So, interestingly enough, this is the second time I’m doing a blog post about dinosaurs.  The first one was ok, this one is better. :)

A few days ago this photo popped up on the internet. Mad props to the photographer Quinn Miller. I loved his story about it and why he did it.

The photographer knew of the groom’s love for dinosaurs and thought it would be fun to try out the shot. That’s it. They were not following a trend on Pinterest, they were not working off a Style Me Pretty checklist. They had an idea and ran with it. (Get it… “ran with it.”)

It’s super easy to get caught in the wedding checklist mindset. There are 3.7 billions wedding sites on the web and most of them have a great list of helpful tips and ideas. The problem is the more lists you look at they feel less like suggestions and more like the 10 Commandments to a successful wedding.

I’ve had couples dress up their dogs, make a cake out of Lego blocks, and stick skulls next to the cake table.

AND even CRAZIER… my bride this past weekend had NO WEDDING CAKE!!!! (Oh the horror!)

Here is the photo I didn’t take of her not having a cake.

All of these things might be strange at your wedding. But they were totally in line with each couple and I loved them for it.

This is your wedding not Martha Stewart’s.
You are starting your marriage.
Do it your way.
Be creative.
Have fun.
Enjoy yourself.
It’s a celebration.

You were alone and someone wandered up to you and said I choose you. I pick you. I love you.
Take them by the hand and run. Run together for the rest of your life.

when jaime mentioned that she might wanna do her bridal session at a yacht club i tried not to jump through the phone with excitement.  :)  when her session date rolled around she did not disappoint.  check em out. (jaime totally has a serene greek godess thing going on.)

you can’t get on a boat in a dress and NOT do this right? :)

jaime, despite me not knowing port, starboard, mast and wind direction i managed to stay on the boat.  thanks for your patience and for trusting me with these images.

i met lauren & alex way back in 2010 when i photographed his brother’s wedding.  i love shooting multiple family members weddings and i can’t wait for this one.  speaking of love… i think these two may have one of the best “how we met” stories ever.  they were on the same campus at northwood university in dallas for a few years but did not meet until their senior year.  alex was a pitcher on the baseball team and lauren & him had started dating.  on game she was sitting in the stands and this lady asked her who she was there watching.  she pointed to alex and it turned out the lady also knew alex.  (she was his mother.)  alex had not yet introduced lauren to anyone in his family, so all he could do the entire game was watch form the dug out and mound as she “met” his entire family while he played his baseball game.

we knew we had to start the session in the stands where it all began.

it was such a great day for a baseball game we decided to play 2.  next up, the ball park in arlington.

thanks random ballpark employee for taking their photo.

are they really on the wall of fame?  nope.
will their great grandkids know this in 75 years when they see this photo?  nope. :)

meet the boomstick. 24 inches and 3 pounds worth of nolan ryan beef.
(you know a hotdog is a big deal when cnn money is talking about it.)

thanks for a great afternoon.  let’s hang out again…. how about october 5th? ;)

UPDATE: ALL THE MINI SESSION SPOTS ARE SOLD.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SPREAD THE WORD.

Last year I had the honor of traveling to Haiti. It was an amazing trip and one that confirmed so much of what Danielle and I have been dreaming of since we were first married. It was my first overseas mission trip and I knew the minute I landed in Haiti that I needed to come back. Over and over. But coming back alone was not enough, I needed to bring my family along on the journey. This year we are hoping to take one step closer in that direction by having our 10 year old son join me on the trip. We are both super excited about the possibilities and can’t wait to see what God has in store for us.

(This is the part where you come in.)

We are funding the trip ourselves and are still a bit short of the full amount. So I thought, why not see if anyone out there is interested in contributing?!? As a little thank you for your gift, I’ll come out and shoot a mini-session of your choice. Family, baby, maternity, senior, kittens? You pick it and I’ll shoot it. I’m only offering 10 of these so get em’ while they last.

10 mini-sessions, $100 bucks each. All proceeds go to getting Jo & I to Haiti.

Two more things…

1. If you don’t need photos, but still want to donate. That’s allowed. (Email me here: alexmphotography@gmail.com)
2. If you don’t need photos, and don’t want to donate. That’s also allowed, passing this post along to others would be a HUGE help.

Ready… Go!

(Email me here: alexmphotography@gmail.com if you want to book a session.)
Here is a little video I put together from my trip last year.

If you wanna see photos from last year’s trip take a look here.