Lindsay & Matt's Wedding

Lindsay & Matt are a fabulously dynamic couple of movers and shakers!  My experience with them was different in that I dealt mostly with Matt where our planning was concerned—he’s in logistics, which is a pretty big deal when planning the biggest day of your life so far!  Everything went beautifully thanks to his hard work, and the help of the couple’s friend Lydia, who coordinated the day once Matt was able to hand over the reigns.

In particular, I watched Matt finish up the arrangement of the place cards… each of them perfectly balanced on a tiny key lime.  I have no idea how he made this happen, but it looked amazing!

I stopped over at Galveston’s historic Tremont House hotel for Lindsay’s getting-ready shots, and enjoyed the company of her bridal party.  She and Matt opted to do a “first look” (the bride and groom have a “reveal” prior to the ceremony, see one another, and take private pictures together) at Ashton Villa, which was set up for the reception.  The ballroom is a soft pale yellow with windows all around, so the couple was bathed in natural light for their portraits together.  Combined with the Victorian grandeur of the historic home, it’s a photographer’s dream… and we captured some beautiful moments as the bride and groom saw one another for the first time.

The ceremony at St. Joseph’s was a packed house with loving family and friends on hand!  Lindsay works in the mayor’s office, so Annise Parker and her wife Cathy were among the guests.  Matt and Lindsay were a little nervous and a lot happy as they exchanged vows and rings, then had their first kiss as husband and wife, and strolled down the aisle beaming.

The reception was fantastic, the cake delicious, and the music and dancing went on all night long.  Each table was decorated with the cutest little wire birds, topiaries, and colorful postcards.  The florals were a happy spring yellow!

I’ll probably always remember Lindsay’s father stepping up to give his toast.

He looked around and said something to the effect of, “Before I begin, I lost something… I need everyone to look around.  There was a little girl running around in a Wonder Woman t-shirt, about six years old… I could swear I saw her just a moment ago…”  then looked over at his daughter, pride beaming from his eyes, a tear falling from hers. 

It made me cry a little : )

Congratulations, kids!  Many wishes for a wealth of happiness together over the years.

Enjoy!

Amy & Garrett's Wedding

Amy & Garrett were married in a beautiful Christian ceremony at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church, with bridesmaids in deep royal blue satin gowns and crisp romantic white florals.  This sweet, happy couple celebrated with a night of dancing and friends at Pine Forest Country Club.

In a sweet act of remembrance, Amy had a couple of silver charms affixed to the base of her bouquet—a small “D” for her brother Daniel who passed away as a child, and a horse to remember her grandfather.

As a gift to each groomsman, Garrett presented engraved baseball bats, and had fun posing with them during formals… Amy even played along pretending to pitch her bouquet!

Lots of thanks to my cousin Lisa for sending Amy my way… it has been a pleasure working with both her family and Garrett’s.

Help Make a Wish Come True! Join a Wish Upon a Wedding Committee.

I am the Medical Outreach/ Wish Grant Chair for the Wish Upon a Wedding Houston Chapter's board of directors... and I need help!

I'll be holding a meeting on the evening of Monday, May 23 at my office to answer any questions you might have about the organization and this committee.  Please contact me if you'd like to know more about becoming a committee member.

The time commitment is going to vary, but will probably be between two and eight hours per month.  I'm hoping to hold committee meetings every month or two, depending on how easy it is for us to communicate without meeting. You will be required to sign non-compete and privacy agreements in order to participate.

Some of the things my committee is responsible for:

• Contact wish applicants to gather information
• Verify medical and background information
• Verify Doctor licensure information
• Communicate with health care providers
• Help applicants understand the wish granting process
• Reach out to the Houston medical community to identify potential applicants & help them understand our organization
• Present to different groups throughout the Houston/Galveston area
• Network with organizations that would be good partners for Wish Upon a Wedding
• Help the organization in general by attending various events in the wedding and/or healthcare industries.

Wish Upon a Wedding is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization that provides weddings and vow renewals to couples facing terminal illness or other serious life-altering circumstances, regardless of sexual orientation. Often, couples facing such situations do not have the energy, time, money, or resources needed to plan their wedding. Our organization takes care of all the details, offering couples a chance to relax and enjoy a very special day while surrounded by the love of their closest family and friends.

The Houston chapter has already granted one wedding wish since our launch last summer, and more wishes will be granted soon!  It's been an exciting first year, so we're looking forward to covering more ground and helping more people as our organization grows.

I'm looking forward to seeing you!

WHERE: 4119 Montrose, Suite 310, Houston 77006
WHEN: 6:00 p.m.

Something new for the studio wall!

Newlywed Jody had a to-die-for bridal session!  I knew as soon as we shot these that I would be using them somewhere in the office (obviously I did a little layering/texturizing in post-processing).  This one will be a 24x36" acrylic stand-out fine art print (printed on acrylic, mounted on tiny pegs so that it stands out form the wall 5/8" or so) on the west wall, bathed in beautiful window light.  I can't wait!

My newest little cousin, Luke

I know it's been forever since I've posted a good old fashioned blog with pictures, but I've been busier than a one-armed paper-hanger (or all those other busy things we have fabulous cliches about).

My cousin-who-is-like-a-brother and his beautiful wife recently welcomed a new little man to the family, meet Luke!  Here's his precious little birth announcement : )

Daddy's a police officer, so we couldn't resist a gool ol' sleeping-on-the-job pic with Luke donning his daddy's seargeant cap.  Big sister Maddy is holding his feet together there, and it's Daddy's hands holding that sweet, tiny baby head.  I made the light blue cap!

Position Available: Part-time Design & Administrative Assistant

I'm looking for a general office assistant type person who is also... perhaps really great at scrapbooking.  This would be a great "a little extra money" job for someone who either works evenings, has kids in school, or just needs something to do.  You will be working out of my home office a majority of the time-- a supremely casual environment.

If you are currently looking for a full-time job, but want something to fill your gap, I'd appreciate if you did not apply for this position.

Who: Someone capable of working quietly, diligently, and efficiently.  Someone with great organizational skills, a pleasant demeanor, and a kind phone voice.  Someone who's cool with a couple of cats jumping on the desk occasionally (I can provide a spray bottle if necessary) and is not afraid of/allergic to dogs.  Someone who isn't easily flustered and is relatively self-directed.   Criminal background check required.

What: Basic album design (I'll teach you to use my simple program), entry of receipts into Excel, sorting, mailing, returning simple phone calls, confirming appointments.  On occasion, running errands.  Being positive and drama-free, wheeee!  

When: As needed (probably at least once a week).  Being able to work on short notice is a plus.  You will need to be available regularly during school hours-- most work will be done between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Where: Most of the time, at my home office in Friendswood.  On rare occasion, at my studio on Montrose near Richmond (but rarely).

Why: Because I can't do it all!  Small business is wonderful, but... busy.  You can probably guess that this position offers no benefits, other than working with little old me.

How: Please e-mail resume/qualifications to assist@monkey-tree.com with e-mail subject "Design/Admin" (please, oh pretty please do not call).  I apologize in advance, but like the shoot assistant position, I will not be able to respond to most of the applicants... you'll probably only hear from me if you're called in for an interview.