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Kyle & Amanda: Hitched!

In case you didn’t know, October is the busiest month to get married in Houston.  I don’t know when this trend began, but I assume it has to do with the cooler temps (ha), changing leaves (ha) and dryer air (HA). Okay, who are we kidding, there is no such thing as fall in Houston, but it’s okay to dream.  Either way, October remains to be a beautiful month to marry and I was so fortunate to have two weddings booked in ONE weekend. This was my first “double booked” weekend ever, so let’s just say I made sure to mentally prepare myself for weeks leading up to the wedding craziness. I made sure to have plenty of Advil, band aids and comfortable shoes (which I don’t think exist). Let me start off by saying that I had SO much fun shooting back-to-back weddings. My feet may disagree with me, but it was fun to see the contrasting styles so close to one another!

Amanda & Kyle’s wedding came first, on Saturday October 22nd.  I had been looking forward to this wedding since taking their engagement photos in April.  Amanda and Kyle are adorable, and have been together since high school, which I find sweet and amazing.  My parents are high school sweethearts, and while it’s a rare find, it’s such a cool thing when you do. I first met up with Amanda and her lovely maids at the Hotel Derek near the Galleria.  I showed up just in time to catch them primping for the big day.  Amanda was calm and collected and the overall mood was relaxed and fun. While I shot some photos of details and candid moments with the ladies, Dena headed over to the guys room to capture some shots of them getting ready.  One thing I have quickly learned is there is a HUGE difference in the atmosphere in the brides room and the grooms room.  Another thing to note is there is ALWAYS a football game on TV in the men’s room. I am convinced football season lasts 365 days a year, because it never fails. Somehow Amanda convinced Kyle to get married on a day there was an Aggie game on, which is a true testament to their relationship.  True love at its finest!

After some mimosas, snacks and laughs,we were ready to go and headed over to the Church in downtown Houston for the big moment. The church was GORGEOUS and so was the traditional Catholic ceremony. There was so much beauty in that place and if I could have, I would have been shooting for hours.  After the vows were exchanged and the ceremony commenced, we quickly took some portraits at the alter with family and friends and proceeded to the reception venue.  The reception was beautifully decorated.  I especially loved the photo booth, their amazing grooms cake and the CANDY BAR! Who doesn’t love a candy bar?

All in all, there was great food, great music and great people. Perfect combination for a good time! Kyle and Amanda were so fun to work with and I can’t wait for our future session!  Congrats to the beautiful couple, Mr. & Mrs. Kyle Wayne Chism!


Jen - February 12, 2012 - 4:31 pm

A-mazing! You did an awesome job with this wedding, Shawna!

Hello 2012! Today… I Get Married

You may be wondering, if I am currently getting married in Los Cabos, Mexico, how am I posting this blog? You can thank WordPress and the magical powers of scheduling blog posts for future dates, for that one.  Today at 5:00pm I will walk down the aisle at the Dreams Resort Gazebo in Mexico and marry my best friend. It has been such a whirlwind these last 9 months.  Getting engaged, planning, scheduling, making never-ending decisions, taking in all the love and support from family/friends and attending wedding related events. Austin and I have enjoyed 6 years of memories, great friends and non-stop laughs.  I can’t say enough about how excited I am to have him as a husband as he and I just “get each other”. We are going to spend 6 wonderful days in Los Cabos and then start our lives together as Mr. and Mrs. Austin Dee Sumerlin.

There are many reason’s I am excited about this new chapter in my life, mostly to finally make our union “official” as a couple, but a little bit because I am SO over wedding planning.  And by the time you read this I guarantee I will have been even more over it than you can imagine. One thing that has been thrown to the wayside throughout my engagement has been my ability to keep up with my photography business like I really want to. I am so excited to be able to commit more time to this when I return. I have already began the early stages of redesigning my blog, logos, business cards etc. and I am hoping to launch them as soon as possible. I am excited to start 2012 with some fresh ideas, a fresh look and a fresh ring on my finger. ;)

I wanted to make sure to point out how lucky I am to have such amazing people in my life, especially all my fans and clients who have been so sweet and understanding this whole year.  I have really enjoyed working with many new faces, as well as some repeat clients, which will never get old. 2011 was a great year and I am excited to do bigger and better things this year! Bring it on 2012! Soon I will be putting together a montage of some of my favorite photos from 2011!

Also, I have been asked about my name change and some think I’m crazy for dropping Florida from my name, but I will be leaving my business as Shawna Florida Photography to avoid any confusion.  Plus it’s a small way to hold on to a piece of my first 27 years of life.  So no worries, SFP remains!

Alright, well I better get out of here, it is in fact my wedding day…:)   I hope you are all enjoying the start to a fabulous year! I’ll be coming back with undoubtedly a million photos from my trip, so expect a post full of personal photos and wedding fun upon my return! -xo

Amy - January 16, 2012 - 10:10 am

Come hoooooome and get to posting! The world deserves to see what a gooooorgeous bride you were. Love you both more than I love dirty monkeys. :c)

Kutyba Family Holiday Session

I met Nikki a few years ago through one of my friends, and was delighted when she asked me about taking some Christmas photos of her and her siblings.  In case you can’t tell based on the below photos, Nikki has quite a bit of modeling experience and is fun and comfortable in front of the camera.  This makes my job super easy.  I met Nikki, her brother and little sister downtown at Market Square, which is a small little “park” in a city setting. It’s quaint and looked so pretty with the Christmas lights and decorations. Family photos are always a good time and create such an interesting dynamic, and as you can see, these siblings are fun, loving and goofy.  Thanks to the Kutyba siblings for a successful session and for doing all the silly things I requested (i.e. jumping photos) and making it enjoyable for all!

Toni-Lynn & Andres: Mini Session

This mini session with the future Quintanilla’s will melt your heart.  When I say mini, I literally mean M.I.N.I.  Toni-lynn contacted me one afternoon about wanting to get a few shots for her Christmas card. Initially, my plan was to not schedule any photography jobs between November and January, for the obvious reason that I am in the midst of wedding planning H. E. Double Hockey Sticks. My time these past couple of months is so limited, BUT Toni-Lynn not only is one of my favorite clients, she also lives less than a mile away from me and I was able to squeeze in a 10 minute session after work one day.  It was literally the fastest session known to man.  Toni-Lynn wanted to make sure she got some good shots of her, Andres and their sweet little doggies, Jack and Luna.  I thoroughly enjoyed this quick session and am very much looking forward to our Bridal portrait session and then, of course, the BIG WEDDING DAY in May!  Thanks for the fun session future Mr. & Mrs. Q!:)

The Cooley Family

Have I ever mentioned my love for little bald, blue-eyed baby girls?  Not to sound egocentric, but being that I was bald for the first 2 – 3 years of my life, I hold a special place in my heart for those cuties.  If you agree with me, you will love this post.

A long, long time ago I took part in athletics at the University of Houston, where I met many of my friends, as well as my soon-to-be Husband.  The Cooley’s were a big part of UH Athletics as well, Crystal being on the softball team, and Brett on the baseball team with my fiance, Austin.  Brett and Austin have always been good friends, and I have enjoyed seeing Brett and Crystal out from time to time.  I met the Cooleys on a balmy, 90 degree, November afternoon in Cypress, Texas and had a blast.  The Cooleys have two little rugrats, Chase and Alli, both of whom inherited amazing genes. Chase is a boys boy in every sense of the word and is already showing signs of his future as a star athlete.  He is so full of personality at his young age. I thoroughly enjoyed him saying “CHEEEESEBURGER” every time we took photos.  Alli, at only 5 months, was so sweet, calm and downright gorgeous with her little floral headbands.  At this point she was already able to sit up on her own for small amounts of time and even strike a few poses for the camera. The Cooley’s are one of those families who look like they belong in the pictures that come in your store-bought frame. Enjoy the goodness.

 

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