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London Is For Laurens

I got to go to London for Emma & Micha's wedding. It was the first of many journeys across the UK that I have taken in the last month, and so while I was there I remember drinking in the feeling of being in an exciting place all by my self. I've written enough sappy posts about Aidan for everyone to feel secure in the fact that I adore him, so I'll go ahead and elaborate and tell you that sometimes there is nothing that I love more than just exploring a place on my own. The primary and obvious advantage is that it means that I can do whatever I want. It's kind of awesome. I can go to see photography exhibits, and to eat vegetarian food. I can pop into Anthropologie just for a browse, and if I really want to buy something there is no one making disapproving noises over my shoulder. When I'm tired, if I feel like it I can buy a heinously over priced ticket to go and see X-Men: First Class because sometimes it's good to reconnect with my movie star boyfriend. Street photography is also a little less awkward when I am on my own, and it is one of my favorite things to do. Here are my spoils.*

Lotte & David

Hooray for Lotte & David! I loved them and I can't wait to photograph their wedding in one month's time. Lotte found me through Offbeat Bride, which is always a sign of good things to come. I took a quick trip down to Bristol for their engagement shoot, and I had so much fun that I totally forgot that I was working. I tried out my 35mm holga contraption on them, which is what creates these super long panoramics like the one you see above. Most importantly, Lotte and David are so incredably great together, and I can't believe that I'm the lucky photographer who gets to photograph their wedding. Congratulations Lotte & David! 

Kat & Derek

Kat and Derek actually eloped to NYC. They were married in Central Park with only a few of their nearest and dearest present. Very romantic, right? They are friends of mine from the Texas days. Like Aidan (my husband), after getting his PhD at UT, Derek was called to Scotland for philosophical endeavors. When he left Texas, he left us his adorable Hyde Park garage apartment, and all of his awesome furniture. So of course, when I found out that they were engaged I demanded to be their wedding photographer, and when I found out that they were eloping to NYC, I revised my demands to them allowing me to take some pictures of them to celebrate their marriage. So here they are all dolled up in their wedding clothes, looking pretty wonderful together I think. Congratulations Kat & Derek! 

Shiloh & Christian

I loved Shiloh and Christian's wedding with my whole heart. I wish I could put my finger on exactly what made it so special, so that I could tell you the perfect recipe for a beautiful, magical, wonderful wedding, but I can't. However, I'll go ahead tell you a few things about it anyways. First off Shiloh is an avid reader of A Practical Wedding, which never hurt anyone. Secondly, so many of Shiloh and Christian's family and friends came out to Cumbria for the weekend, and camped, and joined together to make the day especially festive with things like flowers from Christian's mother's garden, and incredible food cooked by Shiloh's super talented brother. There were friends & family setting up the hall in the morning, friends & family doing dishes after the supper, and all the while people were having a great time. There was a lovely mile-long stroll through the countryside from the house to the reception hall and back again. It was positively romantic. Also I could seriously take pictures of Shiloh's blue eyes all day, actually I could take pictures of her and Christian together all day because they are so obviously and beautifully in love with each other. Thanks to everyone for being so welcoming and so awesome, and above all else: Congratulations to Christian & Shiloh! 

A Color Slide Sunset

Here are some pictures that I took all the way back in December while I was waiting for my UK settlement visa. Like many bureaucratic endeavors my visa wound  up taking a lot longer than I had anticipated, and so I spent a rather stressful month couch surfing my way across North Carolina. I started with a week at my grandfather's house by the beach. I love how the shoreline reflects the sunset when the waves recede, and how the beach makes it impossible not to loose myself in admiring simple yet important things like color, texture, line, shape, and light. This at least was how I tried to distract myself from the visa stress, and the being away from Aidan stress, and the leaving behind everything and everyone in Austin stress. And it worked, sort of, for a little while. There may have been a morning or two of me crying dramatically into my coffee, but by evening time here I was again, camera in hand.

Holga + Wedding = Love (Wherein I Get a Little Geeky)

First things first: While I usually lead a post with a picture of the happy couple somehow the shots that I grabbed with my holga from Carrie & Jonathan's wedding wound up being a lot about Carrie. She is so beautiful, and these first two pictures especially make me smile every time I see them. There is something just so thrilling about film to me. Film plays a little hard to get, and the wait makes the reward that much better. This year I've been experimenting with taking film cameras with me to weddings, and I've discovered that the images that I'm the most drawn to actually come from the cheapest camera I've got: my holga. I adore the richness of medium format film, and I love shooting in Squares. My other medium format camera is a Mamiya, but it shoots 4x5 format which sometimes feels a little lame when compared with the boldness of squares. I love the dreamy quality that the holga produces. It's nice too that it's so lite weight. I usually carry two pretty heavy digital cameras and it works well that I can hang my holga around my neck and pretty much forget about it until the right moment comes up. All of which is to say that you can expect to see a lot more of these kinds of pictures, as well as some experimentation with other formats and films from me in the coming months. I am excited. 

Sarah & Gary

I'm so excited to be working with Sarah and Gary, because really: aren't they just too adorable? Sarah was the first Scottish bride to find me on Offbeat Bride and it was so nice to finally get to meet her and Gary. If you can believe it this is also the first shoot that I have done in Aberdeen, so that was pretty cool too. Sarah suggested we check out this cute little fishing village which is conveniently located right next to the sea. I had a great time photographing them, and I can't believe I have to wait until June of next year for their awesome backyard bbq wedding. I just know it's going to be a blast. Congratulations Sarah & Gary!

Carrie & Jonathan

Carrie and Jonathan were wed one gorgeous sunny day in St. Andrews. As they proved at their engagement shoot, these two have all the luck with the weather, and I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect day, or a more adorable couple. Congratulations to Carrie & Jonathan! 

Carrie & Jonathan's St Andrews Engagment Shoot

 

I officially live in Scotland all the time now.  This means that engagement shoots have become ridiculously easy, especially if I'm working with an adorable couple like Carrie & Jonathan. All I had to do was step back and let these two frolic around the gorgeous landscape. It was a wee bit chilly, but the sun came out for us, and I'm pretty sure we all had a good time. I can't wait to head back to St. Andrews for their wedding in April. Congratulations to Carrie & Jonathan!

Allison & Jason's Riverside Wedding

 

Allison & Jason had a lovely wedding at Fiesta Gardens. I could not have loved this venue more. In so many ways it was really simple, but it was right on the river, it had these adorable bleachers (above), and there was such perfect light as the sun went down. There were so many adorable details from the wildflowers in antique glasses, to Jason's wedding ring with Allison's finger print on it, to all of the fabulous decorations that Allison and Jason DIYed. Of course Allison and Jason were stunning together, and there are some really fun pictures from their brief portrait session. I'm certain that all of their guests had a blast at the party that followed, and all in all it was a wonderful day. Congratulations to Allison and Jason!

Amanda & Andrew's Underwater Wedding Day Kiss

 

There are so many awesome things about Amanda & Andrew's wedding that I don't even know where to start. I guess what's most important is that they are really awesome people who are completely and utterly adorable together. I figured this out when I first met up with them for their engagement shoot, but their wedding truly confirms their adorableness. They found an awesome house on craigslist for their venue, and had a simple Sunday brunch wedding with their closest family and friends. Amanda was stunning in her wedding dress, her brother was the officiant, the ceremony was short, sweet, and joyful. Andrew made their wedding rings out of molds of their fingers: the outside of each ring is an exact contour of the other one's finger. Is this not the MOST romantic thing you have ever heard? But wait! It get's better: after the meal some of their friends met them down at Barton Springs, and so I was able to use an underwater film camrea. Be sure to check these pictures out at the end of the post.  Congratulations to Amanda & Andrew!

Abby & Steven

 

Abby and Steven's wedding was totally magical. They were married at The Star Hill Ranch, which is one of my favorite venues in Austin as it is set up as a tiny little western village with an adorable chapel, barbershop, and perfectly restored early 19th century buildings. All of the details for the wedding were totally classic and yet unique from the flowers, to Abby's shoes, and don't get me started on how utterly beautiful she looked in her gorgeous wedding dress. It was a lovely wedding with perfect light, a tearful ceremony, and a rockin' good party. Congratulations to Abby & Steven! 

Erinn & Jimmy

Erinn and Jimmy had the sweetest wedding in downtown Austin. The day started with Erinn getting ready and hanging out with her family at the Driskill Hotel. There were delicious snacks, lots of cute little ones, and plenty of good cheer as Erinn and the wedding party got all gussied up. After a fun portrait session from one of the balconies, we all headed down to The Old Pecan Street Cafe for the lovely ceremony, during which I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. Then the music started playing and everyone danced the night away. Erinn is possibly the sweetest woman to ever walk the planet, and was just gorgeous in her wedding dress and and veil. Everyone was incredibly kind to both me and Zach on this loveliest of days, and we had a wonderful time shooting this wedding. Congratulations to Erinn & Jimmy!