Alexis and Chris’s Engagement Session – The Woodlands, TX
Alexis and Chris are such a cute couple!
We started off their engagement session at The Woodlands Waterway…
I *heart* sunflare!
My favorite from the session. They’re so freakin’ adorable! 
More cowbell… er, sunflare!
Next, we walked over to Market Street in The Woodlands.
There were kids behind them playing, but like perfect lovebirds, they stayed focused on each other. 
My new goal for each session: to have people lay in the road. (I’m just kidding… mostly.) 
Thank you Alexis and Chris! And thanks for laying in the road, even with the on coming PT Cruiser!
Fun Updates!
We’ve been busy this week! Chad and I finally took a vacation… for ourselves this week. We’ve returned from a short ski trip in Taos, NM, but more on that in another post. I’m here to talk about some of my newlywed couples!
On January 1st I shot a wedding of some long-time lovers… they’d been together for over 12 years! Tanya and John had a wonderful little ceremony in a charming church and Tanya’s cousin, Dawn, put a wedding announcement in Houston Chronicle.
In fact, I even received a phone call while on vacation from one of the editors of the Chron wanted to verify that those were really their names… (Keep a look out on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno!)
While I was also out, I received another call from the videography company that filmed Teresa and Rick’s wedding, and they used my photos to create a slide show set to music for the couple.
http://www.teresaandrick.com/slideshow.html
You can also click on “Love Story” to see the video of their wedding and to see some of me “in action” (as Rob from “Don’t Get Married Without Me” explained). I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing… I seem to be laying on the ground, standing on furniture, or holding the camera high above my head in most of the video I’m in. :p
More blog posts coming soon! I’ve got 19 in the queue!
Burson Family – Mercer Arboretum – Houston, TX
Chad and I met the Burson family out at Mercer Arboretum in Spring, Texas for their uber fantastic and totally awesome family lifestyle session. But we didn’t meet them at the pretty and frilly side with all the flowers and what-not. We traversed through a half-mile of trails finding the murkiest swamps, knobbiest cypress tree roots, Tarzan-ian vines, and we spied on some sunbathing turtles.
Here are a few of my favorites:
The family chose a photo very close to this one for their photo Christmas cards.
Hanging around…
This little guy was a hoot to photograph…
This is one of my favorite family photos ever!
The kids were checking out something in the water…
So I slid under the bench, hovered my head over the water, held out the camera at arm’s length, and captured this little gem. 
This family was so much fun to photograph! 
Finally, Dad and his boys.
Thanks Burson family!
Pam and Max’s Family Session – Spring Creek Park, Tomball, TX
I was blessed with the opportunity to photograph this fun and close-knit family earlier this month. It was a cool, crisp afternoon, the sun was shining, the trees were turning orange and yellow, and the ground was covered with a beautiful carpet of brown oak leaves. When this gorgeous mother and son were the fabulous duo I was to photograph, my job was instantly a cinch!
Max knows I’m up to something. He’s on to me… 
Check out this cutie pie!
He has the most precious expressions:
A perfect backdrop…
I love playful families!
Little Max was ready to go home and ride his bike at this point, but I had to capture his pouting face. When I showed Chad the photo, he said, “That’s how I looked in most of the photos I took as a kid.” Of course… :p
Thank you, Pam and Max, for playing in the leaves with me!
Santo Family – Helen’s Garden – League City, Texas
Whew! So I’m begining to catch up on all my editing and album designing from the last few months, and now I need to catch up on some blogs!
I hope everyone had a great Christmas, New Year’s, and holiday season! Here’s another awesome family photo session from Thanksgiving weekend, when the entire family was in Houston and traveled from Florida and Pennsylvania.
We drove down to League City for the photography shoot and went to the beautiful Helen’s Garden. We arrived early and had free range of the park. By the time we left over an hour later, there were at least 8 other photographers shooting various kids and families there!
Below are some of my favorites from the session…
Grandma and Grandpa w/ the grandkids
A fun aerial shot (sometimes I don’t know how I keep my feet out of the photos when I hold the wide angle lens over my head…) :p
Tickle time (always brings the cutest smiles)!
These two were getting a little chilly… so they put on their parent’s shirts!
Soooooo adorable!
Hake Family Kids – Meyer Park – Spring, Texas
One of the joys of the holiday season? Trying to get 4 kids to look at the camera and smile.
(but they still look adorable in their Christmas dresses – and Kyle in his sweater!)
This session was a surprise for the grandparents of the grandchildren in their Christmas attire.
Bonin Family Session – Meyer Park, Klein, TX
Sometimes, you just have sessions where the atmosphere is perfect, the sun is setting beautifully, with the most awesome light. What puts the icing on the cake is when the family is this much fun!
We went to Meyer Park for the photo shoot where it was quite chilly, and little Jacey was so cold, but truly adorable when she shivered.
Kid kisses are the best!
This one is my favorite!
Jacey’s going to be a big sister soon! We had to add in a little maternity photo of the future-newest member of the family…
Check out Jacey’s adorable pants!
This is her “I’m really, really cold” face. :p
I love getting shots of kids playing! It gives me the chance to capture their biggest smiles and the cutest expressions.
Thanks guys! Even though it was chilly, Chad and I had a great time!
Tricia and Nathan’s Wedding – Rothko Chapel, Houston, TX
Who comes to Houston for a destination wedding?
Tricia and Nathan are an awesomely cool couple from Chicago. Neither have ever lived in Houston (although Nathan had a brief stint living in the Texas panhandle – we don’t talk about that), these long time lovers decided if they were going to officially tie the knot, they were going to make it unique, and random.
While it was all but snowing at their home in Chicago, these two were warming up with their marriage vows in near 80 degree Houston heat.
Tricia and Nathan were getting ready at the beautiful Magnolia Hotel in downtown Houston.
One of the little flower girls set up her stuffed animals to keep a watch on the city below.
I love calla lilies! (They were in all my bridesmaids bouquets from my wedding.) Tricia made her flowers extra special by bringing back oak leaves from Chicago (dipped in glycerin to preserve them) as a unique filler . 
Tricia was hiding away getting dressed in the closet.
Holly assisted me for their wedding and captured this lovely photo of the boutonnière.
If you can’t tell by now, I *love* wedding shoes.
… and on to the elevators.
The Magnolia’s lobby is awesomely beautiful! We stopped to capture some bridals with that Old Hollywood glamor feel. 
Isn’t she absolutely stunning?
They had an intimate Buddhist wedding ceremony at the Rothko Chapel near the museum district and the University of St. Thomas.
They don’t allow photographs inside the chapel, so here’s everyone emerging, and Tricia still wiping away her tears!
Holly captured this one in front of the broken obelisk with a bit of sun flare! 
The reception was held upstairs in the super swanky restaurant, Gravitas, in midtown.
Tricia and Nathan created their own centerpieces and hand-decorated masks for each guest.
Guess who even had a mask… :p
By the way, this was one of THE best cakes I’ve ever had! Pumpkin spiced cream filling or something… I just called it “good.”
And finally, some ring shots (with Tricia’s meticulously decorated pumpkins)!
A few weeks later, this cool couple threw another party in Chicago for the guests that weren’t able to make the trip down to Houston. But hey, who needs an excuse to party?
Ceremony Location: Rothko Chapel, w: www.rothkochapel.org
Reception Location: Gravitas Restaurant, w: www.gravitasrestaurant.com
Flowers: Flowers by Janice, w: www.flowersbyjanice.biz, e: flowersbyjanice@sbcglobal.net, p: 281-467-4625,
Palma family photo shoot – League City, Texas
Since I’m catching up on old blog posts, here’s a session from this summer:
I’ve known Nancy for about a 4 years now, and with both girls away at college, we had to wait until summer to find a weekend where both girls were back at home.
Every girl needs a goofy dad…
Yes, even if they’re this goofy.
Feets! :p
Kadie shows them how it’s done…
… and now we’ve got everyone jumping!
This is probably one of my favorites of the family. I love it!
Nancy and Phil on a stroll
Back at the house we had to include the dogs because, after all, they’re family too!
All the girls!
Nancy and Phil had this home built less then a year ago. I love the porches! It’s an awesome home!
Before we left, we got a couple shots of Alex on the piano (she’s quite good!) And because I love details…
