So last week I learned of a local florist that had a medical emergency and ended up in the hospital.  They are doing good now and everything going to be okay, just so you know and aren’t worrying later.  Another Dallas Florists took over their weddings so none of the brides and grooms would go without flowers on their big day.  Really that is what I love about the wedding industry here in Dallas.  Everyone is like family and helps others out in times of need.   Well of course, doing your own weddings and the weddings of another florists can be a bit overwhelming, so I volunteered my services for a couple of days to help out Kristen of Haute Floral.  Kristen is a true rock star and really worked day and night 2 weeks straight to make sure these brides had beautiful flowers at their wedding.  She relieved the stress for so many who otherwise would have been scrambling to get flowers a week before their wedding.  An Angel right   There are also some really amazing planners here is Dallas that stepped up and helped coordinate volunteers to come help and they with the floral arrangements and set up as well.  Kelly with Sweet Pea Events and Meredith with Significant Events of Texas not only did a fabulous job coordinating efforts for volunteers but their team helped with arrangements, deliveries and set ups.  I had a couple of days that I could help make arrangements and help set up a wedding.  I have to say, it’s so eye opening and enlighting to see this side of weddings.  It gives me an even greater apprecaition for what florists do to prepare the beautiful arrangements and bouquets you see at weddings.  They truly work magic.  I could never do any of this myself and wouldn’t even attempt it by myself.  I had the genius of Kristen to show me the ropes.

I took some photos with my iPhone to docuement some of the action

On Thursday I met Kristen at American Argo along with a few Dallas Planners.  We gawked at all the flowers around us in this huge flower warehouse.  Meaghan of Sweet Pea helped us find Kristen and we immediatly jumped into prepping flowers for arrangements and stripped the leaves off of flowers.

Here are just some of the flowers we stripped of leaves

Kristen and her team were busy making the arrangements as we prepped flowers.  So pretty right

I love the boquets and arrangements that Micki with Dream Weddings was working on.  She was hilarious too.  I offered to help her and she wanted to

Had to grab some close up shots of the flowers and bouquets being made.

These arragnements below, were ones I had the chance to make.  Kristen prepped one arrangement and it was fairly simple so I just duplicated what she had done.  It felt like a huge accomplishment knowing I put these together. Even if it was on the simpler side

These were the start of boutonnieres that Meaghan and I worked on.

Then on Saturday I went and helped set up a wedding in McKinney.  It was really different for me to play the role of florist and not wedding photographer especially when I did set up at the church.

I love the simplicity of baby’s breath.  It’s so pretty.

I do have to say through my whole experience there were good moments and bad moments.  I do think I will leave the job of flowers to the professionals like Kristen of Haute Floral as it’s much harder work than you ever think.  I most certainly bow down to all the wonderful florists here in Dallas that time and time again create these stunning centerpieces and bouquets for weddings here in Dallas.  Wedding Photography is where I think I will stay.

I know a lot of times people are so curious about where they should take their engagement pictures.  I always suggest a location that is meaningful to you two as a couple.  Where was your first date, where did he propose, do you have a special spot together, or even your home.  It will give you a more emotional attachement to those photos and they will have so much more meaning to the both of you.  Some may be thinking, what if we are new to the Dallas and Fort Worth Metroplex, what location do we use then?  Think about what you both do as a couple.  Do you frequent the  Farmer’s Market in Dallas, or do ride bikes often as any of those things are great to incorporate into your session.  Plus it will allow you both to be more relaxed and be more yourselves together.  And that makes for some really fun, personal pictures and as your wedding photographer is really helps us to get to know you as couple and that’s always a good thing so the best pictures possible can be captured .  And of course we are always here to help you brainstorm as well.  I’m including a few photos and ideas to help get you started on finding the best location for your engagement session.

Stacy proposed to Courtney at the Dallas Arboretum so it was really important to them to take their engagement pictures there.  I did have Stacy reenact his proposal and it allowed for some really beautiful, very emotional pictures that they both can look back on and remember fondly.

Ben and Kristina opted for part of their session in a library.  Kristina is a lawyer here in Dallas and Ben works on local political campaigns so they both love books.  It was perfect for them and allowed us to get some different and really fun pictures.

Nathan and Laura go to the State Fair of Texas every year and wanted to continue that tradition with their engagement photos.  It really makes for a relaxed but super fun setting for your pictures.  And maybe your groom to be will win you a stuffed animal in the process  Or just crash into to you lots of times at the bumper cars hahahaha.  Either way it will be tons of fun and I can capture lots of smiles and laughs

Or maybe you are huge baseball fans and want to incorporate that into your engagement session like Mark and Deena.  The Rough Rider’s Stadium in Frisco is picture perfect.  You can kiss on homeplate and cheer in the stands.  Don’t forget to bring a glove, ball and bat for some fun action shots.

A romantic picnic in the park is also another really great idea for engagements.  It’s classic and timeless and ultra romantic.  You can set the whole scene up to with deserts and a picnic basket.  I know Kaci and James enjoyed it for their engagement pictures.

You can incorporate the fun things going on around Dallas like Trip and Lindsay.  Dallas started with whole campaign with the letters B & G and with you standing in the middle it spells BIG.  Well B & G can also stand for Bride and Groom.  Hahaha perfect for wedding engagements.

Jennifer and Vincent opted to take their engagement pictures at the wedding location, the Stoneleigh Hotel in Dallas.  They have a beautiful wall of stained glass where they would exchange vows.  We used it for a more unique, artsy engagement that can later be there own personal artwork in their home.  Plus when they look at this they will be transported back to their wedding day and remember the vows they exchanged and the excitement they had on their wedding day.

This shot is actually from Sergio and Lacey’s anniversary session but they same concept can apply.  They live in loft apartments in Dallas and we took their photos in their home and around the complex.  They had this abstract painting that was huge and the colors really made for a fun backdrop.  They will remember this years from now and the memories of their first place together will flood back with they look at it.

For Mark and Jamie’s engagement session we incoporated some fun props.  For the picture below we went to the Soda Gallery in the Bishop Arts District.  These two really know how to make each other laugh and it allowed me to capture their natural interaction.  You really get a sense of their personalities.

We also used mini chalkboards as props.  Jamie is a teacher and they were using chalkboards as a main decor element in their wedding decor for the wedding at the Dallas Arboretum.  So to tie everything together, we used them here.  It worked out beautifully.  Also you notice the Farmer’s Market sign in the background.  Jamie and Mark usually go their on Saturdays and cook together that evening using the fresh produce they purchased.  Sweet right

For Anthony and Kelly’s session we grabbed some gelato.  It was a pretty hot summer day in Dallas and I know these two needed to cool down a bit.  So we grabbed this yummy frozen treat and I snapped some pictures of course.  Don’t be afraid to have ice cream, snow cones, etc in your session.  You can grab some really fun, candid moments.

This photo is also from James and Kaci’s session (they had the picnic session above)  I chose to separate the two as the ideas are different.  James was in the air-force and Kaci loves vintage so we combined the two loves and took pictures at the Vintage Flying Museum.  It was so great to find a way to include James’ military service into their engagement photos.

And the final 2 photos are from Ben and Christina and Lacey and Sergio’s session.  They wanted a more old, cinematic, classic bw feel to their images.  So we staged a street style shoot where they look like they are starring in a movie and these are stills from that.   This is great for those that love classic black and white films and love the movies of the ’40s and ’50s.

Well I hope this inspires you for your own engagement session and of course we are always here to help with ideas as well

In honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday, we wanted to share just a few of the sweet, emotional, funny moments we have captured with our brides and grooms and their moms.  We want to wish all the mothers and mothers to be out there a very Happy Mother’s Day.

This past weekend we had the honor of photographing Dustin and Katie’s wedding at Richardson’s Woman’s Club.  It was a beautiful spring wedding and Katie looked gorgeous in her Maggie Sottero wedding dress.  The sun was shining and was perfect weather for a spring wedding here in Dallas.

Katie’s handmade gift to her mom brought tears to her eyes.

Katie was beaming with happiness as she was about to have her first look with Dustin.

The first look  Always a favorite moment to photograph

Dustin had the biggest smile on his face seeing his beautiful bride

It was so great capturing the huge smiles Katie and Dustin had during their ceremony.  They were so happy

Katie and Dustin’s relationship blossomed when he invited her to take dance classes with him.  So it was very fitting that they danced the waltz for the first dance.  It was so sweet!!!

Love this moment between Katie and her dad.

Then everyone had a blast dancing the night away

Love that Katie did a break away bouquet

Congratulations Dustin and Katie!!!!!!!! It was such an honor being your wedding photographers.

Dustin and Katie’s wedding is today and we are so excited for them!!!!!  It’s a beautiful spring day here in Dallas and the weather here is perfect.  I can’t wait to show their wedding pictures next week so stayed tuned for those.  But for now help me in wishing these two a very happy wedding day