I’ve been slammed this past week with 6 different shoots.  Each of theses couples was so great and it just didn’t feel right to not give them at least a little bit of blog love.

First up, Sarah & Caleb.  I adore their story about how they met and will share it with you soon when their July 4th wedding rolls around.  I don’t often end up in a field at sunset but this tree near Sarah’s home was too great to pass up.

Tory & Brett are super perfect for each other.  They are both first year high school teachers & coaches.  They met at the start of school this year and are getting married at the start of summer. :)  They coach baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball, track, football, and who knows what else.  Brett played a bit of college ball at DBU as well as some minor league ball for the Normal Cornbelters. (click the link to see their AMAZING mascot.)

And finally we end our post with Jaime & Alan.  The only thing Jaime loves more than barrel racing is her fireman.  The only thing Alan loves more than fighting fires is his Jaime.  I am ALWAYS a fan when a guy seems big and strong enough to snap me in half, yet is tender and soft spoken to his bride to be.  (Nice find Jaime.)  Look for Alan in the 2015 Centerville Firefighters Calendar.  ;)

JoDee & Mike’s story began like any great love story.  It began with him putting a glass slipper on her foot.  Well, technically it was a cleat. And, technically it was not made of glass, but who’s really keeping up at this point.  Mike had just moved back to Dallas after serving in the Air Force and one day while playing kickball with his buddies he came across this girl with a busted cleat.  He offered to tape it up and they lived happily ever after.  Mike is now a Sous chef at Lucia.  This super great Italian food place located in the Bishop Arts District in Dallas.  These two kept me laughing their whole session.  Take a look at how great they are together.

I thought it would be fun to use the Japanese handmade knife that Mike will keep for the rest of his life as a prop when shooting the ring JoDee will keep for the rest of her life.

There are so many ways I could start this post.  I could talk about how fun they are.  I could talk about how I’ve photographed 3 of their friends’ weddings over the years. (Lauren & Brent, Grace & Lucas, Ashley & Blake)  I could talk about how over the top Jennifer is for architecture.  You know what?  Why don’t we start at the beginning.

March 16, 2013

That was the day Ashley & Blake were married.  It was also the date Jennifer caught the bouquet.

A few items of note.

1. She was the shortest one out there.
2. She had poor positioning.
3. She was barefoot.

That’s how it’s done ladies.  I mean seriously.  Look at the girl in the blue dress.  Clearly not even trying.

Jennifer wanted to get married.  She went for the flowers.  8 months later.  Engaged.  Just like that.

OK, on to our session.  We started off at the Modern Art Museum of Ft. Worth.

I LOVE Jennifer & Ryan’s story.  These two grew up in the same church but didn’t really start hanging out ’til they were in the youth group together.  Jennifer really had little to no interest in him because he was “so much younger.” (1 year.)  Anyway, homecoming came around and she asked if he had a date.  He did not, so they agreed to go as friends.  A year later they were at a Halloween party together and Jennifer realized just how fabulous Ryan was.  (Plus he had a pool so that didn’t hurt.)  Fast forward 9 years and now they are friends with benefits.

One of my goals as a photographer is to capture authentic images of my couples.  Just because you are engaged does not require you to go to a field at sunset for your session.  I love getting couples in their environment doing what they love.  I feel that adds so much depth and an extra layer to the images.  And, as time goes by, when they look back on them, they will remember those places and seasons of life even more.  Man, is that ever true of this session.  Jennifer is an architecture major.  She also loves her some Tadao Ando.  (He is the architect who designed the museum.)  She went on and on about him and the process.  (At times it felt like she had memorized the wikipedia entry.)

fter we finished up at The Modern we walked over to the Kimbell Art Museum across the street.  More fun, more art.  More photos.

The only instructions Jennifer’s mom gave was to not have any awkward smiles.  You mean like these? :)

Jennifer’s favorite part of the buildings was the super smooth concrete and perfectly aligned circle hole thingy boppers. (architect terminology)  I figured we should end the session with those.

It would be impossible for me to love Dani & Joey more.  5 minutes into my first conversation with Joey I knew they would be the best.  True to form, they did not disappoint.  This is what they spent 99% of their session doing.  Laughing.  I love couples who laugh together.

When they were not laughing, they spent their time debating and answering the big questions in life.  Questions like…. Who is the best Disney Villain? Joey took Scar, I believe Dani settled on Cruella Deville.  (Joey & I spent the next 5 minutes mocking Dani’s choice.)

Let’s stop right here for a minute.  How can ANYONE pick Cruella?  What’s her crime?  So she loves fashion.  Is that really so bad?  Who among us has not indulged once or twice with an accessory or an over to top wardrobe item?  Scar on the other hand KILLS HIS BROTHER and then forces his tiny young nephew to take the blame and leave his mother.  That’s a bit more cruel than a shopping spree.

OK, Back to the session.

They are also awesome at frolicking.

And having general fun times.

One of my favorite parts of every session is getting to hear how couples met.  Dani & Joey have a great story.  They were both members of the same gym and Dani had noticed him working out. (Specifically his shoulders.)  So… she started coming a bit early to watch him stretch and work out.  They had a mutual friend who noticed her noticing Joey and he decided she should meet him.  Dani was a bit nervous about meeting “eye-candy”, as she called him, but did anyway.  A few days later she was making him a spice cake from scratch for his birthday and the rest is history.

So ladies… take note.  Head out to your nearest gym and find the best looking guy there.  Odds are he’s super smart and the man of your dreams.

These two really were most comfortable when they could just hang out and talk and laugh.  It made my job super easy.

I still have not told you my favorite thing about these two.  They are 3.6 million times smarter than me yet they never once made me feel dumb.  Dani is a 3rd year OB/GYN Resident and Joey went to some school called Mass Tech in Cambridge and is currently working on his thesis paper about cancer.  I loved that they spent their session frolicking, talking Disney, and maybe even making inappropriate jokes about elbows. (Check that first image out again.)

Thank you guys for being so great, and thank you for not crushing my tiny brain with your intelligence.  :)

I loved Calley & Will from the moment I met them.  They are such an easygoing couple and super great to chat with.  And, due to my newfound interest in running, Will became my new hero.  (You’ll soon see why.)  We did the whole session in Rose Rudman Park in Tyler, TX.  This is where these two spend so much of their time.  Although… they usually are not wearing  fancy official engaged outfits like these.  (But they do look pretty swell in them.)

This is what they typically look like. :)

These two love to compete in triathlons.  (Will is kinda awesome at them.)

I mentioned Will pretty good.  By pretty good I actually meant ranked number 6 in the state of Texas.  As in… he’s kinda like a machine.  A really kind nice machine that will crush you in a triathlon.