Karey and I were so honored that Bride Associates asked us to provide the wedding photography for their semi-annual Faux Wedding held at the Melrose Hotel in Dallas.   The ladies at Bride Associates are true professionals and they make sure every detail on wedding day is taken care of.  Not to mention they are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. 

We also want to thank all the soon to be brides for coming out and we hope you all took home some fabulous ideas for your wedding.  And of course we hope that you had an amazing time, it sure looked like everyone did.  So I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures below.

The getting ready shots are some of my favorite.  I love love love capturing the bride as she is preparing to make her grand entrance and marry the man she loves.  When she slips into her dress and suddenly it hits her, this is really, its really happening.  The veil goes on as she tries to fight back the tears. 

Ok well in this case our faux bride and groom were already married to each other but I think some of the same emotions flooded back.  Let me say, the bride looked beyond stunning in her dress and birdcage veil from Circle Park Bridal.  I just can’t get enough of birdcage veils and feathers, etc. I love it all!!!

OMG, here, she is just breathtaking!!! 

The rooftop of the Melrose is the perfect spot for a wedding ceremony. 

Ok even though this was a faux wedding, I love that the bride had the same emotions that every bride has on their wedding day.  When a bride sees her groom as she walks down the aisle, I love that the smiles are not contained.  They grin from ear to ear and I love my job because I get to capture that.

Ok right here is my favorite part of a wedding.  They bride and groom have just been pronounced husband and wife and the huge deep breath they both take and when they exhale all the stress is released.   I never get tired of this moment.

Ok how gorgeous is this reception.  Using lighting at your reception really tranforms the space from uplighting on the walls to pinspotting your centerpieces.  It just looks great in photos and highlights the centerpieces so you guests can enjoy them more.  Also I love the  linens, that is another simple touch that really makes your reception unique.  Trust me, if you combine these two elements, your guests will stop for a second when they enter and say WOW!!

Ok this had to be one of the best entrances.  What bride and groom wouldn’t want a trumpet and trombone leading them into the reception. So fun!!

Real flowers on a cake so add a little something extra to it that I love! 

A good dj and/or band really make for one killer reception.  Everyone has the best time and will remember your wedding for years to come.

A Special thanks to all of the Participating Vendors.  We enjoyed working with you and all of you made our job so much easier.

Wedding Planner – Bride Associates

 Ceremony and Reception Site – Warwick Melrose Hotel

After Party Site – Melrose Library Bar

Linens – BBJ Linen

Reception Band – The Walton Stout Band

Floral – Out of the Garden

Photography – K&S Photography

Bride’s Dress and Veil – Circle Park Bridal

Bridemaids’ Dresses – Bella Bridesmaid

Reception DJ and MC – I Entertainment

Ceremony Music – Serenata Strings

Men’s Attire – Tuxedo Junction

Ceremony Officiant – Love Notes

Transportation – Romantic Remembrances 

Programs – Cleverly Invite

Hair and Make-up – Nina Mustafa Makeup 

Cake and Cupcakes – Romanos Bakery

Videography – Media Blend Studios

Video Invitation – Time Capsule Media

Jewelery – Stella and Dot

Photobooth – Booth Booth

Lighting – Absolute Lighting

Back in January, I photographed the Moore Family because Papa Vern had been diagnosed with throat cancer and they wanted a family picture before the chemo started. (Click here to see that blog post)

I wanted to give a follow up for those that have followed our blog.  As of August 2nd,  Papa Vern had a scan and it showed him as cancer free.  I know the Moore family is beyond ecstatic and grateful and happy and pretty much any positive word you can think of.   So we are so beyond happy to share with our readers that he is doing well and is cancer free.  This portrait session truly touched by heart and you realize how important a family photo can be.  I write all of this as I tear up.  This is truly a special family and I know their strength and faith in God helped see them through this tough time.

So thank you for all that prayed for the Moore family and I ask that you pray for Papa Vern to get his strength back and that he continues to stay in remission.

So I wanted to hear from you.  What are your favorite color combinations?  Post yours as a comment.  It can be anything.  Just let me know what two or three colors you love together for a wedding.

Here are a few of my favorites. 

teal and cherry with a hint of creme

graphite and yellow

Blue paired with almost anything.

charcoal and purple

I have many more but I want to hear from you.  (PS you don’t have to be from Dallas to respond)

Ok so my 3 year wedding anniversary is coming up on October 6 and in August my husband and I just celebrated a decade of being together.  Yes folks a decade. I’m kinda like where did the time go (love does tend to do that) .  I can’t believe I have spent the last 10 years with such an amazing man.  He is so supportive of me and what I do.  I swear without him, I wouldn’t be able to do half of the things I do.  And if any of my brides are reading this, you know that he turns into my assistant when we shoot your engagements, bridals, etc so I can concentrate on making you look fabulous.  So honey, I’m dedicating this post to you.  I love you with all my heart, you are my rock and I am so blessed to call you my husband.    So here is a little bit (ok a lot) about us.

How did you meet your husband and how old were you?I was 17 when I met Ray.  I met Ray through a mutual friend of ours Chris (hey Chris did you ever think you would make my blog).  Ok and I can’t believe I’m about to make this story public but here goes.  It was the Spring of our Senior year in highschool and our high school prom was just around the corner so that is what was on everyone’s mind (and graduation of course)  Well I went over to Chris’ house to work on a project we had for our broadcast journalism class.  Instead of working on the project, Chris starts talking about Prom and let’s me know he has this friend (Ray) that doesn’t have a date and if I knew of anyone.  I through a few names out, but he said no to all of them.  So then I blurt out that I don’t have a date but I don’t want a date.  (Ok sorry if this is chopping at all)  The reason I didn’t want a date was because I was a stupid (yes stupid) 17 year old that had a crush on a 23 (what was I thinking) and asked him to my high school prom (again what was I thinking) and of course he said no.  So then that oh so mature 17 year old me said well if we won’t go with me, I won’t go with ANYONE!!  So mature, right?!  Well after Chris finding out that I don’t have a date, convinced me for the next hour (school project be damned) to go with his friend.  I finally gave in and figured it was a huge group of people going and it should be fun (plus I was friends with a lot of the people he was going with)  So Ray and I had our first date at our high school prom.   Was it rainbows and sunshine, no but it was fun (yes awkward at times) night.  So that was our first date.  We barely knew each other (yes even though we had friends in common) so it was almost like having a blind date at prom (I so can’t believe I’m admitting this).

Was it love at first sight?No to be completely honest and the same answer goes for him.  Our relationship grew out of friendship.  We hung out all summer at our friend’s house and it just kinda blossomed from there.

How did you know you were supposed to marry him?  Ok geez this is a tough question.  I don’t ever think there was some ah-ha moment.  I just knew I didn’t want to live without him.  I did know during the first couple of months of dating that our relationship was special but I had no idea that I was dating the man I would marry.

How long was it till you got engaged after you started dating? We dated for almost 6 years before he popped the question.  We were in Galveston in May of 2006 and he asked me as soon as we walked into our hotel room.  He was so nervous and of course I said yes!!

Long or short engagement? We had a 17 month engagement so by the time we were married it had been over 7 years since we started dating.

How was the wedding?  Our wedding was so much fun.  Our guests danced the night away and it was really about celebrated our special day with all of family and close friends (who we consider our family) I’ll probably create a blog post soon about our wedding day so stayed tuned.

Do you believe he is your soulmate? YES!!!!!!!!!!!  A big huge YES!!!  I just feel complete when I am with him

What is your favorite thing about him?  He has a huge heart and he balances me.  He is also the most supportive man and I am one lucky woman.

What is your favorite thing to do together?  Laugh, without a doubt laugh.  I also enjoy taking walks with him where we can unwind and talk about our day, we talk about our hopes and dreams for the future and its just nice.  I just love being around him.

If you could go one place with him anywhere in the world where would that be? My answer is Italy and we got to have our honeymoon there. We spend 2 1/2 weeks in Italy.  It was perfect, amazing, breathtaking, any wonderful word you can think of.

What do you see for your future?   Ok so this is where everyone brings up kids (we got bombarded with this question as soon as he got back from the honeymoon)  Yes of course we want kids but not for a couple more years.  I do know that Ray will make an amazing father

Ok well that is a little bit about Ray and I.  I certainly don’t want to bore anybody and I feel overly sappy right now (ok yes I have cried while typing this)

Here is to you Ray, I love you!!!  And Happy 3 year Wedding Anniversary (well almost)

(You’ll get to hear all about Karey and her amazing hubby as their wedding anniversary comes up in the Spring, just a little teaser for you)

Also check out this amazing video invitation by Time Capsule Media http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NciwTTrZ4UQ   It is truly stunning.

Some of Dallas’ best vendors will be there so you can see them in action (We truly adore these vendors and they truly are some of the best in Dallas)

Bride Associates

i-Entertainment

Circle Park Bridal

Out of the Garden

BBJ Linen

Time Capsule Media

and many more

We look forward to seeing you there and hearing about your upcoming wedding.

I met up with Sarah after her wedding for her bridal session.  Her dress was still in alterations up until a few days before her wedding so we didn’t have a chance.  But of course with her gorgeous Maggie Sottero bridal gown, bridals were a must.

We had a great time with the bridals and just had fun with them.

The series below is are some of my favorite from the session. 

We then braced the Dallas heat and took some outdoor bridals.  Mind you I believe these were taken at the very end of June so it was already super hot.  So hot in fact that we got Sarah in the swimming pool to help her cool off.  Of course we got some amazing shots of it as well.  I love when my brides trust me and just go with it (I’m sure her wedding being over at something to do with it too).  So our session turned sorta, kinda into a trash the dress session at the end.  And we think the dress actually came out cleaner when Sarah got out of the pool.  Haha go figure.

I just love our fearless brides and thanks Sarah for being such a sport in the crazy Dallas heat.

So as promised here is part 2 of Derek and Sarah’s wedding at Ferrari’s Italian Villa in Grapevine.  Ok you have to check out the image below.  What a great way to incorporate a personal touch into your wedding day and bling out your wedding cake.

I just love cake cuttings. They are also so unpredictable and make some of the best pictures. 

Ferrari’s made a special Italian Creme Cake for Derek and Sarah that gives them good luck in their first year of marriage.  That was so sweet and unexpected. 

Below are pictures of the newlywed game.  Just in case you are wondering what the newlywed game is, the bride and groom receive an object that represents the bride and one that represents the groom.  In the case, the beer is the groom and the champagne the bride.  They are then given a serious of statements and they raise the object who best fits that statement but the bride and groom don’t get to see each other’s answer. For example, who is better at cooking (in my case that would be my husband).  It really gives the crowd a good laugh and is a lot of fun.

Ok the image below is one of my favorite.  This was the final dance of the night and a single tear came from Sarah.  It was so touching and it moments like this that I’m so glad to be a wedding photographer.

Congrats Derek and Sarah it was an honor to be your wedding photographer.

Ceremony and Reception Venue/Catering – Ferrari’s Italian Villa in Grapevine

Wedding Planner- Marla Watson-Werst of the PeaPod Group

Photography – K & S Photography

Flowers – Kate Foley Designs

DJ – Colby Logan of Astounding Sounds DJ

Cakes- Delicious Cakes

Dress – Maggie Sottero

Officiant – Ari of Alternative Wedding Services