Doug and I had such a great time out at Oak Alley with Alexis, her mom, and aunt on the day of her bridals.  It was my first time getting to do a bridal session out there, so I was excited to get to play!  I’ve always loved Oak Alley — the ambiance, the trees, it’s gorgeous.  I absolutely LOVE the first shot below!  It almost has that look of an infrared image, but wasn’t.  Alexis also wanted to work in parts of Jim’s uniform, and I really like the one of her holding the hat, but showing her ring.  I just wish we’d have had a little more time to play around with the old cars at the end of the session, but everyone was feeling the heat by that point.  Most of our brides have a whole new respect for models after their session!  I wish I would have thought to include it here, but there’s a cute damsel in distress photo that I told Alexis to do at the end; it was adorable!  If you missed their wedding post, just go back a page or two on the blog.  Enjoy!

Mallory and Doug were married on March 24 under the grand oaks and surrounded by the beautiful sculptures of the New Orleans Museum of Art’s Sculpture Garden. But it all started with Mallory getting ready at the Hotel Monteleone where she had a relaxing and fun morning with her bridesmaids and mom. One of the moments I personally loved being a part of was when she was finally dressed and her father came to see her. You could tell he was a very proud father and they practiced their first dance real quick in the hotel room. Such a sweet moment!

It was then off to NOMA and the Sculpture Garden for their First Look! We found a really great spot along the walking path with lots of Spanish moss hanging overhead from the oaks and beautifully backlit by the afternoon sun. We were able to make some really nice portraits and I just love the painterly feel of the photography with them reflected in the water, but I must admit it was a fun challenge relaying the posing instructions to my assistant via phone since I was about 50 yards away from them when shooting that pic! Afterwards, it was the Ketubah signing where we got to play with some cool light and shadows coming into the room before heading out for the ceremony.

Mallory and Doug exchanged vows under a chuppa surrounded by candles and topped off with hundreds of rose bouquets. After the ceremony they led all the guests in a 2^nd line to a cocktail hour in the garden area, while they snuck off for some champagne and food where I was able to grab a really cool shot of their first private moments as husband and wife.

It was then on to the reception inside the Museum where Deacon John rocked the place and the chair dance was certainly a hit! The couple departed through a line of sparklers to a Rolls Royce then it was off to Argentina the next morning for their honeymoon! I hope you guys enjoyed the bottle of Malbec from Argentina at your Image Release Party at the studio!

Contributing Artists:

Coordinators- Unique Weddings in New Orleans 
Bridal Prep Hotel- Hotel Monteleone
Reception Music- Deacon John & the Ivories
Ceremony Music- Chamber Music
2nd Line Brass Band- Herbert McCarver and Pinstripe Brass Band
Cakes- Royal Cakery
Caterer- Joel Catering
Florist- Bella Blooms
Transportation- Unique Transportation
Bride’s Hair- Chrissie Gilbert
Make up- Flawless Bride
Dress- Custom Design by Suzanne Perron

Alexis and Jim have both been so great to work with throughout their wedding plans.  The engagement session was fun; we were able to incorporate their beloved pup.  And then for the bridals at Oak Alley, Doug and I had a great time with Alexis, her mom, and aunt — there was much laughing that day!  And I don’t even think Mint Juleps were involved at all.

The wedding day was lovely.  They were blessed with great weather!  We did their First Look and formal photos at The Royal Sonesta and then everyone was taken to the church.  I love Our Lady of Guadalupe — it’s a very simple Catholic church on the inside, but yet so elegant.  And I really enjoy the priest there too; I always find myself paying close attention to his homilies.  The ceremony on this day was no exception, it was beautiful!

Once we returned to the Royal Sonesta, it didn’t take long for everyone to make their way onto the dance floor thanks to the tunes of Shaon and the Girls with Success. They kept the party going all night with their Motown vibe.  They even pulled Alexis and Jim on stage — and Jim broke it down for Alexis!  :)  And Alexis had a wonderful time up there too, she was a natural up there singing and dancing to Proud Mary!  Love it!!!

Thrilled that y’all had such a wonderful day!  Thanks for letting us be a part of it.  Enjoy!

Contributing Artists

Venue: The Royal Sonesta
Cathedral: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Band: Shaon and the Girls with Success
Hair: Tommy Centanni
Makeup: Kellie Bode

Lisa and Kenny were married on March 10th at the Royal Sonesta Hotel during a beautiful courtyard ceremony.  I was wondering how they were going to accommodate their number of guests, but it worked out quite nicely.  The day was a bit more chilly than expected, but the skies were free of rain, so that was important!  Lisa had meticulously planned for this day, leaving no detail untouched.  It was cute listening to her talk about the shirt she had considered making her mom of the quotes mom frequently said during the planning, such as, “Are you sure you need that?, That’s not too over the top?, You’re the boss.”  Too cute!  :)

I must admit though that the ballroom looked incredible, the cake was flawless, and Kenny’s cake was hysterical!  I’ve never seen so much food at a reception — the guests had an abundance of options — it was amazing!  If anybody left hungry, they must not like food! Ha!  The Bucktown Allstars entertained the guests for the evening, and kept the party going right up until the end of the night.  One of my favorite parts of the day was when Lisa’s seven year old nephew played the Hora on the keyboard.  I thought he was just going to play the first few notes, but he played the entire song.  It was incredible!!

I know y’all are on the way to your honeymoon destination as I write this — I hope you have a fabulous time!  We’ll see you when you return!  Congratulations!

Contributing Artists

Coordinator: Sapphire Events Nola
Venue: Royal Sonesta Hotel
Hair: tba
Makeup: Make Me Up
Florist: Steve Knecht   — tba
Videographer: Dyle Films
Ceremony Musicians: tba
Reception Band: Bucktown Allstars
Cakes: Haydel’s

View their Post-session slideshow below

We could not have asked for a better weather day, than when Heather and Sean took their engagement photos out at City Park — which was good since our first date originally got rained out. Heather knew after seeing a previous session awhile back that she wanted to include her dog Hutch in the photos.  Hutch was somewhat of a natural — all in all he did a great job.  Two of the photos with the pup are my ultimate favorites from this session.  I love the one below, and I adore the one of him peeking out from behind them.

Heather requested a bit more candidness to keep things more natural for Sean.  Sean’s a great guy, just on the quiet side.  I was picking on him trying to make sure he wasn’t just being quiet for the photos, and explaining that I hoped I didn’t see him with crazy photos of himself on facebook later to contradict his quiet demeanor.  Heather hinted that he is a bit more out-going — but that’s totally natural for the guys to be  a bit more reserved than normal in eighty percent of our sessions.  They always warm up and loosen up by the end of the session — and this was the case with Sean too.  I’m sure he enjoyed their drinks after the session though.  ;)  I have to start reminding you brides to go get the fellas a drink before  if they’re going into it a bit reluctantly.

These two are a fabulous couple though — I could feel their comfort around each other — it was sweet.  I’m looking forward to getting to know you more before the wedding in October!  It’s going to be a beautiful day, and it will be here before you know it!!  Congratulations and enjoy!!

I had a great time hanging out with Joe and Katie in the French Quarter a couple weeks ago for their engagement shoot! They were really excited about their shoot and were up for just about anything…..even balancing Katie on a small wooden ledge!  Katie really liked the back of her dress and they were given a special key that holds some history to an old Post Office, and we were able to come up with a way to feature both of those for her! Maybe she’ll post a comment here explaining the key a bit.   Thanks so much for being so much fun guys, and I’m looking forward to the wedding in October!

Danielle and Logan were married on March 3, 2012, at St. Agnes Church. If you read the post in Danielle’s bridal entry below, then you know that she just isn’t your typical bride……in a very awesome way. I think it would’ve taken a major catastrophe to make her even the least bit worried on her wedding day. It was supposed to be a 70% chance of rain overnight and into the morning, but we lucked out and stayed dry. She got ready at the Hotel Provencal which has a maze of courtyards and just beautiful locations to shoot. Logan actually finished off some homework out in the courtyard while she getting all dolled up in her room about 15 ft. away! Now that’s dedication to education.

Their first-look was awesome and with things running on schedule, we had time to play around in some of the different courtyards and made some really beautiful portraits before doing all their group formals and heading to the church. St. Agnes has a special place in the heart’s of Danielle’s family, as most of their family members have also been married in that church. After exchanging vows it was off to The Balcony for a whole lot of dancing and booty-shaking!

Logan’s first dance with his mom probably gave me a glimpse of what it will be like for my first dance with my mom, as there was a lot of laughing and smiling, but ended with a few tears and a tight hug. I absolutely love those moments, and I know those are the types of images that they’ll treasure for a lifetime. Like most of our weddings that involve people from Houma and Thibodaux, the dance floor was full most of the time, her father sang a song with the band, and it was a party their certain to remember for a long time. To Logan & Danielle, you guys were truly an absolute pleasure to work with through your entire wedding process, and I wish you guys all the best in the future!

Contributing Artists

Bridal Prep hotel- Hotel Provincial
Reception Venue- The Balcony
Band- Good Feelin Band
Florist- Blooming Orchid

Rachel and Taylor came in from Alabama for their French Quarter engagement shoot, and CheyAnne and I had so much fun with them! They are the first couple to book our Life is Art package, so CheyAnne and get to do all their portrait shoots and the wedding day together. Since most of their wedding guests will be coming from outside of New Orleans for their wedding, Rachel had a great idea to make a small informational booklet to send out as a Save the Date! One of the pages will have a section about the two of them and, since Taylor works in the medical field and Rachel works in fashion, he donned a pair of scrubs and she wore a little black dress. CheyAnne came up with a good idea to use the Pharmacy Museum as a good backdrop, and the photo came out so cute! We are really looking forward to Rachel’s bridal shoot and their wedding this December. Congrats guys!

We shot Danielle’s bridals at City Park back in February and did some shooting in the Botanical Gardens, around the park, and in front of NOMA. Danielle was just the most easy bride to photograph as every time I asked her if she liked this look, or that location, she simply replied “Eh, I don’t care. I trust you and like all your work, so just do what you want!”.  Always music to our ears! We just shot her wedding this past weekend and we had an absolute blast with her and Logan. Those pics should be up on the blog by next week!  Enjoy, and we always enjoy hearing your comments below the post!

Lisa contacted me a few months ago about photographing her upcoming wedding, and now it’s only ONE day away!!  We were able to squeeze in a last minute engagement session last week in the Quarter.  It was my first time meeting Kenny, but he was very laid back right from the get go.

I had a great time roaming the Quarter with them and getting some adorable shots of the two of them together.  It’s also fun to see them interact with one another before the wedding day.  I love the photo at the cafe table with the street lamp in the reflection of the window — such classic New Orleans.  I also think Lisa looks stunning in the shot by the river with her hair swept to the side.

Congratulations to you both!  I’m looking forward to meeting the families, and spending the day with you tomorrow!  Enjoy!