Marcie + Ed, the Wedding

So Marcie and Ed have been battling weather every time I've had an appointment for a shoot with either of them. For their engagement shoot, we had one of the rainiest winter days ever, but it managed to clear up (and be bone-chilling cold for Marcie in her sexy dresses) and be great picture-taking weather with the lingering clouds diffusing the bright sun.

Marcie's bridal shoot did not fare so well... we basically had to revamp and go with Plan B to shoot mostly indoors due to the torrential rains that day. Luckily Tara at The Gallery was extremely accommodating, and we were able to shoot there without having to worry about the weather... the portrait Marcie chose for display at the wedding actually ended up being one that we'd used my swanky black and white umbrella in!

Fitting, though...

The day of the wedding was great-- cloud cover, but no rain. Marcie was absolutely stunning in her vintage-inspired gown and jewelry, and Ed was smoldering and handsome in a classic black tux. Their outdoor ceremony was all set up and ready to go... and of course that's when the sprinkling began. Some of the guests even pulled out umbrellas! The ceremony went well, and JUST as the new Mr. and Mrs. were turning to walk down the aisle, the sky rang with a huge clap of thunder. I don't think it ever actually rained, but it was pretty fitting for guests to walk into the reception area to a beautiful portrait of the bride holding an umbrella.

MUCH fun was had at this reception, people... SO much fun. Buddy the groomsman (whose wedding to Susan the bridesmaid I will be shooting in January, can't WAIT!) was entirely entertaining. At one point, he and another groomsman trapped Ed in a Doug-and-Steve-Butabi "Night at the Roxbury" style bounce-dance... Karen and I couldn't wait to see what this crowd was going to come up with next.

Marcie and Ed's departure in a vintage Rolls Royce was a perfect end to the evening, with the two of them looking all vintage-swanky in the lamplight.

The exquisite florals were provided by Stephanie and her crew at Flora Bella, Marcie's look was perfected with the hair and makeup expertise of Hues by Heather, and the beautiful glowy golden up-lighting at the reception was crafted by Chris of Cafe Natalie (also responsible for the tasty dinner). It was all brought together, kept on schedule, and skillfully planned by the fabulous Kelly Balfour of Eventology Weddings. Thanks to my sweet friend and client Marianne for Marcie's referral!

Lindsay + Kenny

Lindsay and Kenny were married at Ashton Gardens in Spring, TX on a bright and beautiful early summer day. The Christian ceremony was held in the light, airy chapel and the reception followed in Ashton's cheery window-lined ballroom.

Both bride and groom were absolutely beaming with happiness all day long! It was totally sweet to watch them in anticipation of seeing one another. Kenny had the bridesmaids present Lindsay with an incredible surprise-- he'd taken some family heirloom diamonds and had a pendant designed for her. She opted, of course, to wear it down the aisle.

I think it's also worth mentioning that the kids in this family are stinkin' adorable. The flowergirls were full of dancy-prancy personality but the ringbearers were certainly giving them a run for their money where "cute" is concerned-- they were SO darling in their tuxes, hamming it up for me and the camera. There were a couple of younger toddling boys as well, and they really were the beaus of the ball at the reception. They found a piece of furniture in the reception area near the dance floor and turned it into their own private playground for the rest of the party--- in one door, out the other, laughing and entertaining themselves. Everyone got a kick out of them!

You'll see Grandma Betty's beautiful patient hands, folded over her little pearl purse as she watched her Lindsay become a wife.

One more point worth mentioning...

Lindsay and Kenny were leaving for a honeymoon to the Riviera Maya right at the height of the Swine Flu hype. Kenny's stepmom, Sue, presented the bride and groom with a little surprise gift after dinner-- if you scroll down to the bottom of their images on this post, you'll see Sue's expertly crafted custom bride and groom breathing masks. Something blue!

Many thanks to Kelly Balfour of Eventology Weddings, not only for the referral of this fabulous couple, but for being such a wonderful person to have around on the day of the wedding. Kelly truly makes it so much easier to do my job on the wedding day (and so much easier for the bride to keep her mind off details and on the sheer joy of the day)!

The stunning florals were designed by Fresh Blooms of Houston.

Marci + Joseph's Wedding

Marci and Joseph were married in Port Arthur with a ceremony at Our Lady of Guadalupe and a fantastic reception at Marci's parents' home. There was a giant white tent strung with festive pink flowerballs... the party was hopping alllll night long! This crowd was definitely looking to have a good time, which they did, well beyong the couple's sparkler-sendoff. Congratulations Marci and Joseph!

A special thank-you goes out to Marci's mom Melinda... she was very helpful on the day of the bridal portraits.

Wheeeee! New business cards!

It always feels great to have something new! Here are the Summer 2009 editions of the Monkey Tree Business cards (one for weddings, one for the other stuff).

The wedding card features Alma & Stevan on the front, with a great dancing image from their morning-after session at Discovery Green. Marcie's beautiful silhouette with umbrella graces the back of the card.

The infant/child/maternity card features handsome and bright-eyed Drew from a recent session... and on the reverse side is one of my all-time favorite infant shots: Baby Kendall with an orchid. It's so hard to believe I have been photographing her for three years. She's such a little lady these days... talking and going to the nail spa with her mommy for pedicures!

It's like... making cookies from scratch... smelling them cooking... but not being able to take a bite.

So last week, my Mac flatlined (as my lovely friend Ren described it). The Mac is my editing computer-- it's where the magic happens. It's where the beauty, joy, and laughter emerges and is culled down to the best of the best.

I opened it up, waited for the chime and happy screen... but nothing. Just a little noise that sounded like it was trying to play a CD or something. Oh, river of tears. I took a trip up to the Mac store where I was informed that my sweet little computer had to go away for a week.

I needed a coke and some pretzel sticks to help me deal with the trauma. Auntie Anne's was there to oblige. Sweet and salty deliciousness were my only consolation. Gotta love the mall, man.

It's not that I'm missing data, or files or anything... all my images are backed up and safe. It's that my schedule has been thrown off because I'm left unable to proof/edit all of this beautiful work I've done for my clients, knowing how anxious they are to see their beautiful weddings, their beautiful babies, their sweet smiling children. Erasing all those blocks of editing from my calendar was a heart-wrenching process.

I have this stack of memory cards that's burning a hole in my pocket!!!!

It's like when you make a big batch of delicious chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Not slice-and-bake, people, the real deal. Artisan cookies, beautiful lumpy mounds of dough with Ghirardelli dark chips, organic flour, cage-free-chicken eggs. You've spent this time thinking about them, creating them, you just want to be able to TASTE them. You pull them out of the oven, smell that sweet aroma, pour yourself a giant glass of ice cold milk... sit down to a plate of them and your mouth is watering...

and then find that your cookies have to be away from you for a week or so.

I thrive on seeing my work take shape. I love shooting, I love manipulating the images on my screen, and I love LOVE love revealing them to my clients!

I'm going a little crazy with my post-processing powers having been taken away from me. On the bright side, my Mac should be back in my arms later this week, good as new! If you don't hear much out of me next week, it's because I'm on some sort of turbo-editing marathon session and can't stop to see the light of day ; )

I can't wait to show you Marcie & Ed's beautiful outdoor wedding and night of dancing... LaTrice & Dan's military sabre arch and Cinderella formals... Tyler, Zofia, and Aidan's sweet baby portraits... and more. I even did some "just get out and shoot what your lens finds" stuff last week. I shot some of my own textures! I want to play with them so badly!

At any rate, that's why you haven't heard much from me. I'm sure I'll be blogging like a crazywoman in a couple of weeks and you'll have plenty of eye candy. Patience, my dear grasshoppers.