jon-michael + monica • wedding • lubbock garden + arts center

It takes guts to get married outdoors in Lubbock, Texas. And I am so, so thankful that many of my brides have guts. :) It is SO worth it.

Jon-Michael and Monica were married at the Lubbock Garden and Arts Center. It was the perfect venue- green grass, beautiful flowers blooming all around (perfectly complimented by the bouquets and boutonnieres from Market Street). It was a happy, happy day and somehow the entire day felt very personal and special, well-intentioned, with plenty of time to love on the family and friends that were there to celebrate. 

I loved so many of the details at their reception at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion- it was beautiful! Thank you, Jon-Michael and Monica, for having us there to capture it. 

Ceremony: Lubbock Garden + Arts Center

Reception: Frazier Alumni Pavilion

Wedding Gown: Rivini, Stanley Korshak Dallas

Hairpiece and Veil: Irlecia Edwards

Groom + Groomsmen: First Class Tuxedo

Bridesmaids: Bill Levkoff, Brides of Amarillo

Wedding Rings: Robert Lance Jewelers

Hair + Makeup: Lindsey Colvin, Designers Group Salon

Floral: Tucker, Market Street

Cake: Alison Collins

Catering: Top Tier Catering

Ceremony Music: Ellsworth String Quartet, Trumpet- John Kennedy

DJ: Red Dirt Mobile Entertainment, Jess Walker

Coordination: Katy Christy

Reception Linens: Denise Thomas, Wedding Solutions

Stationery: Barque (formerly Calligraphy, Etc.) 

lorenzo + valerie • engagement • lubbock, tx

Lorenzo and Valerie have a classic love story. They grew up in the same small town, knowing who each other was, but never being close. A few years after graduation, they ran into each other again- and this time was different. Everything fell into place, and they've been together ever since. They're getting married in beautiful Santa Fe in a few months, and I couldn't be happier for them! 

chase + victoria • wedding • lubbock, tx

I met Tori quite a while back when we first opened our store. She was- and she has continued to be- such a fun person to be around. Always smiling and positive, this lady knows what she likes and has great taste to boot. Enter Chase. Chase is also a ton of fun and very thoughtful. These two were friends before they were a couple and I think that's one of the reasons they work together so well. It's clear that they just go together. I'm so glad to know them and to have been able to capture their day. 

I was IN LOVE with the florals from Lou Dee's Floral and Gift Center. These guys rock. As beautiful as the bouquets looked, they smelled even better. One reason to get married in May- peonies!

Ceremony: First United Methodist Church, Lubbock TX

Reception: The Overton Hotel

Wedding Gown: Oleg Cassini

Groom + Groomsmen: Men's Wearhouse

Hair + Makeup: Cathy's Clippers

Stationery: Calligraphy, Etc.

Floral: Lou Dee's Floral and Gift Center

Cake: Market Street

Catering: The Overton Hotel

DJ: West Texas DJ

jake + lauren • engagement • lubbock, tx

The warm weather is finally here, and I am loving all the green trees, grass, and blooming flowers. I had the perfect engagement session with Jake + Lauren last week. These two are getting married in August! They are both so extremely nice and just the kind of people I love to be around. :) 

russell + jaclyn • wedding • cotton creek barn

I can't wait to tell you about how excited I was to shoot at Cotton Creek Barn for the first time. It's a new-ish venue to the Lubbock area, located in New Home, TX. 

I also can't wait to show you all the beautiful things I got to photograph while I was there- gorgeous dresses, florals, and special details...

But first, I have to tell you about what I will remember most about this wedding. A number of times- all separately- friends and family members mentioned to me how excited they were that Jaclyn would have Russell and that Russell would have Jaclyn. They told me how deserving they were of each others' love and faithfulness with an attitude of pure excitement and joy for these two. It was amazing- and a total consensus- that this wedding was meant to be. That, my friends, is what a wedding really is.

In West Texas fashion, the wind blew hard that day- but subsided as the sun went down. I was thankful to have clients who truly knew the importance of what we were capturing that day- not a perfect hairstyle, but a perfect celebration!

I am sure I narrowed my images down more than once- but had so many favorites to share with you! Enjoy!

Venue: Cotton Creek Barn

Wedding Gown: Brides, Amarillo

Groom + Groomsmen: Men's Wearhouse

Bridesmaids: David's Bridal

Floral: Patti Weaver + Market Street

Catering: Catering from the Heart, PJ's Catering

Cakes: Market Street

DJ: Surefire Entertainment

Hair: Ashley Williams

Makeup: Sarah Roush

consign your bag at Culture Clothing & win a mini session with me!

Most of you wonderful blog readers know my husband and I own a little eclectic resale shop called Culture Clothing- well, we're teaming up to put on this fun promo!

It's very simple- consign your designer bag at Culture Clothing tomorrow (May 10) through May 31 and you'll be entered to win a Mini-Session with me!

Included in the Mini-Session is:

30-45 minutes of shoot time

1 location, 1 outfit

No limit on number of people

Digital Negatives of the images (around 100 images)

This is a $360 value! The digital negatives come with a copyright release that will allow you to reprint and post the images.

Stop by the store to get entered and make some money on those bags you don't use anymore! 1717 Broadway, Lubbock TX

You can see our new arrivals on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/cultureclothing

what have we been up to?

Amazingly, as wedding season and the weather heats up, we have been able to have many special moments in the past couple months. It's been a growing year for our family- one where we've consistently had opportunities and responsibilities and more time than money and sometimes more money than time! As parents, I know we'll look back on this season as one where we established a lot of things for our little family of 3…there have been times where we've needed to huddle in close together, or go on an adventure, or remove all pressure and just be. Here are a few of those "soak it in" moments we've had in the past month or so...

Knox's school had an Easter egg hunt, and though I remembered to bring candy and eggs, I forgot his Easter basket. So, my kid had to hunt with a plastic bag. I know, Mother of the Year. But honestly, he could have cared less. :) They also got to hold a real bunny. I can't express to you how precious it was to visibly see how much he loved that little bunny. Upon placement of the bunny in his lap, he said, "Mommy, he looooooves me."

One of Knox's friends, Barrett, invited him to a very special birthday party where they got to ride horses! Barrett is obsessed with farm animals and barns and this was such a neat idea. I started to worry Knox may have some hesitation about it, but he jumped right on and soaked it up. This mama was loving all the photo opps. Love these sweet friends.

Last week we got to journey with the Pedroza family to Crested Butte, Colorado. It was a long (14 hour) drive, but amazingly the kids did great, and we got to enjoy time talking on the way. The Pedrozas live in Germany and are church planters- the last time we got to see them in person was a couple of years ago. So face-to-face time was wonderful! Of course, the Anglin family did not check the weather when packing, so we ended up with absolutely nothing to wear in the winter wonderland we ended up in. :) Thankfully, the cabin we stayed in was fully stocked with 80's-style ski suits and accessories, which we embraced with some sentiment, knowing this wasn't the first time in our lives we'd worn neon puff and played in the snow. 

It was beautiful and peaceful. We all had a good combination of quality time with each other and some alone time as well. We also ventured into the town of Crested Butte and found some good coffee. I loved the aesthetics of this place:

One afternoon Katlyn had the idea to paint faces and the kids loved it! We let them paint ours as well. Knox wanted Batman, and after I did his face I asked him if he could fly. You could see the lightbulb go off in his head. His arms popped out perpendicularly, and he went swooshing about the cabin. Of course he could fly.

I feel like this first image is their band photo. 

One of the most incredible parts of the cabin were the two guestbooks there. Because this cabin was built with a missionary retreat in mind, the pages were filled with words from mission workers from all over the world that had retreated to the cabin. Reading their comments and realizing the true enormity of the global work being done was incredible. This retreat was a true gift for us and we are so glad we got to go!

So, those are our latest adventures. It's sure to be a packed summer..so we are doing our best to savor every moment. 

jaclyn • bridal • lubbock wedding photographer

I have some of the most lovely brides- inside and out. This is Jaclyn, and I got to photograph her wedding a couple of weeks ago. I loved shooting her bridal session- it was a gorgeous spring day, and I never get tired of photographing a beautiful bride!

jason + abbey • published on the knot • 50 weddings, 50 states

So excited to announce that one of my favorite weddings from last year has been selected for The Knot's 50 Weddings, 50 States project! The Knot has featured one wedding from every state and Jason + Abbey's glamorous gala is the perfect wedding to represent our big and beautiful state of Texas!

Click on over to view their album on TheKnot.com:

http://www.theknot.com/weddings/album/a-legacy-event-center-wedding-in-lubbock-texas-160822

You can view the rest of the collection here: http://www.theknot.com/weddings/albums/50-weddings-in-50-states

Can't wait to share more from this fabulous wedding here on my blog soon!

marissa • lubbock high school senior

Marissa is a senior at Lubbock High School and I was honored to shoot her senior portraits on one very windy West Texas day. Thankfully, we were able to really embrace the wind- and got some great images doing so.

It's a life-lesson I've been learning- embracing the wind…the wind will always be there (literally and figuratively)…you can either embrace it and let it take you where it will, or try to hold your ground and remain where you always have been.

Marissa, keep embracing the wind! You've got so many wonderful places to go!