Saturday, September 22, 2012

How To Have an Austin Wedding

First off, gather your closest, sweetest friends and family.


Then get all dolled up somewhere with an awesome view of Lady Bird Lake. 

Use only the best Austin vendors!
Brooke's day was made possible by Rhea McCarter (makeup), Fleurish Austin (flowers), and Pearl Events (coordination). Oh yeah...and Jenni Roberts Photography.

Have your dress designed by Austin's own Linda Asaf. You can find her adorable shop on West 6th. And didn't she do a beautiful job on Brooke's gown?!

To complete your one-of-a-kind Austin bride look, mix your custom-made pieces with heirlooms, old and new, borrowed and...uh...green pieces!

But let's face it! If you're getting married outside in Austin during the summer, keep it cool and casual for your 'maids and men! They can still look amazing and will thank you for it!

Now that everyone is ready, tie your knot at an Austin landmark. Brooke and Kyle chose the Umlauf Sculpture Garden.

Thanks to us getting some rain this year, everything was beautiful and green, and the pergola over the altar adds a little somethin'.

But again - keep your guests' comfort in mind and make sure they've got a way (or two!) to stay cool.

Now, you might be surprised by this next tip because it is somewhat traditional. While Austin brides love to redefine traditions to suit their personalities, they do it very thoughtfully and each change brings some sort of significance to their day. I think this is why every single wedding I've ever shot has still included the posed family shots after the ceremony.

There's really no getting around their "posed" nature, but that doesn't have to mean they look stiff and unnatural. And you know Brooke's grandma is going to frame that top right photo and smile at it every day for the rest of her life! Even when there's no bride's cake or bouquet toss, the family photos still get taken.

Since there's really not anywhere to hold a reception at Umlauf, choose from one of what must be hundreds of cool places around town. Now, it is Austin, so you'll probably be sitting in some traffic on the way there. So maybe you might want to book a stylish ride for the trip over.

...or a freakin' awesome one. You know, it's your call.

If you know what's good for you...or what tastes good anyway...you'll hold your reception at one of Austin's local restaurants. No worrying about how many tables to rent or how to decorate that big empty box of a ballroom? That's something a chill Austin bride will truly cherish!

Plus the food...well, 'nuff said!

I know that was a ton of photos, but really it's a pretty simple formula. Especially when all you really need to do is marry the coolest person you've ever met. Your best friend.

Somebody you wanna kiss like this:

Congratulations Brooke and Kyle!  I looooved sharing your day, and I pray for a lifetime of days as awesome as this one for y'all!

Friday, September 7, 2012

One Pretty One-Year Old!

Gracie turned one this August! We celebrated with a portrait session and a party! Get ready for looots of pictures! 


Momma and Daddy played with Grace to keep her smiling. (It's not terribly hard!) 

Grace was a trooper the whole time even though it was H-O-T.  

Then a little bit later, there was partying to do! Jess's plans all came together really nicely and everything looked so cute! 

Grace had a bunch of friends and family turn out to celebrate with her. 

She never really got super-excited about the cake though. They kept having to bring her back to it to eat a little bit more. Not a sweets girl, I guess! 

Happy Birthday, Grace! We love you!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Willie Show

Okay - so now I can tell you! I didn't want to say anything before, 'cause I just couldn't quite believe that it was happening! 

I got to shoot the Willie Nelson concert last weekend! I photographed it for KOKE and they have all the photos on their website. You can see them all here

There's a ton of them! Drew Womack played at the VIP pre-show: 

Michael came with me to tote my stuff, and when we walked in he said, "Is that Bob?" And glanced out of the corner of my eye just briefly, saw the guy in the middle: 

and said, "phhth! NO!" But then I looked again and said, "Oh my goodness!" Indeed. That is Bob. Dressed up as the Roadhog. Oh Bob. Alright, mighty fine!

Looks like everybody was having a good time! 

It was a Willie and Family show, so his daughters opened up for him: 

 Okay, the ladies on the bottom right aren't his daughters. They're just adorable and they rounded out that collage nicely. Can you see the braids? They're wearing Willie braids! 

Roadhog had a few things to say before Willie came on; mostly thanks! 

And finally, the big show! Again, there are a ton of shots here, but here are a couple of my favorites. 


Yes, that first pic is Willie Nelson smiling at me. He waved at me later. We're, like, friends now.