Marcus & Jennie's Wedding!

What an AWESOME time we had a Marcus and Jennie's wedding! We LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE these guys (sorry if my enthusiasm for my brides and grooms is annoying to anyone - too bad - I love them!) and spending the whole day with them was just great.

When I showed up to the wedding, Jennie asked me something about if I like them as much as Eugenie and Starr- this made me laugh so hard! I assured her that I loved she and Marcus just as much as Eugenie & Starr (but barely! ;) ) which is HUGE because I really love Eugenie and Starr! :)

All I know is that the beginning of 2008 has been REALLY good to us. The two weddings we shot this month were a DREAM to be a part of and we just can't wait for more! :) Having said that, we have a month, which is kind of unheard of for us, before our next wedding! This will be a good break for me to catch back up on blogging (sorry for my negligence) so expect to hear a lot from me over the next few weeks. :) I have a couple of weddings and portrait sessions to blog so stay tuned!

Anyway - back to Jennie and Marcus! Jennie and I knew each other in college through our mutual best friend, Meredith. Meredith was the maid of honor in MY wedding and last weekend, she was one of Jennie's maids of honor (she had one maid and one matron). It was very fun to see quite a few familiar faces from college!

Here are a few of my favs from the day!








Jennie & Marcus decided to see one another before the wedding so that they could save time between their ceremony and reception. This is a GREAT idea - feel free to email and ask me why! ; ) This is the moment when Jennie & Marcus saw each other for the first time!

This is what it looks like when you have TWELVE bridesmaids and TWELVE groomsmen! :)








That's Meredith giving a toast. Isn't she lovely? :) She and Tami were fabulous maid-trons of honor together!


Marcus's dance with his mom was soooooo emotional! I don't think there was a dry eye in the house!




This dude was off the chain!


Here are some beautiful portraits of just Marcus and Jennie. When you see each other before the wedding, we have time to make this happen! :)



The next couple of images are the ones I almost got kicked out of Villa Antonia for taking. I had Jennie and Marcus climb up on this cliff/wall thing that was pretty high and kind of scary. The coordinator came out in a panic (understandably) and asked that they get down. Oops. :) Well, we got what we needed!


My absolute favorite picture of the day:

Rebecca & Garrett - Coming Soon!

Hey guys!

Just wanted to wish you all a fun weekend. :) Tomorrow we have Marcus & Jennie's wedding to shoot, but we'll also be at the Bridal Extravaganza both tomorrow and Sunday, so be sure to stop by!

Here are just a couple of pictures from Rebecca & Garrett's wedding - more coming soon!

Love
Stace

Schmitt Family Fun

When Tyler Schmitt asked me if I would take his family's portraits I was thrilled and so honored that he would think of me! I knew, after all, that the Schmitts are the cutest ever, so this would be really fun. Well, I had no idea that when I showed up to shoot their pictures, I would suddenly feel like I was in kindergarten, holding a camera, and having NO idea what I was doing! It's amazing how taking portraits of a professional photographer can turn you into a mushy mess. :) Somehow I got it together a got some great pictures of this beautiful family and had a really fun time with them!

Here are a few of my favorites from our time together . . .

Brand new baby Palmer was a hoot to shoot!


Cutie Georgia and Mom


The whole fam!



As I was editing these pictures, I was trying to imagine what it would be like to have Tyler as your dad! :) All I can say is that Georgia is constantly giggling and flying around - fun!



Oh my gosh. Olivia is such a great mom. She's so fun and she plays with her kids so well! She and Tyler make an incredible team!




Big sister Georgia with little Palmer - she's not totally into loving him "gently" yet. It's still really fun to hit him and tug on him. :)


Itsn't Georgia so beautiful?


Poor Palms. Life is rough when you're forced to wear a hat with pom poms on it.


Cute. Cute. Cute!

Photographer Appreciation Day

Yesterday must have been Photographer Appreciation Day and everyone forgot to tell me!

I was so humbled yesterday when I went to the mail and received a really sweet Thank-you note from Crystal and Kevin for the engagement guestbook I made them. No- thank YOU for choosing me as your photographer and hiring me to do fun things like make guestbooks! :)

THEN I got home from a meeting last night to find a HUGE package from 1-800-Flowers and it was from Starr and Eugenie!! I couldn't believe it! They are in ITALY on their honeymoon and they thought of ME! I was so blessed.

I cannot tell you how just simply working with such thoughtful and gracious people makes my job SO incredible. I mean, I LOVE my job! I am so lucky to get to hang out with the coolest people on the greatest days of their lives! What a gig, man!

Crystal, Kev, Eug, and Starr -

Thank you so much for thinking of me! I don't know if it really was Photographer Appreciation Day, but I felt very loved and appreciated!

Starr & Eugenie's Wedding

Starr & Eugenie's wedding was one of the very best weddings we have EVER been a part of! We loved every minute of it! It is always so refreshing to be a part of a wedding where, not only are the bride and groom completely in love, but all of their family and friends love one another so much! It was so fun watching Eugenie and Starr greet each of their guests in the receiving line. These two were tremendously gracious to everyone who came to their wedding and there was not a person in the place who wasn't smiling all night! It was such a huge joy to be there to share that with them. :)

As I was going through their pictures, I was going nuts because there are SOOOOOOOOOO many great moments from Saturday night and it was killing me to try and decide which ones I wanted to post. :) I finally gave up and picked just a few of my favorites, though I have many many more!

Lauren and Gina from 2 Dine 4 did a great job coordinating this awesome wedding. There was not ONE detail that was overlooked. It was actually also one of the prettiest weddings I've ever been to. Man - if this 1st wedding of 2008 is any indication of things to come, I am excited!! :)

Starr and Eugenie are in Italy right now on their honeymoon (I know - how fabulous!) but I hope they'll get a chance to come by the blog to see their sneak peek. :) If you guys do see this - thanks again so much for having Stan and I there with you. We had a wonderful time documenting this incredible day!

The Texas Women's Federation Mansion was decorated SO beautifully


Before the ceremony, while Eugenie was waiting for everything to begin, she practiced the dance moves she and Starr had learned for their first dance with her sister Michelle. :)


I love this pic that Stan got because you can tell what a rock star Starr really is. :)

Justin & Andrea: Engaged!

Awww. These two. Too cute for words. :)

I know Andrea has probably hit the "refresh" button on her browser 100x a day for the past several days, so I hope this brings some relief! :)

Andrea and Justin were a BLAST - an absolute JOY to photograph. They are so funny and beautiful! Anyway, I know I say that kind of thing a lot when I'm talking about my couples but it is ALWAYS true! I am the luckiest person in the world to get the couples I do!

We shot their fabulous engagement session in Houston, which was fun because I got the opportunity to try out 3 brand new spots in a place I don't normally shoot engagement sessions, and for Justin and Andrea, I scoped out some places on Rice University campus. We had a great time!

An & Justin - I hope you love these! You two are wonderful!!!

Love
Stacy






This is the type of shot I would normally just delete because it's so out of focus, but I LOVE this picture - I love them movement, the energy, and the joy it shows!





One of my favorite engagement pictures ever!

Bret & Stephanie: Engaged!

While I was in Houston I had the pleasure of hanging out with Stephanie and Bret near the Museum of Art downtown for their engagement pictures. These two are not only the coolest cats in the world, but they also have a bright, fun-filled future ahead of them together! Stephanie has a successful Marketing job which allows her to get box seats for the Rockets games (how cool!) and Bret is smack-dab in the middle of Law School and loving it! Thanks for a fun time, guys!

Goodbye 2007, Welcome to 2008!

Wow. I practically want to lay flat on the floor, face to the ground, and cry my eyes out over what an over-the-top, blessings-filled 2007 we had. It's deeply humbling to think of where we were, both personally and professionally, just one year ago, but we are overwhelmingly thankful for where God has brought us this year.

Though there are not words to tell you how thankful we feel, we just wanted to extend our greatest appreciation to all of our family, friends, and clients for the relationships we have with you and the love that you've shown us in 2007. We are SO excited about 2008! Stan and I are both hoping to use this year to give, give, give - especially in light of all that we've been given this past year (and our whole lives, for that matter!) AND to work on ways to love and serve everyone in our lives more fully this year.

It is my commitment that this attitude of giving will overflow into every area of my personal and professional life. For this reason, I would like to announce that the BLOG is getting some fun new things in '08 - hooray! :)

To show our appreciation for all of our clients and photographer friends, we are planning on making the BLOG a blast this year - complete with contests, games, and REAL, FABULOUS prizes!!!

Look for our first contest of 2008 coming in the next couple of weeks! If you are or have ever been a client of ours (portraits, weddings, etc.) you won't want to miss this - the prize is AWESOME! :)

All of that to say, WE LOVE YOU. WE LOVE YOU. WE LOVE YOU.

And we thank you for a wonderful 2007 and look forward to spending 2008 with you! Many blessings to all of you this year and always.

Stacy & Stan

PS - Here's a video that our friend JoAnn shot of us at Brian & Kim's New Years Eve party. The video begins with Stan and I posing for what we thought was a picture, but then finding out that we were being video taped. There's no sound and it's really dark, but you know what a couple of goof balls Stan and I are already anyway, so this is just kind of fun! :)

Happy New Year!

Hope you all have a wonderful, restful, joyful, happy, and safe New Years Day! :)

We will be chillin' out max & relaxin' all cool, so we won't be answering any phone calls or emails today! We look forward to getting back to you tomorrow, Jan 2nd.

Blessings,
Stacy and Stan