Man alive, I’ve been waiting to say this for some time: “The stars at night are big and bright” *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* “DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!”
This trip has been a long time coming for me. Roughly half of our wedding clients here in Las Vegas hail from Texas and they’ve always been the most hospitable and friendly folks you could ever meet. Over the years, we’ve shot in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona, Nevada, California, Florida, Hawaii, various islands, Europe and dozens of other locales and it is with some pride that I can now add Texas to the list!
Diana and Garrett were wed last weekend in San Antonio and it was one of the most breathtaking ceremonies and receptions I have witnessed in some time, complete with a string quartet, a mariachi band and a celebrity guest – country music singer Rodney Hayden, whose beautiful music nearly put a tear to my eye. I want to use cliché terms like “red letter day” or “banner event”, but I think I’ll fall back on the old reliable “absolutely amazing” instead.
We were greeted with cloudy skies on arrival and while that seems like a bad thing, it’s actually quite nice. Even, diffused lighting really makes colors ‘pop’ and opens up the eyes quite a bit. This was a very emotional wedding and there was a great deal of love in the guest seats that really got to me. A good photographer notices everything – we see things nobody else sees and hear things nobody else hears – and all I could hear were whispers of love, admiration and support for these two beautiful people and it was wonderful. Just wonderful. Did I mention Rodney Hayden? That was just as cool as working with Serena Williams last year!
The ceremony was one of the smoothest I can recall – there was a great amount of room to move up and down the aisles and everyone remained seated and the quality and sheer number of shots we got reflects the amazing level of cooperation and thought that was put into Diana and Garrett’s wedding. I loved every second of it!
Between the two cameras I brought with, I personally ended up with over 600 processed wedding photos, all retouched, sharpened and enhanced on top of the shots from my partner, leaving our bride and groom with likely over 1,000 images of beautiful photos from my partner and I, with every imaginable angle covered.
Last weekend was the most Texas-centric weekend on record, with a beautiful Texas couple on Friday, a beautiful couple IN Texas on Saturday and another beautiful Texas couple on Sunday. Texas is quickly starting to feel like a second home to me and I’m pretty good with the hope that one day *I* will be a Texan myself. I really want to use lines like “We grow ‘em big in Texas” or “Don’t mess with Texas” or laugh when tourists go looking for the Alamo’s basement.
The one problem with this wedding is that I fell in love with Texas in my short time there and am of the opinion that it may be one of the best places on Earth. The air was sweet, the people were sweeter and there was a delicious fast food joint called Whataburger…..WHATABURGER! Jiminy Cricket, was that ever tasty!
Well, now that I think of it, there was one other problem – I’ve found that the best way to take reception dance shots is to actually be on the dance floor. I *really* get into my photography and once Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ started playing I was swinging my hips along with the music, carrying twenty five pounds of cameras, lenses, brackets and flashes, getting some absolutely incredible dancing shots and then I managed to pull a leg muscle. Ow.
But I digress 
Mazel Tov, you two!
The week ahead: This week is pretty exciting – we have a wonderful couple from Canada coming in on Friday and then a wedding with one of my favorite couples of all time in sunny California the very next day. I’m looking forward to both and eager to share my experiences. My shoes are going to be on fire with all this great travelling!
