So, to date, Kelsey & Adrian hold the award for “Most Unique Location”!  We actually met up with these two are a highway park stop off of hwy 45 South between Huntsville and The Woodlands.  Oh yeah, we were skeptical but ready to take on the task only to find, that this would be no task at all.  Take one adorable couple and one awesome park stop and viola, you have an awesome photo shoot.  After hanging around the park stop like a couple of bums with nice equipment for a bit we headed out to one of their local hang out spots, the Sam Houston soccer fields.  Here we were able to capture these two and their love for kicking a black and white ball.  And I must say, they have some moves!  After a bit of time here we snuck back behind the school to a historical home district to play in the Bradford Pear trees and rustic porches.  We had so much fun with Kelsey and Adrian on their rustic, outdoor engagement shoot.

Yet another fabulous Rachel Events couple!

Please click here to view their Engagement Slideshow!

We had the opportunity to shoot at Thistle Hill in Ft Worth, TX with the beautiful Stephanie Smith and the results are picture perfect!  This venue is outside of our norm which was a great challenge to take on as well as a fun break to try something new.  The staff at Thistle Hill was so nice and accommodating and they have an absolutely beautiful historical home that I’m thankful they shared with us.  Here are just a few of Stephanie’s elegant, indoor bridals.

Please click here to view Stephanie’s Bridal Slideshow!

Jonathan & I absolutely adore The Woodlands in North Houston, TX.  It is one of those places that can best be described as a the light at the end of the tunnel.  You drive through Houston which is a rather dreary place in my opinion and you pop out the other side and find yourself surround by tall, beautiful trees and a lake.  Can’t beat it in my opinion, which is one of the reasons we adored doing this photo shoot.  We kicked things off at the Mercer Botanical Gardens then headed out to Creekwood Park for a little bit to hang out with their dog Dash then we ran out to Jonathan & I’s dream neighborhood on East Shore for a couple of sunset shots.  There were so many cute photos from their engagement session, some of which are a surprise and will be revealed at a later time.  For now, we will share with you a few of our favorites that aren’t a secret.

Please click here to view their Woodland Engagement slideshow.

We had such as wonderful time with Aleigh and David on their engagement photo shoot.  These two love birds are tying the knot in 2013 so it was great to get a jump start on their engagements.  We kicked things off at the Dallas Arboretum during Dallas Blooms, yes we are brave, but as we had hoped, showing up 30 mins before close during the middle of the week paid off and we had most of the garden to ourselves.  It was a beautiful cool Spring day and we were surrounded by the newly blooming gardens, it really was a perfect day for a photo shoot.  From the gardens we headed out to White Rock Lake for a bit of fun where Aliegh’s mom met up with us and this couple two adorable dogs.  We had alot of fun with them outside and boy did they get to work some energy out.  We give you, the adorable engagement of Aleigh and David:

Please click here to view their Engagement Slideshow!

We would like to introduce to you Mr & Mrs Matthew Collins!

We are so excited to be able to share this gorgeous wedding with you.  First, some background…for those of you who have not met this bride, this is Jonathan’s sister Susie and her now husband Matthew. We all had so much fun pulling this wedding together for them but no one had more fun than Susie and Jonathan’s mom.  A designer at heart, she personally implemented each and every detail seen at this stunning wedding.  She is also the owner of Jacqueline Chapelle French Inspired Events and many of the decor elements shown are from her with our favorite being her stunning tents.  I can honestly say this was equally the most fun and most work we have ever done at a wedding and at the end of night it was so rewarding to look around and see everyone having a blast and enjoying cup of freshly brewed coffee from Java Pura while waiting to take photos in the Jonathan Ivy Photo Booth.  There were so many photos I wanted to post but I had to seriously hold myself in check and limit myself down to these few. I hope you enjoy this beautiful country, chic wedding.

Click here to watch their Engagement slideshow and click here to watch Susie’s Bridal Slideshow.

This is just one of the many reasons we absolutely love First Looks!  These are priceless photos you would never get without taking a moment alone together.  Matthew’s face is superb, you feel like you were there when you see the photos below.

Susie was also able to place those final touches on her groom.  With the help of her iPhone she perfected Matthew’s bow tie!

Instead of having sleeves on her wedding dress I love how she opted for the classic look of a bolero jacket!  So elegant.

Here is the beautiful ceremony site with one of Jacqueline Chapelle’s tents.  This wedding took place on a private estate in North Houston.  The wedding party walked down the aisle with a bagpiper and the sound of the beautiful music floating throughout the countryside set the pace for a beautiful ceremony.

To kick off the reception we introduced the wedding party then started the evening with a dance by Carlos who is Flamenco Dancer.  Very cool performance!

Both of these beautiful cakes were created by Susie’s Cakes which has officially been nominated as Jonathan and I’s favorite cake ever and we eat alot of cake. The wedding cake flavor is unstoppable!

Another one of Jonathan & I’s favorites was at this wedding and it was the Texas Unlimited Band.  This band is awesome!  They play the best music and they can play anything.  Its always a party when Texas Unlimited is around.

Please click here to see Susie & Matthew’s Wedding slideshow!

First off, we are so excited that we are working with another fabulous Rachel Events couple.  Second, we are so proud to say, we photographed our first Texas State Capital Engagement session and it was awesome!  The capital in Austin is so cool!  We had no idea all that it had to offer and we could not have found a more perfect couple to photograph there.  Michael actually worked in the capital for a while which is the reason they live in Austin.  So this photo shoot there was extra special.  Sure we also visited several other fabulous Austin hot spots like their favorite bar Icenhauers just off 6th Street and the infamous Austin post card.  I, Samantha, had such a hard time choosing my favorites for this post because there are soooo many that I love.  Here are just a few fabulous photos from this beautiful couple!

Although we had a blast at the Texas State Capital, I must admit we really enjoyed checking out Pam and Michael’s hang out spot Icenhauer’s just off of party lane 6th Street.  This bar is absolutely beautiful! An old home fully restored, this dig serves some of the best beers in the greatest atmosphere around.  Highly suggest checking out this place.  Plus we owe them a huge shout out for allowing us to photograph this awesome couple in the stellar bar.

Oh yeah, we went and found the big Austin post card!

And for our last few photos we brought in the last member of the family.

Please click here to view this fabulous Engagement Slideshow!

Where do I start…do you ever have a something that you are so excited about that you are worried you will run all the fun at the actual event just because you are anticipating it so much?  This was Jonathan and I when preparing for Amanda’s bridals!  We already knew Amanda was a beautiful girl with fabulous taste so we also knew her gown was going to be gorgeous, we knew she had a surprise up her sleeve for her fiance involving a golf course and we knew we were excited, what we didn’t know was just how fabulous these photos were going to turn out.  We had the hardest time choosing just a few for this blog post.  Here are just a few of Amanda’s many stunning garden chic bridals from the Grapevine Botanical Gardens and the Grapevine Train Station.  Enjoy!

Here comes the element of surprise, well at least for Mark.  Amanda arranged a golf inspired photo shoot for the groom’s cake table which was also a surprise.  We had a blast pulling this together with her and boy was Mark surprised.  He loved the cake and all the photos!  It was a complete success!

Amanda is such a chic bride.  Here are a few of her many beautiful bridal photos.

Please click here to view Amanda’s Garden Chic Bridal Slideshow!

This winery inspired wedding was shot at the Delaney Vineyards in Grapevine, TX.  I was so excited to get to shoot this wedding.  I have wanted to photograph at Delaney Vineyards for awhile now.  It is a wonderful venue for a texas wedding!  Amanda is super organized bride!  She did such a  great job putting on this wedding! We were able to shoot their engagement photos and Amanda’s bridal photos.  You have to check them both out.  The ceremony and the reception all took place in the barrel room of the winery and the food was served in the tank room. The Ceremony music was provided by European Ensemble Strings, they played classic string versions of modern music like Bitter Sweet Symphony and Smooth Criminal.  Its was pretty awesome.  I might have to find out if they have music on itunes.  DJ Infinity Systems did an awesome job with the reception music and the uplighting which gave the entire room a warm romantic candlelit ambience.     Kate Foley designs took this wedding to the next level with her flowers and decor.  She brought in vintage looking mason jars and clean square vases and filled them with a white green and yellow mix of flowers that were just perfect for this early spring wedding.  The cakes by Simply Cakes were especially fun because the groom thought he wasn’t getting  a cake and when he walked into the reception and saw the Golf themed grooms cake he was truly surprised.  I love fun things like that.  Its those special moments that make weddings so much fun.  The food for the evening was provided by the awesome CN Catering.  Hair and Makeup were by the lovely Lysabelle Pham-Le.

Click here To watch their Engagement slideshow and click here to watch Amanda’s Bridal Slideshow

To order prints from their wedding click here to sign up

Check out their wedding slideshow here and their photos below!  Also don’t forget to leave a comment and tell the couple how much you enjoyed their wedding!

This was a gift from Amanda to her Dad.  I think he cried.

The Buffet was setup in the tank room.  It was a very cool industrial room that was perfect for the food line.

Well, the day has finally come!  Jonathan and I shot our first maternity photo session with some great friends of our the Quinones Family.  Its so funny how something like taking maternity photos can make you have to think outside the box so much.  We had alot of fun, learned alot, had some great laughs and then went out for burger in the end.  It was a wonderful time.  It was great seeing Ashely and Joey again and as always it was great being entertained by their crew Julesy and Brody.  Here are a few photos of “Baby Girl” in mommy’s tummy.

Ashley is the girl we all want to be when pregnant.  The super cute blonde in heels with nothing more than a bump when she turns profile.  She is so adorable!

After we decided it was getting too freezing cold we ran back to the Quinones house to take some photos there and to have some fun with the family.

And this is about how much excitement we got from the kiddos.  Haha, I think they were hungry and ready to play

Emerlee Ruth Quinones arrived on March 2nd at 1:48pm at 7.9lbs and 19″ long.  Everyone is doing great!

Click here to view her Maternity Slideshow

To see photos from the Quinones family at past photo shoots please click here.

So this is a bittersweet post for me (Samantha).  Our dear friends the Burcaws came into town to visit us at the same time I came down with a horrible cold.  This being said, I was not able to participate and play with everyone throughout the weekend.  Despite this, Jonathan and the Burcaws still made a point to have some fun and avoid getting sick.  We had a blast posing little Lily here in the studio for a few fun shots.  I was so glad I was able to participate in those before they all headed out to the Dallas Arboretum for some Fun in the Sun!  It was a beautiful weekend and Lily looked absolutely adorable sitting amongst the lilies.  Here are just a few of her precious outdoor photos.

To see Lily’s first photo shoot at the ripe old age of a couple hours old, please click here to visit her Newborn Photos!