I’ve had the opportunity to work with Doyin of Events by Doyin a few times, and she’s a really talented decorator and event coordinator. Here’s a post of some images I created for her at Arcodoro in the Galleria area – in her own words.
I was really excited to be a part of Georgy’s second wedding reception. Very seldom do you find people with her type of selfless and loving personality. It was a great opportunity to design and plan her joyous occasion.
The wedding reception, which was unique in itself being the second wedding reception she was going to have, was warm and intimate. She had gotten married in her hometown, Indiana, some months previously, but her close Houston friends decided to organize another reception for her to welcome the lovely couple to their new hometown.
The venue was a cozy Italian restaurant in the chic galleria district. The bride was not a fan of bright colors so we decided on brown and gold as our main colors with ivory and green accents. Tulips were used as centerpieces, symbolizing true love, peace, happiness and much more.
The mood was romantic, the food was fantastic; the perfect way to celebrate this true love story; congratulations bride and groom!
Doyin.
I’m having new business cards made, and they’re going to be ready soon! I’m so excited! I’ve been wanting letterpressed cards for ages, and for all sorts of reasons, it didn’t happen until now. In the meantime, here’s a look at all the cards I’ve handed out over the years, in chronological order. It’s funny how I’ve evolved towards a more and more simple design. It’s been really interesting tweaking my cards over time. Once, a bride called me and set up an appointment – when she came in, she was clutching a really old version of my card, and she told me that she’d kept my card for years, and she’s always known she wanted me to photograph her wedding. I was completely blown away – I hadn’t even seen that version of my card in at least 3 years.
So, shortly after their engagement session (see below), Obi and Ada got married! They had a beautiful ceremony at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church – those are the strictest in terms of photography. Luckily, I showed up at the rehearsal the day before and negotiated positioning and movement (or lack thereof!) with the priest. It’s amazing how resourceful you get when you’re not allowed to move. I was as creative as I could be – you never want to go back with excuses instead of great images! And sadly, even though I couldn’t move, it didn’t stop the guestographers! It sucks when I’m the only person in the building who abides by rules. Well, as usual we got great coverage, and I’m sure they’re very happy. And of course this lovely affair was coordinated by the lovely Chioma of Dure Events
It’s been pretty busy around here, so no time to blog. Maybe this time I’ll get on some sort of regular blogging schedule. Doing a double post today – Obi & Ada had a two day session, so we could get both day and night shoots in. The night session ended at around 11:30pm! We had so much fun, none of us realized just how late we were shooting until we got back to our cars. As usual, I got lucky and got to photograph a fun, laid back couple.
I love working with couples whose wedding I shot way after their wedding – it kind of affirms to me that I did a great job at their wedding 
O & C got married back in 2008 and then had twins! I got asked to shoot their kids dedication – they’ve got to be the most even tempered kids I’ve shot, even in the face of a really big party in their honor. I was really happy to be there. Maybe I’ll shoot their weddings?
I was in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago, and managed to take some time out to do some street photography and test out the new Canon 1D Mark IV. It’s pretty remarkable, and I had quite a bit of fun running around Chartres taking pictures and snacking on oysters. In the daytime, I caught a great street show that had the whole street transfixed, and at night the storefronts looked great! Here’s where I saw my first Lush store – I was a little too excited – I’ve been ordering Lush stufff from London for years, so finding out there are now stores in the States was a bit too much for me. There is so much New Orleans Saints pride out there, on Sunday I was the only one who wasn’t wearing black and gold, and people were looking at me like a traitor! I’m definitely going back as soon as I can. Dressed in black and gold. 
So, we’re finally at the third of our trifecta of IB & Mike pictures. We’d been trying to set up this session for a while – I’m still getting caught up from my crazy busy summer, and they’ve been busy with, well – whatever pregnant people are busy with . We finally found a time that worked for everyone – and just in time, too since the baby is due SOON. As usual, these nutjobs acted out and I was just there to photograph it. And as usual, it was awesome.
So… this wedding was extra special to me because IB is a close family member – think coming over with no shoes close. And my daughter Y was in the wedding, so we all got to field trip it out to Corpus for this family wedding. It was also pretty cool to get a hug and kiss from Y every half hour during the day. She also got to see daddy at work, and I think she really got a kick out of that – so now she knows what goes on when I go to work.
There was a pretty funny moment at the getting ready in the morning – I thought I was quite cool, and I had a shot all set up where a bridesmaid walked into the room and surprised IB with her bouquet, which had just been delivered. Well, I had the shot all set up, and as the bridesmaid popped the bouquet out from behind her, all we heard was “Umm oh hell no. That’s not purple!” We all fell out laughing. Luckily, the florist took care of it quite quickly (IB’s a lawyer lol!)
At the ceremony, as Michael read his own vows, there was not a dry eye in the house (including mine!). Everyone who was there will probably never forget those vows. It was truly a special moment. Of course during the formals and reception, this couple’s true colors came out and they acted quite the fool. We all had so much fun!
So, here’s what’s happened – I shot IB’s maternity portraits about a week ago, and I can’t bring myself to post those before I post their weddings (traditional and church weddings). So I’m doing a triple right now. Serves me right I guess. Looking at the pictures, I remember just how much fun it was and how emotional things got towards the end. And of course it wouldn’t be Mike & IB without some truly preposterous pictures at the end there. I wish they had a vow renewal or a baby every year – I love shooting them. One of the cutest bits of the traditional marriage is where the groom gets tricked with a fake bride. who is brought to him by his bride’s family during the ceremony, covered up of course, and he has to figure out that it’s not her and ask for his real bride. And there’s lots of bribes (usually expensive alcohol) that go back and forth and the families have little mini meetings while they pretend to decide if they’re going to let their lovely flower marry Mike. It’s lovely.
I shot C & K’s engagement session in Dallas, the day after a wedding, and we had so much fun! Their wedding was no different. There was lots of dancing, and a LOT of kissing! Trust me, I could have made a whole post of *just* their kissing pictures, but I didn’t.
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