Tag Archives: Swimming Pool

Surprise Pool Party Wedding Recreation

November 19, 2012 in Styled Photo Shoots | Written by Kat

Oh I love a surprise wedding! And a surprise wedding + pool party!? EPIC!

But this wasn’t actually a real wedding, it was set up as a recreation of the wedding of some friends of the photographer who were married 30 years ago. Jessie & Kenny had a wedding just like this one, in the exact same spot, in 1982 (some of their wedding photos are at the end of the gallery – how amazing are they?!) So to celebrate, and to have an their anniversary party with a difference, they decided to relive the whole thing. This is a styled shoot unlike the rest and, yes, they really had the big party afterwards!

Styled shoots have been wedding blog favourites for a few years now. I do like to feature them to share new wedding ideas with my bride & groom-to-be readers but I’ve always really preferred to publish real weddings. It’s not that I don’t like styled shoots, but I know real life examples always go down better than a ‘concept’ set up but a bunch of wedding industry professionals who think that it’s a quirky, cool (or in recent times – trendy) and very ‘blogable’ idea for a wedding.

Which is why I love this shoot. It is a new concept. It’s a recreation of a wedding, being sympathetic to the original inspiration while showcasing some awesome new ideas. Just like with Whit & Colby, I was initially disappointed when I realised that this wasn’t an actual wedding, but again like with Whit & Colby I love it because of the amazing creativity behind it. On reflection I congratulate the creative team for doing something that I wish everyone else would… actually being creative.

A Crazy Cool Bali Wedding: Myles & Barbara

September 5, 2012 in Wedding | Written by Kat

What is it was all the exotic weddings I’m getting submitted recently? I think the universe must be telling me I deserve a long, sunny holiday!

Well when Myles & Barbara’s Bali wedding landed in my inbox I just about spat out my cuppa with the anticipation of blogging it. Have you ever seen a wedding party so a) cool, b) expressive, & c) hilarious? No, me nigher. I couldn’t wait to hear more…

“Myles proposed whilst sitting on the toilet, pants around his ankle. In Elfish,” explained Barbara. “It really was very romantic… I promise you. We just wanted our wedding to be a big party, fun and happy with a little bit of looseness mixed in.”

Teresa & Mat’s Colourful & Fun, Vegan Wedding

March 9, 2011 in Wedding | Written by Kat

Teresa & Mat had my favourite style of wedding – colourful, fun and not-too-serious. In fact as soon as I saw these gorgeous images a big fat grin spread across my face and I can’t wait to share that feeling with you all too.

To keep the day personal, the couple were married in Teresa’s parent’s back garden. The reception was held at Red Brick Theater, Adel, IA.

Teresa wore a dress by Amanda Archer whom she found on Etsy. “I found her a year before our wedding, fell in love with her dresses and I could not wait to ask her to make mine,” Teresa explained. “There was one problem, she lived in Portland and we lived in Chicago. Amanda was amazing to work with. She sent me swatches of fabric and took my measurements over email. She made the dress in Portland and I waited anxiously at home.”

“About months before the wedding I received an email from Amanda saying they were relocating to Chicago!! It was such an amazing turn of events. A month before the wedding I went to Amanda’s studio and tried my dress on. It fit like a glove. I don’t know how she made it just perfect for me without even meeting me, she’s just that amazing. I also had Amanda make my birdcage veil, an item I am so glad I went with. I love my husband, but I still have a secret crush on my dress.”

With her perfect dress Teresa wore flat, yellow, vegan shoes from BCBG and a veil, also made by Amanda Archer.

“Our wedding was complete vegan. We come from a background of animal rights and so do most of our friends. We found is completely necessary for our wedding to be vegan. Displaying our love for one another is a commitment we hold deeply, but so showing our respect for non-human animals. My dress and my husbands suit where made without the use of animal materials. Our bridesmaids and groomsmen all wore vegan attire as well. Our wedding cake, cupcakes, and root beer floats were all vegan. The soy Ice Cream for our wedding came from Chicago Soy Dairy!”

“Mat and I actually met through music,” the bride told me. “We met one night after an Earth Crisis show. I mean how much more vegan straight edge can you get then that. When it came to our wedding we wanted it to reflect who we are and who our friends are. We encouraged people to show off their tattoos and bring ipods full of their favorite songs. Picking out music for our wedding was probably the hardest part. It had to be just right and represent us as a couple. We hired a four string quartet and bought them sheet music, so they could play songs we loved such as; Baby Elephant Walk (ha!), All of My Love by Led Zeppelin, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison, and the opening song to my all time favorite hardcore CD; Reflections by Trial.”

“It was not just the music that made our wedding different. The people we wanted to be in the wedding and help out with the wedding had to hold our beliefs. We asked our good friend Carey to marry us, a vegan straight edge icon (She may hate me for putting that.) We hired Matt Miller and Reagan Powell to photograph our wedding. We chose Matt because we felt his style best represent our outlook on life. We wanted unique photos that also showed what a beautiful and amazing day it was.”

“Is there anything else you would like to add?” I asked…”CANNONBALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” she replied.

Haha I love it!

A Locally Sourced Pool Party Wedding

September 7, 2010 in Wedding | Written by Kat

Carmen & Gary had a laid back pool party wedding at Commons Ford Ranch, Austin. The couple actually had their first dance in the pool too!

“The reception was supposed to be a dance party on the patio, with possible swimming as an afterthought, as there is a really nice pool at the ranch,” the bride told me. “However as soon as dinner ended, guests were taking over the pool. We decided to move the DJ over to the pool deck since that was where the party was happening, and it became a full-blown pool party. We even had our first dance in the pool, after the official marital cannonball.”

The bride wore a gorgeous short and ruffled dress which she found at Bianca Luce Boutique in Pasadena, CA. Carmen explains “I didn’t buy it at first, thinking I should try on more dresses, but when I walked into an actual bridal boutique across the street, I practically ran out the door and across the street to get it before anyone else had the chance. The traditional princess wedding dress was not for me. I also bought my poofy veil here.”

The couple also chose to use local businesses instead of playing a fortune to ship things in. Their flowers were sourced from the Arnosky Family Farm and their invitations were by local designer Lucky Onion who they found through Paper Place in Austin. Their vegan cupcakes were made by Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop.

“It was very important to Gary and I to have our fingerprint on every aspect of our wedding,” concluded the bride. ”Corporate wedding establishment vendors didn’t interest us at all, so we asked around and found vendors through recommendations from our friends. We were able to design every aspect of our wedding just as we wanted, and everything turned out perfectly! We involved family, friends, and friends-of-friends for almost everything: officiant, dj, rings, bartender, party bus rental, and the list goes on. Those we didn’t know before-hand, like the floral designer and flower farmers, were small and personal enough that they sort of became friends. Carefully choosing all the details really made every aspect of the wedding meaningful for us.”

“I took advantage of the opportunity to delve into some fun creative projects and learn some new crafty skills. Like I mentioned, I appointed my friend Candace chairwoman of the craft committee and we undertook projects like making decorations (brightly colored tissue paper puffs) and creating and stuffing goody bags for out-of-town guests. Our most successful and labor intensive project was screen-printing wedding programs with an image and a poem. They turned our beautifully, and I learned a new skill/art.”

Honeyversary.

June 22, 2010 in Anniversary | Written by Kat

You might remember Tim & Merrill’s self-engagement shoot (and here) or their ridiculously amazing wedding. If so, you’ll be just as excited to see their ‘Honeyversary’ shoot as I was yesterday. The couple are photographers and have just been married over a year. As they moved to New York pretty much straight after their wedding they never had time for a honeymoon so they decided to take a trip to Palm Springs this month.

They stayed at Ace Hotel and Swim Club, a wonderfully retro cool and chic place, a style which they incorporated into the style of the photographs? “We love the mid century feel that Palm Springs has” Merrill explained. ”All of the houses look so cool and the decorations are so retro-cool! While we were there we swam in the pool for hours on end, bought out all the records at the thrift stores, and of course, we did a photo shoot!”

Hell Yeah Balloons are Punk Rock

February 2, 2010 in Engagement | Written by Kat

Anthony & Shealyn were actually not engaged at the time the session took place. However, just a week after the shoot they realized that they just could not live without each other and got engaged! I am so smitten with this session – the purple and yellow look oh so fabulous together and the couple are too damn funky for words. Photographer Sheri told me all about the day:

Other than specifying that they’d like incorporate purple balloons (which Anthony brought to Shealyn on their first date) we were left to our own creative devices. I was inspired by their edgy style and chose backdrops that would make them pop. I like the contrast of their hard, black style against the softness of the beach and the lightheartedness of the balloons.

We walked back to their apartment and they suggested hopping into the pool… mind you this was early January and cold even by San Diego standards.

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