Hey Stalkers!! We've listened to all ten of ya'll and specifically Keely about wanting bigger pictures on the blog! In order to do so, we have move our blog to
Please update your bookmarks/feeds as we will no longer be updating the blog at this location anymore.
Thanks for everyone's input and we hope you guys enjoy our new blog!!
See ya on the other side!
Mariae & Hali
Dear beloved stalkers, Hali and I are trying to figure out if we should post up "bigger" images for your viewing pleasure. So, we are going to be taking comments on this and majority may get to rule on this - or you can vote on the poll :oP
Please help! We are incredibly indecisive about this!
Mariae & Hali
Early Friday morning, there was a terrible lightning/thunderstorm that kept most of the afternoon dark and dreary and cloudy - and just a little wet. This got me really excited because Philip and Abby were scheduled for their esession at 4:30pm. By the time 4:30 rolled around, the sun was out in full force and it was a gloriously bright day. Lovely for golf...and not too bad for pictures. Didn't I tell you guys I'm starting to enjoy shooting in full sun now? Philip and Abby decided to have their e-session around Round Rock where they grew up! The location they chose was a mere 2.5 miles away from my own house. YAY for a short commute! The funny thing is that I've never even been to the park they took me to - or even knew it existed. It was alot of fun seeing the "rock" that the city was named after, as well as the dead snake and crawfish in the creek. :oP After we got done at the park, we headed over to the tracks for some more pictures. The tracks were soooooo much fun! First of all, I sat in a puddle of mud. By accident. I didn't know there was mud when I sat down to take some pictures of them. Next, we had a surprise visit from Philip's parents who happened to spot Abby's car parked near the tracks - while they were on their way to a birthday party. And, the best yet - lots and lots of rust and big yellow industrial vehicles to play with! Philip and Abby - besides the lying down bit (you know which part I'm talking about :oP) - you guys just made it way tooo easy for me. 
The morning after Carrie's party, I headed from Dallas back to Austin to meet up with Cayce and Dulce's for their e-session. JUST in time. Cayce and Dulce were guests at Audrey's and Keith's wedding and that's how they found out about me!! Stalkers, I have a confession to make. I put my couples' lives in danger for the sake of pictures. It can't be helped. All the cool stuffs are in harm's way. For example, we were chilling out downtown when Cayce mentioned a ranch that his brother owns, not too far away. I figured...why not ditch downtown and get on down to the ranch???!! I much prefer shooting on private property anyways! You are always guaranteed to have landscape no other couple will have! Plus, the images are more personal right? :) When we got to the ranch...I noticed some beautiful horses...and a trampoline. I have been DYING to do a trampoline picture. Have you guys ever seen Grease 2? (It's total cheese I know, but I love that movie!) At the end, during the credit, the actors are jumping on trampoline and doing their poses up in the sky....well...this was what I had imagined for Cayce and Dulce in my head. I kept making them jump. Higher. Higher. Just a little higher....and even though Dulce warned me she couldn't jump as high as Cayce on the trampoline, I still demanded more height. (And, in true militant fashion - commanded them to do tricks in the air.) Well...ummm...seems like Cayce may have done one trick too many in the air. Perhaps he accidentally knocked the wind out of her. There's a possibility that Dulce may have sprained/rolled her ankle. And maybe there were a few tears shed on this shoot. Not to worry...Dulce ended up being just fine. Which meant that I could put her and Cayce in the middle of the road - a supposedly 35mph road - for more pictures. We had just finished up and just made it back to the side of the street, when a car comes roaring down the hill (we were at the bottom of the hill) - and can I add that he was NOT going anywhere close to 35mph. Ummm...yeah. Well, I did mention to them that Audrey and Keith did sit out on a metal chair in the middle of a lightning storm. :oP Cayce and Dulce - besides all the near death experiences, I thought Saturday was pretty fun :)
Stalkers...I have the most amazing brides. I'm just going to reiterate that. I know all photographers must think that, but I'm pretty sure my brides' top the scale of fabulousnessessess. I think I may have the only bride who takes me along on her bachelorette party. Can I tell you how excited I was to go? I don't normally get to dress up (in any other colors but black), or have an excuse to wear heels (I own like a gajillion pair of heels..yet, I only ever get to wear my one super comfy $12 pair of flat from Walmart. Yes, I'm stylin' like that.). Plus, I rarely ever have a chance to go out somewhere on a Saturday night that isn't a wedding venue. Don't get me wrong, I love me some weddings! But it's always nice to change it up once in a while! So onto my notables: 1) Ummm...Medical insurance card. Apparently, you must always carry it with you ALL TIME. ALWAYS. Never to be without! Which reminds me that I need to find my card before Carrie's wedding or I'm sure to hear about it! 2) Dark chocolate wontons. Yum. 3) The spinal cord dance. It's the new thing. All the cool kids are doing it :oP 4) Drive a cab with a beer in your hand? Sounds illegal. Wait..I can't forget one of Carrie's girls stuffing an empty beer bottle in her purse as they lay in wait for the occassion. 5) Finding just the right bald head for one of her task...it's more difficult than you think. 6) Giving photography directions to 8 girls. That wasn't too hard. Giving photography direction to 8 girls - with half of them drunk. That was pretty hard...and hilarious. :) Carrie + girls, you girls rocked downtown like noone's business. Seriously. I can't wait to see you girls again in a few weeks!
Pink Posh Hotties :) Yes, they caused quite the commotion around downtown last Saturday! 
So, I told you that I was lucky enough to cover TWO days of Amara and Ali's Muslim wedding ceremony and reception. The second day, I didn't have to show up at their wedding until 8:30pm. When I showed up Amara was still finishing up dressing and Ali was just chillin' like a villain :oP. So I took the opportunity to do a few groom portraits with him. No aladdin shoes this time, but I guess a suit and tie will do just as well :oP. And Amara wore a beautiful pink bridal lengha - that happened to be pants on the bottom! Sweet! Seriously, how often can you wear pants on your wedding day (well technically, your second...wait, your third wedding day) and noone even knows its pants? The wedding reception in itself was very low key - some eating, a few pictures, and a cake cutting. The best part of Sunday was getting to meet Amara's and Ali's wonderful friends and families again - who I already got to meet and talked to on Saturday! Amara and Ali - congratulations on your marriage. Amara - thank you thank you thank you for finding every which way you could to get me to be there on your wedding day(s)! :) ~Mariae and Marie
Venue: Crowne Plaza Hotel
Makeup: Sylvia
The day after Kasey and Britt's wedding, I drove to Houston for Amara and Ali's wedding. This was my first Pakistani/Muslim wedding! Okay folks, I'm just going to throw it out there - I LOVE SHOOTING MUSLIM WEDDINGS! If anyone wants to refer some Muslim weddings my way - please do!!!! The colors are soooooo amazing...and even though it was crowded, sometime loud - it was also very serene and just lovely. Plus, Amara and Ali's wedding was a special treat for me - I was hired as the SECOND photographer. Yes...when she met me, she already had a photographer. Had no intention of replacing the photographer - only to get a different outlook on her wedding. During our meeting, she told me that I could shoot whatever I liked. You know... I'm told that alot - but I this was the first time where there were no stipulations to the shooting. Amara even told me I could shoot the cake cutting picture...or if I didn't want to, I didn't have to! (I did shoot a few cake pictures of course!) It was a dream to have complete and absolute creative freedom on the wedding day and to top it off, Amara is absolutely beautiful! Yes, I have a crush on her. :) So of course, onto the notables! 1) Her amazing wedding attire. Seriously, take a look. The skirt by itself hung on TWO wooden hangers!! And her matching jewelry that probably weighed more than Amara. I know she was hurting...there's a picture of her holding her earrings because it was soooo heavy! 2.) Me being the cake decorator for the day. Yes, I'm a girl with lots of hidden talents. 3.) Aladdin shoes! So, as soon as I saw the groom's shoes, I knew that I had to do a ring picture with it! Ali DID NOT want to part with his shoes - which I thought was weird, but okay, no biggie. Turns out that culturally, the bride's side of the family tries to steal the groom's shoes then sell it back to him at a high price!!! Amara had to convince Ali that I was not in cohoots with her family. (I would have been, if I had known about it!!) 4.) Ali taking the most expensive sip of milk ever. Yes, even though they didn't get his shoes, he still had to pay up if he wanted to share Amara's glass of milk. And finally...5) Getting ready time: 1pm - 7pm. (It took almost two hours JUST to put on the wedding attire - that's how intricate it was!!) Reception start time: 9pm. Exit time: 11:30pm. Definitely not your typical wedding day itinerary! Oh and guess what!! Amara had a Sunday reception where the groom's side of the family decorated the venue as well as provided for her wedding attire! You'll have to wait a day or so for those images!! :) ~Mariae and Vince
