How great is that.  It made me want to try extra extra hard to make them fancy photos at their wedding.  I think it worked.  They were married and Elmwood Gardens and it was cool.  Check it out.

Good looking food.

OK, enough details, let’s jump to their First Look and a few of the portraits that they rocked.

By the way, i’m sure you have noticed how all the flowers look amazing.  I WONDER WHO COULD HAVE DONE THEM?

On to the reception.  Big shout out to Music on Wheels and Tyler Uplights for making everything look and sound good.

Here are some photos of a guy digging for something, guys reaching for it, and girls trying to catch flowers.  Also, that guy who caught the something was pretty excited.

 Thanks for trusting me with your day.  You guys rock.

how crystal greeted robin for their first look.

my most favorite part about first looks are that it gives couples a chance to be themselves.  to be alone and really experience their wedding day and the emotions they have.  some couples cry, some laugh.  some do both.  :)

a little shoe change before the reception.

i’ll leave you with a peek at this image from the mug machine.  best. photo. ever?

Her dad spent so much time working on his speech for the reception.  I love this frame of him.

Good times at their First Look.
Josh is s total natural with kids.

Party bus heading towards the reception.

I’m pretty sure there is an Aggie joke somewhere in this frame.

Whoop.

If you look towards the lower right of this image you can see Brent McKellar of McKellar Productions creeping in the darkness.  I can’t wait to see all the video goodness they got.

True story: This was Audrey’s “something blue”.

Her sister may have teared up as Audrey went off for her First Look.

Audrey likes horses.  Horses like flowers.

Check out all the beautiful people in beautiful clothes looking beautiful.
I think when both parents walk the bride down the aisle it’s kinda super cool.

Thank you two so so much for trusting me to capture your 1st day of marriage.  You are awesome.

So, I just finished a stretch of 9 shoots in 11 days.  Tons of shootings, tons of driving, tons of editing, tons of fun.

Locations included:
Brenner’s Steakhouse  (Houston)
Kiepersol Estates (Bullard)
Crescent Hotel (Dallas)
La Torretta Resort & Spa (Conroe)
The Arbor (Tyler)
Elmwood Gardens (Elmwood)
Tyler Public Library (Tyler)
Castle on the Lake (Jacksonville)
Capital Building (Austin)

Not to mention some crazy stuff in The Mug Machine.

Enjoy a smorgasbord of photos below.

Bella Sera Ranch, a terrific place to get married.

If you remember their engagement session you know these two love food.  I was not surprised to find a nice little table of sweets.

Custom root beer bottles?  Of course.  (Get your own here.)

Pennies are a big deal to Chesley & Andy.  They have collected them, traded them and even have a fireplace decorated with them.  I knew I wanted to work them into their ring shot somehow.

A rainy First Look.
Loved the different dresses and shoes.

One of the guys forgot his shoes so he had to go buy some last minute.  We all pointed and made fun of him.

Loved this moment between Andy & Chesley’s niece.

Speaking of the little people.  How off the wall cute are these two.  (She kept showing me her grapes.)

Lots and lots of dancing thanks to CMB DJs.

The Mug Machine was also there in full force.  Check back Monday for those photos.

On to the Vista for their First Look.
Did I mention The Mug Machine was also there in full force?

Ruth & Steve had plenty of “coverage” at their wedding.  Here I am shooting them along with the guys from Altered Weddings.  (The super talented video crew they had there)

Here are the winning images!

The following images did NOT win, but they were my personal favorites from each category so I wanted to give them a little shout out not he blog as well.

Thanks again to everyone who voted and all you 2012 couple better bring your A game because I already have some serious entries for next year’s contest.

Voting runs for about 24 hours. All the winners will be announced tomorrow morning!!!)

(Voting for this category lasts for about 24 hours. Winners will be announced on Monday.)

(Voting open for about 24 hours. Winners announced on Monday February 13.)

Just like yesterday voting runs for about 24 hours so hop on it. (Winners will be announced February 13th)

Christa brought plenty of blingdom to the day.

A few from their First Look.

They read their vows off their phones & after the minister pronounced them man and wife they updated their Facebook status to married.

As always, CMB DJs did an amazing job.

You two were so much fun.  Thanks for trusting me with your day.

Because she is awesome, Rachael had a custom record made for Daniel with all of their wedding music on it.

Because he is awesome, Daniel had Adalante Catering make him a record cookie cake.

Daniel updating his Facebook status right before their First Look.

A very very serious group of groomsmen.

The great thing about pulling the ring out of a Cracker Jack box is having a snack for the rest of the wedding.

Cracker Jack or Record?  Which is your favorite?  Sound of in the comments.

It was my first time working with Lone Star Light & Sound and I loved them.  They did everything a great DJ should do.  Call them and book them.

Thank you two for being awesome.  I hope some of your awesomeness rubbed off on me.

What have you liked most about your first year being married?
Building a home And life together

Give us your best cheapo/fun married date idea.
Going swimming on the lake

What’s been the hardest part about being married?
Learning each other, what not to do and say

What surpassed you the most?  (Either good or bad.)
The love we have for each other.

What have you fought about most and why?
Little things (what way to put the toilet paper on the holder)

So if I remember right, you guys don’t Facebook.  Why is that?
We stay in touch with friends other ways and everyone else doesn’t matter.

Do you have any advice for couples about to take the plunge?
Have fun with each other laugh and love through everything.

Parts are parts? 

Do you remember the commercial where the disgruntled, messy chickens were flying down the road in an old beat up car? They wanted to become Foster Farm chickens…you know…the excellent chickens. Those goofy birds finally got it – you can fluff them up all you want but they are still messy, skinny ole birds!!

Flowers are not just flowers! They have so many variables to them, so many grades. I remember when guys would come into the flower shop asking for a dozen long stem roses. Little did they know, a long stem rose is really only a second grade rose. Roses come in many lengths and with each come different head sizes. The longer the rose stem, the bigger, fuller and prettier a rose head can be. For example, a rose can be purchased in 40, 50, 60, 70 and even 80 centimeters. The “long stem” rose is about a 50 cm rose so you can see there are usually three sizes that are bigger and fuller. The other grading system is medium, long, fancy and extra fancy. So, you can see the “long stem” rose isn’t really such a big deal!! I usually explain this to my brides by making another comparison – take for example jeans. You can buy a pair from Walmart for say $15.00 and you can buy  a pair of Miss Me for $100.00 (yes, I know there are a lot that are even more expensive) Now, they are both jeans….both have two legs, both are denim, both have pockets, both have a zipper, both can be worn to the movies but you sure wouldn’t say they are the same!! Well, the same can be said for flowers ….just because someone says…I can make a bridal bouquet of all red roses for $100.00 doesn’t mean there is going to be any comparison to a spectacular high grade rose. On the surface it’s easy to be fooled but get the two in front of you and I assure you, you’ll pick the better one! The problem lies in a bride and her mom picking out that one of a kind bouquet not knowing the right questions to ask. You see, a florist never says, “Well, it will be made with 36 Ecuadorian, 70 to 80 cm all white roses. The variety will be Polar Star.” They just say, “It will be an all white rose bouquet.”  Then they can show up with whatever they want much to your chagrin! Now, you might say “I don’t even want roses” well, ALL flowers are selected and graded. There are florist grade and supermarket grade. There are always variables to each and every flower.

That leads me on another topic….colors are not just colors! Red is not just red, there is red to the orange side and red to the blue side! For example, tomatoes and blood red – you can imagine there are lots of shades of red in between. White can be to the yellow side or green, purple can be to the pink or blue sides! All the colors are not the  same….all the varieties are not the same…all the qualities are not the same….Parts are not parts in chickens or flowers!

Fake flowers are just that….FAKE!

To many times a bride gets her hopes up on a particular flower that maybe she saw in a local craft shop. She’ll come in with a few plastic or silk flowers and think we can provide her with them in real flowers only to be disappointed. In the days of Google images, it’s so easy to see if the flowers you prefer come in the colors you want. Check it out…it’s a great tool!

Magazines and blogs are giving brides unrealistic visions of color! To many times the editor or blogger is enhancing the color to “make it prettier” or more with today’s trend. Some (of course not AlexM…lol) photographers are “color correcting” and this changes the color as well as the expectation of the bride.

Brides….did you know that the groom has responsibility in paying for some of the flowers? Grooms and/or their parents are responsible to pay for the brides bouquet, the portrait bouquet, all the men’s boutonnieres and the mother’s and grandmother’s corsages or posy’s. Ask the florist to separate  the flower totals and make two copies of the contract so one can be presented to the groom. It will take you out of the equation and give credence to asking them to pay for their part.

When consulting with a florist, make sure you find one that has pictures of their own work and will guide you through the decision making process. I do my best to make sure to capture each and every brides vision of their day as each is as unique and special as every bride. So much of the time I see a bride come in for her last meeting with me and she’s exhausted and “just can’t wait for it to be over with!” Remember to ask for help, hire the very best professionals, let go of a few of the decisions and take time to relax and enjoy the best day of your life!

Wishing you a happily ever after!
Barbara | La Tee Da

Didn’t I tell you she was awesome?
Still wanna see more?  Take a look at all the “La Tee Da Weddings” I’ve photographed the past few years.

If something looks nice it’s because one of these wedding vendors made it happen.

Cakes: Adalante Catering
DJ/Uplighting: CMB DJs
Flowers: La Tee Da Flowers
Venue: Villa di Felicita
Videographer: Video Magic

Here is a little peek at their wedding album.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.