Hilary was kind enough to support the Dallas Chapter of NACE’s charity efforts by purchasing a portrait session we donated to their silent auction. We spent an hour at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens with Hilary and Eddie and had such a great time capturing their love.

I have known Michelle for quite some time. In fact, I have known her long enough that to tell you just how long will hint at my ever increasing age. Let’s just say we go WAY back…but I digress. Michelle and Kevin met and were married last year. Unfortunately, their wedding coincided with ours in such close proximity, just one week apart, and we were therefore unable to attend one another’s special day. Such is life I suppose.

A short time later, Michelle called with more exciting news; they were having a baby girl. Emily and I schedule a trip to Orange County in July to capture these mother & daughter images of Michelle and Zoey. This adorable little apple did not fall far from the tree; she is gorgeous just like her mom.

Having been a Director of Events prior to embarking on my wedding photography career, I am typically somewhat conscious of events that I attend.  Some time ago while attending an industry reception and dinner at the Dallas Petroleum Club I met Lauren Schmidt and was extremely impressed with her kindness, professionalism and the event that she planned and executed.  Every detail from the music, to the cuisine to the aperitif and dessert bar presented after dinner was attended to and provided for an exceptionally good time.

As we ushered in the new year, The Creative Touch – Events By Lauren was born!  I had the pleasure of capturing some head shots of Lauren in our studio and her personality was just as fun and lovable as when I first met her.  Since then I have worked with Lauren on a number of projects to include the Alice in Weddingland event in Dallas, TX.  In an effort to share a little about Lauren with my readers I created this little Q & A to post along with her pictures:

Q. How long have you been a planner?

A. Going on 6 years now. Before starting my business, I worked at Brook Hollow Golf Club and then moved on to The Dallas Petroleum Club planning all types of events from small business meetings to ellaborate weddings.

Q. What is your favorite planner moment?

A. Well, I have many, but can narrow it down to two. The first is the moment when while meeting with a prospective client for the first time we both realize that we have a connection…they become confident I understand their vision & can exceed their excpectations and we decide to definitely work together to plan their extraordinary event. The second is when we have our final meeting before the wedding/event and all the pieces & parts have come together. They start to see it all come to life & realize that “this is really going to happen”. There’s just a lot of excitement on their part & mine.

Q. What is the one planner “thing” that you consider yourself unable to live without?

A. My phone…I used to never be dependent on my phone, but now I cannot live without it. When my clients or event professionals need to reach me either by text, phone or email it’s so important that I am able to respond in a timely manner. I also really rely on my emergency kit the day of an event.

Q. Your favorite moment during a wedding?

A. I have to admit…I cry a little at every wedding. It’s just that moment when the bride & groom are facing each other, holding hands & each are saying their vows. It’s an intimate moment (with a lot of people watching) and to be able to witness the promise they’re making to one another is amazing. Whether they’re religious or not, it’s a very spiritual moment. I feel really honored to be a part of it.

Q. What you most look forward to in 2010?

A. I’m looking forward to the new couples I’m going to get the opportunity to help plan the first stage in their new life together.

Q. What fun trends are you seeing emerging this year?

A. I am seeing brides allowing their bridesmaids to choose their own bridesmaids dresses that will suit their body styles best. The brides are giving them the color(s) & length & then they can either go buy a dress off the rack or still get it at a bridal shop. The bridesmaid is more comfortable because they look good. And they might actually wear it again.

Birdcage veils are a big trend right now. It gives the bride a more fun vintage look instead of the longer more traditional veil.

Bold color palettes are very in right now. Brides not afraid to showcase their personalities & style to be a little more daring.

Comfort foods w/ a kick have also become a trend. I think because they’re easily recognizable for larger groups and they are more budget friendly.

Grooms are taking a lot more interest in the planning of their wedding. More often than not, they are an intregral part in the decision making process…and not just because of the money being spent.

Q. Why is it important to hire a planner?

A. I could go on & on with this question…Whether you are able to hire someone to help you from the very beginning or just for the last month or two before the big day, finding the right planner will prove to be invaluable to the planning & execution process of your event. Your planner will be there for you in times of question, indecisiveness, heightened emotions. They will save you the time & confusion by putting you in touch with the right event professionals based on your budget & style. They are there to take the burden off you so you can enjoy being a bride and your mom can enjoy being the mother of the bride. They will handle aspects of your planning & event that you would have never thought of. They will coordinate with your vendors so you don’t have to and put together timelines so you & your bridal party know where you need to be & when. They will “put out fires” without you even knowing there was one. There are so so many different people & details that all need to come together within a few hours for you & your fiance’s special day and if there is not a professional coordinator there to keep it all organized, handle questions/issues by vendors, guests, etc…then it ends up falling onto the bride or her mother. This is your time to shine and relish every moment possible….so why not give that gift to yourself?

One of the most difficult things is having to wait to share our pictures of bridal sessions so we don’t let the groom see his bride before their special day. Since Chelcy and James were married this past Saturday at Lantana Lodge, we now can share them without any worries. Fresh and contemporary is what we wanted as the backdrop to these images so we contacted Bruce at Off the Grid.  Gorgeous lighting, a stunning bride and a breathtaking view of downtown Dallas…that’s pretty much as good as it gets.

When I tell people that Emily and I were recently married, the question that I hear most often is, “Who photographed your wedding?”  Well, the answer to that question is an amazing photographer and cherished friend named Diana Henderson.  We were married on a Sunday and although she had a wedding already contracted for Saturday she made the drive from LA to Santa Barbara to capture perfectly all our special moments.  Since her husband’s parents live here in the Metroplex I had recently had the opportunity to capture a few traditional portraits of her family at the Hilton Anatole.  What a pleasure it has been for our relationship to grow from fellow photographers to friends and now to family.  We love ya’ Di.

The Ladies of the Henderson Family:

The Men of the Henderson House:

The Whole Henderson Crew:

Di and Jace sharing a Smooch:

All the Best Moments are the Candid Ones That We Capture From a Distance:

Jace Realizes That There are Fish in There but Does Not Want To Get Too Close…

…Until He Gets The Chance To Feed Those Fish:

I typically like to start each blog entry with a little something that provides the story and some context around the images I am posting but one glance into the adorable blue eyes of 6 month old Evy says it all!

This blog post’s title may be a little misleading.  You will not find images of tasty decadent chocolate desserts below.  You will find portraits of the immensely talented chocolatier Zach Townsend who creates such wonderful edible masterpieces as Parisian Macaroons, Blackberry Chocolate Sabayon Mousse Cake & Milk Chocolate Almond Ganache with Amaretto.  Um, seriously…YUM!  Anyway, I digress.

Zach was in need of professional portraits for an article being published about him.  Here are our favorites from the session.  Incidentally, I now really enjoy keeping up with his frequent interesting and educational posts on Facebook.  Maybe consider becoming a fan, I am sure you will enjoy them as well!

It is always fun to capture images of an engaged couple in an especially fitting place. For Margy & Ed, it was at the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado. They are no strangers to brewery visits and may even be considered aficionados in some circles. On this, their first opportunity to explore New Belgium, it was a great day for us all: they had a great time together, I got some great photos and…of course…we all tasted some great beer.

One of the photographers I had the pleasure of meeting and working with while on location in Ireland recently forwarded a series of pictures that were taken during some exceedingly fun moments of down time that we had between sessions.  Perusing these images submitted by numerous exceptionally talented photographers took me back to that magical place and reminded me of the amazing times that we had there.  This stroll down memory lane also encouraged me to dedicate more of my blog resources to that time.

I wanted to begin by sharing these head shots of a young girl named Ashley.  A deeply caring soul that is as beautiful on the inside as she on the outside.  Although Ashley is currently in the process of obtaining her medical degree, she promises that there will always be a special place in her heart for photography; I, for one, certainly hope that she keeps that promise.