Art, décor, family and photography- it's all part of me!
I loved photographing these sweet, sweet sisters. Little Chloe is Liv's age and so I quickly identified with where this family is in life. I could not get over her wonderful feathery hair and sweet stares (plus that adorable romper- how cute?!?) Miss Isabella is well-versed in her knowledge of Disney princesses and so we also had some quality conversation. :) Glad I got to spend some time with these two. Here are a few of my favorites from their session!
We sat down for a short break at the reception to grab a bite to eat and started talking with a couple who was also seated at our table. "So how do you know Amy and Omar?", I asked. "Well, actually," the man said, "we just met them. They were in Fort Worth looking for a wedding band and we met them at a concert. We ended up hanging out with them the whole night and they invited us to the wedding! So this is really only our second time seeing them", he said with a laugh.
How great is that?!? And it really is a testament to the fun-loving nature that Omar and Amy have. These two are happy together, and they make the people around them happy, too.
Shawn and I had a great time photographing their wedding day in Snyder, TX. So many special details perfectly coordinated by Jill Leven- from the Mariachi band, to a really cool flip book booth, gorgeous florals by The Fig & Flower and of course, a great band. Here are some of my favorites from the day!
Hair: Ashley Williams, Roxi's Hair Studio
Makeup: Clarissa Gomez + Elina DeLoera
Cake: Patsy Hart
Catering: Stella's
Church: Our Lady of Guadalipe
Band: Hazard County Band
DJ: DJ DNA
Flipbook Booth: The FlipBook Mann
Floral: The Fig & Flower Co.
Stationery: Little White Invite
Limo: Purple Tie Limo Service
Event Planning + Coordination: Jill Leven with Eat, Drink, and be Marry
Brady + Haley were married at one of my favorite venues, on a gorgeous day, and I got to work with some of my favorite vendors. These guys are the BEST of the best- hire them (check out their vendor list at the bottom of the post). They turn potential hiccups into high fives and make ugly church rooms look like beautiful cathedrals. Not that we had any ugly on this day- trust me, there was a whole lot of pretty.
I couldn't get over all the color at this wedding! I loved how Haley incorporated all the beautiful shades and kept it romantic. It perfectly fit her. It can be easy to get caught up in the details of the wedding day, but it was evident that these two truly enjoyed their day. The fabulous reception ended with a surprise helicopter send off! The helicopter landed just as the guests were lining up to send them off- I was in awe of the giant propellers and the force of wind that they created. I'm not sure there is a more epic way to go out.
Thank you guys for letting us photograph your wedding day. Congratulations!
Venue: Spirit Ranch
Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero
Groom + Groomsmen: Perry Ellis + Kenneth Cole
Hair: Jodee Reed @ Davidson-Taylor
Makeup: Brenda Becknell @ Robert Spence Agency
Floral: The Fig and Flower Company
Cake: Simply Decadent
Catering: At Your Service
Stationery: Little White Invite
Event Coordination: Jill Leven with Eat, Drink and Be Marry
Videography: The Modern Blue
My real-life "messy desk". Yes, the crooked frame is killing me. And notice that Child #2 has yet to make an appearance on the wall. There are prints of her- they just haven't been hung yet. :)
Before Knox was born, I worked out of our extra bedroom. My little office had quite a nice setup and I spent my days quietly editing, letting the dogs in and out, and occasionally doing a load of laundry. When asked about having kids, people would comment about "how flexible" my job was and I would agree (still do for the most part).
Enter Child #1. I have to tell you that I can't really remember this stage too much. Perhaps I have blocked it from my mind?!? Haha. I took off a solid 3 months for maternity leave (which I definitely needed) and continued to work from home then. I remember some late nights up editing on my computer. We also had my sister in town who was (and still is) always a great help, along with a couple of friends who nannied for us for a while. Friends that don't mind your kid pooping on them are friends forever. :)
Eventually, I felt that Knox was just straight up bored with me at home all the time. And I still needed to get some work done. So, we found a great daycare 3 minutes from our house. He could come and go anytime between 7:30 am and 6 pm- but it was usually more like 10 am to 5 pm. It wasn't long before we opened Culture Clothing and I had an automatic, perfect little office space there. So, I moved everything up to the store and it was really great.
I'd take Knox to daycare, head up to the store, meet with clients, edit in peace....ahhh.....
The whole time we were hoping for another baby- via pregnancy, or adoption, or both. (Guess what?!? Both are happening!) We bought a new, bigger, forever house. It had a wall that was begging me to make into a little office space. I was missing time with kid numero uno. So, I moved my office home, and Knox started a preschool that only went 4 days a week until 2:30 pm. It was a really, really great situation.
And then I got pregnant. (Praise the Lord! A real, true miracle.) I was already all set up at home, so it was pretty much the perfect situation in which to welcome another child. Knox will still be going to school 4 days/week this year- though he's out of school till September (cue Netflix movies and "ok, kid...go outside!"). I absolutely love working from home. I mean, I GET to hangout with my kids, be in my pajamas, and still do what I love. It's incredible and sometimes I don't get how it all works out.
I know I'll never officially "quit" photography. It's too big a part of my life and my passion. I've always identified more with the "working mom" than the "stay at home mom". So I've never really mourned the fact that I'm not completely a stay-at-home-mom. (Because let's be honest- that may be more than I'm cut out for!)
Through all the changes in my work life, my love for photography has not changed. My perspective has, however. Instead of working my tail off so that I can spend time on personal projects and grow my business and travel, I work my tail off to spend time with some new, well..."personal projects" a.k.a. Knox and Liv. My motivation to work (and produce quality work) is stronger- because I have some little people depending on me. And because my time away from them better be really fruitful to be worth it!
Without a doubt, the most difficult part of being a work at home mom has been managing expectations. My expectations of myself, my clients' expectations of me as a professional, my friends' and acquaintances' expectations of me as someone who is home all the time with a "flexible schedule", my expectations of how I want to run my business. It's a lot for one little brain that is sleep deprived and needs more coffee.
The beautiful thing is, as far as other people (clients, friends, my husband) are concerned, there is SO much grace. A sweet, understanding client put a check in my mailbox today so that I could continue putting Liv down for a nap uninterrupted. How amazing is that?!? And the truth is, most of my clients are like this. It blows my mind that I have clients that totally get the fact that I may be covered in spit-up while I return their email, AND they still want to pay me money. THANK YOU for that. I have friends that I know would be glad to take my hungry, bored, need-a-bath kids for a while if I was desperate. But dealing with my self-imposed expectations, ugh. That is another story.
So far, I'm managing. By God's grace, my blessed "village", and coffee. I'm learning to talk to myself (yes, this happens out loud waaaay more than I care to admit)- and tell myself to chill out. That pocket of time will come- be it late at night or whenever- that I will get some serious productive work done. I used to be weirded out when someone sent me a professional email at 1 am. Now, I completely get it. I'm so thankful that kids become more self-sufficient and that babies eventually eat just a few times a day instead of every 2-3 hours. But I also don't want to miss out on the right-now, crazy good chaos.
So, cheers to you all you work at home mommas! Your time and efforts are not wasted. No, you won't get everything done. Who cares if you haven't showered for two days?!? If I could I'd buy you all coffee and a spa package. But I don't have time for that, and you know why. :)
Meredith traveled all the way from Germany to have her senior photos taken! Haha, ok- so maybe she was making a college visit or two, but I did feel pretty special when I got an email from her wanting to set up a shoot. Meredith's family is stationed in Ramstein, Germany at the Air Force Base there. When I asked Meredith what she'd like her photos to look like, she said distinctly "American". And, with it being just a few days before the 4th of July, incorporating the stars and stripes was a no-brainer. Meredith, you are gorgeous and so much fun! Thanks for booking me all the way from Germany!
I absolutely loved getting to shoot Zach and Allyson's wedding. Beautiful light, wonderful people with the BEST attitudes. Really. These two were surrounded by a great crew that made it a really fun and special first day of marriage for Zach and Allyson.
The ceremony was held at Central Church of Christ in Amarillo and I gushed over the beautiful light in the narthex and bridal suite- I wish I could have packaged it up and taken it home with me! Many of my favorite images were created in that light. The weather remained bright and sunny until it was time to head to the reception at Bar Z Winery, which is an amazing venue that overlooks Palo Duro Canyon. That's when the clouds started to roll in. Big, black clouds. Sure enough, they hit pretty hard- but not before we were able to get some great portraits in with those storm clouds!
At that point, Allyson (along with her family, Zach, and his family) could have started to panic. There were two outdoor tents along with at least a dozen tables, a buffet and a dance floor outside. But they didn't-- and I loved the way Allyson recalled it:
"My most memorable part of the day was standing outside at the reception. Wind was blowing, storm clouds were about to burst, people were frantically running inside trying to move things, and I was in the midst of saving a center piece when I made direct eye contact with my mother. She picked up a center piece, threw it up in the air for the wind to catch and just said oh well. I responded by doing the same. In that moment it hit me that none of this really matters. The only thing that mattered was I was married to Zach, and the Lord has blessed us with an incredible amount of love and support."
So perfect. Thank you guys for letting us capture this for you! Congrats!
My favorite moment of Michael and Lauren's wedding was before the ceremony during their gift exchange. They were on opposite sides of the door, so there is no way Michael could have seen Lauren's face when she opened the earrings he'd gifted her- but it was clear that he totally nailed it. She was beaming and instantly put them on. That moment was so full of anticipation- such a confirmation that this was so right and just about to happen...that's the kind of thing I most love to capture.
These two had a beautiful wedding. All of Lauren's planning came together so perfectly in a day full of special moments and gorgeous details. I'm honored to have photographed it. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. U!
I loved working with Turquoise Video Productions at this wedding. Check out their video sneak peek HERE!
Ceremony: First United Methodist Church, Lubbock
Reception: Frazier Alumni Pavilion
Wedding Dress: Ines Di Santo, Neiman Marcus
Groom + Groomsmen: Jos. A. Bank
Bridesmaids: J. Crew
Hair: Ashley Williams @ Roxi's Hair Studio, Kali Hale @ Davidson-Taylor
Makeup and Coordination: Brenda Becknell with Robert Spence Agency
Engagement and Wedding Bands: J. Keith's Jewelry
Programs: Barque
Invitations: Miss Social Butterfly
Floral: Lou Dee's Floral and Gift
Cake: Marla Felton
Catering: Top Tier Catering
Videographer: Turquoise Video Productions
I made a trip down to San Angelo a while back to photograph Jonathan and Kara's engagement session. They both went to San Angelo State, and visit often, so the town has a lot of sentimental spots for them. I was actually surprised at how many great locations were to be found there- and these two made some great recommendations for food & coffee (two of my love languages, for sure).
Jonathan and Kara are the type of people I could photograph again and again- I felt like I had known them for years, and they were so comfortable in the way they loved each other. People like them is why I love what I do! Congrats you guys!
I'm so excited to announce I'll be hosting another HOW TO WORK IT camera workshop on July 25! It's been over a year since I've done one and it is about time!
This workshop will be held at my home in Lubbock, TX
This is a BEGINNER, one-day class that will cover:
• Equipment basics
• Exposure (Aperture, Shutter Speed, White Balance, & ISO)
• Lighting
• Photographic Style
....and a little bit of everything in-between!
You will need:
• A DSLR Camera (one that is able to change lenses)
• Your camera's manual
• A laptop is optional
There will also be some sweet gifts, discounts and coupons for attendees!
This workshop is from 10 am to 5 pm with a one-hour break in between for lunch. The class is limited to 8 attendees, and it is first-come, first-served!
Click the button below to reserve your spot:
It rained on Zak and Christina's wedding day. And Christina cried. But not for the reasons you may think. I'll just let her tell you why:
"Unfortunately we had a bad weather alert about 20 minutes prior to when the OUTDOOR ceremony was to begin so everything had to be moved inside to what was part of the previous reception site. While this is probably most bride's nightmare (and I will admit it was mine too), it was pulled off smoothly and no one had any idea the ceremony was even supposed to be outside - this was made possible by my numerous and wonderful family and friends. Everyone was so willing and eager to jump in to help to make my day as perfect as possible. I even had some good friends (not in bridal party) who as soon as they heard about bad weather rushed over early to help.
I ended up crying but it wasn't because we had to move the ceremony inside it was because I was truly touched by what amazing family and friends I have. Which leads me to say that as a future bride my number one advice isn't to fret about your wedding day going perfect, it is about enjoying that special time with all the people who surround you and are there to support you on your new life journey."
Talk about having your priorities straight! It was so wonderful to watch Zak and Christina cope with the impending weather and still squeeze every ounce of celebration out of their wedding day. I will never forget seeing those amazing friends and family move everything inside lightning fast (haha- no pun intended)- it was evidence of their love for these two! I loved working with them so much- here are some of my favorite images!
