Snake Attack Day is upon us once more. It’s the time of year when we pull our loved ones in and hug them even tighter and remember just how precious life is. How danger lurks round every corner.

12 years ago while sitting at my desk working I heard Danielle let out a blood curdling scream.  Being someone who likes to document events I grabbed my camera and headed her way.  The following video is the result.

So now each year we celebrate our victory over the slithery beast.  We partake in gummy worms and crushed oreos to remind us of how close we came to defeat.  We tell tells of battles won against the serpents of yesteryear.  We share theses stories to remind the young that one day their time will come.  They will have a family and house of their own to defend.  And just when all hope seams lost they will think back on April 5,  2006 and remember how their father conquered the carnivorous reptile and protected his legacy and linage.

Happy Snake Attack Day everyone.

So if you have spent anytime on my blog you kinda know the formula…

Talk about how much I love the wedding location. (The Hilton Rockwall Lakefront was perfect.)

Maybe mention how smooth the guys were.

Perhaps a nod to how much I love tiny humans. (Especially if the flower girl is the groom’s daughter.)

And humor.  Jokes are always great, as in… True story, Linda anchored herself by holding on to her two pregnant bridesmaids… because you know… nothing says immovable object like two women great with child.

Yeah… that formula does not work here.  Because Linda & Joseph have a story that breaks the formula.

This is their second time getting married to each other.

Here they are back in the day when they were married for the first time.

BOOM!  I just broke your brain right?!

These two met as teenagers and were married a few years later.  He had enrolled in the Marines, and they started their life together on the base.  Soon after September 11th, he was deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and more countries than most of us can name. When he returned, Joseph said he came back “a different person”. And rather than confiding in her, he felt like he couldn’t talk to her about any of it.

A short while later, they decided to get a divorce due to infidelity on his part.

Engaged at 18, married at 20, divorced at 25.

Now right then and there, these two have lived through enough heartache and struggles that would break most of us. But this is not where their story ends.

After the divorce, they went their separate ways and started dating other people.
Joseph met someone and they soon became pregnant with that adorable flower girl you saw earlier.

When Joseph talks about this time in his life, he is crystal clear on what the problem was–Him.
“I was not looking at relationships in a biblical sense. I was not saved, and I was just looking out for myself.”

Linda and Joseph had stayed in touch, and a mutual friend mentioned to him that maybe God was bringing them back together.  As improbable as this seemed, this is actually what started to happen.  Little by little, with a lot of work and intentionality on both their parts, “and through God’s grace,” Joseph added, they had restored their relationship and made the commitment to circle back around to marriage.  This time with God being at the center of it.

Back to 2018…

When you are in a room full of men praying for a marriage that is happening again despite war, isolation, adultery, and divorce…

You pause.
You breathe deeply.
You thank God for his grace.

When they went to take communion, they realized someone did not fill the cup. (I gave Joseph a hard time about this later.)
“Jesus knows we took communion in our heart,” he said. (Fair point.)

Of course they took time out to wash each other’s feet.  This is something I’ve had many couples do throughout the years.  The beautiful thing about these two doing this, is they KNOW how hard marriage can be.  They have seen the toll it can take.  They have experienced first hand the destruction selfishness can cause.  So for them, this was not an act of symbolism, but a tangible commitment to serve one another.

We had a little downtime before we headed to the reception, which always leads to great candids: chill bridesmaids, pack-mule groomsmen, Joseph offering another foot washing, and selfie fun.

“Having her through all the struggles and trials, it led me to know that’s God’s grace is perfect. Regardless of whatever sins you have in your life, God’s grace is sufficient.”

“We’ve come so far, and transformed into something so much better, because of Him.”

They hit the reception and were ready to go for the rest of the night.

My favorite part was when Linda’s father sang to his family, and then busted out an entire song to his own bride. #winning

I’m going to leave you with what is my favorite moment from their day.  The clearest picture of marriage I can give you. Service.

Lindsay & Chris crushed their wedding day.  Not because everything was perfect, but because they never let the little bumps mess with their mojo.

These two were married at Wylde Acres.  A “new-ish” venue in the Longview area.  There are 2 reasons’s I can’t say enough great things about this place.
1. I genuianly LOVE it.
2. Lindsay’s parents own the joint so I’m pretty sure they will be reading this post.
(Side note to other photographers out there: I’ve had the privilege of shooting a few venue owners daughter’s weddings over the years.  It’s always an extra special honor because I know they see so many great photographers and that they would trust me with “their day” is a huge vote of confidence.  If you get asked to do one of these weddings, don’t sweat it.  Do you thing. That’s why they are asking you to take the photos.  It’ll be fine.  These brides are no more special than normal brides.  OK, that’s a lie, they are more special.  They are magical.  The normal brides are just regular every day brides.

Calavera Cakery.  Boom.  Yummy and Pretty.

Ampersand Family was there filming and I loved creeping in on this moment where Lindsay was reading her vows.

Say hello to Cruz.  He was there to watch his parents get married.  (He’s the best.)

Lindsay went back and forth on doing a First Look.  About 4 days before the wedding her and Chris decided to do one and I’m so thrilled they did.  These moments are always some of my favorites from the day.

Hello beautiful people.

True story.  I took the following photos in 43 seconds.  Kids ain’t got time for slow photographers.

Speaking of kid’s ain’t got time…. Cruz was ready for his nap.

Chris is like a professional expression maker.  I loved all the random faces I caught him making on their day.

There were a few members of the wedding party who were… what’s the word…. oh yeah…complaining that we went all they way out to the wood pile for these shots.  I’m so so sorry I asked that of you.  If you want I can delete these photos and we can pretend this moment never happened.

Fantasy and Fairytale Floral Designs did an amazing job.

Just as we were finishing photos it started to drizzle.  Chris was super prepared and was ready with the umbrella.

Turns out Linday’s nephew was more prepared and loaded her up onto the Kubota and drove her to safety.

Cruz. Happy again.

I kept waiting for a kid to in for a Caparisun and come out with a Keystone.

I noticed something on Robin’s dress earlier and sure enough, it’s just what I thought it was. #cruz #grandmother

Cruz was more interested in his shoe than his parents joining together in holy matrimony.

Lindsay’s late brother Maverick bought and drove this van to Alaska a few years ago.  It’s super special to their family so of course we worked it into the day.

(Faithful readers will also recognize it from Britany & Aaron’s wedding.  Aaron went on that cross country trip as well.)

Things that guests sign that you display are my favorite thing to make guests sign.

I dig it when the couple’s grandparents win the anniversary dance.

I’ve seen a lot of guys go in for the garter.  I’ve never had one come out with this look on his face.

The only thing these two do better than dance is karaoke.

Why yes, that is a cup of alchohol flying through the air.

Lindsay was the best bride.  #1.

You two were a joy.  Thank you for trusting me with your special day. (Not that your day was any more special than a normal bride’s day.)

(j/k it totally was more special.)

I have known Colton for a few years and have spent time with his family. I love Colton.  He reminds me of myself in so many ways.  He is confident, cocky, charming, funny, good looking, and is always pretending he has everything under control.  Like me, I knew he would be able to marry way, way up.   15 seconds into meeting Kylee, I knew this was 100% true.

OK. So technically, they are not sitting in a tree, but they ARE  k-i-s-s-i-n-g.

When I first talked to Colton about how they met, he mentioned that they were introduced via a mutual friend.
“I saw a great opportunity, so I took advantage of it.”  GOLD.  Solid gold.

“The whole time I was a thinking… this is a super good idea.  She’s like 50 times out of my league.”  He eventually started to tell me about how he loved being able to have spiritual conversations with her, and how that is what is at the core of their friendship.  Kylee had listened to a podcast that encouraged her not to throw out “I love you” early in a relationship.   That led them to make the agreement to hold off on that. (Which led the them saying “Man. I’m just so crazy about you” quite a bit.)  She wanted to make sure he felt the same way and was waiting on him to say it first, even though she knew that “he was the one”.  About 6 months in, the first “I love you” was spoken. And if you are around them today, it’s pretty evident they are in love, without either of them needing to mention it.

In all seriousness, these two are perfect for each other.  Kylee does a great job of keeping him in check, and he is constantly pushing her just a bit outside of her comfort zone.  Like the time he encouraged her that it would be ok to sneak into a closed amusement park for a few quick photos.  (Wait, what?)

Were we eventually kicked out/asked to leave? Yes.  Was it worth it?  No doubt.

Last thing I’ll tell you about Colton–he thinks he’s a baller.  He’s basically like Steph Curry.  If Steph went and played in a 8 year old league.  Colton always seems to look for the toughest competition around.  (True story.  He missed that jumper.)

You know who didn’t miss? BOOMSHAKALAKA!

And if I may speak to you, Colton, personally for just a moment.  As a young groom, the first few times my bride dunked on me in any situation in life, it offended and frustrated me.  I soon realized this would be a common occurrence, and I have learned to take joy in it.

It’s going to happen a lot.
Get used to it.
Embrace it.

Hey hey, the people have spoken and here are the winners for this years contests.

Movie: I feel better about making these two clean up popcorn off a movie theater floor now that I know their image won.

Rope: Ann & Tonya’s nautical themed wedding was the perfect backdrop for their ring shot.

Anna Caroline was one of the sweetest brides I’ve had in years. So happy she won.

Gummy: How could anyone beat gummy bears raining down form the heavens?

Bear: I mean…. was this category ever in doubt?

Kally & Kishan: This casual walk after the ceremony was so organic and natural. Sometimes the moment finds your camera and all you have to do is click.

Each year it’s so hard for me to narrow down the categories and pick only 10 photos per section. Here are 100 more of my favorite images that were not able to make the cut into the top 10.

Lots and lots of eye candy below. Enjoy.