Brooke & Justin are the type of people that you feel totally at ease 12 seconds into meeting them.  Justin is a football coach at SMU and Brooke works in the recruiting department.  We had a great time going all over campus taking these photos.  Also, I’ve photographed dozens of couples on dozens of campuses across Texas…  shout out to Brooke for getting us the hook up and having a golf cart for us to drive around in.  25 cool bride points earned.

Amanda & Bob are the type of people that 15 seconds into meeting them, you wish you had met them sooner.  Easy to talk to, honest, and totally real.  My only regret with their session was that it only lasted an hour.  I would much rather have spent a whole evening with them. :)

They met while working at Lowe’s in the paint department.  Bob told me that he was about to move out to Lawn & Garden, and quickly realized he only had 1 month to “train” her.  I guess the training worked because after 6 years of dating, here we are.

During their session Amanda mentioned to me that one of the things that attracted her to Bob was how genuine he is.  It’s so true though, he oozes honesty. I loved seeing them interact and when she would ask for an opinion on something, he would give it, but he always made sure that she felt valued and heard throughout the session.  Such a great quality.

Bob’s favorite thing about Amanda is how thoughtful she is.  “She thinks about people a lot.  She cares.”

You see that folks?  That’s how you pick a spouse.  You find someone who is honest, who is genuine.  You look for someone with a heart that bends towards people and has them on their mind.

You find someone like that, and you’ll find someone worth marrying.

Amanda & Bob did. :)

If you don’t like having fun, you probably would not have enjoyed Melanie & Aaron’s wedding at Le Beaux Chateau in Flowermound, TX.  Seriously.  These two know how to have a great time and I think they only invited fun people to their wedding.

I walk into the guys room and find this: grown men playing video games.  Yes, please.
(I think I can now convince my 12 year old son to assist me on future weddings.)

The best thing is not that Aaron plays video games.  The best thing is that Melanie “gets it”.  Here are the cufflinks she gave him on their wedding day.

Cake toppers are better when zombies are attacking.

Every groom needs groomsmen who will pull out a knife and cut your shirt and pull out a comb and brush your stache.

Sometimes First Looks are full of weeping and holding.

The beautiful people.

Sometimes the beautiful people turn into the pouty people.

She was a bit bored with the whole thing.

Unity candle? Nope.
Unity Sand? Nope.
Unity Beer? Yes please.

Of course they made a Black & Tan.

With this ring, (and these bottle caps) I thee wed.

Melanie & her dad CRUSHED a dance song mash up.  So, so many good moves.

Speaking of crushed…. The bouquet toss went well. :)

Of course their grandmother did the Nae Nae.

Of course they preformed an impromptu “Shut Up & Dance With Me”.

Last dances in an empty room are the best.

You thought it was over?  Wrong.  Here are some of my favorites from the Mug Machine.
Featuring Melanie & Aaaron kissing poorly and the hair from that girl that got crushed trying to catch flowers.

Thank you guys for an amazing day of fun, love, and laughter.
Also, I’m still kinda mad that after you got married, you got to go to Disney World, and I had to come home and edit these pictures.

Right after I photographed their wedding, I mentioned that I had never seen a groom be more tenter towards his bride.  1 year later, Tim still holds the title belt.  I have such great memories of their wedding at Stone Oak Ranch and I KNEW they would be the perfect couple to check in on after their first year of marriage.  Enjoy.

What do you miss most about the single life?
Hahah, actually not a lot. Little things here and there; alone time, a different kind of freedom… But really we don’t miss it.

Give us your best cheapo/fun married date idea.
Build a fort in your living room, have breakfast for dinner, and watch a good movie (Tim always picks). We are the simple, stay home kinda people.
Getting ice cream and driving around looking at all the nice houses in our neighborhood and dreaming about one day…

What have you liked most about your first year being married?
Waking up together, supporting one another, always having “my person” I can count on, figuring things out together, celebrating together,praying together. We like that we are forever together.

Tim: What have you discovered about Beth this year that you didn’t realize before?
How gracious she is and how she is able to forgive me on my off days.
Beth: What is one thing super gross thing about Tim that you learned now that you are married to him?
I wish I had something truly appalling but Tim is a lot of things but gross isn’t one… Not for a good story here but it makes living together much more pleasant.

What have you fought about most and why?
Money! Because we both are independent and tend to want to control things in our own way. We have really had to work to understand each other and be on the same team when it comes to our finances and budgeting.

What was the biggest thing you were nervous about? How has it turned out?
Tim: I was anxious about the weight of responsibility and caring for my wife. It’s been a blessing to overcome selfishness and to learn (the beginning of) how to serve her and trust God as he leads us.
Beth: The first year being the hardest year of your life. It’s hasn’t been the simpliest year of life but we have really fought to have fun, give grace, forgive, and make memories together. We know more things will come but we have genuinely loved our first year of marriage.

What do you wish someone had told you before you were married?
We honestly have a phenomenal community and they did well to prepare us. I will say one thing that someone did say that I wish I heard more was that every marriage is different and part of the fun is learning and failing together to make it the best it can be.

Lacey & Cory’s story began way back in 2000.  Bruce, Lacey & Cory’s story began last week.

I’ll be honest… I’m not sure which one is my favorite.

These two have known each other since 6th grade.  They kinda grew up together in San Antonio and dated on and off for about 8 years.

Shout out to Lacey for throwing herself at Cory in typical 8th grade fashion.

Also, a very special shout out to Marcus for signing Cory’s yearbook with the phrase “Keep pimpin’ dim HOES.”

Me: “You guys just stand next to each other and Lacey, bring your hand up so we can see the ring.”

I mentioned Bruce earlier.  Bruce is the name that Lacey gave the “blemish” that appeared on her forehead a couple of days before our session.  He has been photoshopped out of history, but this image may be my favorite I have ever taken.  “Give Bruce a kiss.” I said.

Cory didn’t even hesitate.

Like all cool, hip, young people, these two love to get slightly overpriced, yet delicious beverages at Local Coffee.
(I can’t tell you if it was any good because they did not offer to buy me any.)

Fun Fact about Lacey.  She has an older sister.
One of the perks of having older siblings is that you can steal photography pose ideas from back when they were engaged.  (Like 150 years ago.)

Thank you guys for a great session.  The three of you were a blast to hang out with.