Today’s post will be a bit different.  I just wanted to focus on 3 aspects of Amanda & Bob super fun Castle on the Lake wedding: the flowers, the First Look, and the flower girls.

First up, the flowers.  Anytime I pull up to a wedding and see the La Tee Da mobile, I know I don’t have to worry.  The pretty will be there for sure, but even more importantly, there will be no added pressure or stress on the bride.  Barbara and her team show up on time, with no issues, and always make the place more amazing than even the bride could imagine.

Here is what Amanda had to say about the florals: “I was so excited to see the flowers that I kept peeking out the window while we were getting ready because I knew they were going to be absolutely gorgeous!”

You hear that?  A bride was so excited about her flowers that she put off getting ready for her wedding so she could look at the flowers for her wedding.  Way to go La Tee Da!

I also LOVE being there when a bride gets to see her bouquet for the first time.
La Tee Da even has a section on their site devoted to this moment at every wedding.  So fun.

You know I always enjoy a First Look.

Amanda & Bob spent their’s laughing and tearing up over the day.  Such a great moment of calm and reconnecting before the chaos that can be a wedding day.

Bob was super nervous up until this point.  So seeing and getting to talk to Amanda, really helped settle him down a bit. And, little did he realize it, after a few minutes he started to sooth her spirits and was so, so tender with her.

I told you La Tee Da was good at their job.

You were promised flower girls, and flower girls you shall have!

Yes, please!

Every lady has a nice handbag.

Seriously.  This is a real live human tiny girl who looks just timeless.

Thank you guys for such a chill and wonderful wedding day.  I promise I took more than just photos of your flowers, you two, and your flower girls. ;)

Right after I photographed their wedding, I mentioned that I had never seen a groom be more tenter towards his bride.  1 year later, Tim still holds the title belt.  I have such great memories of their wedding at Stone Oak Ranch and I KNEW they would be the perfect couple to check in on after their first year of marriage.  Enjoy.

What do you miss most about the single life?
Hahah, actually not a lot. Little things here and there; alone time, a different kind of freedom… But really we don’t miss it.

Give us your best cheapo/fun married date idea.
Build a fort in your living room, have breakfast for dinner, and watch a good movie (Tim always picks). We are the simple, stay home kinda people.
Getting ice cream and driving around looking at all the nice houses in our neighborhood and dreaming about one day…

What have you liked most about your first year being married?
Waking up together, supporting one another, always having “my person” I can count on, figuring things out together, celebrating together,praying together. We like that we are forever together.

Tim: What have you discovered about Beth this year that you didn’t realize before?
How gracious she is and how she is able to forgive me on my off days.
Beth: What is one thing super gross thing about Tim that you learned now that you are married to him?
I wish I had something truly appalling but Tim is a lot of things but gross isn’t one… Not for a good story here but it makes living together much more pleasant.

What have you fought about most and why?
Money! Because we both are independent and tend to want to control things in our own way. We have really had to work to understand each other and be on the same team when it comes to our finances and budgeting.

What was the biggest thing you were nervous about? How has it turned out?
Tim: I was anxious about the weight of responsibility and caring for my wife. It’s been a blessing to overcome selfishness and to learn (the beginning of) how to serve her and trust God as he leads us.
Beth: The first year being the hardest year of your life. It’s hasn’t been the simpliest year of life but we have really fought to have fun, give grace, forgive, and make memories together. We know more things will come but we have genuinely loved our first year of marriage.

What do you wish someone had told you before you were married?
We honestly have a phenomenal community and they did well to prepare us. I will say one thing that someone did say that I wish I heard more was that every marriage is different and part of the fun is learning and failing together to make it the best it can be.

Kallie & Chase had an epic, Texas sized wedding at Pecan Springs Ranch in Austin.  If you like cake, or longhorns… you are in for a treat.

I mean I get it.  It’s your day.  You are excited… but.. “Best Day Ever!”?  You may be setting expectations pretty high for your guests at the sign in table. ;)

I love a quiet, super sweet First Look with a bit of tearing up.

Me: “You guys just stand there and act natural.”

We interrupt this blog post to talk about how much trust goes into hiring a wedding photographer.  I get it.  It’s a big day.  Some might say it’s the “Best Day Ever”.  So when a couple books me to shoot their wedding, there is a HUGE amount of trust involved in me being able to document and tell their story.  That’s why I love it even more when a family contacts me again for their second daughter’s wedding.  I photographed Kallie’s sister, Katie’s, wedding back in 2010.  I love seeing families throughout the years, and the fact that they trust me over and over again is one of the favorite parts of my job.

(In case you are wondering what the record is,  I have a few families tied with 3 weddings.)

Let’s give it up for Katie & Chance and their super cute little girl.

And let’s give it up for this little one.  She was a flower girl in Katie’s wedding, and now she is a Jr. Bridesmaid.  I expect to photograph her as a bridesmaid in 2035 and a bride in 2040.

This is the part of “here comes the bride” where Kallie decided to stop and take off her shoes.

The unity sand is a perfect depiction of marriage.  It symbolizes that no matter how much planning goes into something… the man can mess it up.

Let’s all stop and stand to our feet and give a slow clap for The Cake Plate.

This cake was close to 400lbs.  That’s a lot of cake.

Kallie and Chase then spent the first 15 minutes of their marriage in the best way possible: handing out ginormous oversized pieces of cake to little children.

Maybe it was the Best Day Ever.

It’s that time again. It’s time to look back at some of the best photos from 2014. Everyday we’ll be taking a look at a new category. Voting is open till midnight and the winners will be announced Monday. The winning entries will each receive a 16×20 print.

Today’s category: Random

Take a look at the entries then vote at the bottom of this post.

Let’s be honest. Wedding days are long and strange. Sometimes odd things happen. Here are some of my favorite random moments from the past year.

1. Jogger: That moment when you just got married in the park and are having a romantic moment and some dude just jogs over near you.  Because physical fitness is important.

2. Bored:  The reason kids are so great at wedding is because they will do and say the thing that most adults are thinking.  This guys is wondering is there is any possible way this could take any longer.

3. Drink:  When you are thirsty, you’ll drink anything.

4. Dance: The first of 9,532 times that a woman will drag this dude out onto the dance floor over the course of his life.

5. Dino: You spent 3 millions hours on etsy finding the perfect program, but one thing you didn’t count on is how it would look next to your guest’s dinosaurs.

6. iPhone: That moment you realize you and all your bridesmaids are iPhone users.

7. Bite:  I think I could take this photo at almost every wedding.  No matter how proper you ladies are…. there is always that moment where you break and say; “Screw it, I’m starving.  I’m shoving food into my mouth right now.”

8. Ink: You planned on having fun,  you never planned on your buddy getting a tramp stamp at your reception.

9.  Click: I love watching kids watch their parent get married.  I love it even more when they decide they should be documenting their first dance.

10. Flowers: The reason this moment is random is because it rarely rarely happens.  Little girls typically just walk quickly down to the front, barely remembering to drop a handful of flowers.  This one was fully engaged, in the air, smiling, and jumping the whole way down.  I’ve never seen a better flower girl.  She should be giving lessons.

I don’t even know where to start when it comes to Kayla and Trent. I can honestly say I have never had a couple that was as full of life as these two. Constant laughter, constant energy, constant joy.

Before we get started… there is one detail you should know about Kayla: her mother owns a wedding venue. Not one of those “we have a big house, so we let people have weddings here at times” wedding venues. But, a straight up, legit, killer wedding venue. It’s called Stone Oak Ranch and it’s amazing. I love shooting there and I will link to it like 10 times in this post in hopes of giving them a little extra SEO goodness. Also, when your mom owns a venue and your coordinate weddings out there, you probably have seen and worked with over a thousand photographers. It was a HUGE honor when they asked me to shoot their wedding. Thanks for making me feel good about myself.

On to the day.
Step One: Party Animals.

Look at all the shiny, shiny-pretty, pretty at Stone Oak Ranch.

Check out their custom made, super fun invitations made by the Rifle paper Co.

2 weeks ago I shot a wedding with a tattoo station.  I demanded more brides do this.  BOOM!  I show up and Kayan and Trent have this.  Well played.

Someone stopped bride-ing and started coordinating as she put her topper on her yummy Chez Bazan cake.

Hello, my name is Kaylan, and Von Criswell did a killer job with my makeup.

You know a wedding is good when they have a First Look….

and they loved it so much they decided to do ANOTHER FIRST LOOK!!!!
(they blew my mind.)

That super sweet, tender moment, every outdoor bride shares with her groom as he picks bugs out from her dress.

Wait what….?  This seems out of place…. Why would anyone have a random carnival cut out at their wedding???

A Touch of Nature did a fantastic job with all the flowers.
(I just love the shot of Kaylan blowing her bang back into place.)

These two are not only super full of life, but their siblings are as well.  Trent’s sister kept pretending it was her big day, while Kaylan’s brothers made the most of their “formal” photos with her.

Licking your finger and wiping things off.  Such a baller move from Trent’s Grandmother.

Is it ok if I think this is my most favorite photo ever?
This is how you Flower Girl. Maximum extension. Petals high. Feet off the ground. Clear eyes. Full heart. Can’t lose.

Their ceremony at Stone Oak Ranch was full of laugher, stories, and joy.  As every ceremony should be.

Of course they exited to “Come and Get Your Love” and had an impromptu dance party.

I adore moments like this one.
No one around them.
No one posing them.
No one coordinating them.

Just two people who have been married 15 minutes.

That carnival cut out makes a whole lot more sense when you realize that they had A FULL BLOWN CARNIVAL for their cocktail hour.  (Like you do.)

Everyone does the mamba for their first dance, right?

I don’t even know where to start for this reception. It was perfect.

Let’s do this… Let’s start with Otis and the Metro Band. They sang, played, and kept everyone dancing at Stone Oak Ranch for 4 hours.

Everyone loves tattoos.  Buff brides, couples, super cool Grandparents.

What’s left…. Oh yeah… a clown.  Give it up for Kornpop and his perfect balloon animals, hats, and mistletoe.

You know a reception is great when the flower girl grabs on to a post and holds on tight as she is being carried out.

There are no words.

Who doesn’t love a face full of lavender?

Thank you guys for a perfect evening at a perfect venue.  Let’s give it up one last time for Stone Oak Ranch and for Kaylan and Trent.