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.

So marriage can be a really strange thing.  You get engaged and spend months planning this wedding where everyone is involved and giving you advice.  Then, once you are married, people just kinda forget about you and assume that you totally know what’s going on.  One thing I would love to change is how nebulous and unknown that 1st year can be for couples.  There are tons one great recourses and books out there on the topic, but let’s be honest, if you are on a wedding blog that means you are in full creeper mode right now.  Let’s seize this moment and learn a little from Becca & Brad who totally got married 1 year ago.  Take a peek at some of their images and then keep scrolling to hear what they have to say about the first year of their marriage.

1. What do you miss most about the single life?
Sharing everything. You no longer are just thinking about yourself in decisions.

2. GIve us your best cheapo/fun married date idea.
$5 fillets grilled on the grill from wal-mart (actually pretty good) and a $5 matinee show .

3. What have you liked most about your first year being married?
That through hard times and the good, your no longer having to do things alone!

4. What’s been the hardest part about being married?
Getting through the financial struggles…us both having good jobs at the same time to pay off our debts.

5. What surprised you the most? (Either good or bad.)
We have grown closer to the Lord together and have now finished a book learning about the other person’s love language so even though things are great now…we maintain meeting the other persons needs. If you both focus on the others needs, your both loved and happy. It’s an excellent book.
(7 bucks on Amazon.  Go buy it.)

6. What have you fought about most and why?
Every fuss usually originates from stress about money! I brought debt into this relationship due to college loans and neither of us seem to get our perfect jobs at the same time.

7. What was the biggest thing you were nervous about? How has it turned out?
To be honest …nothing, we were friends first and nothing has really changed for us after marriage!

8. Do you have any advice for couples about to take the plunge?
Best advice…put God first (the couple is never doing things alone) and always be always honest about how you feel. It may cause a fuss at the moment but getting through those, learning everything about the other person, and always being honest sets your future up for success and will keep you from having things build up. Those explosions are never good for anyone. Most of all love your partner and meet their needs.

Thank you two for begin brave, opening up, and letting us peek into your life.

I love weddings where people know how to have fun.  Candace & Covy know how to have fun.  Need proof?  Check out the images from their kick butt day at La Toretta Resort & Spa in Conroe.

Huge shout out to Thalio Beckham for KILLING it on the makeup.
This guy was my favorite.
They did this super cool thing where they had people write them notes and they put it in a box that they will open on their 5 year anniversary.

The reception was a huge party and Jonny Black kept it going late into the night.

the past week was an absolute blast.  it kicked off with an incredible wedding at la toretta resort in conroe, the family and i then went down to galveston for a few days, and i just closed out the week with a killer wedding at elmwood gardens.  mucho more postage to come on these events, but here are little teasers of each of them.  boom.  boom. boom.

Deveri & Stephen make me mad because they live in New York.  I wish they lived closer so we could hang out more. A few weeks before their wedding I sent them a little something and got back this super nice thank you note.  The whole note was super nice, but the quote from Stephen on the back made me smile.

How great is that.  It made me want to try extra extra hard to make them fancy photos at their wedding.  I think it worked. :)  They were married and Elmwood Gardens and it was cool.  Check it out.

Good looking food.

OK, enough details, let’s jump to their First Look and a few of the portraits that they rocked.

By the way, i’m sure you have noticed how all the flowers look amazing.  I WONDER WHO COULD HAVE DONE THEM?

On to the reception.  Big shout out to Music on Wheels and Tyler Uplights for making everything look and sound good.

Here are some photos of a guy digging for something, guys reaching for it, and girls trying to catch flowers.  Also, that guy who caught the something was pretty excited. :)

 Thanks for trusting me with your day.  You guys rock.