With Jamie’s wedding only a few weeks away, we were scrambling to find a date that would work for her session. It worked out great because it was one of the coldest days yet, but she LOVES the cold. :) We started at the Villa di Felicita in Tyler, TX. It’s always a blast to shoot there. Mary, Rhonda, & Lisa do a great job running the place and if you need a place to get married this should be near the top of your list.
(Go ahead and call them now, I’ll wait. 903.579.0002)

OK, back to Jamie! :) She was relaxed and really enjoyed the whole process. A few times I caught her skipping around the Villa in her dress. It was kinda crazy to watch.

I always encourage brides to bring a little prop or something that might be special to their groom. This gives the session a more unique look and makes the images that much more special to your fiance’ once he gets to see the photos. Sometimes it’s golf clubs, a Harley, or maybe a tank if he served in the army. Well, Jamie’s fiance’ is a geek. (That’s a good thing.) He loves his computers, TVs, hard drives and internets. The problem was she could not sneak any of these away from him.  So, somehow we ended up with the idea of just heading to Best Buy to get it all in one place. :)

We didn’t really “ask” anyone, we just kinda walked around and I secretly snapped some shots.  (I felt like a spy.)  We were pretty sure security was going to ask us to leave at any minute.  So, we just kept running from one end of the store to the other taking photos along the way. Good times.

My favorite part was all the stares Jamie got. Not so much because she was in a wedding dress. Remember, it is mostly just 20-35 year old guys who shop at Best Buy.  They were just glad that they were in the same building with an attractive female. I’m not sure they even noticed the dress.

The danger in this next shot is that Dave will only see the 40 plus TVs and miss the fact that his wife is in the picture.



Fun with Rock Band.

There was a channel 6 news guy there doing a report on video games and we think Jamie made the news.

My favorite shot.


Thanks Jamie for a great time.  See you guys soon!

When chatting with brides, one of the things I always encourage them to do is get their wedding filmed. Photos are obviously important, they help feed my family, and they are something that you can place all over your house and look at over and over day in and day out. A good wedding video is a completely different thing. It really becomes like your favorite movie. When it first comes out, you may watch it 2-5 times over and over. (Think back to Titanic girls.) Then, as the years go by, you watch it once or twice a year. It becomes a way of refreshing your memory of your day. The sounds and music remind you of the feelings you had or tell part of the story you may have already forgotten.

When Danielle and I were married, we just had a few friends with cameras film it for us. It is the single biggest regret we have about that day. We have plenty of “home movie” like footage of our wedding, but nothing at all like what a good videographer would have been able to document for us. I can’t encourage you enough to book a videographer; it’s just something you HAVE to do.

Anyway, one of the best videographers in the area is Vanessa McKellar. I love her work and I love working with her and her husband, Brent. I thought I’d share a few of her recent videos from weddings we have shot together just to give you guys a taste of how powerful video can be.

Erika & Phil (Wedding Post)


Some Super 8 video goodness.

Stephanie & Michael (Wedding Post)

Davi & Jonathan (Wedding Post)

This is a super example of where photos just don’t do the moment justice. This is a shot from their First Look.

Now, watch this trailer and see that First Look in action.

Kim & Josh (Wedding Post)

Click here to jump to Vanessa’s blog and see more of her work.

As were were finishing up Jessica’s session at the Villa di Felicita they were putting up their Christmas tree. (Not with the style and flair we do, but still, it was fun to see.) In fact, with only 18 days to go till her wedding, Jessica had to be talked OUT of staying in her dress after the bridal session. Every time I would show her one of the images on the back of the camera she would let out a squeal of excitement. I am so looking forward to this wedding. :)

Sometimes Sara likes to sit in my lap while I edit images. She always has interesting comments and when this one popped up she said, “Uh… you can’t really see her very good.”

This one was in the back of her late brother’s truck. He gave it to her a day before he passed away. It is obviously very special to her and I was so glad we were able to got some images with it.

Thanks for a great session Jessica, see you soon!

Alex – Contact Me!

Kristina & Nick had a crazy fun wedding at the Villa di Felicita in Tyler. Let us now relive the day through stellar photography. :)

It takes a lot to get me excited about jewelry, but Kristina’s necklace did the job.


Shoe Contest!

(I think Nick won.)

First Look fun.

La Tee Da showed up and basically exploded color all over the place.

This amazing cake was done by Shelly Franke (csfranke@yahoo.com)

I love when grooms tear up as the bride comes towards them.

After the ceremony everyone basically danced from 6:09-10:20. Crazy fun.
(I especially love the couple in the lower left. Close, but not too close.)

Kristina & Nick, I had been looking forward to your wedding for months and you did not disappoint.
Thanks so much for trusting me to share & capture your day.

Alex – Contact Me!

Kristina & Nick’s wedding was so of the chain, it is going to take 2 blog posts to chain it back up.
(I clearly have no idea how to talk like the cool people.)

4 Easy steps to an incredible wedding.

Step 1: Be beautiful.

Step 2: Make sure one of your bridesmaids is rocking’ an iPod mini. (circa 1994)

Step 3: When you write your own vows, tell your groom you are not a very good cook.

Step 4: Dance with your dad.

Come back tomorrow for more Kristina & Nick goodness.