Dripping Springs Portrait, Wedding and Lifestyle Photographer

Marybeth and Connor | Sabrina Cedars Wedding

Thursday, January 21, 2021no comments

I’m finally getting around to blogging my fall weddings! I do think last fall was the busiest my life has ever been. Homeschooling, traveling all over kingdom come to shoot weddings and West Texas family portraits and trying to sink some roots into our new town near Austin had me burning the candle at both ends. It was a glorious workload and I was happy to have executed and then rested!

But I wanted to for sure tell you about this wedding and show you the amazing images!

Marybeth is so special to me and I couldn’t NOT blog her wedding, even if it was three months later than normal.

Marybeth was an answer to my prayer.

A few years ago I had prayed to meet like minded people and hours later I randomly met her at a cupcake shop where I ended up eavesdropping on a conversation she was having with her mentor and friends about her faith. It was so inspiring and I quickly asked her a question about what she was talking about and met her.

I felt God highlighting her while I was there eating a triple chocolate cupcake with Sam before picking up the other boys from school.

A week later I was at her church and spotted her from across the room. I went right up to her and reminded her that we had met at the cupcake shop and she immediately hugged me and asked to pray for me.

I was like- THIS IS MY KIND OF PERSON!!

She is one of the happiest, positive and giving people I know. She even helped tirelessly keep my kids for me last summer while Josh was working in Dripping Springs and I was alone in Lubbock working several nights a week. I nicknamed her my boys’ “fill in dad” because she was babysitting almost every night while I did shoots.

When her and Connor started dating I could see the sparks flying!!

These two were falling fast for each other and I loved getting to hear and witness their story as it began unfolding. You can imagine how excited I was when these two asked me to be their wedding photographer.

YES!!!! I couldn’t wait.

I drove in from Austin to Abilene that morning, photographed their beautiful, heart felt wedding, drank FOUR mocha lattes from their coffee bar and drove the 4 hours back to Austin that night.

WHAT A DAY!!

I couldn’t have been happier to be a part of their wedding.

Sweetest first look!!

Sabrina Cedars in Abilene was the perfect backdrop for this couple. I loved all of the white wood, windows, beautiful hills and modern details.

I was excited to see all of this come together from everything Marybeth would show me after finishing babysitting my kids months earlier. It was a DREAM.

If you are in Lubbock then you need to meet this couple! They will be a powerhouse couple for decades to come, I just know it!

Congratulations Marybeth and Connor!!!

Vendors:

Florist: Fussy Chicks

Videographer: Levi McKay

Caterer: Market Street

Cakes: Good Things Bakery

Coffee: Espressoak

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Once every 5 years

Thursday, January 14, 2021no comments

They say it only snows here once every 5 years. Well we got the lucky year!!

Dripping Springs got several inches of snow last week and my kids were in heaven! So many of the kids in our neighborhood had never even seen snow here and everyone was outside playing with their families and taking photos. We had a great time together.

We got layered up and went to the park and made snowmen, snow thrones and sled down the big football hill. The boys and I were having a blast. Sam’s cheeks were bright red and he wanted to keep rolling a giant hay-bale looking snowball to make it bigger than his brothers’. We turned that one into the throne and he was quite happy with it.

Solomon hit the hill and wiped me out at the bottom of it. I’m sure it looked pretty hilarious… my whole body flying through the air and landing right on top of him. Luckily we weren’t hurt, but boy that is a moment that I wish I had on film to send in to AFV!

Until our next adventure!

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What we inherit

Friday, January 1, 2021no comments

My grandmom, Margaret Bodine, passed away from a three week battle with Covid yesterday.

My Grandmom was one of my favorite people in the world.

Her home was always filled with so much love, good food, service and compassion.

Her farm in Colorado City was an anchor in my life from the time I was a child. We moved a lot while growing up and being able to come back to her farm was a place of stability for me. I learned how to use a band saw, make pinatas, sew my own Easter dresses, make cookies, paint murals, dig up cactus, pick okra and use my imagination at her house.

Grandmom created a culture for her family of togetherness, faith, tradition, hospitality and service. I always wanted to make time to go back and visit after I was married. Everything about the place was serene, familiar and full of good memories.

Her and my grandfather, Truman, used their lives to celebrate the gospel of Jesus, mission work and loving on their family. We went to church every opportunity there was when we visited. First Baptist Church in Colorado City was one of my old stomping grounds and she would have me sing in the service as often as I could. She loved music, singing and playing the piano.

What does it mean to leave a legacy for your family? I’ve been thinking about this for the last few weeks that Grandmom was in the hospital. When we live a life of purpose, service and focused mission then we leave a sure foundation for our children to grow their own lives on. They can stand on our shoulders because of what we fought for and built in our own lives.

My Grandmom exemplified this.

She did not live her life randomly, but out of purpose. In every hardship and loss she clung to the Bible and prayer. Even in the assisted living facility her aim was to share Christ with the other residents and to make known the gospel and hope of Jesus Christ until her last day on earth.

I am who I am today in big part to who my Grandmom chose to be for her family and my mom. I am deeply saddened that Covid took her life, but thankful for the wisdom, the creativity, the devotion to her family, the generational recipes and stories that she passed down to me.

I am so grateful for the time that I was able to spend and the window visits that were allowed these last few months.

Death is always sobering. It draws us back into clarity about how short our time is on earth and what the meaning of life is.

Who will you choose to be this year? Your legacy is being built by your actions and intentions day by day and matters incredibly to the children who come after you. I pray that you will build a legacy as powerfully influential as my Grandmom did. She has changed so many lives in her 91 years.

Love you Grandmom.

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Shepherd’s Meal

Wednesday, December 23, 2020no comments

The Christmas season is filled with traditions from my childhood. My grandmother, Margaret Bodine, was the queen of creating family traditions and rituals that brought together family and friends over good food, fun and remembrance.

I grew up with a big lineup of fun with all of the cousins: pinata busting, caroling to country neighbors on a hayride, mexican stackup and desserts, putting on the nativity story play for family and finishing it off with my uncle dressed up as Santa and coming in to deliver presents.

My childhood holidays at Grandma’s were pure magic.

When I had kids I wanted to explore other family traditions and read about Sally Clarkson’s Shepherd’s Meal in her book the Life Giving Home. It was one that I instantly knew I wanted to do with my boys.

Shepherd’s meal is candlelight dinner with simple foods that would have been available (well, that’s a stretch!) to the Shepherds who were watching their flocks when the angels appeared to announce Christ’s birth. We put together a charcuterie board of cheese, meat and crackers and then make a big fruit salad to share together.

This meal is one of the only times that my boys will sit at the table longer than 5 minutes to eat. Something about the candlelight really draws them in and I love it. We ask and answer questions about what the hardest and best parts of the year were and what we are thankful for.

After dinner we either read the nativity story or watch it on TV. This year we watched the pilot nativity story from The Chosen series.

After that we went on a night time bike ride to the football fields at Founder’s park and looked at the Christmas star and played flashlight tag.

Silas hugged me at bedtime that night and told me that he loved me so much and that I was the best mom in the whole world. Shepherd’s meal always connects us deeper as a family and I hope that my kids will reflect back to so many great memories from their Christmas seasons like I did.

Do you have a favorite Christmas season tradition that you can share with me? I’m always looking for more to add!

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Jackie and Trent | McCasland Sunken Gardens

Sunday, December 20, 2020no comments

These last two months have been non-stop for my photography business! I have 1 session and 1 wedding left before I am officially done for 2020! Now that I have a little breathing room I am going to begin sharing some of the sessions and weddings that I was able to photograph this fall and winter.

I was so excited to get to photograph Jackie and Trent’s wedding. 2020 definitely threw their wedding plans a few curve balls, but they took them with stride and switched their wedding from Ireland to Dallas, Texas.

Jackie and Trent got ready with their friends and family at the Adolphus hotel in Dallas. One of my favorite Dallas photographers, Erin Woolsey, second shot the wedding with me and together we got the most amazing images! From the getting ready location, to the garden and finishing at the reception venue- everything was perfect!

She wore the most comfortable wedding shoes I’ve seen yet- Kate Spade Keds!

Their two pups were in the wedding and were with them in the hotel room. I loved getting to shake their ears and pet them all day.

I was so surprised at how much color was left in the gardens in mid December. I loved how we still had greens, reds and yellows to work with for their portraits.

Thank you two for hiring me to be your wedding photographer! I was so happy to be a part of your beautiful day and get to know and work with you over the last 7 months!

Their fabulous vendor lineup:

Venues: Adolphus Hotel, McCasland Sunken Gardens, 2616 Commerce Venue

Florals: All that Glam

Cakes: Sweet Cravings Cake

Videographer: Immerson Media

DJ: Dapper DJs

Photo booth: PhotoBooth Dallas

Catering: Chick-fil-a and Auntie Anne’s

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The L’Etoile Family | Dripping Springs Family Photographer

Saturday, October 24, 2020no comments

Corley was the first person to reach out to me and schedule a family session with me months in advance after we decided to move to Dripping Springs in the summer. I was so grateful and encouraged by her booking when I thought it would take me months to relaunch my business in a new area, but she gave me hope that it would only take weeks! I’ve been looking forward to her session for a long time and was delighted by how the photos came out.

We explored a trail near my house with her two adorable kids and found the most gorgeous light imaginable! The entire session felt like a dream with flowers, sunshine and lots of snuggling.

We were walking past this spot on the trail when I saw that golden light flicker through the branches and I made everyone pause and move into the brush to use it. That warm light is my favorite!