On the twelfth day of Christmas Santa gave to me, twelve creating memories.
Eleven minutes until sunset.
Bride and groom sniping.
Newlyweds dancing.
Eight brilliant feathers.
A duo’s love a-brimming.
A mother and daughter gazing.
Young lady graduating.
Four all aglow.
Three big grins.
Tender sister love.
and a branch full of purple berries.
That’s the end of my first installment of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. I’m glad I made the decision early December to share these special moments with the world during the holidays as it forced me to update my blog when I would otherwise be doing a million other things in my PJ’s until noon. I was blessed in 2010 in many aspects-marriage, motherhood, and work- and since I do not keep a journal it was nice to be able to revisit the old memories.
Here’s a photo of our families on Christmas Eve after a long day of eating, shopping, sleeping and opening gifts.
Is it too soon for a little nostalgia? I look at Tulsi’s red Christmas sweater and I realize she will never be able to wear it on Christmas ever again.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Santa gave to me eleven minutes til sunset.
A sneak peak at my latest bride and her father just before walking down the aisle. Many many more to follow.
Bride and groom sniping.
Newlyweds dancing.
Eight brilliant feathers.
A duo’s love a-brimming.
A mother and daughter gazing.
Young lady graduating.
Four all aglow.
Three big grins.
Tender sister love.
and a branch full of purple berries.
On the tenth day of Christmas, Santa gave to me a bride and groom sniping.
I would like to make clear that no persons were harmed our attacked during this beach wedding. Jennell and Mike are both police officers and I thought it would be fun to pull out their Saturday-night special for a few shots (pun intended) on their wedding day.
Newlyweds dancing.
Eight brilliant feathers.
A duo’s love a-brimming.
A mother and daughter gazing.
Young lady graduating.
Four all aglow.
Three big grins.
Tender sister love.
and a branch full of purple berries.
I received an initial inquiry from Jennell last summer. She was getting married in my hometown the same weekend I was to be in Florida for my ten-year high school reunion and she needed a wedding photographer to document her special day. Well, the stars aligned!
Imagine months and months of planning a special beach wedding to your dream groom only to arrive at your destination and find scattered showers and thunderstorms on the weather radar the entire weekend. I met the couple for coffee the day before their wedding and I was blown away by their composure. I prefaced them with the fickle tendencies of the weather in Panama City Beach, assuring them “the clouds will clear…” and they immediately entrusted me with the responsibility of revising wedding day itinerary as I see fit. Being that my prowess when at-arms with or reading the mind of mother nature is sub par, I went home and said a few hail marys then proceeded to track the weather for the next 24 hours.
I call the morning of and suggest pushing everything up an entire hour and the family quickly obliged. When I arrive at the condo the bride is already teary-eyed eyed as she is reading old letters and poems she wrote for her father which her mother saved especially for that day. It was a very sweet touch.
I snuck the bride and groom away for a few shots of their first look before walking down the aisle. It is always so nice to capture a couple’s emotion in its truest form without the awkwardness of guests staring. The couple exchanged their vows and champagne glasses were raised. As the final glass was emptied…down came the rain.
I guess I’m not so bad at predicting weather after all..but I’ll happily keep my day job!
On the ninth day of Christmas, Santa gave to me newlyweds dancing.
Eight brilliant feathers.
A duo’s love a-brimming.
A mother and daughter gazing.
Young lady graduating.
Four all aglow.
Three big grins.
Tender sister love.
and a branch full of purple berries.
Olivia and Rene were married in November at the beautiful Mercury Hall, nestled in a secluded hilltop near downtown Austin. The wedding was a non-traditional one of many sorts.
The celebration commenced with cocktail hour (yes, drinks first. priorities!) and the bride came clad in a white blinged-out dress. Plethoric? Yes. Too much? No. After libations were had and laughs were shared, the bride slipped into her beautiful gown. I managed to sneak a few photos just before she walked down the aisle.
The ceremony was small and intimate. There was a warm vibe all around and I could tell each and every guest was special to the bride and groom. And when a few eyes in the room started to get a little dewy, Olivia came close to setting her dress on fire with one of the candles lining the aisle. She definitely garnered a few laughs. Just in time for the reception.
More often than not, a few special guests give a special toast and everyone follows by raising their glasses signifying their best wishes for the newly married couple. Olivia did away with a champagne glasses on her special night and decided a champagne bottle for each guest would be adequate.
It’s no surprise a night of fun, food, drinks and dancing ensued. And when it was time to see the couple off, everyone lined up with their Texas-sized sparklers and bid the couple adieu!
