ABBY + RAMON just got married. 2 days ago. This is a blogging record for me  - posting the Monday after. Of course it’s Abby’s bridal shoot because I couldn’t wait another day to show her off. Abby and I have been friends since Jr. High. And let me tell you, that is NOTHING in time compared to how many of her closest friends have known her. In fact, her and Ramon have known each other almost all of their lives, since kindergarten. It was totally amazing to be a witness to their friendship and love on one of the biggest days of their lives. I’m so grateful to have been a part of it.

ABBY flew down from Brooklyn to do her bridals right here in Houston. Sarah, Abby’s MOH drove a couple hundred miles back and forth between Houston and our hometown with Abby’s mom and mother in-law to be just to be here for our 2 hour shoot. You guys rock. Chateau Cocomar, in case you haven’t heard yet, is one of Houston’s newest up and coming premier wedding and event venues and I’m so blessed to be on their short list of preferred photographers. So much thanks to Diane (makeup) and Lauren (hair) over at Blush and Co. - I LOVE THEM. Fabulous light, gorgeous architecture, and one stunningly beautiful bride…….

When I met Stacey, I knew I was in for something different. I had no idea HOW different – but I was super excited.  Their wedding was actually last year on Halloween weekend, but because I’ve been as slow as a turtle to blog, I decided that a perfect way to start this upcoming Halloween week was to post their engagement session (wedding to follow). Stacey shared with me that her and Jimmy are ALL about Halloween. To say they love it might be an understatement. They LOVE it. When Jimmy told me that he used to work down on the Kemah Boardwalk and he was good friends with the guys that put on the awesome Kemah Haunted House every year, I was like woah. Perfect.

We got an ENTIRE hour before it even opened to run around and play. It was an amazing opportunity and I’m not sure I’ll ever get one like it again. First let me say this – I had no idea what I would be working with lighting or  non-lighting wise. I had never been to this haunted house before and even Jimmy + Stacey weren’t really sure what scenes we would have to work with. So I brought along a couple options for lighting confident that I could figure it out when we got there. Once we walked in my heart started racing. It was pitch black. And I’m talking can’t see your hand in front of your face black. (Duh, Holly, that is what a Haunted House is!) But I had hope. So we walked through a few of the first scenes to get the feel for where we might want to start. By the way, if you ever shoot in a haunted house, it’s a good idea to give yourself more than 1 hour. I’m sure we wasted a good 20 min. just getting lost and finding our way back to different places.  I’m starting this post off with my favorite series and one of my most cherished engagement pictures ever. There are so many reasons that I love these images. The challenge to even take them, the chemistry of Jimmy + Stacey, the organic and un-replicatable nature of them, and one my favorite subjects, light.

Pitch black room. Fog machine. Laser light show. Holy Heaven on Earth (minus trying to focus in darkness). I’m pretty much going to build this room one day and have some crazy fun. We spent about 20 minutes here – and I wasn’t ready to leave. But we had other scenes to discover – here are a few….

Clowns are super scary. And I suffer from Coulrophobia.

And here are some images from the second half of their shoot – the “normal” part They are one sexy couple!

Two weeks ago I had the chance to have an official studio opening for the Annual Spring and Winter Street Exhibition. I’ve been working on a few personal projects alongside of my weddings and was so excited to be able to share it with friends, family, and some lovely people I had the chance to meet for the first time. A huge thanks to all of you who came by to say hi and for all of you that traveled from out of town to show your support. For those of you who didn’t have the chance to make it by, here are some images from the show and some previews of the Summer//Fall Collection of the Color. Bokeh. Light. series. Oh, and the cake batter truffles, they rocked.

// Online store coming soon! Holiday + Note Cards available now - contact the studio //

// Check out the new ART section of my website to read more about the pieces //

Thanks to the amazing @lepattillo for the collaborative creative force behind our floating feather balls!

It seems as if I’m constantly striving for balance. Aren’t we all. One thing that has been on the back burner for me this past year has been blogging. My friend Mr. Dakota (pictured here) shares my sentiment. Not that I don’t love doing it, it just takes time and usually I pour my time into things like shooting, album design (because i love it!), client development, new projects, etc. The beginning of this year was a perfect time for me to get back to blogging, especially since my new beautiful site re-design by Promise Tangeman was complete in the spring. It gave me an excitement about posting that I had been lacking for quite some time. So here we are. Starting fresh. Once again. There are going to be some great changes around this blog including catching you up on the past 2 years of weddings, engagement shoots, bridal shoots and everything in between. So brace yourself, for real this time, and enjoy the fresh images coming your way.

Oh, and yes, I will do another post on this canine with attitude (and his owner) – you’ll see more of his inner feelings about  having a mini impromptu photo shoot.

It breaks my heart to open my e-mail and find a note from one of my sweetest brides ever with some of the most devastating news ever. Justin + Stephanie got married a year ago on October 3, 2009.  They had been married less than a year when Stephanie was diagnosed this past August with brain cancer – she’s only 23 years old. (You can read her story here www.stephanielambertbenefit.org) I could talk on and on about Stephanie and Justin and the amazing people they are, Stephanie’s contagious smile, and Justin’s sweet endearing nature towards her, but I won’t – what I need to pass along is so much more important.

I have no idea how many people this will reach – I wish it would reach a million-billion-trillon if that were a number. But I’m just one tiny little person, and I’m asking on behalf of Stephanie and her family for your tiny little person help too. Because EVERY person matters and lots of tiny little person support will make such a huge difference to both Stephanie, Justin and their families. One day, one minute, one second can change someone’s life – we are fragile even though we feel strong. This life is a huge gift and we aren’t owed anything. So think about your life changing in a matter of seconds and imagine how much support you would need to make it through. Now think if there is anything you can do to help support Stephanie and Justin.

The Stephanie Lambert Benefit Golf Tournament will be November 22, 2010 at April Sound Country Club. They need players, sponsors, gift donations or gift certificates for the raffle that will be held at the tournament, or if you can not participate, you may make a donation. Player and Sponsor registration deadline is Nov. 8th. Please read more information here (www.stephanielambertbenefit.org) or contact me directly and I can forward you the information. Please feel free to Facebook, Tweet, or forward to anyone who may want to be a part of Stephanie’s amazing recovery.

You may remember Stephanie + Justin from their engagement shoot.
Here are a few images from their beautiful day last October – I love you Stephanie + Justin! Our prayers are with you.

It’s official. Justin Timberlake just missed the best thing that he could have ever had. A night. A life. A lover. A person to give his presents too – yeah, you know *something* in a box. The greatest campaign has neared a close (www.jtplease.com), the candles are snuffed, the cupcakes eaten. But all hope is not lost, JT. The memories of the greatest night you never had are all here. Waiting for you. And if your lucky, really, really lucky, you might someday be able to celebrate the life of this incredible woman with us – she will have another birthday next year, so start planning.

Mad shouts out to Amber Roussel (Ah-Ha! Creative), Chris Valdez (Primer Grey), + Lindsay Daywalt (KickStart Associates) for the smashing cool ideas and design behind the jtplease.com movement. And of course @CosmoPolitician for well, you know, being alive. Gina your expressions are priceless + Stefanie, too adorable for words. Delicious cupcakes homemade by Lindsay – sooooooo good.

See the whole set of random b-day fun…..click the slidehshow

Mark and Lindsay met through one of their passions. Sports. Both were working for the Dynamo when they met. Now Mark works for the Astros and Lindsay has her own business in PR/Marketing specializing in the sports and entertainment industry (KickStart Associates). They were totally “just friends” when they met. Yeah, guys, I’ve heard that one before No, really, they were just friends. And that is the best start to an amazing love – I know, that is how my husband and  I started, and for real, we were just friends. But truly, these two are so right for each other. As soon as I met Lindsay we clicked. She is so easy to talk to, loves life, and we totally have the same sense of humor and I love that. Today I asked her if they had registered anywhere and she replied, “Oh yes, Mark’s favorite part so far (shooting the gun).” What? You mean taking snuggly engagement photos wasn’t your favorite part, Mark? I get it. I know. But who could tell this wasn’t your favorite part? Just look at you two….adorable.

I guess I should have mentioned that Mark likes bridges. In fact, this is the exact spot where he proposed. Yeah. Sweet.

I love that the ducks kept crossing back and forth the entire time we were over here. Makes me really wonder why did the ducks cross the road? There has got to be a real answer to that people! Couldn’t resist posting the little guys.

Syed and Mandy live in Chicago. They had never met each other before until each one of them decided to take a trip back down south to see family that lived in Houston. Syed and Mandy met that day on the plane. How very romance movie-like of them yes? And for another 10 romance points, Syed proposed to Mandy in a restaurant at the top of downtown Chicago high rise. What is so awesome about both of them, in addition to their super sweet and caring personalities, is that they decided to honor each other by having ceremonies from each of their cultures. I was so excited to be able to shoot the first of the events on Friday night, so consider this Part 1 of Syed + Mandy. After the cultural ceremony, friends and family gathered for mingling and some awesome food and a portion of the evening was devoted to pictures of everyone in attendance. We also got to sneak away for a few minutes alone so I wanted to share some of those images. Part 2 of their American ceremony coming soon!

Mandy had so many ideas for pictures and one of them was that she wanted to somehow capture the reflection of the light fixture in these four paneled windows. Of course, I was all about it and loved how they came out. Great eye, Mandy!

I just loved Shannon + Damian’s wedding. From the vintage location, vintage bikes, and all kinds of way cool touches that made this super intimate wedding one of my faves. I am a huge fan of intimate weddings. I just love them so much. Words can not really do this super sweet day justice, so I’m going to get to the pics. I am so blessed to have been a part of their day. Thank you’s go out to Tiffany and Jason, Mark and Amber, and Monica for introducing me to Shannon. Although we  officially met for the first time the day of the wedding, I felt like I had known them forever. Meet Shannon + Damian.

I absolutely loved what Shannon + Damian did for their guests. They took a ton of fabulous postcards, pictures, and printed images and put them out for their guests to leave love notes and well wishes for them. Every year, for their anniversary, or anytime really, they will be able to open their box of love notes and read what their closest friends and family wrote to them and see the oh-so-awesome love pictures that match! LOVE it.