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What does your wedding say about you?

Thinking back to my wedding I’m not sure what mine said about me. I think it might have said that we really were into Target at the time, everything was brown and baby blue. EVERYTHING – centerpieces, tables, the cake, even some clothing was. It must have looked like Target camouflage.

That was a while ago though, and now that we’ve been around enough weddings it’s easy to see what your decorations can say about you. Something unique really happens when the decorations match your personality – there’s an unseen cohesiveness between you and your wedding. It all flows together so nicely then.

Decoration Ideas
- Consider using something homemade for your tabletop centerpieces.
- Clutter: One time when your mother won’t get onto you for it, over-filled tables are really getting more traction these days, and it’s easy to fill them up to give more life to your reception venue
-Natural: Incorporate things from your surrounding so your tables complement the venue. (EG an outdoor wedding with wooden centerpieces, even slabs of wood and decorated sticks pulls the table together with surrounding greenery)
-Be confident! Have a look at lots of examples to find some different decoration ideas for your wedding, see below for some of our favorite wedding reception centerpiece ideas from 2011.

Sometimes life pulls you in different directions. Sometimes you move along with the crowd but meet constant resistance. When you’ve got a God-given talent sometimes you have to fight for what you want. I didn’t get the chance to know Taylor super-well, but my first impression is that she knows what she wants, and she’s willing to fight for what will get her there. She’s kind, but determined. She’s a theater actress.

I get the feeling she has a blast no matter what she’s doing, because during our shoot it was about 250 degrees outside, and miraculously 110% humidity (doesn’t that mean we should have been swimming?) and not one time did she complain. Smiles the whole time.

Graduating from Fossil Ridge High school, she’s just been accepted into Texas State University too, congrats Taylor! Call me when you need some more head shots, because when you’re famous I’m totally going to name drop!

Bridal photos are a lot of fun. Showcasing the best parts of your dress, highlighting the best part of your gorgeous  hair. OMG. I mean really.

But why not consider bringing a couple of props to help out too. You can think of props in two different ways.

Props as someplace to put your hands
So you’re super awkward in photos huh? I mean like really, it’s almost a Saturday Night Live Sketch it so bad. Consider that you’ll be a lot better if you know where to put your hands. Having a prop, even something simple as a chair, gives you some relief. It’s a prop to give your photos setting, but it’s also a place to rest your arms, something to lean up against, really something else to take the pressure off of you.

A Chair is a great way to add variety to your Bridal Photos

Props can highlight your location
Another great idea for props is to consider how they will work with your location. Sometimes there’s great things that stand out even more if you add contrast to them. Be it in style, shape, texture – anything that creates a juxtaposition and bring a lot of interest, and sometimes even some drama to your photos. In this case we chose a yellow parasol for Pearl. Not only does the umbrella fit with her style, but it gives some amazing contrast with the vivid blue background.

Consider props that will contrast or complement your location

Yup. Props are awesome, and if shot right not as much of a distraction from your dress as a complement to your style and location. Give it some thought before your next shoot! It’s a great way to stand out from the crowd!

Thankfully, I’m a guy & it’s way easy for us. Dark Jeans + 1 dress shirt, and a casual shirt to change into. Done deal.

Girls have it a bit harder though. What do you wear for your engagements? I’ve got some suggestions for do’s and don’ts for you. If you’re only going to be allowed two different outfits make them count. Cover dressy & casual, filling the gaps with accessories.

If possible start your session with dressy clothes. You’ll be the freshest with your hair done up, not sticky & lets face it, getting ready in dressy clothes just takes longer. After those are done you can move to a more relaxed outfit using accessories to close the gap. Use jackets, sunglasses, hats, or different bracelets to change your style without requiring additional outfit changes that cut into your shooting time. That gets you the most bang for your buck!

A jacket is a great way to give more use to each of your outfits

Sometimes it’s beneficial to add in something that speaks to your location.  Recently we took engagement photos at a football stadium (see photos here) and they brought their jackets that supported their favorite teams. Very cool, and it gave them a good something to tie back into the location.

 
But styles change are changing all the time, and  so should you. Well, you shouldn’t change who YOU are, but you should have the chance to change your clothes during your shoot. That’s how we make it work out too.

Our Engagement Shoots and Senior Shoots both allow for a change of clothes. Want to book a session with us? Click here.

You know when you spend time around some people and you just start to think, “Wow – these people are smart and they don’t even have to try”? That’s Nan & Kat.

Their wedding was nothing short of well thought out either. The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception really took the cake. I mean took the krispy creme cake. That’s right, a cake made out of krispy creme donuts.  Each table was loaded up with drinks too (Grey Goose Vodka, Johnnie Walker, beers, wines, champagne) and that was every table at the reception. Needless to say, we had lots of fun.

As the night carried on Nan was more and more affectionate towards Kat, rarely letting her leave his sight – while constantly and unabashedly complimenting her (especially during his toasts).

Great night, super fun couple. Want to get married again? Count me in!

Hotel: Sheraton Fort Worth
Church: Christ the King Catholic Church – Fort Worth
Reception Venue: Thanh Thanh Vietnamese Restaurant
Wedding Planner: Deanie Michelle Events
Videographer: Candlelight Films (View Preview Video here)

How many locations do you want to go to for your Bridals? Pick one, Pick two, Pick three. Most Brides won’t pick 3, but most wont pick only one either -you want variety (it gives you so many options for different backgrounds). Try shooting your Bridal photography at the Dallas Arboretum, there is seemingly endless options inside the garden for different background options, and outside of the Gardens is White Rock Lake, which is beautiful. Bridal Portraits at White Rock Lake are some of my favorite to shoot (don’t get me wrong, they’re all fun) but the Lake in Dallas gives me the chance to be right next to the big city without having to park in the big city. We manage, we manage.

But back to talking about Bridal Photography at the Dallas Arboretum. We pay for the entrance fee for you and your friends/family so the only thing you have to do is show up. Be sure that you come in your wedding dress though – Dallas city laws don’t allow you to change on the grounds and there’s not so many great places to change around there (unless you’re saying “Oh Thank-Heaven it’s 7-11″). We did make a temporary tent around a bride one time by holding up sheets around her so she could change though, I wouldn’t recommend that though! One stiff wind and it could have been a disaster!

Once you’re in the Arboreturm for pictures we can move nearly anywhere we like. If you see soemthing while we’re headed from spot to spot just say so – and we’ll stop to shoot there. Don’t worry about having to pick all of your backgrounds though, I’ll have a unique route picked out for you so you get Bridal Pictures unlike any others. We will shoot for about 2 hours for your Bridals (Up to 3 if we need the time), and it’s as easy as that. Simple Bridal Photos. Especially easy because you won’t have to travel far for garden photos, lake photos, and even after a short 7 minute drive to Deep Ellum, urban photos.

In the Big D we’re not hurting for a variety of locations, that’s for sure! We’re in one of the most beautiful places for weddings as far as I’m concerned!

Below are some examples of photos from the Dallas Arboretum and White Rock Lake

You’ll hear photographers describe themselves as “lifestyle photographers” or “journalistic photographers” maybe even “traditional photographers.”

Can you really decide whether you want a journalistic photographer rather than a documentary/lifestyle type of photography? I’d think not, that’s a super involved process and who knows what kind of photographer you’re going to need! I think you’ll need all kinds.

Who is to say that at one point you won’t need all three types? We’re not limiting ourselves to a genre. We’re photographers, and we want to capture you. Not in a creepy CSI kind of way, but we want your friends to see the photos and say “Holy Moly (never actually spelled that out before) that is so ___(fill in the blank)___. After all this is about emotions,  make sure you photos are emotionally driven.

I get to shoot lots of things, mostly weddings – but we get around. We’ve done TV commercials, corporate events, photo-journalism, so we’ve got lots to draw from. I even brush shoulders with a few local movie producers – not a lot of Wedding Photographers can offer that. BAM.

Weddings are by far our main focus though, and our favorite. Weddings rich with details and unique factors (once a bride even made her bouquet out of brooches and pins that she had been given through-ought her life, wow – it was a beautiful bouquet!) those are by far our most exciting weddings. Since we’re in it to capture the essence of who you are it helps when we’re in an environment that reflects your smashing personality.

You’re most likely looking for a photographer that’s there to capture YOU and who YOU ARE

(sorry mom & dad)
You’re looking for a guy who enjoys his job as much as you’re enjoying your wedding. That’s us.

Photo-journal-tradition-modern-digi-freestyle photogs. Take that, we do it all. :0)

Elvis & Yeny are one of those couple that just work, and it’s not like any one person is leading the pack. They’re a great team, and I know that’s going to make their wedding very special.

As a Undergraduate from The University of Houston ( and  soon to be Masters Graduate from St. Thomas University of Houston)  Yeny had the hook-up to get us into this stadium on a private pass. We were the ONLY PEOPLE THERE! and had free reign of the entire deal. Great great fun, and the perfect time of day too. We wrapped up engagements at Discovery Green in Downtown Houston. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and I’ll see you guys soon!

We found out nearly a year ago that we’d have the chance to shoot  Megan & Darrells’ wedding here a few weeks ago we were pretty excited. She’s themed her wedding after her love for books, especially vintage ones. It all turned out so well at the wedding too. A very very loving couple!

McKinney is quickly becoming a hot spot for weddings. The newest addition that I’ve seen, and had the pleasure of shooting at is the McKinney Flour Mill (not the flower mill as we had mistakenly called it at first!). This renovated building is geared toward events of all kinds – but I would imagine primarily towards weddings.

Building Interior
 It’s a fantastic venue. Styled similarly to the McKinney Cotton Mill, but with it’s own unique features. This place is full of old details that are wonderfully preserved. Large steel bay doors, working scales built into the floor, tall wood ceilings with rustic chandeliers are just a few of the details that make this place a joy to shoot at.

Dressing Rooms
The brides room is outfitted with it’s own long couch, table, and restroom. Plenty of room for a wedding party of 4-6 to get ready in.

The guys were mostly excited that downtown McKinney was just a couple blocks over so they could hit up the bar down at Churchhills.

We’re looking forward to our next wedding here for sure – it was an absolute blast!

Contact
McKinney Flour Mill

The McKinney Cotton Mill offers a great backdrop for your wedding. We are constantly getting requests for photos similar to the ones we have taken at The Cotton Mill. Truth is it’s such a beautiful background (and lets be honest, the bride and groom really top it off too!) it’s hard to not want.

Along the ceiling of the main room a 3ft high pane of soft windows wraps two walls allowing bright light to pour in over the dark wood floors. Unfinished cielings & wall scales are reminiscent pieces of the 100 year old factory that at one point was a staple for the city of McKinney, TX.

For this particular event the room was flipped for the wedding & reception. Sometimes venues have trouble with this because of room issues – not an issue here. There was plenty of room and a very helpful staff to set chairs a pre-set tables in the back of the room around a natural dance floor (there is no need to rent a dance floor because of the natural wood floors).

We were able to pull the bride and groom away for a set of photos after the ceremony. We moved past the entry way with muted multicolored window panels, out the large wooden double doors and over to the unfinished factory floor. This made for an absolutely fantastic backdrop, and some of my favorites yet. I’ve got one of them printed on a 16×24 canvas print in our studio right now!

The photos speak for them selves though. One of my favorite wedding venues in McKinney, the McKinney Cotton Mill.

Get info on our wedding packages here.
View their Site Here: McKinney Cotton Mill