Kayla & David | year one
Kayla & David | year one

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Kayla & David were married at St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church last August.  (With a killer reception at Centaur Arabian Farms in Flint, TX.)  So now that they are total pros at being husband and wife I thought it would be fun to hear form them on what their first year of marriage was like.

1. What do you miss most about the single life?
What I miss most about single life is being able to sprawl out in bed.. That being said, we just bought a king mattress last week…haha.

2. Give us your best cheapo/fun married date idea.
Cheapo fun married date idea: garage saleing and thrift store exploring is one of our favorite pastimes, David is the bargainer and I am the treasure hunter. We always have a good time and laugh with odd things we see at garage sales.

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3. What have you liked most about your first year being married?
The looks on peoples faces when they find out I’m married.. Their reaction is mostly..”aren’t you like 12?!” Haha! It happens, I’ll be really smokin’ when I’m 60 and look 45 ;) but my most favorite part of our first year of marriage is the companionship that you feel with your person. Nothing beats the feeling of someone who has chosen and is still choosing to be yours everyday.

4.What’s been the hardest part about being married?
I would say the hardest part about being married right now is making future decisions such as when should we have kids?, should we buy a house?, should we rent?, where should we go?, which insurance plan is best for us?, what is a mortgage?  (Okay I asked that one)… What we’ve learned so far is don’t try to go it all alone, our parents have been our biggest supports and counselors. We don’t have all the answers and probably never will, but we are up to the adventure of figuring it out!

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5. What have you fought about most and why?
What we fight most about with me is my phone habit. (Guilty).. What we fight most about with David is the he refuses to use the towel rack in our bathroom and will hang his used towel over the bathroom door so the door isn’t able to be shut, and I am not the tallest so it is difficult for me to get it down so I am able to close the bathroom door, also he is a nail picker..eww.

6.  What was the biggest thing you were nervous about? How has it turned out?
The biggest thing I was nervous about was the expectancy to be a “good wife” to cook dinner, have the house spotless, be dressed and picture perfect everyday for my husband and being able to maintain that. The reality is that I am not perfect and David realizes that he also realizes he is not perfect and this isn’t the Stepford Wives. I do however attempt to do these things for him because of course as his wife his happiness is extremely important to me, but also in turn he does things for me and helps around the house and cooks dinner and still calls me beautiful when I could pass for a gremlin. Letting go of that stereotype for me and figuring out what works best for us has really helped our relationship.

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7. What do you wish someone had told you before you were married?
Your wedding will not turn out the way you imagined, things will go wrong: there will be a gathering at the church before your wedding and the floors will be covered is smashed brownies and you’ll walk out to see your dad and uncle on their hands and knees scrubbing the floor, you will get lost on the way to your own reception with no cell phone service, plan on not eating at the reception, your first dance song will get deleted off your iPod, and the forks you got personalized for the big day will go missing, but you can also count on the moments you never imagined happening such as: spontaneous bride and groom karaoke with the band to Don’t Stop Believing, you can count on a spontaneous break-dance dance off with your bridesmaid, husband, and usher so intense the usher will rip his pants (right in the crack..), and you also count on the band playing Miley Cyrus and all the guest on the dance floor surrounding you with a cup in the air and a smile on their face and singing at the top of their lungs, you can count on incredible photo booth pictures because your friends are awesomely weird like that.  oh and so is your photographer ;)) you can count on your bridesmaids and groomsman and family to go above and beyond their call to make your day one to remember, and most importantly you can count on going home with your newly wed spouse to start your life.

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Thank you two for opening up to us.  Kayla you were super sweet to share your struggles.

And David…. come on man, use a towel rack, we are not animals.

PS. If you can’t get enough of these two, check out their super fun hot air balloon engagement session.

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my favorite part of a wedding day: father/daughter dance
my favorite part of a wedding day: father/daughter dance

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OK. It’s time again for that killer blog series: My Favorite Part of A Wedding.

One of the reasons I love shooting weddings so much is because of all the relationships involved. The longer you have known those people, the deeper the interactions with them will be on your wedding day. That’s part of why I am a sucker for the Father-Daughter dance. I know, I know. Typically, the bride and groom sharing their FIRST dance together as husband and wife is supposed to be the headliner. But let me tell you a little secret: that’s not the dance to watch.

A bride & groom’s first dance is just more of what you’ve already seen that day. It’s two people giddy, in love, and just smiling at each other because their happily ever after is just getting started. That’s great. Sunshine, rainbows, unicorns, everybody loves it. But, a good Father-Daughter dance is so much more. It’s 25 years of living and raising a human. There is so much going on just below the surface. I love seeing how they unfold. Sometimes they are full of laughter, and memories, and chatter. Sometimes they are planned out choreography and even though it’s a struggle, you know they had so much fun practicing. And every now and then, you get the full on melt down. Two people just laughing and crying for 3 minutes while they take in what the last quarter of a century was like.

Here are a few of my favorites:


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So next time you go to a wedding, don’t just walk over to the punch bowl when they call for the Bride & her Father to share a “special dance.”

Stop what you are doing.
Soak it in.
Be present.

It’s not just 3 minutes of swaying to “I Loved Her First.”

It’s softball practices, and dance recitals, and driving lessons, and prom dresses, and butterfly kisses, and coke dates, and science projects, and Disney movies, and painted toes, and boyfriend breakups, and fishing trips, and tea parties.
It’s knowing that it will never be like it was.

And starting to be OK with that.

But, it’s also knowing that it will never be like it was.

And getting excited about that.

Oh, one last thing about Father-Daughter dances… sometimes they don’t have to be a dance at all.  Because as dads, all we really want, is one last moment with our little girl.

Because you enjoyed this, I know you’ll want to see more in this series. Click here for more words and pretty pictures.

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top 10 2014 | brides
top 10 2014 | brides

It’s that time again. It’s time to look back at some of the best photos from 2014. Everyday we’ll be taking a look at a new category. Voting is open till midnight and the winners will be announced Monday. The winning entries will each receive a 16×20 print.

Today’s category: Brides

Take a look at the entries then vote at the bottom of this post.

1. Lindsey
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2. Chelsie

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3. Kathleen

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4. Emily

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5. Kayla

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6. Shelby

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7. Jennifer

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8. Talia

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9. Kaylan

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10. Bekah

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5 New Places To Get Married In East Texas
5 New Places To Get Married In East Texas

It seems like every time I look up there is a new wedding venue in East Texas.  (We already have The Villa di Felicita, Elmwood Gardens, The Belgium House, Castle on the Lake, Roseland Plantation, Hunt Villa, and The Legacy Venue.)  I have not had a chance to shoot at all the new ones but still wanted to make you aware of them.  Here are just a few of the newer places.  Most are already open, some are opening soon.  The good news for brides is you should be able to find a place to get married practically any day you want. :)

Arabella Manor (Gilmer, TX)
http://arabellamanorevents.com/
903.746.5461

Bella Sera Ranch (Palestine, TX)
http://www.bellaseraranch.com/
903.723.0900

Centaur Arabian Farms (Flint, TX)
http://www.centaurarabianfarms.com/
903.561.6926

Kiepersol Estates Bushman’s (Bullard, TX)
http://www.kiepersol.com/bushmans/index.html
903.894.7505

Stone Oak Ranch (Athens, TX)
http://www.stoneoakranch.com/main/
903.530.7947

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East Texas Wedding Vendors
East Texas Wedding Vendors

Bridal shows are fun.  They are 8 hours of wedding planning overload.  One of my favorite things is when I get to bring The Mug machine to a show.  I had a blast meeting new brides this past weekend, but I also love getting to see all my wedding vendor friends.  I ran a few of them through the machine and here are the results as well as some contact info.

Jeff Heimer | http://jmhpro.com | 903.312.8289


Amy & Bethany of We Vow Now | wevownow.com/ | (903) 232-1700

Rhonda (left) does hair & make-up (haircutter1004@yahoo.com) | Eva Sealey (right) heads up Centaur Arabian Farms.  A great new venue near Tyler.

Scott from Corazon Catering in tyler had tasty snacks for everyone.

All American Rental out of Tyler also had some of their product to show off.

Casey Brown of CMB DJs & Tyler Uplights


Tiffany The Travel Girl can help you plan for after the wedding. :)

D’Anne of the ever so tasty Designs by D’Anne was also there with her cakes.

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