Sister

One of my little sister's got married this past July to a wonderful man. I was her Matron-of Honor and enjoyed every single minute of it. It amazes me how much hard work and planning are put into every little detail of a wedding and how it all miraculously falls into place for ONE ah-mazing day. There were major bumps in the road on her wedding day but nonetheless it was beautiful. I kept reminding her not to worry about all the problems that arose and just enjoy the celebration of love between her and her husband. My sister is such a perfectionist, so it was hard for her to let go.
While shooting their wedding photos with the talented, Cristina Navarro, it was joyous to see my sister finally just enjoy the moment. The locations she had originally picked out for their photos didn't work out but where we ended up shooting was magical and perfect. We were supposed to shoot in a private property in the upper valley but we were attacked by swarms of mosquitoes, so we made our way downtown. When we arrived downtown it became horribly windy and rain clouds began to move in but the newlyweds "worked it." Alfresco! Fridays just happened to be going on at the same time we were taking photos and Mariachi's were performing. I decided to surprise the newlyweds by asking the Mariachi's to dedicate a song to them and at that moment they had their first dance in the middle of the Arts Festival Plaza in front of hundreds of people. As they were finishing their dance rain started to pour down and then a beautiful rainbow appeared. We will always remember how bittersweet that moment was and laugh about the circumstances. Everything was put into perspective and we realized that these are the moments we need to cherish because that is what life is all about.
Photographer: Cristina Navarro
Cinematographer: August {meets} December
Dress: Ella Blu
Flowers: Fiori
Makeup: Jessica Avila

Kathy and Charlie - July 23, 2010 from August {meets} December on Vimeo.

Boudoir

Ohhh Laaa laaa!!! Ok ladies, I have found the perfect gift for my brides to give to their husbands-to-be. A very sexy, gorgeous and unforgettable photo album or prints of your beautiful selves in your lingerie! Believe me you will have plenty of lingerie to model in your "boudoir" photo shoot after you get all your gifts from your bachelorette parties. A local photographer, Ivona, has awesome "boudoir" photography skills. Below, I have put together a few of my fav's from Ivona's blog. These photos are so classy and ooze sexiness. I can't imagine your hubby-to-be not loving this gift.

Hybrid Nails

On one of my many trips to the salon to get a mani/pedi, I decided to get Shellac done to my nails. Shellac is a hybrid gel/polish and leaves a gorgeous, flawless, shiny manicure. Some benefits to having a Shellac manicure done is that it dries instantly under a UV lamp for a few seconds; and it lasts up to two weeks. I have received plenty of compliments on my nails and people even think I have fake nails on. In my profession I am constantly washing my hands and my Shellac manicure has lasted 2 weeks and looks fabulous. I would definitely recommend for brides and bridesmaids to consider this manicure for the big day. You can find many local salons that offer Shellac manicures, the only downfall is there aren't tons of colors to choose from. 

Diamond-Inspired Bridal Shower

Jasmine Star is my favorite national photographer. Her images and blog posts just brighten my day and rock my creative world! Her twin sister got married this past year and I remembered a blog post she had about her sister's Diamond-inspired bridal shower. The images she captured of all the details of the shower are so inspiring, so I made an inspiration board from her photos. Hopefully, it will help some bridesmaids get started on planning their bride's bridal shower or bachelorette party. This bridal shower was considered so inspirational it was published in Inside Wedding Magazine. Awesome. The photos at the bottom left of the inspiration board show "love" notes that the brides guests placed in a calender box so that on the month of the brides wedding she could open an inspirational note everyday until the day of her wedding. The photos on the bottom right of the inspiration board show a customized body scrub station for the brides guests to make their own bath scrub by adding their prefered scent. I love the creative details and elegance of this bridal shower.

FriENDI Engagement

So my best friend is getting married this year. Unfortunately, she lives out of town and I am bummed that I can't be by her side during the whole wedding planning process. I miss her so much. She had a recent engagement session done by Lewchan Photography and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you all. Our friendship began our freshman year in college and I remember the first thing I told her was "Has anybody ever told you that you look like Salma Hayek" Awww sweet memories. Love ya End.

Boda

My cousin is getting married this year and has asked me to find some Mexican-themed wedding inspiration. I made two inspiration boards with two different approaches.
The first board is more fun and vibrant! I LOVE the cake and Loteria centerpieces!




The second board is more formal and elegant:



I like both of them but my personal favorite is the second board. I just noticed the boards didn't have any pictures of Mariachis. Brides, don't forget a wedding isn't considered a Mexican wedding if there aren't any Mariachis! haha

EP Engagement Session by Kristen Swanson

I LOVE this recent engagement session that the talented, Kristen Swanson, photographed and I had to share it with you all. Love the different looks the couple went for and Kristen captured. They have the urban look and somehow captured the beach look, luckily the river bank was dry. This doesn't even look like it was shot in El Paso. Great job Kristen! Congrats to the engaged couple! To see the rest of this engagement session visit www.kristen-swanson.com