If you are still considering a venue for your wedding then you are going to love today’s post.  Here are some of my favorite venues in the area.  They are all slightly unique.  Some have things that others don’t and I’m pretty sure that if you take a look at each of these you’ll end up having a hard time deciding on just one. :)  Anyway, here are a few photos with links to recent weddings as well as contact info for each of them.  Happy Friday.

Villa di Felicita | (903) 597-0002 | (Click here for a recent wedding there.)

Castle on the Lake | 903-721-3593 | (Click here for a recent wedding there.)

The Legacy Venue | 903.571.9644 | (Click here for a recent wedding there.)
The Belgium House | (903) 660-0125 | (Click here for a recent wedding there.)
Elmwood Gardens | (903) 724-5619 | (Click here for a recent wedding there.)
Roseland Plantation | (903) 849-5553 | (Click here for a recent wedding there.)

Hunt Villa | (903) 597-0002 | (Click here for a recent wedding there.)

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. :)

You know it’s going to be a good wedding when the bride’s gift to the groom is a bottle of Crown Royal and…. a Bible?

Some last second dress steaming before the formals.

I LOVE the pains that brides go through to look good. You ladies could literally walk out in shorts and flip flops and we would still marry you. You know this right?

Question: How do you keep a bunch of guys in one room for 20 minutes before a wedding?

Answer:

Randall’s dress was amazing, see more of it from her Same Day Edit bridal session, but the bridesmaid and flower girl dresses also were super fun.

Bridget Stone of Allie-Laine Flowers in Longview did a great job on the bouquets. (903-291-0808)

More bars in more places.

Some of my favorite from their portrait session.

As always, Edible Art did not disappoint with the cakes.



Jason D. Williams provided the best reception music I have ever experienced. If there is any way you can get him to your wedding, make it happen.

Are they Jewish? No. Was it still super fun and cool? Yes!


Rachel has been Randall’s best friend since the 6th grade. Rachel has 3 brothers and says Randall is like the “sister she never had”. From now on when Sara asks us for a sister I’ll just tell her to wait till she gets to 6th grade. :)



The lady in the green dress shielding her eyes is Randall’s mother.

There was a bit of a dance off. It ended when Groomsman X slid up to Groomsman Y and ripped open his shirt.

When planning Jessica & Charlie’s engagement session they mentioned that they like to make make pottery together. A quick google search turned up a great place in Longview called The Mud Hut. If you are into pottery, have small kids, or are just looking for a unique date idea you really should drive over and check them out.



After about 20 minutes of just hanging out with these two I felt like I had known them for months. They were so relaxed and it was great to see them in their element.

The coasters Charlie made. Not bad eh?

When they are not painting pottery these two are… LAWYERS! Crazy eh? They actually met the first day of law school and just finished taking the Bar Exam.

Also, when they are not practicing law they are…. BUYING A HOUSE! We stopped by their place that they are closing on tomorrow and got a great cheesy home owner photo.

You’ll see more of these two in December when they tie the knot over at the Villa id Felicita.

I had a blast in Longview with Jessica & Charlie. I can’t wait to give their engagement session the full blog post it deserves, but this sneak peak will have to hold you over for now.