One can hardly be a part of the wedding industry in Dallas and not know the team at the Hilton Park Cities. While photographing a bride in the lobby of her hotel, Ann Cuellar mentioned to us that her daughter Melissa was to be wed in the spring. We were so pleased to be considered and honored to be selected to capture all the special moments on their wedding day.

Melissa & Michael were wed at the University Park United Methodist Church

Melissa’s Circle Park Bridal gown was perfect and perfectly accessorized by her and the CPB team!

Michael has the coolest Handle Bar Mustache and while getting ready the boys were most definitely boys.

The entire ceremony was simply lovely!

The Fleetwood’s awesome bridal party followed by their first images as husband and wife.

Michael’s fun personality shies through as Melissa’s dress is bustled by her sister Stephanie before heading to the reception.

Their first dance was set to Nat King Cole’s “Let There Be Love”

The cake was expertly crafted by Panini Bakery

Cameron Fox with i-Entertainment started the party right and kept it going all night long!

Take a moment to view the slide show of Melissa and Michael’s wedding!

Our loyal readers may recall from their engagement session blog post that we met Chelcy & James at our local Wells Fargo Bank when she helped us with a deposit this past winter. We just love to tell this story since it was such a fun happenstance that connected us with a great couple.

Chelcy & James’ were wed at the gorgeous Lantana Lodge in Pilot Point, TX with their reception hosted at their Grandparent’s home in McKinney, TX. Ray Roberts Lake proved to be a stunning backdrop for their intimate ceremony and the Martin Family grounds provided for quite the party.

Emily and I traveled to Port Neches some time ago to capture the engagement images of Lauren & Chase at which time we completely fell in love with the intimate feel of their small home town. Returning to photograph their wedding was no different at all given that Lauren’s salon, family home and childhood church were a mere blocks from one another. We knew we found the place where Chase and his groomsmen prepared for the wedding when we saw a home with a driveway and street lined with pickup trucks. It is a good thing too since Chase needed to use one of them to pull another out of an open field when a failed u-turn left it stuck in the mud and wet grass…what a fun wedding day memory!

The wedding reception was a grand southern affair complete with Lone Star beer, cowboy boots, Texas BBQ and live Zydeco music provided by a genuine Louisiana Zydeco band. Everyone had an amazing time…including us.

One of our favorite things about an initial wedding consultation is when the bride and groom tell us about their relationship. We hear the coolest stories about they way they met, their romantic courtship and wedding engagemen

Wendy Kidd, owner and wedding planner with Each & Every Detail introduced me to Kaylee and Matt in the early spring. I asked them to tell me about their romantic journey thus far and learned that they met in ninth grade geography. On the way to their engagement session, I stopped by the local book store with the intention of picking up a map, atlas or globe to incorporate into their images. As I searched through the stacks for just the right book, I stumbled across one titled “Why Geography Matters”. How Perfect!

As a part of the PGA Tour, TPC Craig Ranch hosts the Birdies for the Brave golf event each year to support U.S. Armed Forces and their families. This year, supporters were additionally invited to participate in the Birdies for the Brave Poker Kick-Off. In this No-Limit Texas Hold-Em tournament, the field of players’ $400 buy-in placed them in the running for an exceptional prize pool that included two seats in the World Series of Poker main event for the first and second place finishers. Simply stated…two awesome events raising funds for six worthy military charities.

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.

Dawn and David first contacted us regarding wedding photography just before the new year.  Emily and I were excited to be a part of their special day and had anticipated scheduling their engagement session in short order.  Dawn really did want a mixture of indoor and outdoor images; however,  this year’s relentless Dallas winter really made scheduling the session a challenge.  Once the weather improved and we were able to select the perfect date we needed the perfect venue.  Dawn had mentioned that she and David were engaged at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek.  Understandably, the Mansion has considerable regulations regarding photo sessions on property to protect their guests and promote the exclusive atmosphere we all enjoy.  I had my heart set on making this work so I had to call my friend Shelley Binion to see if we could use the Mansion as a backdrop for these particular engagement images.  Hearing the story, Shelley was graciously willing to make an exception.  Thank you Shelley for your generosity; we are all so very grateful.

I have known Anne and Scott for a number of years now and it just so happens that I was with them in London when their relationship really started to take shape.  When I heard that Scott was going to propose while on a trip to Paris with Anne, my first thought was, “That’s our Scott- he never does anything half way.”  When I called to congratulate them both, I was again excited, but not shocked, to hear that they would be wed in London with only their immediate family in attendance.  Given the intimacy of the ceremony and the chosen location, I must say that I was pleased and frankly honored when they asked that Emily and I photograph their special day.  During a recent trip to New York, we visited their home and spent a few hours in their neighborhood capturing these images.  Paris to New York to London to get married…what a life they are destined to lead together.

Some time ago an exceptional group of people came together at The Ryan Manor for a wedding professionals’ pot luck.  As we enjoyed the food, drink and company it was unilaterally decided that in order to officially launch the new Groom Sold Separately website we would recreate the mystical land from Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland at The Ryan Manor.  We quickly determined that April 1st was the clear choice for this themed event given that the Mad Hatter was a Fool like no other.  From that moment forward, a talented group of  wedding professionals, affectionately referred to as “the cast”, collaborated on what would become the wedding event of the season.

I don’t often post multiple entries for the same event but I have to make an exception in this case.  Here is the first of what I expect will be 2 or 3 entries about Alice in Weddingland.

Brides Against Breast Cancer graciously provided us with elegant gowns from their inventory for our fashion show that could even be bought by our brides to support the cause:

i-Entertainment rock stars J. Damany Daniel and Jason Barnes provided the soundtrack for the journey through weddingland while Brad Litteken of es events lit the way.  As you can see we had some pre-party fun when models Melissa & Anastasia stepped in to lend a hand:

More to come soon so stay tuned!