Joel + Jodi Wedding

My last wedding of the summer...the sweetest wedding to date. Small, intimate, personal, enveloped by the Lord, and the most blessed, happy couple I have really ever seen. A couple that had only gotten officially engaged just 2 weeks before the wedding! HA! (I was booked about 1/5 months out, though, so Joel knew, obviously! I love it!) I had known Joel b/c he is a partner in the firm that did our mortgage--people whom we have become friends with now that they know all our personal information/salary/cost of our home/etc since we've used them twice now! HA! But Jodi, I met the day of the wedding. Jodi is this little ball of energy and smiles and just full of love for her man! In getting ready, she held this little baby bonnet. It was Joel's as a baby and his mother gave it to her to carry that day--and she never put it down (only to let me photograph it!) In getting ready, she listened to a tape of Joel preaching--to calm her down. She said the sound of his voice was soothing to her.

I forgot to mention: Joel's Dad is pastor of the church! 1st Baptist in Pasedena (right on the corner at Fairmont--the big one!), so when I say they were blessed, I meant it. Joel's father and brother performed the ceremony. And when I say that there was not a DRY EYE IN THE CONGREGATION--there wasn't. Not even mine. I balled like a baby. They were just so meant for one another, and you could just SEE it and FEEL it in that church that day.

The rain and the storm and the near power-outaged did not deter from the vows. Sweet, simple, meaningful. I have never seen two people say their vows with more passion and grace. They were not just words....again, the crying on my part.

After the ceremony, they had a small reception with cake and punch for about 45 minutes...then snuck away. Really, just wanted to sneak out the back door! They were on their way to Arlan's market (you know, the little grocery store across from the Endeavor) to get TV dinners. Seriously. That was their meal of choice. They do that nearly every night, and they didn't want to change a thing! So I followed and we got some cute shots in the shopping cart!

And the RAINBOW! God was trying to apologize for all the thunder and lighting during the ceremony, and we got some great shots out of it!

Again, the sweetest, nicest, more adorable couple....congrats you two!!

Cory Thompson sang during the ceremony--the man can sing. His voice is blessed by angels. I cried just listening to him warm up. I mean, he can sing! Holy Cow! If you want someone with a jaw dropping voice to sing at your ceremony, call me, I'll hook you up! HA!

Peeking out to see the cake!

Jodi and her father prayed before the walk down the aisle...

Joel, watching Jodi walk to him in that gorgeous dress...

Winking at her man...

His new daughter-in-law...

Jonathan + Sarah Wedding

Okay, typically, my favorite images from a wedding are the getting ready shots. I LOVE the anticipation, the shear nervousness, the fun times with the wedding party...the dress, the shoes, the makeup, the jewelry, the flowers....ahhhhh. The ceremony is pretty boring to photograph--not that I don't cry when each of my brides walks down the aisle, or sob during vows they wrote themselves....but I usually have to just stand in the back and not make a PEEP, so that get's kinda boring to me. Sorry. The formals, are, well, formals...posed, cheesy, traditional....unless the bride let's me get creative! And the reception is usually fun if there is dancing or alcohol (and if I'm lucky, BOTH...that's when the images get REALLY fun!)

But for this wedding, my favorite shots were the formals and the reception! Odd, I know, but you have to know these two! Sarah is a calm, cool, fabulous girl, and Rhodes is a freaking ham. He's pretty quiet, not boistrous, but funny as hell!! Naturally funny...the kind where you don't even have to try hard and you make people pee themselves.

So, after the getting ready was over, and then the ceremony was over, we headed to the Hotel Galvez in Galveston, and that's when the party started! It started during the formals. It was HOT HOT HOT...and they were so great in letting me try some new things...and we even got a few couple shots before Rhodes melted.

The reception, I KNEW, was going to be good b/c they hired the Mambo Jazz Kings....hands down, the BEST band for weddings. PERIOD. So the first dance started, "Islands in the Stream"...my kinda people! And then, the fun happened. And I mean FUN! These people know how to party and dance and weren't afraid to shake their grove thang--EVERYONE. Not a shy guest at this reception! And they weren't all drunk---they were high on wedding life! I have NEVER had this much fun--okay, maybe, but I had fun just WATCHING the people! And you can see from the pictures!

**NOTE: There are a few many pictures of my best friend Lindsey who was a bridesmaid! All for MySpace, baby!!**

**Second NOTE: All the gorgeous men in the photos are brothers--yup. 5 offspring that all look that good....amazing. Way to go Dad!!***

Gorgeous family of boys...my my!

Future Congressman--seriously, he's going to run! Vote for Rhodes!

Oh, the sweetness of this shot...the foreshadowing....I cried when I saw it in processing....

Sarah cried just before they started the procession and the girls jumped right in to calm her nerves! Love it! It's good to have friends like that!

Check out the stained glass...I'm a sucker!

Runaway bride! Sarah's idea!

Look at these adorable nieces and nephews Sarah inherited! Lucky girl!

This guy was singing along to my FAV song in the whole world: Jessie's Girl. But his rendition:
"I wish that I had Johnny's girl!"

And the crowd cheered him on!

I NEVER put pictures of myself on this blog, but I had to throw one out to Lindsey!

Mother/Son dance! HA!

They all sang along to Bon Jovi--about 3 times!
"Living on a Prayer!"