Typically when I meet with brides or chat with them at the engagement session, I like to ask how the planning is going and what “phase” they are in.  More often than not, when the topic of “The Guest List” comes up, a discouraged look comes over their face.  This seems to be the most dreaded part of the planning process.  Well today I have great news for you.  I am adding guest lists to all my packages.  That’s right, I will contact all your friends and family and get their pertinent information and pass it on to you. :) It will not cost anything to my current brides and….

OK, so maybe I’m lying about that.  But, I do think I may have a solution for you.  Most of you are users of the internets. (Assuming you read this on a computer and do not have someone print it out and hand it to you every day.)  In fact, most of your guests are computer savvy as well.  Pretty much everyone is on Facebook and can do a bit of E-mail, so this is something that should work for the majority of your guests.  It’s a short little video on how you can use some free Google sites to organize and put your whole list together.  It’s 2010 people.  Work smarter not harder. :)

Sign up for a Gmail account here and get going.

Get started with Google Docs here.

Typically what you get from this site are photos of weddings that just happened, or my opinion on wedding related topics. But, as important as my opinions are, maybe you should hear from real couples who have been married a little while. So I thought it would be fun to start interviewing past brides and grooms. To actually meet up and sit down with these couples to see if they have any advice for you brides who are still in the thick of this wedding planning process.

What better way to start this series than with one of my all-time favorite couples: Lauren & Brent.

These two had an incredible wedding at the Villa di Felicita in Tyler about a year ago. I visited their place in College Station to chat about the wedding process, photography, and even asked them if they still like their wedding photos. (You’ll have to watch the video to get the answer.) 

Also, many of you may not have seen their wedding images so here are just a few of my favorites.

OK, so even though we are halfway done with January, is it still ok for me to do a quick look back on 2009?

Great. Here we go.

Last year I shot 162,668 images. That’s insane. That’s 445 photos per day.
Now granted, some of those were of my family, but seriously, I don’t have THAT many kids. :)

A big shout out to all my 2009 brides.

You were amazing.

Thank you for trusting me with your day.

Thank you for giving me the freedom to document and capture your day through my lens.

Thank you for helping me feed those kids I mentioned. :)

Thank you for helping me push my work to where it is today.

In case you missed any of them, here they are:
Ruth & Daniel | Emily & Heath | Britni & Chance | Josey & Sam | Polly & Nelson | J’Vonne & Lee | Linsey & Cade | Sara & Yan | Amanda & Royce | Jayme & Jake | Stefanie & Jeremy | Stephanie & Michael | Mandy & Derek | Chelsea & Tyson | Kim & Josh | Megan & Jacob | Neili & Steven | Rachel & Andrew | Lindsey & Justin | Mindy & Dustin | Davi & Jonathan | Erika & Phil | Kaylie & Matt | Mollie & Cliff | Laura & Chad | Jade & Justin | Salem & Chris | Sandra & Robert | Kourtney & Travis | Randall & Danny | Laura & Neil | Lilli & Cameron | Kristina & Nick | Jessica & Charlie | Norma & Jesus | Ellen & Jeromy | Melissa & Alex

Now…. as far are you 2010 brides go…. Erin, Jamie, Monica, Heather, Angela, Miranda, Christina (Come on… you know you wanna book. ;) Jean, Kristen, Brynne, Ashley, Brandy, Amanda, Adrienne, Megan, Heather, Jennifer, Julia, Jamie, & Kiffany, I can’t wait to work with you more and know that once you’ve been married for 40 something years and have grandkids running all around you, you’ll have some super fun photos to show them of back when “grandma” was young and cool. :)

Happy New Year! AlexM

P.S. Don’t worry, Britni, I still have you booked for 2011. :)

No rambling from me.  We are going straight to the image from Jamie & David’s wedding at The Villa di Felicita in Tyler, TX.

Brosang’s Flowers did all the arrangements for the day.

Her bouquet was great, but I was a huge huge fan of the centerpieces.
(They totally reminded me of the Kaminoans from Star Wars. Yes I’m a nerd.)


You may remember Jamie being my “Best Buy Bride“. Because of David’s great love for all things technology I thought it would be fun to work some of that into their ring shot.


Designs By D’Anne was there with their usual yummy and good looking cakes.



Jamie pretty much had a huge smile on the entire day. She was giddy.

I LOVE the look of anticipation on David’s face during their First Look.




Jamie loves the cold so we ran outside for a few shots.

These next two shots are part of a little trivia game.

Can anyone tell me where they were shot? Ladies, you may have toured the Villa Di Felicita, but I’m pretty sure Rhonda didn’t show you this room.

David basically smiled this wide overtime he saw Jamie.



After the ceremony it was reception time and CMB Music made sure everyone had a good time.

Come back tomorrow to see some image from The Mug Machine!

Thanks guys for trusting me with your day. – AlexM

Let me be super clear.  If there is one thing I know NOTHING about, it’s flowers.  I know there are roses, gerber daisies, and sunflowers.  That’s about it.  The good news for you as a bride is that I don’t have to know about flowers.  I have to be able to take fancy pictures of them.  That I can do. :)  However, Barbara & Thomas from La Tee Da Flowers in Tyler, TX know absolutely everything about flowers.  Week in and week out I get to interact with  different florists.  The folks at La Tee Da Flowers set the standard for this part of Texas.  I popped into their shop one day to hang out and snapped a few photos while I was there.  Barbara kept getting on to me because I didn’t warn her and she didn’t get a chance to pick up a bit.  But seriously, look at this place.  It’s like working in The Secret Garden.

Seriously, even the “mess” on the floor is fun to photograph.

How did you get started & how long have you been doing this?
Started in 1989 as a flower wholesaler..I used to drive a 24 foot long bob tail truck. Went completely retail in 1994 after the big Calif. earthquake. Our store was called Antique Flower Garden. (goggle us)  We were an award winning florist and sold it in 2006 and moved to Texas. Love it here!

What is your favorite part about your job?
Giving the bride her bouquet and seeing her first reaction…it’s worth all the effort.

What are some things brides should look for when looking for a florist?
An owner involved florist/designer. Tons of pictures of that florist work…current ones, not pics from a book. someone who understands your sense of style and will help you develop it. 


How many flowers do you guys typically go through per week?
As little as a couple of hundred to many thousands. Nothing is typical in the flower business.

What are some arrangements that you don’t get requested often but you think look great for a wedding?
Wreaths for the entry doors.

What is something unique to your service that you are extra proud of?
No drop and ditch for us..we deliver and I mean deliver. We set up, pin on all of our own bouts and corsages (don’t leave it for the photographer) we tear down….we do it all.

Anything else you wanna say?
We love what we do….our enthusiasm is contagious, we are committed and happy to be here designing and creating for such great people. We love Texans! (My husband Thomas, says he got back here as soon as he could)



And, because you can never have enough photos in a post, here are some images from Kristina & Nick’s wedding where La Tee Da provided the flowers. 

This first shot may not seem like a big deal.  But, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to a wedding where the florist dropped off a cardboard box full of boutonnieres and no one had any idea which one went to whom. Then at the last minute, someone is walking up to a grandfather and REMOVING his flower to place it on the usher because they thought they had enough for everyone. Not a good way to start the wedding day. This labeled board makes the whole process seamless and easy.

Say hello to the La Tee Da mascot.







One last thing… not only are their arrangements beautiful and incredible to look at, Barbra & Thomas are nice people.  Think about it.  This is your wedding.  Why would you want to interact with someone who is not super nice?  About 15 seconds into our first meeting I felt like I had known these two forever and they were totally invested in my life and business.  That type of interaction is what you want from ALL of your wedding vendors.

La Tee Da Flowers
105 North Spring Avenue
Tyler, TX 75702
(903) 566-1566

Web: http://lateedaflowers.com/
Blog: http://lateedaflowers.blogspot.com/