It’s easy to be inspired when you’ve got two adorable tattooed lovebirds dressed to the nines and cuddled up against each other. Add in a classic 1954 Chevy and we’re talking business.
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I’d been eagerly anticipating Rachelle and Stephen’s wedding for ages. If you recall, Rachelle and Stephen won an engagement session from a giveaway I did on A Practical Wedding. How could you not fall in love with a couple who asks if they can do a “regular” engagement shoot and then don costumes and a wig (and a fake wooden finger!) and pretend to be Margot and Richie from The Royal Tenenbaums? As we stood outside the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, we chatted about their wedding — a Sunday afternoon, light snacks but big cake, affair (with wine and beer) — and I was smitten. Luckily they felt the same way about me and chose me to photograph their wedding. I’m so honored and pleased to share this with you. Rachelle and Stephen were married on a warm June afternoon. Time and time again I was reminded of how lucky I was to be a part of the “VIP crowd” (as Rachelle called it). I was with the bride while she got ready, witnessed the couple’s amazingly heartfelt first look that had me in tears as I shot frame after frame, and spent time with them photographing their final last dance while the rest of the guests prepared for the send-off. You’d think a Sunday afternoon wedding crowd would be pretty tame, but this group danced and screamed and danced some more, and threw rose petals merrily at the married couple as they climbed into a Saint Arnold’s tie-dyed Bentley. You heard me correctly.
Second photographer: Emily Grenader     + 21 comments Great set! Well done, Elissa. Well done. A tie dyed rolls, that’s a nice touch. Wonderful work capturing it all! Love, love, love. Awesome! Very beautiful work, girly. Is that a Wall-e cake cos it’s freaking awesome! Everything about this wedding is awesome. The cake, the car, the venue is beautiful, the couple looks like so much fun. Also, love the lighting in the reception shots. Great work! So gorgeous! The portraits are all amazingly beautiful! What a fun and gorgeous day! Love their portraits together. Awesome wedding. The little Wall-e is brilliant! such a gorgeous wedding, great details and tons of fun! you did a beautiful job documenting the entire thing! Love that shot of the bride in front of that portrait in the wall. And that cake topper…how adorable! Well done! Haha, the reception shots are so fun and full of energy, love them! What a cool wedding!! :) You really rocked it, great work! Love the one of her sitting by the picture. Lovely set io images A wonderful mix of emotion and detail. A lovely wedding captured perfectly. Beautiful set and the coolest cake topper I’ve ever seen!! So much personality in these pics! Great job!! love the jewel/dress details Beautiful images Elissa! Wow, looks great! You’re the real thing, Elissa! :) And I heart your second photographer. 1) that cake is EPIC and 2) your photography is EPIC. Hands-down, this was one of the most fun weddings I’ve ever attended. Maybe I’m biased because my husband was invited as a guest — he and the groom know each other from their high school days. Or perhaps the fact that I got to dance with Walt while screaming along to Billy Idol as everyone got down on the dance floor has something to do with it. Or maybe I can just admit that even if I didn’t know Kate and Aaron until their wedding day, I actually loved everything about their wedding. The couple sourced almost all of their wedding from friends, starting at the beginning of the day with Kate’s handmade wedding dress, to friends singing during the ceremony and bringing tears to everyone’s eyes, to the reception’s homemade desserts table. Just by walking into the reception it was obvious how much family meant to them — the entry table included wedding photos of past generations on both sides, and framed wedding invitations going back to the early 1900s as well. Good beer was served, the DJ pumped the dance floor with energy all night, and the bride and groom were sent off on a pedi-cab amid the ringing of bicycle bells. There was so much AMAZING going on that I don’t think this blog post does it justice. Here’s a small sampling of their day…
(Oh, Walt…) Venue: Rice University Memorial Chapel and Cohen House + 24 comments Sooo lovely. Well done:) Beautiful! The dessert sequence made me hungry though :) This looks like so much fun! And those getting ready shots are just beautiful. Great job! So much emotion in all these pictures. You really captured the spirit of the day. That dress is so adorable! Suits the bride perfectly too! Lovely :) Oh I love the black and white photographs! And I love the dancing shots! They are one of the cutest I seen! Beautiful images! So much fun! Some really good stuff here. I esp. love love the black and white one of other people taking shots of the couple, and the cake-eating one! Oh, and definitely the one of the couple dancing, with the awesome ceiling-spots composition going on. Okay I love all of them but LOVE LOVE LOVE the black and white of them through the other people taking pictures of them and LOVE LOVE the ones of Grandma dancing! Beautiful work Elissa, the dance shots are great fun! Great captures, this couple looks like they are a lot of fun! Really impressed by your dancing shots, got a good laugh from the guy holding the two ties. Thanks, Geoff! That’s actually the groom, which, in my opinion, makes it better ;) OMG I love her dress! Great work! I feel like this whole wedding could be on moment junkie! You catch such amazing split seconds of awesomeness… great job E! I love the emotions you captured. They made me feel like I was there, and even better, they made me laugh. Elissa, you did such a brilliant job capturing all the moments and events of the day, I am so in love with these!!!! Cute couple! It looks like this was a really fun wedding, you did great capturing their day! Ahhhhhh great job, Elissa!! Tons of really, really great moments. Love the pic of walt dancing. I am jealous of his hair….seriously. :) Oh such a wonderful job capturing their day! How marvelous! Absolutely lovely! Elissa, these photos are truly wonderful. Thank you for capturing the spirit of the day and the emotional moments that added to the beauty of the wedding. And on another note, it was great to see Walt again and to meet you! I’m glad such a fantastic celebration was the reason our paths crossed, and I appreciate all you have done to photograph this joyful event in our lives! Carol Reese I adore the easy-going feeling here. Wonderful work, I especially love the dancing photographs! I have been waiting for this wedding for what feels like forever. And it was friggin’ amazing. Quick sneak peek…
+ 7 comments The second photo is so gorgeous! Stunning. Breathtaking. Beautiful. ooooh that first one is killer. Love that silhouette one! Ooh wow. Love the second shot! LOVE the second one. Beautiful light and pose Elissa! So gorgeous! |
+ - 9 comments
Rachelle - Ooo these are gorgeous! I like how you got brighter/vibrant color palette with them, definitely fits their style. I hope you’re shooting the wedding!
Gabby tamayo - Great job elissa, cant wait to see what they have in store for their wedding
Kristi Wright - Love that car!!
Christina - Love the dress, love the car, love the wall. Sometimes I’m jealous of Austin. Great shoot!!
Precious Things Photography - I love, love, love the car shots. I second the comment about the wedding – I hope you’re shooting it!
Elissa - Thanks for the comments, you guys! I’m actually not shooting their wedding. It’s in a few weeks and they decided on a last-minute (awesome) engagement session, but have a photographer lined up for their wedding already :) Still, it was tons of fun photographing their engagement session and I’m sure some photos of their rockabilly wedding will surface on the internet sometime soon :) I personally can’t wait to see!
Rochelle - The pictures look great!The last picture is wonderful!
Raychel Wade Make Up Artist - Great compositions for those getting ready shots!Amazing!
kristel - that shot of him looking in the car window is ridiculously great. i hope they get that printed. big.