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Alyssa & Lance | Austin Wedding

Posted on June 15, 2011

The house was far too big for just me.  I knew it, but rented it anyway.   I needed all the space I could get my hands on during that time of my life, so a 3 bedroom funky old house was just what the doctor ordered.   January, 1993 ~ Baton Rouge.

It was a massive old wooden home with the sweetest front porch ever in a historic part of town, but close enough to L.S.U., where I was finishing up my last year of college.  The preceding 6 months had been challenging, to say the least, mostly in part to a relationship gone sour, and I was looking for a fresh start…away from sorority row.   The house was split into three units; my side was the largest, there was a small apartment in the back where a couple of seriously cute boys lived (they were fun), and next door to me was the coolest girl I had ever laid eyes on.  She was like….entirely too cool to be my friend.  She rode motorcycles!!  She was tall, slim…gorgeous.  You know the kind ~ clothes just “hung” on her, all model perfect, just oozing confidence.  *sigh*  She had cool friends who all had tattoos.   I never in a million years would have pegged her for also being the kindest person I’d ever met, or the most gentle….or someone who would become my closest friend – ever.   We bonded instantly, as if we had already known each other for thousands of years.  Countless nights were spent on that porch, reading magazines, sipping wine and talking till all hours of the morning.

Our lives have taken us down many different paths since then, but I’m deeply grateful that we are still just as close as we always have been.  We’re vastly different, and yet ridiculously the same.  I’m so honored to have been able to not only attend her wedding, but also photograph it (and yes, I was also technically in it)     You never can wear too many hats, after all!   The wedding was amazing…Lance serenaded her as she walked down the aisle (perk of marrying an amazing musician),  with her sister Angela accompanying him on the viola (yeah, another amazing musician),  the weather was perfect (and that’s not easy to pull off in Austin – in MAY!), the ceremony was incredibly grounding and touching…..their friends and family came from near and far to help them celebrate.  Yep, it was a good day.  So very happy for them.

Check out more in the slideshow

Thanks to Chelsea Sutton for second shooting

Elise & Osh’s Wedding

Posted on May 14, 2010

Hey, it’s lucky to have it rain on your wedding day, right?    Well, it’s a good thing, because yes, it definitely did RAIN.  Not while we were grabbing family shots, not during the reception, or even after….just exactly at the time of the ceremony.  It was more like a downpour, actually.   Figures, right?  I have to say, the staff at  Vintage Villas in Austin was amazing, and quickly moved the ceremony indoors where it was much dryer.  It all worked out ~ just not exactly the way Elise had envisioned…but she handled it all with grace and poise, which is pretty typical of my little cousin.

I remember babysitting for Elise and her brother and sister when they were really little.  I loved going over to my Aunt Jeanine and Uncle Anthony’s house in Baton Rouge because it was so cozy and comfortable – and they had cool “stuff”….and by stuff I mean snacks.    It’s no secret that I love my snack foods….but I digress.  Dee and Ant, as I called them, both taught music education – they’re amazing musicians in their own right, and I also had the pleasure of having both of them teach me at different points in my life.  Yes, I played the flute.  Little known fact about me ~ I still have my very first flute, complete with the sticker-covered case.  One day I’ll pop it out and wow my kids…show ‘em just how talented their old Mom is.  Anyway, when Elise asked if I would shoot her wedding, I was thrilled.  Not only could I do something I love, I would also be able to visit with a lot of family members I don’t get to see very often anymore.  Win-win situation for sure.  I’m just glad they didn’t ask me to play the flute…that would not have been pretty, people.

By the way, the gorgeous baby in some of these shots is Elise and Osh’s daughter, Ava.  They make the sweetest family ~ truly.  I loved capturing their special day, and I hope these images will make lasting memories for them.  Thanks again to the fabulous Shari Bare for some great second shooting!  To view the slideshow from this event, click HERE