph your wedding!!

Have you guys seen Etsy.com? SO CUTE! It’s basically a website where crafty people can sell their creations, or other crafty people can find inspiration for their own projects. They even have a weddings section! You can view it here: http://www.etsy.com/category_top.php?top_tag=weddings

Here are a few of my favorite listings:

Pearl Necklace: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9228698
I have a pretty healthy obsession with pearls (as Jason can attest), so I spend at least a couple of hours a week looking at pearl necklaces online. Generally I don’t like pearl solitaire necklaces, but this is one of the most delicate, lovely necklaces I have ever seen. I would wear this in a heartbeat!

Fascinator: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9246859
I LOVE these things.. If I ever get married, I will FOR SURE be wearing one. Here in America they go for hundreds of dollars ($150 for the little scrap of netting alone), so this one for $47 USD is a great deal!

Invitations: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9229259
I adore looking at invitations, and these fun, modern invites are gorgeous! They also come with Save the Date cards, and a personalized website. Not a bad deal!

Wedding Band: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9127235
I know guys usually like simple wedding bands, so this is perfect! They can slip the heart around to the inside, so it’s like a little secret between husband and wife. Awww

Boutonnieres: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6649346
I love all the elements here, from the feathers to the cool metal holder. Manly, romantic, and fun, all at the same time! Although my favorite bouts will always be these!

If you are a crafty DIY bride, definitely check out Etsy for some awesome ideas!

To help all of my past, present, and future clients out there, I have compiled a few pages with heaps of useful information!

About Me - A little more information on who I am and how I got to where I am

Editing & Digital negatives - All the myths and questions about digital negatives (what they are and why you should or shouldn’t purchase them) as well as some insight into how I edit photos

Photographer’s FAQ - Questions I am often asked by other photographers about my training, equipment, and workflow

Questions to ask a potential wedding photographer - Pretty self explanatory

So you wanna buy a print… - Important information regarding image sizes and cropping

What to wear for portraits - A few tips on looking your best at your portrait session

Enjoy!