I love when brides choose to have live music at their wedding.  Receptions are the “typical” time when brides hire a band.  But, one thing you may not have considered is some live ceremony music.  Lydia is by far be the best harpist I have ever met.  (She is the only harpist I have ever met.)  Regardless,  she is a wonderfully talented musician and I love when brides choose to have tasty live music rather than that “canned” stuff that sometimes skips or lasts too long or not long enough.  Lydia is such a nice person and her music is great.  Call her ASAP and see if she is still available for your date!

As luck would have it, we were both at the I Do Bridal Show in Longview.  So, I had both her and her harp get into The Mug Machine. :)

Enjoy the photos.  Then enjoy the interview.

How did you get started, how long have you been doing this?
I had the dream to play the harp ever since I can remember.  I started my musical education on piano before I convinced my parents that my love was for the harp.  I began harp studies in 2004 and it was a perfect match.  When I discovered that my harp music could be involved with weddings I was thrilled!  I have now been playing for weddings professionally for about 3 years.

What is your favorite part about your job?
Oh so many favorites, where to begin?!  First, I love people.  My job involves many people. I love getting to know my brides, their fiance, mother, friends, etc.  I have the privilege to be a part of the happiest day of a couples life.  It is wonderful to share my music, knowing that I am adding to their day and bringing joy to people.  I love that the harp is so unique and I get to share it’s music.

And, I love weddings.  It’s amazing that they are my job, I love hearing all the stories of planning and then arriving on the big day seeing all the loveliness.

Why should a bride hire a live musician?  Can’t the venue just play a cd while the guests are arriving?
Yes, any venue can play any cd and no one will notice.  But, you can be sure that with the beauty of the harp and it’s lovely music being played, your guests will notice.  Any sort of live music for your ceremony is wonderful, but (in my humble opinion :) the harp is the perfect wedding instrument, it will create the perfect ambiance.

The biggest plus to having live musicians is how smooth the ceremony will go.  A professional musician will be watching for just the right moment when the ceremony is to start, can easily continue a song if the flower girls take those extra 2 minutes to shyly make their way down the aisle.  And most important, a musician will be able to beautifully end the song once the bride has reached her to-be-husband.  No awkward waiting for the recorded song to end or be suddenly turned off.  Live music is that extra special touch.

What is something unique to your service that you are extra proud of?
I am very easy going about music selections!  This is your wedding, you pick any special song you want and I will search high and low to play it.  Or, if you have no clue about songs that’s fine, I have lots of wedding experience and can recommend the best songs.

And, you may be surprised at how amazing “Here Comes the Bride” sounds on harp!  It’s nothing like you’ve heard it before.

Anything else you wanna say?
Enjoy this time of planning your wedding.  It is a very special part of your life, and while it may involve stress, take the time to have fun planning and make the wedding your own.  But remember, the wedding is one day, your marriage will prayerfully be lifelong.  Focus on your relationship as a couple soon to be husband and wife.  It is a joyful union you are preparing for!

“Love never fails… but it’s something worth fighting for.”

Lydia Covey | Performing Harpist
903-261-3097
Web | lydiaharpist@gmail.com | Twitter

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!

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!

We ran all over Tyler for Kim’s session and got some of my favorite images to date. here are just a few of them.

We started at the Villa De Felicita where her wedding will be.  

We stopped by the Goodman Museum. They had lots of old stuff and basicaly everything looks amazingly cool in a photograph, especially Kim.  

Next up was The Cascades where they have a great golf course and super cool wine cellar.  

If you remember from their engagement session Kim and Josh are both HUGE Aggie fans so of course she had to get her 12th man on.
(This girl throws a wicked spiral. She almost hit my camera a few times.)  

The Heisman Pose, with a bit of laughing mixed in.