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.

I have known Colton for a few years and have spent time with his family. I love Colton.  He reminds me of myself in so many ways.  He is confident, cocky, charming, funny, good looking, and is always pretending he has everything under control.  Like me, I knew he would be able to marry way, way up.   15 seconds into meeting Kylee, I knew this was 100% true.

OK. So technically, they are not sitting in a tree, but they ARE  k-i-s-s-i-n-g.

When I first talked to Colton about how they met, he mentioned that they were introduced via a mutual friend.
“I saw a great opportunity, so I took advantage of it.”  GOLD.  Solid gold.

“The whole time I was a thinking… this is a super good idea.  She’s like 50 times out of my league.”  He eventually started to tell me about how he loved being able to have spiritual conversations with her, and how that is what is at the core of their friendship.  Kylee had listened to a podcast that encouraged her not to throw out “I love you” early in a relationship.   That led them to make the agreement to hold off on that. (Which led the them saying “Man. I’m just so crazy about you” quite a bit.)  She wanted to make sure he felt the same way and was waiting on him to say it first, even though she knew that “he was the one”.  About 6 months in, the first “I love you” was spoken. And if you are around them today, it’s pretty evident they are in love, without either of them needing to mention it.

In all seriousness, these two are perfect for each other.  Kylee does a great job of keeping him in check, and he is constantly pushing her just a bit outside of her comfort zone.  Like the time he encouraged her that it would be ok to sneak into a closed amusement park for a few quick photos.  (Wait, what?)

Were we eventually kicked out/asked to leave? Yes.  Was it worth it?  No doubt.

Last thing I’ll tell you about Colton–he thinks he’s a baller.  He’s basically like Steph Curry.  If Steph went and played in a 8 year old league.  Colton always seems to look for the toughest competition around.  (True story.  He missed that jumper.)

You know who didn’t miss? BOOMSHAKALAKA!

And if I may speak to you, Colton, personally for just a moment.  As a young groom, the first few times my bride dunked on me in any situation in life, it offended and frustrated me.  I soon realized this would be a common occurrence, and I have learned to take joy in it.

It’s going to happen a lot.
Get used to it.
Embrace it.