you want to see 59 images from my trip to haiti right?  i thought so.

leaving my wife and kids for the week was by far the hardest part.  the longest i had been away from them up to this point was 3 days.  it was a long 8 days for me and a longer 8 days for danielle.  HUGE shout out to her for allowing me to go and taking her parenting to another level while i was gone.

this is what a sunrise looks like in haiti.  it’s kinda cool.

our church partnered with an organization called praying pelican.  they have groups coming and going all the time and this was our swanky school bus that we rode around in.

we arrived late saturday night and so we missed the “early” church service.  we ended up going to the late one at 9:30am. :)  this was the church we attended and one of the kids’ sunday school classes.

there were steps coming down from one of the classrooms and right on the other side of them was this.  the theme of beauty right next to trash was something that kept appearing the whole week we were there.

having a camera around your neck makes you pretty popular with kids and less so with grown ups.  the boys all posed on their own for their shots.

i found this on one of the bulletin boards at the church.

for most of the week, we spent our days moving rocks and shoveling dirt to help build a church.  this tent is where they meet now and the building should be done in about a year.

here i am being a baller at an orphanage.  i crushed the 10 & 12 year old kids.  i got mad skillz.

there were so many adorable kids everywhere you looked.  here are just a few of them.

boom.  just like that.  i didn’t pose them.

i loved seeing their faces when they saw their pictures on the back of my camera.

check out the toy car this kid made.  it’s both awesome and heartbreaking all at once.

again, haiti is both beautiful and sad all at once.  gorgeous coast line filled with tent houses that have tarps for roofs.

trash piles along the city road.

many of the houses had broken bottles along the walls for security.  keeps people from jumping over.  pretty cool idea.

i went to one orphanage/school that had this for a basketball goal.  for comparison we have 4 basketball goals with backboards, rims and nets at our house.

these three kids were walking a long long way to bring some water back home.

they have these things called “tap tap”s there. you jump on when you want to, tap when you want to get off, and then pay.  this was a nice one.  most of them are really small pickups.

saw two tires buried in random locations.  figured they were worth photographing.

that tiny white dot is a man doing a bit of farming.

our last day we went to this beach.  how awesome is this coast line.

and this is along the shore.
again, haiti was an amazing experience and my heart breaks for the people there.  they live in a gorgeous country and have been dealt an incredibly hard hand.  it’s both the most beautiful place i’ve ever been to as well as the saddest place i have ever visited.  i can’t wait to go back.

just got back from a week in haiti.  it was a heartbreaking experience.  i’ll be posting images in the coming week but for now i’ll share a video that i put together for us to show in our church yesterday morning.

hey remember when we were all in high school and we had a prom.  yeah that was fun right?  that prom didn’t just drop in at your high school.  there were a group of students (mostly girls) who made that night happen.  they slaved away for months to make it happen.

so, knowing that a prom takes a committee of people.  why on earth would you think you could plan a prom/church service/vacation/family reunion all on your own.

i am a pretty good photographer.  wait, scratch that.  i’m the best photographer ever.  but what i am not very good at is being a wedding planner or coordinator.  guess what?  your mom, aunt, bff, or cousin who is a sophomore in college is probably not the best either.  that’s why i always love it when brides hire a professional to help them plan and run their day.  it’s some of the best money you can spend when planning a wedding.

good planner make your life easier.  they are worth the money you pay them and then some.  maybe you don’t think you need one.  maybe you think you can handle planning this all on your own.  maybe you are right.  but i think a little help might be just what you need.

i asked super planner extraordinaire taryn coffey of event & company to maybe point out some signs that you may need a planner.  here is what she had to say.

So I’m sure it’s crossed your mind if you don’t have a wedding planner already- “Do I need a wedding planner?” It crossed my mind when I started planned my wedding, but I didn’t act on it, then…it was too late, which is the case SO many times.  So, here are some signs that you might need a wedding planner…

1. You already have full time job and so does your fiancé.

2. You don’t have time to research, read blogs, look for inspiration, and email all day every day.

3. You’re planning a wedding at a place that you nor any of your willing-to-help family members live.

4. You’re relying on another vendor (PHOTOGRAPHER) to handle your wedding day- one who is NOT a wedding planner.

5. Your fiancé is getting mad at you for not spending enough time with him and spending too much time looking at/obsessing over wedding stuff (ok, you might still do this even when you have a wedding planner, but it’s a legit reason).

6. You’ve booked your venue and date, but it’s been a few months and you haven’t done anything else beyond that.

7. You have no clue about what amount to budget for things.

8. You’ve developed ulcers from the stress associated with wedding planning.

9. Family tensions are starting to develop because of the wedding (WARNING: often occurs with female family members!).

10. Panic sets in when you start thinking about your wedding day.

Of course, there are many, many more reasons! Ultimately, you DESERVE to not be stressed about your wedding. You DESERVE to enjoy your wedding day!  Let a planner handle all of your stresses-you deserve to have fun planning your wedding! (And to be as happy as the bride in all the lovely photos Alex takes!)

seriously ladies.
call her: 903.521.9050
email her: Taryn@EastTexasEventandCo.com
make it happen.

I think Carrie & Aaron laughed more than any couple I have photographed in a while.  They just seem totally at home with each other so I am thrilled that  they are willing to share a little part of how their first year of marriage went.  Here are a few images from their wedding last year and then we will dive into what they have to say about being married for 365 days. (and counting)

What do you miss most about the single life? 
Being able to make plans or choosing to have no plans at all without checking with someone first.

GIve us your best cheapo/fun married date idea.
Cooking a fun meal and watching movies at home, going to random small county festivals whenever we see one, taking short weekend vacations just to get out of town.

What have you liked most about your first year being married?
Knowing that whatever kind of day I have had, I will get to come home to my husband/wife and everything will be ok.

What’s been the hardest part about being married?
Learning and accepting the other person’s living habits.

What surpassed you the most? (Either good or bad.)
We both knew that marriage takes work and that is certainly true. However, I think we were both surprised at how much easier and fun life is when you have a constant partner. Even a Tuesday night trip to
the grocery store can feel like a date when you are with someone who simply makes you happy.

What have you fought about most and why?
Deciding who will be responsible for what on a daily basis. We had not really thought about that before getting married and we have had to really work on determining who is in charge of each task in order to
make things go.

What was the biggest thing you were nervous about? How has it turned out?
We both knew that living together 24/7 would be a major adjustment and it has been. When we were dating, I did not notice that Aaron leaves little whiskers all over the sink when he shaves and Aaron did not
realize that I was “psychotic” about the house being spotless when there is even a chance of company coming over. We both have had to learn that we can get annoyed with these little things or just accept them.

Do you have any advice for couples about to take the plunge?
Do whatever you can to really prepare for marriage. We have truly benefited from taking a VOW class prior to getting married. The class gave us the chance to talk about things that we would never had addressed on
our own. It is easy to stress out about whether the tablecloths are the right shade of blue or if the bridesmaids all really like their dresses (they won’t) but try to stay focused on what really matters.

Thanks again you two for sharing some of your awesomeness with the inter webs.  And seriously people.  Take their advice.  Get on the WeVowNow website and take a class.

Jessica & Austin are the exact type of couple I love to photograph. They are giddy about each other and are more excited about getting married than they are planning their wedding. :)  We started their session at Dona Maria, a little mexican food place near Austin’s place.  They eat their pretty much every day and the staff knows them by name.  If you know where this place is, you have to try it.  And, if you see them there, just smile and wave. (Don’t be creepy.)

We then headed off into the city.  Starting at the spot where Austin proposed.

Random awkward photo holding hands with President Bush?  Yes please.

The graffiti brought out the thug in Austin.

Thanks for a great morning.  You two were a blast.