Tonya and Scott @ Holy Trinity Catholic Church and Moravian Hall, Cornhill Tx

There are so many places to have weddings in Central Texas...we will ever see them all. Tonya and Scott's wedding was our first visit to Cornhill, TX. They were married at Holy Trinity Church which is is celebrating it's 100 anniversary and is a simply stunning church. Tonya was escorted down the aisle by both of her parents, which we thought was pretty cool and both sets of parents joined them at the altar to join Tonya and Scott's hands. The reception was held at the Moravian Hall just a short walk from the Church. Moravian was used in the 1996 movie "Michael" with John Travolta. After talking with grandpa (who was an extra in the movie), I could remember the scene! We love, love, love this type of wedding. Easy going, fun, lots of dancing, a huge grand march, awesome food, friends and family enjoying the celebration and a couple truly enjoying the day. P.S. We actually had a little rain storm during the ceremony. With the wildfires and severe draught, it was the first time ever that we didn't think -"Oh NO!". Rain on your wedding day is said to bring good luck to the marriage. According to the old wives' tale, the knot in "tying the knot" becomes wet and is harder to break, thus making the marriage strong. Cheers to a strong marriage and a bit of rain!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonya's Bridal Portrait Session at Mayfield Park

Mark met Tonya with her sister along to help at Mayfield Park. This summer has been a scorcher, literally, but Mayfield Park has stayed green and beautiful. I think the lovely park with Tonya's beautiful dress and smile hides the fact that it was over 100 degrees during this session! She looks gorgeous. Tonya is an easy going bride that loves to have fun. The lighting was fabulous for this session. Congrats to Tonya and Scott who are now Mr. and Mrs.

 

 

 

The #1 FAQ

One of our most frequently asked questions is regarding the shooting family formal photos at weddings. Usually, it is about how to minimize the time between the ceremony and reception. The bride and groom want to get to their guests, as soon as possible. We agree and want to help facilitate that! But, to be honest, we tell every couple the same thing and only about 25% implement a plan. Then after the actual ceremony, what they want to do the most… get to their guests quickly. And it does not happen because of lack of preparation.

We have a proven system that works. Start with one side of the family. Often the bride’s mom is helping with reception coordination, so we suggest starting with the bride’s side so mom can finish with pictures and leave to assist. We will start with a large group and peel back people in layers. This means we start the session with a very large family group of the bride's family, then peel away aunts/uncles/cousins, then peel away grandparents, then peel away siblings, so we're left with just the parents. Then we shoot just parents with the bride and groom, then just the siblings, then just grandparents. We end with both sets of parents with bride and groom. Then we repeat the process with the groom's side of the family. If everything goes well, we can shoot all formals in about 25-30 minutes.

We will end with the full wedding party and a few pictures of the bride and groom as a new Mr. and Mrs. The entire process should not take more than 45 minutes.

How can you make this happen? Here are a few tips:

• Before the wedding, email or have a conversation with your families and tell them your expectations - "Don’t leave the ceremony location and don’t go to the bar". If they know (in advance) that you want them in a picture they will be prepared. The rehearsal dinner is a good time to remind them!

• Have a listing of family groupings. Give that list to someone that will help you organize the next group while we are taking pictures.

• Bride and Groom, you have an important task. Exit the ceremony – give hugs and high fives to your wedding party and avoid getting “congratulated” by the rest of your family and friends, until after pictures. We know this is VERY hard to do. If you get caught up in congratulations it will take a while to break away to get the family pictures taken care of.

• Consider a “first glance” moment and take many of the pictures before the ceremony.

Dude, give me your keys! Why you need a day of wedding coordinator:

We told our friends on facebook, that our next blog post was going to be on the need for a "day of" wedding coordinator. Our hope is that you will read and take advice from photographers that have seen it all!

At a recent wedding, a groomsman came running up to the groom asking for his car keys. Why? Because the person designated to pick up the main course at a local restaurant forgot the food! What?? Talk about added stress!

You have planned the perfect wedding and you have asked all your friends help deliver supplies to the reception site and pitch in to help set up. Done... but now everyone wants to enjoy the ceremony, food and dancing! Who will be there on the day of the event to make sure it goes according to your plan? Who is the contact point when your vendors arrive? Who tells the ushers to start seating? Who lines up your wedding party for their entrances? Who communicates with the wait staff to instruct them to start serving? You and your family are busy visiting with family and friends that you haven't seen in a long time. Who will you rely on to see that everything falls into place?

Too often, brides rely on family, friends, the DJ and the photographers to carry out plans on the day of the wedding. By asking a friend or family member to take on this stressful task, that person will not be able to enjoy the event as a guest and will end up feeling like "event staff." In most cases, your "volunteers" have little experience in this role and end up frazzled as they try to keep on top of everything that must be done to ensure that the day goes smoothly. Save your family and friends from this fate! Coordinating a wedding day schedule requires unique experience. Many of us are novices when it comes to organizing and executing such a logistically intricate event. It is your day of wedding coordinators job to make your day stress-free. Select your venue and vendors and don't forget to let a coordinator bring it all together for you.

Michelle - Broken Spoke and Zilker Botanical Gardens

We met Michelle at Zilker Botanical Garden for this bridal session. Michelle is an assistant principle at an elementary school so we know it was not easy to fit this session into her very busy days. The garden was surprisingly green for the water restrictions and extreme heat we have been having. It was only 102 degrees! Michelle was a trooper. Then off to the Broken Spoke for pictures in front of the very old and rusty Lone Star Beer bus. Too cute! We love, love, love these! Michelle gets married in just a few short weeks at Kindred Oaks. We usually password protect these sessions, but Michelle said her fiance isn't tempted to look. Enjoy.