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

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.

Best. Bridesmaids. Ever.

Lauren & Blain were married at The Belgium House in Longview, TX.  Fantastic place.  Book them now. (903.660.0125)

Is it just me or does that custom AlexM Photography guest book look AMAZING!!!

Cakes by Edible Art.  Tasty, delicious, and attractive.  Book them now. (903.234.2114)

This is the cake topper that Lauren’s grandparents used.  57 years ago.  Not bad.

Remember that time Lauren & Blaine had a First Look and birds chirped and magic happened?
My favorite two First Look moments.
1. Watching them hold hands in their own flirty way
2. Blaine complimenting and noticing all the details in her dress

One of the great things about The Belgium House is they also offer flowers.  These were perfect.  Like I said, call and book them. (903.660.0125)

I love this shot of Lauren creeping on her wedding guests while her sister creeps on her.

Remember those grandparents who have been married 57 years?  They got to cut and eat some cake too.
DJ Daddy Co kept everyone dancing.  While you are booking all your other vendors you should go ahead and call him too. (903.918.4555)
I love the groomsman showing modesty and respecting women….

kinda.

Lauren and a “few” of her Texas Tech Alpha Phi Sorority Sisters.
 Thanks EVERYONE for a fantastic evening.  You were too much fun.

You can see Justice change from nervous to super happy during their First Look.

I jumped down into what used to be a pond/lake.  It was dry, empty, and sad, but it made for a cool photo.

YOu know it’s the summer of 2011 when everyone is thankful it’s only 91.

Raise your hand if you ever had Glamour Shots done.  (I should start offering those to my clients, I’m totally leaving money on the table.)

A few more quirky portraits.

CMB DJs owned the reception and this kid owned Michael Jackson, the whole wedding stopped to watch him dance.

This awesome!

Happy Anniversaries to Bethany & Nathaniel, Jennifer & Jeb, Courtney & Jonathan, and Julia & Robert!!

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to take a quick peek back at my favorite image from each wedding.  Here they are for your viewing pleasure.

Short hair? Check.
Braces? Check.
Bad photography? Double Check.

(Jess you totally knew I was posting an old photo right?  At least I picked a “good” one.)

Anyway, I was super excited when she emailed me and said she was engaged and that I was gonna shoot her wedding!  Before we got to just Jess & Justice We did a few with his daughter as well.  She is MUCH cuter and hipper than Jess was.

Now a few of the two of them.

The three of you were terrific and I’m looking forward to hanging out with you more.  Thanks for being so awesome.

After a few moments alone Gini gave Charlie his wedding day gift.

Then Charlie gave Gini her gift.  I think she liked it.

The Belgium House also offers you the option of having them do the flowers.  These came out terrific.
Anytime Lori’s Eats & Sweets is catering I can’t wait to get tot he reception. DJ Daddy Co kept the dance floor moving the rest of the day.

Part 1.

Part 2:  Last year I asked one of my brides who broke off her engagement if she would be willing to share what that process was like and everything that it involved.  She was kind and brave enough to say yes.  It is still one of the most viewed pages on my website and  was the top Google result for broken engagement for a while last year.  Regardless of how great your engagement  or relationship is you should take the time to read what Kristin had to share.  (Read her story here.)

James surprised Nikki with this wedding band during the ceremony.  (She was happy.)

They exchanged gifts during their First Look.

Nikki got James a watch.  (He was happy.)

One of the cool things they did was have a part of the ceremony that James’ daughter  came up and the minister spoke to all three of them together.

I was totally hoping the Matron of Honor would get frazzled and read the welcome note side from the Fairfield Inn.
Thank you two for a great afternoon.  Mug Machine magic coming your way later this week!

First off, let me just say I’m a huge fan of kids.  (Danielle & I made 4)  However, sometimes kids and weddings don’t mix so well, so here are a few tips to help ease the process.

1.  They Are In Charge

As much as possible work with THEIR schedule.  If you are having younger kids (Ages 1-4) in your wedding, do your best to let the day before and day of your wedding be as “normal” as possible.  Don’t try and keep them up till 9:45 at the rehearsal dinner and expect them smiling for photos at 8:00AM.  Most of this will fall on the parents.  But, let the parents know that you are aware that the little people have their own time table and you are willing to work with them.

2. Don’t Dress Them Up Too Soon

Every little girl can’t wait to put her dress on and every little boy can’t wait to take his suit off.  That’s just the reality.  The problem is the minute you put her dress on is the minute everyone starts expecting her to “act” like a princess.  The girl is 2, she’s going to drool, sit, and spit up on the dress.  Wait till the last minute to put it on.  The same is true of the boys.  If grown men don’t enjoy a suit, tie, vest, and pointy shoes, why do we think a 4 year old boy will.

3.  Entertain Them

Have an iPod or little DVD player in the dressing room.  This will keep them sitting still and quite.  (Two things you’ll want.)  Stickers, and coloring books are also a hit.  It’s also a great Idea to have a surprise toy waiting for them in their seat near the front if you want them to stick around.

4.  Shoot Them First

Plan on getting them dressed and walking them out to be photographed.  The last thing you want is to have them dressed and 2 hours go by before they are in any photos.  (They will look drastically different than what you imagined.)  If a kid does not want to be photographed there is NOTHING anyone can do to change their mind.  The best approach is to let them sit a few out and maybe try again later in the day.

5. Practice Does NOT Make Perfect

More than likely they will do great at your rehearsal.  The problem is the wedding day is slightly different.  The rehearsal is smaller, more intimate, and they probably know 65% of the people there.  The wedding is a HUGE production with 1,000,000 eyeballs staring straight at them.  Walking down the aisle with everyone staring at you makes the bride nervous.  It has the same affect on lots of kids.  If possible have a parent or grandparent near the front so the kids have someone to walk towards.  I’ve even see the groom meet them half way down and escort them the rest of the way.

6. Chillax

There are 350 people at your wedding.  Most of them know and understand that kids act like…. kids.  If they cry and fuss and don’t want to go down the aisle; it’s OK, you can still get married.  (Our ring bearer spiked the pillow like a football when he got to the front.)  If they insist on looking like an airplane during formals; it’s OK, you can still get married.

Kids really are a blast at weddings and they do and say some of the funniest things.  Nothing makes a little girl feel quite as special as getting all dressed up and having her picture taken while people tell her she’s beautiful.  That is after all why you’re getting married right?

Also celebrating it’s 1 year anniversary is The Mug Machine.  She was but a twinkle in my eye last year and now my baby is all grown up and walking.  Seriously though, a big big HUGE thank you to Erin & Chris.  I called Erin about 1 week before her wedding and said something like this.

“Hey I have this big white thing and a box full of strange hats, can I bring it to your wedding and take pictures of people?”  I can’t really show you what it would look like since I have never done it before.  You trust me though right? ”

Thankfully Erin & Chris’ cool meter was dialed to 11 and they were up for it.  Here are a few of my favorites from their wedding.

Quick run down of the rules. You can vote on each category once. There will be a new category every day this week. Then the polls are closed and the winners will be announced Jan 17th. Each category winner will receive a 16×20 print of their winning image. So pick an image, vote, then get on your Twitter and your Facebook and make your friends come vote.

Here are the images.

Come back tomorrow for Top 10 Mug Machine goodness!

Arabella Manor (Gilmer, TX)
http://arabellamanorevents.com/
903.746.5461

Bella Sera Ranch (Palestine, TX)
http://www.bellaseraranch.com/
903.723.0900

Centaur Arabian Farms (Flint, TX)
http://www.centaurarabianfarms.com/
903.561.6926

Kiepersol Estates Bushman’s (Bullard, TX)
http://www.kiepersol.com/bushmans/index.html
903.894.7505

Stone Oak Ranch (Athens, TX)
http://www.stoneoakranch.com/main/
903.530.7947

They also brought along Bentley & Soko.

I love this shot.
Soko was totally bummed when we tried to do a few without her.
The happy couple.

These two are getting married December 31st in Vermont and they asked me to come along for the ride.

Snow, woods, wedding.  Yes Please.

One More Thing… I’m announcing something new on Monday morning, so all your current AND past brides start getting excited now.

As we were driving along I became fascinated with Gini’s hair that was flying all over the place.  I’m loving these two shots.

Charlie would “propose” to Gini every so often with a ring pop.  One day he gave her this plastic ring without the sucker.  She complained and then he gave her the wrapper with her ring inside it.  Well played Charlie.  Well played.

Like I said, I’m giddy as a school girl to get their wedding.  It’s gonna be at The Belgium House in Longview & The Mug Machine will be wrecking havoc.  Save the date folks.