Love Story (Marry Me Juliet)

Happy Monday!

What a crazy weekend it was! After a round of a stomach virus early in the week, I was looking forward to some adventure this weekend. Thankfully, I had lots to look forward to as I was hired to second shoot 2 amazing weddings with my friend Allen at Doberenz Photography. Allen is so amazing to work with; he is just the nicest guy and extremely talented.

On Friday, I spent all morning preparing 2 batches of homemade lasagna and a loaf of PW's famous Olive Cheese Bread. I took one pan of lasagna and the bread with the boys over to my friend Jen's house because she so graciously offered to watch them for me (um, watch the boys, not guard the lasagna or anything. lol) . I had to be at the wedding site at 3pm, and there was no way Hubby could get off work that early. I knew that Jen would have my 2 and her 3 boys together right around the normal dinner prep time, so I made the food to take that stress off her. She saved me with the boys - I had to do what I could to thank her! Oh yes, and just so you all know what a saint Jen is - with my boys there she was watching 5 boys, ages 5, 4, 3, almost 2 and 1yr all at the same time!!!

There was a big front coming in so the temps were dropping and the wind was blowing hard and gusty. It was quite the feat getting the boy and all the food out of the van without someone or something blowing away! But I got it all where it needed to go and headed over to the wedding location.

The wedding was gorgeous and the people were really fun. Because of the cold and the wind everything had to be moved inside. It didn't seem to mess anything up though; everything still looked gorgeous! I just fell in love with the venue. The grounds and all the gardens were planted with edible plants. Barr Mansion promotes itself as the nation's first certified organic events facility. As I was walking the grounds, I began to notice some of the plants looked familiar. I saw all kinds of lettuce, garlic, onions, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower...an endless array of beautiful, edible greenery! The mansion is a zero waste facility, diverting 97% of it's waste stream. Even now, with things being still somewhat brown from the winter, the grounds were beautiful and omg, looked so amazing in pictures!! You can see a sneak peek from Allen here.

I got home sore and exhausted at around 11:30 and fell into bed in a crumpled heap after downing some ibuprofen and a big glass of water. It wasn't enough though; I woke up at 2AM with a severe leg cramp. I really hadn't had the chance to eat or drink much of anything during the day nor at the wedding (I still feel very incomfortable eating when I am working, even if the bride and groom say it's ok. lol) so I guess I was a bit dehydrated. Saturday morning I had to leave at 9 to meet Allen at his house by 10. The wedding that day was in San Antonio.

We drove out to San Antonio and met up with the bridal party at the Westin Resort near Six Flags. They had a gorgeous 2 bedroom suite that held a hair stylist, make up artist, the bride, the mother of the bride and 10, yes 10 bride's maids! There were also a couple other close friends hanging out too. It was pretty chaotic, but a lot of fun. Once everyone was dressed and ready we did some bridals on the resort grounds; the weather - PERFECT. The sun was high which made the light harsh, but we managed to find some great shady spots anyway. After, I stayed with the girls and Allen met up with the guys at the church. I rode over to the church on the shuttle with the girls and hung out with them until go time. The wedding was beautiful! There must have been over 200 people there!

The reception was about 30 minutes away (out in the middle of nowhere) on a ranch. We pulled up to find 3 of the biggest longhorn steers I have ever seen. I was not too certain the wire fence that surrounded their pens was strong enough. The horns on those beasts were at the very least 3 feet long each! We got some amazing group shots in a field next to the arena area. Dodging cow patties was totally worth it for the shots of all 22 of them standing in a gorgeous field with the sun at their backs. I can't wait to see those images!

The ranch was so awesome; the food amazing, the decor absolutely perfect! I loved everything about this reception; from the people to the band to the venue and even the time (it was a short reception - much nicer in my opinion than the long drawn out ones that seem to go on forever). We got all the gear packed up and were back on the road by 11ish and got back to Allen's house around 12:30AM. I got home at about 1:30AM.

Of course, the boys did not sleep in so I was up at 7 and starting to feel the pain. We went to church and came home for lunch and then when Port was napping I headed out to Home Depot and bought about 300 pounds of garden soil and compost. I hauled it all in through the house and into the back yard by myself while Hubby was out letting Kiddo ride his bike.

Needless to say, between the weddings and hauling the dirt, my arms, back and legs are quite sore.

I have had a terrible time staying awake today. The dreary weather isn't helping any.

March is going to be a busy, busy month for me. This weekend starts with a session and of course my birthday. The next weekend, another session and a party and the rest of the month goes about the same. I am completely booked for March and am looking forward to my sessions and events!



On this gratitude Monday I am so thankful for:
1. My health. Being sick sucks, but I thankfully recovered quickly and none of my family got that nasty virus.
2. The rain. As much as I complain about it and as bad as it makes me feel, I know it is going to produce some of the most amazing and beautiful wild flowers in the spring and I cannot WAIT to get out there with my clients and capture some beautiful bluebonnet shots.
3. For Allen Doberenz. He is a true professional (even when others are not *wink wink*), a genuinely nice guy and someone I so enjoy working with. He is supportive and helpful and every time I am around him I learn so much about not only wedding photography, but about myself and what I want to do with my business. I wish more photographers out there were as open and supportive. He is a blessing to my life.
4. Again, my sweet boys. I missed them so much while I was working this weekend! I think I may have taken an extra batch of images of the kids at the weddings because I was missing my own little guys! I am so thankful to be able to stay home with them and cuddle them just about any time I want.

May you be blessed and grateful today. Grab a button in my right sidebar and join in!

Until,
D :)