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!

Alma & Stevan in the Park

You may recognize Alma & Stevan from their wedding that was blogged about back in April. The following session was a post-wedding shoot, which they opted for when time constraints kept them from scheduling engagement portraits before the wedding.

It was a beautiful cool evening downtown. With the wedding planning over and the two of them having settled back into the everyday grind, this was a welcome outing for some silly fun-- in wedding garb! They were so happy and relaxed as they toured the park hand in hand, smiling, giggling, maybe even a little bit of dancing and prancing here and there : )

These are the kinds of shots that are often difficult to get on the actual wedding day, since there's such a tight schedule to keep and so many of your family members and friends are demanding your attention... not to mention brides and grooms are in "my head is spinning!" mode. Planning more relaxed session afterward is an excellent way to grab those shots you wish you'd had time to take on the wedding day!

Alma & Stevan

Alma & Stevan... cute cute cute, fun, did I mention cute? And just a barrel of fun : )

This couple was married at The Gallery, a venue that's relatively new to the Houston area and very conveniently located near Fountainview and 59. It was a very windy day-- not uncommon for this time of year in Houston, but so crazy windy that poor Alma's handmade-by-her-grandmother veil blew clean off her head in the middle of the (outdoor) ceremony! I've seen windy before, but this one took the cake... uh, or veil. The coordinator had to go chase the veil down in the parking lot, but it was indeed successfully retrieved.

The timeline worked out well, to where I had some alone-time with Alma & Stevan just after sunset. The Gallery has these cool Victorian-looking lamp posts all around, so I was able to get some longer-exposure ambient-light shots of the couple-- which turned out very sexy/romantic! Alma's gown was fantastic! Mermaid, ruched satin with a zillion tiny buttons and a brooch at the waist. The train flared and was simply exquisite when bustled.

This was a party crowd! They danced all night long... I can't hear "No One" by Alicia Keys without thinking of their sweet first dance(and if I'm not mistaken, their last as well).

Just for good measure... I threw in a picture of Stevan's Aggie Groom's Cake. GIG 'EM, AGGIES! WHOOP! I joined in when they all sang the War Hymn ; )