I’m going to say it out loud, right here: it takes a certain type of person to hire a new photographer to shoot her wedding. Someone with immense trust. Someone with a big heart. Naomi is that person — she saw my name on A Practical Wedding and inquired immediately. I had only two weddings in my portfolio and she said, “I don’t think this could be a more perfect match!” Why did she say this? Because she had read my wedding post. She and I understand that the point of a wedding isn’t all about the dress or your perfect shade of lipstick — although those things are fun and it’s fine to get excited about them. Weddings are about the love you have for your partner. It’s about waking up the next day with the person you love right there cuddled next to you, and knowing that you declared your devotion, and the person you adore declared it right back, in front of the people who raised you, support you, love you. It’s about being excited about having a life together. Having a marriage.
Fast-forward through the winter… I shot a few more portrait sessions, attended a few more weddings, and finally Naomi and Eric’s big day rolled around. That overcast Saturday was the first time we met and she greeted me with a huge smile. Their colorful wedding at Fiesta Gardens in Austin was incredibly heartfelt and sweet, surrounded by family and friends, and full of pom-poms, a caricature artist, and four different flavors of cupcakes. I’m so excited to share all of this with you all.
.jpg "first look")
.jpg "bride and groom candid moment in front of lit window")
.jpg "wedding party gets ready before ceremony")
Second photographer: Caitlin McWeeney
Dress: Dolly Couture
Catering: El Primo
Cupcakes: Sugar Mama’s
Makeup: Nisa Nicole
Hair: Shannon McClenny
DJ: Gabe Vaughn
Boutonnieres: McPhail
+ - 30 comments
Brittany - Oh man! I absolutely adore her dress – what a sweet bride and an adorable couple. Love all the special moments :)
Nessa K - That third photo is SO cute and I looveee that black and white image of them.
Also – caricatures at a wedding is such a good idea =)
Eric - Elissa, this is a very nice series. You can really sense their love, happiness and joyin every image. The negative space shot of them dancing is an absolute winner. Ciao!
Christy - Oh my goodness. Beautiful work Elissa!!!!
Kristi Wright - Love the bride’s and her bridesmaid’s dresses + bouquets. So cute! Great job on the nighttime shots.
brooke - Okay, I’m obsessed with her dress! I loooove your outside dancing pictures – they look perfect, and that is SO hard to do!!
sam hurd - so many awesome details! you can tell they put a lot of work into their wedding and you definitely captured it well :)
Sarah Rominger - Love that black and white shot of the bride and groom with all the negative space in between. You have a very artistic eye, beautiful job!
Tall - Love the details of this wedding – those bridesmaid’s dresses are so great! Nice shots!
Jaimzh - Absolutely stunning work, great details and very well captured
Fiona Lumsdaine - What a stunning wedding! You captured it beautifully! Love the detail shots.
Jen de Vos - The use of negative space for the bridal dance is amazing !!
ALMA - Great work…love the party frames!
Matthew Evans - I can’t believe this is only your third! Fantastic work Elissa! Love the glow sticks at the end of the night :)
Natalie Franke - I love the bride’s dress! So beautiful!
meds - it takes a certain person to try new things, and it takes a good photographer too :) love this!
nadine - Wow, that bouquet is so beautiful, and her dress is beautiful. And she has pom poms!
Paul Rowland - Gorgeous! That 3rd image down with them in front of the window, and then the 1st two reception shots of them dancing are so awesome!
Gina - ok, so…I LOVE her dress and the color choices for the bridesmaid’s dresses and the bouquets. what a fun choice!
Donna - Great Job!
Becca - Very impressive!
Jon Clearwell - Love the shots! wow! The different colours for the bridesmaids is co cute!
Joanna D - Wow the ceremony shots are so touching and sweet, I really really love these. You have a talent, keep on keeping on!! :)
Sam - Lovely wedding, I really freaking adore the dancing silhouette shots!
Perez - The bride’s dress is wonderful! Cute couple!
Heather - How fun!!! This is such a gorgeous wedding- you did a fabulous job! I adore that black and white of half their faces, just after the ceremony. Well done!
A Story in Time - I love the colors and theme of their wedding! Love those first dance shot with the lights but I adore the cartoon of them. How fun!
Josh - These are beautiful Elissa. The window light and night shots are superb!
Ashley - This couple looks like they’re so much fun! I love how colorful and fun their wedding was, and I think you captured it all perfectly! :)
James - Very good work for a third wedding. You have very good compositional skills.