If I had to choose one couple to lose power on their wedding day… Alissa & Michael would be my number one pick!

Lake Tyler Petroleum Club always looks amazing.  A bit of La Tee Da Flowers never hurts though…

I once wrote a post called I Don’t Care About Your Beautiful Wedding.  This kids gets it.

One of my favorite things about Alissa & Michael is how present they were with everyone, but especially their younger guests.  They always seem to find time to bend over, acknowledge, and have little encounters with them.

True Story: There was a STUPID crazy storm that blew in right as their day was getting started.  Knocked out power across the entire lake area.  Buildings lost power, no juice anywhere, and this was just as Alissa was about to get her hair done.  That led to her totally melting down and causing a scene.  In moments like that, I never really know if I should document it or not, but the way I look at it… I’m just kidding.  Alissa was like… “Oh well, what can you do?” And she waited for the Lake Tyler staff to get a generator set up. And then got her hair done via multiple extension cords and battery operated lights.

It’s about 80 degrees in this room, and you can see the box fan we had going.  Still though.  This woman was unfazed.  MVP Bride right here folks.

Because First Looks never disappoint.

While we were knocking out some portraits of the two of them, Michael’s brother in law stumbled into the shot.

So I shifted the focus and captured what was really important.

A few gorgeous images of a few gorgeous ladies.

A few average images of a few average dudes.

30 minutes till ceremony time.

3 minutes till ceremony time.

I mean, not every flower girl is thrilled to be at this wedding.

The rest of the night was filled with lots of eating, dancing, and super sweet toasts.

And cake.  Delicious cake baked by Design’s By D’Anne.

I took entirely too many photos of Alissa’s niece. But I will never apologize for that.

Some of my favorites from The Mug Machine.

Every single time I have been around Alissa & Michael, I left feeling better about their future.  Their wedding day was no different.  They were faced with challenge, after challenge and didn’t once let it affect their outlook on the day.  I adore couples who have the wisdom to look past the moment and see the big picture.  On “the biggest day of their life”, Alissa & Michael did that flawlessly. And I know that with that mindset, the two of them are going to crush this little thing called marriage that they signed up for.

Kitalou Gin in Lubbock was the PERFECT setting for Kylee & Colton’s day.  It was my first time out there, and I can’t say enough good things about this place.  So much pretty everywhere and their staff was insanely helpful the entire day.  West Texas brides should jump all over this venue.

I’ll be honest. Every now and then, on a wedding day, I forget a couple’s name.
Yep.  It’s true.  You are all kinda the same bride.

And to make matters worse, all your cool new fangled names sound alike anyway.
Kylee, Kaylee, Kinsey, Kelsey, Kasey, Kinzie, Kenzie, Kayleigh, Kaylee, Kaylan, Kayla, Katy, Katie, Katelyn, Kallie, Kaitlyn, Kaitlan.  True story.  Those are all real names of real brides I have photographed on their wedding day.

Thankfully.  Kylee did me a HUGE favor by sticking her and and Colton’s name EVERYWHERE.  Any hesitancy on my part was quickly resolved by a quick glance in any direction.

The bridal cottage is totally adorable and full of gorgeous light.

The girls spent their morning practicing for the dance off, looking beautiful, and laughing.

The guys spent their morning standing around in their underwear eating Chick-fil-A.

Here is a delightful photo of Colton’s mother pinning on his boutonnière, while his sister pretends to not cry.

First Looks never disappoint.

Kylee and Colton had 3,678,926 people in their bridal party.  Here they are.

House of Flowers made all the pretty happen.

Almost exactly 2 years ago, I photographed Colton’s sister’s wedding.  Cassi and Justin had an amazing day.  The thing about Cassi and Colton is that they LOVE to compete.  They have always competed and will always compete.  While editing Colton’s wedding, I realized that they might even turn in their wedding picture count into a contest.  I support this idea.  I can’t wait to give him his full gallery so that they can compare the stats and see who comes out ahead.

Colton’s parents apologized that they no longer had children for me to photograph.
Now that all your kids are out of the house, you have no excuse.
Get to work right away on that problem, and in July of 2040, we could be doing this again. (I’ll even knock 10% of my standard rate.)

Absolutely.

#uglycry

I’m not crying; you’re crying.

Remember that time 2 years ago when Cassi got married?

Kylee, already ashamed of the decision she’s made.

Colton imitating Justin.

Dance off.

Guys pulled off a backflip.

Girls showed us their pits.

Seriously this dance off was amazing.  Watch the video.

Anyone who doubts Kylee’s ability to choose a groom, should need no further evidence than this photo of Colton on the dance floor. Case closed.

Thank you two for sharing your day with me.  I love you both, and it was an honor to be there.

P.S. The guys totally won the dance off.

Hannah & Rob had the most chill wedding day at Nantucket in Longview, TX.  So much of the day was put together by these two and their insane group of friends.  It truly felt like a wedding day straight out of a movie.

I walked in to Hannah giggling as one of her bridesmaids did her makeup.  Hannah’s brother is in the United States Army and could not make it.  His wife was kept company all day with a life-sized cut out.  Because of course they had a life-size cut out.

“If you walk around to the back of a house and hide behind the bushes while a girl is getting ready for the day, eventually, she will see you, laugh, and you will capture a magical photograph.” – AlexM

Hannah used her grandmother’s old jewelry box to hold the rings.
(More like her grandmother’s vintage, magical mystery-case of wonder, beauty, and joy.)

Baller Mother of the Bride.

Hannah gave Rob a sweet note and a flask.

Hannah’s mom was just a delight.  She was so present throughout the day.  I loved capturing her reactions.

Of course I’ll take the timeless photo of you putting on your earrings.
Just be aware that the timeless moment of you putting on deodorant will also be documented.

First Look goodness.

I looked down for a minute as I was swapping lenses and then Rob is suddenly checking twitter or something.  “What a douchebag,” I think to myself…. Oh wait… never mind, he’s totally reading Hannah a super sweet note he wrote for her about their day. (That was a close one.)

Remember that flask… Hannah is one of those brides who thinks of everything.
Including: “I might want a drink mid-way through my wedding day.”

These two were way too comfortable on this swing.  I made her stop before she fell off.

Hannah spent most of her wedding day smiling and giggling.  Being kissed by her husband also helped.

Her bridesmaids put this together.  True story.

When you look down during the bridesmaids portraits and see this…. You know the reception is going to be legit.

Family portrait time!

Right before the ceremony I look up to see Hannah’s grandfather doing this.  Eventually someone brought an umbrella out, but boy do I love this moment.

Of course the official opened with 2 minutes of Princess Bride styled, “Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday.”

Why just walk into the reception when you can dance your way in?

This moment was everything.  It was when Hannah and her grandfather teared up about her grandmother not being there.  Hannah told him that she had attached a necklace of her’s to the bouquet that she carried all day. Which was sitting on the table in front of them.
All the feels.

I adore toasts.  I love when people say the things we often feel, but rarely tell each other.  This one was a doozy.  If you are wondering why it goes from evening to night time in these photos it’s because they had that much great stuff to say about them.

And then her brother called in from his super top secret location and talked about how much he loved Hannah and what an honorable man Rob was and how he could not be happier for the two of them.
Game over.

“Can we just cut the cake?  We don’t want to do that thing where we feed each other?” she said.
Of course you can!  It’s your wedding, do whatever you want to do.

Every sparkler exit should feel like the Battle of Helm’s Deep.

My favorite 10 Mug Machine images from the night.

Old man using them as as x-ray goggles. :)

This is what happens when your brother-in-law films your wedding.

Of COURSE Rob tore a hole in the crack of his pants.

Spit take.

Thank you for your service.

You guys had the perfect day.  Thank you for sharing it with me and trusting it to me.

Are you ready for a billion photos of Katherine & Josh’s Harmony Chapel wedding in Denton?  Of course you are.  You may remember them from their super fun engagement session.  They are so chill and laid back, and I can’t tell you how much I loved seeing them interact with each other.  Katherine looks at Josh with so much love and admiration, and he treats her with so much respec,t it makes me want to go home and love my wife better.

The ladies started by getting all dolled up at Headlines Hair Design.  Sydney crushed the hair and make up.  You Dallas peeps should for sure check her out.

Ready for battle.

You can start getting excited about Harmony Chapel now.

You know how there is always that ONE girl who kinda giggles through the prayer.

One of the bridesmaids has a fancy pants job at New Balance, which we love. (These are the ones my wife wears.) Anyway, she spent most of the day trying to talk the flower girl out of her shoe choice.

First Look magic.

Sarah from Gathered Floral did the best flowers ever.  The best.

Flower girl again, flaunting her footwear choice.

Hey look. I managed to get the little lady to look my way.  A Christmas miracle.

Josh loves cars.  He was super hyped about his getaway car. I think it’s like a Ford Mustang or something.

The sweetest thing was how all day long Josh would not take his eyes off Katherine.  This was especially true when she came down the aisle.

One of the bridesmaids recited the best poem about love and owning a dog.  Here is a snippet:

“On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breathes
and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.”

You should go read the whole thing.

More car photos. (I think he just got married as an excuse to be near the car.)

I finally had enough and made him pose next to it like a Backstreet Boy.

Dancing, dancing, and more dancing.

And then, just when the day could not get any better, it started snowing during their get away.

(The snow came from that brown bag.)

Of course they had The Mug Machine.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Thank you two for trusting me with your day.  Your tender hearts and sweet spirits were a joy to document. So excited for you to share your first of many, many Christmas days together.

If you have ever bought property, you know the most important rule.

Location. Location. Location.

Rebecca & Tony work in the medical & finance field. But if they ever decide to switch careers, I think real estate is their true calling.

Let’s start with our getting ready location.  Hotel Zaza. (yes, please.)

I still don’t understand why people pay me to do this job.  It’s the best.

I would like to take this moment to publicly shame Tony for telling his sister that she had to have her kids ready for photos a full FIVE hours before the actual time.  What kind of brother does that?  Boo, Tony.  Boo.

(Also, props to his sister for actually pulling it off and KEEPING her kids happy and dressed until photo time eventually rolled around.)

First Look magic at Hotel Zaza

Bridal party photos location.  (not bad)

Not bad at all.

Rebecca loves to kiss Tony.  Tony loves to shy away from her kisses.  I see this trend continuing well into their 70’s when she eventually breaks him.

Wait… what’s that on the wall?  Could it be?

DINOSAURS!!!!!!

Of course they are getting married at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  Why wouldn’t they?

Typically I walk around getting photos of the decorations a couple has selected for their wedding.

This was what I got to take pictures of instead.

Of course this guy was part of their wedding day.

I LOVE when couples share a private meal together.

I think it’s like 1 out of every 5 weddings where the ring has trouble going on the guy.

Tony said some of the sweetest vows to his bride.

That moment just after you are married.  (With dinosaur.)

Couples are always asking me how the family formals can look better.  Easy.  Add dinosaurs.

I tried so hard to think of a funny joke about rings and teeth but could not come up with one.

You know what makes feeding each other cake better?

Feeding each other cake in front of a triceratops butt.

Thank you guys for a great day.  As AMAZING as your locations were, I know your story will be better.