Blue ring! Stunning.

Jessica got ready with all her other sisters and bridesmaids at her house. She’s the third sister to get married in their fun Lebanese family. Her dress was gorgeous!

Ah! We loved the tiara veil!

Note from Mehdi …

And the onlookers …

Mehdi also surprised her with the actual earrings that matched her necklace. She and the sisters were so surprised!!

We love churches that give us free range and never abuse that freedom! We were allowed all around the front of the orthodox church and loved these moments!

Rose wreaths, a Lebanese Orthodox tradition.

We usually don’t post this many ceremony photos, but we loved the feel of this church!

Before we went up to the Skyline Bar at the Hilton Americas we took a walk through the Discovery Green gardens.

Mehdi & Jessica’s mothers had worked for hours making a lot of the Persian Ceremony details. It looked beautiful!

And EVERY ceremony should have this transition! One moment tradition, next moment partay.

It’s the Persian cake cutting tradition for the ladies to hold the knife ransom and let Mehdi bribe it from them. He was flashing the dollar bills as the ladies danced around him!

Success!

Garter tease!

The Skyline Bar as arguably the BEST view of the city. We walked past the lap-pool swimmers and out on the roof top deck.


This is a favorite!

And so is this!

She beamed. All day… she beamed. I’ve never seen a bride smile that much. Not just an “it’s my wedding day” smile. It was big. Ear to ear. The kind you can’t contain. Utter bliss.

And while she and the girls put the final touches on their hair and makeup I was pulled aside by three ladies: the groom’s mother, the bride’s mother, and the attendant from the club. “It’s handmade you know? The dress. It’s handmade and beautiful!” All separate. All said the same thing. And in a corner of the room I saw a lady standing quietly but in awe of Jennifer. You could tell that every stitch, every bead, all of the intricate detailing was well worth the time she took to make it. She smiled at the beaming bride. Worth every stitch.

And at the reception this crowd made it impossible to not be entertained. They may have been a little slow to start… mingling, cocktailing, etc., but once they got going they went full speed! We’re talking smashing the cake in your face good. Roasting, embarrassing, and hysterical toasts good. Crowds of airborn single men spilling their drinks on each other to get to the garter good. And lets not forget the dance off… ah yes, it appears there was a slight debate over a long lost college days dance off winner that had to be settled then and there. And when the ma ma ma maaaaa of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face bellowed through the crowd it was all over. I mean, the dance floor was shaking!

Those poor patrons at Starbucks the following Monday. All they wanted to do was quietly sip on their lattes and read the paper or check their email, but no. I couldn’t contain myself. As I flipped through the reception images on my computer I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter… probably at least 33 times. What characters! See for yourself…

David and Katie are incredibly real. Weddings days are STRESSFUL (who doesn’t know that!), but we didn’t see many folks stressing as we hung out with these two. Their friends and family were so much fun all day, and made our job at the reception easy (see the dancing picks!). David and Katie were married at the HBU Belin Chapel and then partied at the Trevisio Restaurant in Houston’s Medical District. It’s right above the Medical Center Waterwall and is gorgeous!

It always adds a bit of pressure shooting for a fellow vendors. Kelly is a event coordinator here in town, so we were psyched that she would ask us to shoot her day. The whole week leading up to her wedding was gorgeous, but as can be the trend in springtime Houston, a last cold front rolled in the night before. It was obvious that Kelly is great at her job because she turned her chilly outdoor event into an beautiful warm indoor one.

She and Christian were incredible to work with, and were very tough facing the outdoors for some portraits AFTER already having their outdoor garden wedding. It just gave them even more of an excuse to cuddle together for warmth. Enjoy!

I was so excited about sorting through and editing Josh and Rebecca’s wedding last week. I love weddings at Briscoe Manor. It is such a pretty venue. Everything from their bride’s prep room to their groom’s game room, their outdoor gazebo to their beautiful chapel, and of course their gorgeous ballroom makes for breathtaking photo opportunities. We were able to get some really great shots, and I couldn’t wait to get my favorites edited and posted ahead of schedule for Josh and Rebecca to see.

…But in a technology-reliant profession such as photography, when does anything ever go according to plan?! Last Tuesday when I arrived at the studio to put the final touches on their edits I came to realize that a faulty external drive had fried my motherboard. Doh! Luckily, I didn’t lose any of the work I had already finished, but unfortunately, I had to wait for a new part to arrive in the mail to finish editing the wedding. So to Josh and Rebecca, I apologize for the delay! I know you were just as excited to see your images as I was to edit them! What an absolutely beautiful wedding!

It’s days like this I wish I was well versed in Vietnamese. But even in a day as a vendor/outsider/new friend, Vu and Ly showed us more about what it means to be Vietnamese than any language or cultural class could. We have shot a number of Vietnamese weddings this year, but there was something special about spending the day with these two lovers. They have a wonderful group of friends and a family that almost had us convinced to drop our cameras and join in the dancing. – David

Just a li’l tease from a wedding we are very excited to show you next week.