After the beautiful snow at the Taos Ski Valley, it was easy to decide that the ski valley would, in fact, be the most stunning place in Taos County to have a wedding elopement! With Embracing Ceremony officiating, this Texas-couple was wed in the mountains of Northern New Mexico in fresh powdery snow. Adorned with snow boots and a perfect white jacket, the bride was one with the snow and didn’t complain of the cold. Here’s to wintertime weddings, sunny afternoons, and tons of snow!
For a dark, windy, winter evening, we rocked this engagement sitting and captured some amazing engagement photos. These women came to Taos from Portland, Oregon for a pandemic-getaway. They rented a house out on the mesa and they had their own little private courtyard complete with sculptures, prayer flags, and a labyrinth. We were able to use the photogenic design also incorporating the endless sea of sage and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range too. Congratulations to these women and their happily ever after, in progress!
You can tell a lot of things about someone by the shoes that they wear. Hiking boots with a wedding dress? Yes, that is making a statement. Or Doc Martin boots with a tux? Flip flops? $400 heels for wedding day? Something blue, perhaps?! Much thought is involved in the shoes for walking down the aisle. People like having photos of their feet…remembering the detail that went into something that are worn at the bottom of the attire, but still so important. I love using things like manhole covers and flowers to show off the shoes! What are the most impressive wedding shoes you have seen?!
Even if you aren’t a “flowery person,” there’s no doubt about it, the flowers are an important asset to your wedding pictures! Flowers are a burst of color in your photos and can add a little bit of brightness to what is often a photo with a black suit and white dress. Your flowers can be an expression of your favorite season, color, or plant. A great florist can help you incorporate succulents, wildflowers, or even pieces of beautiful weeds and golden wheat into your wedding bouquet. Wedding bouquets can be wrapped in burlap, hemp, ribbon, and twine to really show your style. A bouquet can be giant (helps to bring out your bicep muscles in your photos, haha), or tiny. They can be long or short stem. I’ve seen glass bouquets, clay bouquets, and dried flower bouquets. The imagination is the limit.
I love it when brides have stunning flowers to hold. I love using the flowers as a frame for a bride’s face, or as a background for a traditional ring photograph. I feel like the flowers are an important piece of the wedding for many reasons and should be included 100% of the time.
Many times there is a doggy-friend who, after the bride and groom, is the most important personality at the wedding. In our consultations, we often ask if there is a special animal friend who should be included in the photos, because we KNOW that is a picture that you will miss after your wedding if you don’t get it! Dogs are best friends, and dear family members and should be included in ALL celebrations, as these buddies would like to think! We’ve shot weddings where the dogs are the best men, maid-of-honors, ring bearers, and flower girls, and we’ve learned that some dogs take their wedding position very seriously. We’ve known weddings who have changed venues because their dog wasn’t allowed to walk down the aisle. We’ve photographed excited, anxious, and nervous dogs. Many dogs are camera shy! And we will never forget when the dog ran away, WITH the rings (no worries, she was found before the ceremony)!
So please, bring your dog and count on a few pictures with your baby. A dog is definitely a special and honored guest at a wedding when they are included. So here’s to wedding dogs and Happily Fur-ever After!!!
I love the restaurants that I work with at weddings and during catered wedding receptions. I love the beautiful presentation of food and the little details of deliciousness. I love the elegance of a lovely atmosphere that hosts a wedding and I love the people who bend over backwards for the married couple. After picking up food from an elegant, local favorite tonight, I’m sending so much love to all of the restaurant owners and staff tonight. Covid-19 has been hard on all of us, but especially the restaurants. How quickly everything changes and how I can’t wait to photograph this beautiful part of weddings again.
