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: Weddings

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

One of my favorite things about my job is how unique each of my couples are, even though I’m basically shooting the same event every weekend. They all vary so much from each other due to the personalities and stories that are unfolding each day. The reasons I love these images are not because they are the most technically “correct” or most beautiful image. It’s because I feel like they nail who each of these couples are in one single image.

1. Prayer: Megan & Stephen’s faith plays a huge role in their life. (They were married at a Biblical Arts Museum for crying out loud.) Anyway, this shot of them praying together right after their First Look, just nailed them and their day.

2. Field: Amanda & Dale were planning on getting married back in 2013.  Illness and other issues forced them to have to postpone their day.  When April 2014 finally rolled around, you could tell they didn’t care about anything related to fancy wedding, appetizers, or linens.
They didn’t care if there were 500 guests or 5 guests. They just wanted to be married to each other.

3. Horse: Katelyn & Chris know what they want; especially Katelyn.  I love brides who know what they want.  Katelyn wanted a few shots at the stock yards on her way to the ceremony.  We literally stopped traffic to get some shots of her and her wedding party.

4. Century Tree:  If you know anything about Aggies you know they love their traditions.  (Sometimes a bit too much.)  Anyway, Emily & Lucas wanted to get married under the Century Tree.  It’s a rare sort of deal and a bit of a guerrilla operation to make it happen.  So this little moment where they were able to stand under the tree and look out at all of their friends and family that were their to support them, just made my day.

5. Hug: I’m a sucker for families.  I’m a super duper sucker for families coming together.  So this shot of Caleb and his daughter hugging their new bride/mom five minutes after the ceremony, melted every part of my heart.

6. Squish: Dani & Joey are super smart.  As in doctor smart.  As in MIT smart.  Yeah.  That smart.  Their wedding party was full of doctor smart, MIT smart people.  Doctor smart, MIT smart people are really good at being funny.

7. Shadow: Beth & Tim may have been the most “present” couple I have ever photographed.  They were so aware of their day, the beginning of their marriage, the start of their life together.  The reason I love this image is because of how tender it is.  It’s exactly the way Tim treated and acted towards Beth all day.

8. Selfie: Shelby & Logan can own any moment they want.  She is a lawyer and he is a game warden.  That means you can think things are going your way and you are in charge, and suddenly, out of no where, they step in and remind you they were there all along, making sure everything went as they had planned.  Right after their ceremony, they were gathered around their family and friends hanging out and talking,  and I was just snapping random photos.  Logan looked at me and said, “We want to take a selfie.”  BOOM.  Just like that they owned the moment.  Their whole day was full of things like that.  I loved them.

9.  Shape: Jennifer loves her some architecture.  Went to school for it.  Knows it.  Lives it.  Could not stop blabbing about the Parador and how amazing it was.  I know she got married because she loves Ryan.  But, sometimes, I think she got married because she wanted an excuse to rent the building. ;)

10. Swag: Hilary & Kirk.  Few couples intimidate me.  Hilary & Kirk were one of those couples.  Man, these two are full of such swag, it’s ridiculous.  They are so kind and a joy to be around, but at the same time, it’s like they are on a whole other level.  99% of the time when a couple walks over to their cake to be photographed with it, they look right at me and say “What do we do?”  Hilary and Kirk walked over to it and did that.  Swag.

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

2. Chelsie

3. Kathleen

4. Emily

5. Kayla

6. Shelby

7. Jennifer

8. Talia

9. Kaylan

10. Bekah

If I had to sum up Shelby & Logan’s wedding day in one word, I would choose “relationships” as their word.  Every time I turned around, it seemed as if these two were deep in conversation or a moment with another person from their story.  Weddings are often a time when the bride and groom are surrounded by their friends and family, but they rush and events of the day make it easy to overlook the people they love the most.  Shelby & Logan spent their day fully present and soaking up every moment.

They were married at the historic and gorgeous Astin Mansion in downtown Bryan.  This place is amazing.  They are also home to Carriage House Floral who brought their A game.  Take a look.

The ladies spent the morning like all good Aggie bridesmaids… Watching football.

Right before she started getting ready Shelby’s mom gave her a few small gifts from herself and other friends.  Then they sorta broke down.  Just for a minute. :)

Shelby’s maid of honor loved me getting this shot of her brushing her teeth.

I love toasts.  They are super great.  I also enjoy finding the creation of the toast.  So many times I come across that moment, when a mother or father sit down to try and put into a few sentences, what a lifetime of raising and loving a child has meant to them.  It’s rarely an “amazing” or “stunning” image, but so many times they end up being my favorites from the day.

Shelby’s dad was super sweet when he saw her for the first time that day.

I love how Shelby went all creepy on Logan during their First Look.

So, somewhere along the day, we got news that the cake had been dropped on it’s way to the venue.  Not cool right?  Of course Shelby responded how every bride should.  She was like, “No big deal, I’m sure it will all work out.” :)

And just like that Shelby earned 387 Cool Bride points.

Can I tell you a little secret?

Everyone knows you are supposed to look at the bride when she comes down the aisle.  (It’s her day BLAH BLAH BLAH.)

And… all you professional wedding go-ers also know that looking at the grooms reaction is also a golden moment.

The thing is, and due to the angle and location, this is so hard for most of you to see: the mother of the groom is sometimes where it’s at.  :)

All mothers ever want is for their kids to have a fulfilling life.  It’s never about them being successful, rich, or even giving them grandkids.  They just want them to be full.  To know they have a teammate.  So when a mother can see her son, looking at the woman who will be his partner in life, his biggest fan, the one who will hold him, give him comfort, joy, and the security that she has given for all these years, it’s a special moment.  I love that moment.

Right after the ceremony I heard Logan say, we should take a selfie.  Then Shelby said, I don’t have a phone.  Then Logan said, I don’t have a phone.  Then I said, I have a phone.  Then they selfied on my phone while i photographed them selfieing.

You’ll be surprised to know that Logan’s grandmother is a fan of watching her grandson dance with her daughter. :)

Sometimes I think the only reasons Aggies get married is so someone will photograph their rings.

Hey, hey.  Guess what showed up?

Not only was Shelby cool about the whole thing, she went over and gave the cake lady a hug and thanked her for making her another cake.

274 Cool Bride points earned.

So many people shared so many great stories about growing up and raising these two.  I would love for you to hear them, but guess what?  I was only there to take photos.  Good news though!

Matt Johnson of FilmStrong was there.  He is a killer videographer based out of Dallas.  You should book him.

Towards the end of the night, Logan surprised Shelby by playing and singing a song for her.  He also made all us other guys look like chumps.  :)

These two ended the night how I believe every couple should end their night: with the dance floor all to themselves.  It’s totally a thing that feels right out of a movie.  I love it every time.

Thank you guys for an amazing day full of laughter, friendships, and all around Aggie coolness. ;)

P.S.  You know what else was at their wedding?  The Mug Machine.

Check out my 10 favorites from the night.

It’s really rare to be able to start an engagement session at the location a couple first met.  Especially when they first met over 20 years ago.  With Audra & Brian we were lucky enough to do that.  We went back to the place it all started.  We went back to the house Audra grew up in.

Sometime around 1985 or so Audra & Brian’s fathers were coaches together for Texas ATM. (Whoop!) I’m sure this led to many family get togethers and team functions where little Audra & little Brian would spend hours playing together. That’s were they fell in love. OK, not really. They were like 5 years old or something, this isn’t a Disney movie. Anyway, They did hang out at Audra’s house so that’s where we went to start their session.

There were so many memories at this house. It was neat to see Audra back in that setting and hear her talk about how different yet familiar it felt. We were doing a few shots on the porch and I noticed a wasp’s nest in the corner. She told me a story about when she was little and her mom was stung by them and she almost ended up calling 911. I thought the wasps deserved to make the blog.

Then, like all good Aggies, we headed onto campus.  Some of you may be familiar with this tree.

The thing is though… Audra & Brian didn’t go to ATM together. Audra’s dad took another coaching job a few states over and moved away, Brian’s dad did the same and that normally is how the story would end.

Brian did end up coming back and becoming a full grown Aggie so at least he gets credit for that.

Fast forward to 2012. Audra’s dad is still a college coach and he’s filling out his new staff. He know’s a former college of his has a well qualified son who is looking for a job so he decides to give Brian an shot. Well, one thing led to another and one day he’s doing his new boss a favor and picking up Audra from the airport. Well, one thing led to another and now they are getting married. Because that’s how awesome their story is.

Multiple states, multiple campuses, multiple teams. Their journey started together, went thousands of miles apart, then led them right back to each other.