If you are interested in any upcoming events that these girls host, be sure to head over to their website and friend them on Facebook to stay in the know of upcoming events.  Also, brides, if you are still looking for beautiful florals for your wedding or better yet, insanely talented designers to help plan and craft your event from beginning to end, then Meredith & Amy are the girls for you. In addition to their gorgeous floral design they recently added event design and planning to their repetoir. Their team has a rich background in set design and graphic design with years of experience working with the likes of Anthropologie and styling for commercial shoots and sets. I only wish I knew about such talent when I was getting married. For a wedding or event that is truly personal and unique you will want to brainstorm with these gals to come up with something more incredible than you could imagine. Seriously… I can’t say enough good things about these girls and the beauty they create.

anne+sean’s port townsend wedding was pure M.A.G.I.C. it was almost impossible to pick my favorite part. it could be the fun speakeasy theme or the amazing design by matthew parker or even the beautiful view from the clam cannery… nah, my favorite part of the whole day would have to be the love and chemistry anne+sean have for each other. i know, i know, how cheesy, but seriously! just look at the photos!

Wedding photos make me happy.  My heart just sings when I see images like this one.

Well, if you’ve been following my Facebook page or visiting my website in the last few months, you may have noticed that I’ve been posting more children and family sessions… a few high school seniors, too!  After getting family and child portrait requests for years, it’s finally official.  :)  Studio Noveau now has a children’s portrait line.  Hooray!

As my wedding clients have started families, they have asked for the same casually posed, personalized sessions they’ve come to love from me over the past few years, I’ve also been getting requests from people in the community who enjoyed my wedding work and wondered if I’d photograph their family.  At first, I limited the sessions I offered; I was working full time plus shooting weddings.  Then I quit my full-time job to pursue photography, but wanted to devote all of my time to weddings.  But little by little, I  kept getting requests from local families.  It took a while for me to realize how much I enjoy this aspect of photography, too!  I’ve always loved children but never realized how much fun they would be to photograph.  Besides, I often travel several hours for one wedding, so it’s pretty nice to be able to photograph portraits in the Gays Mills, Prairie du Chien, Boscobel, and Viroqua areas.  :)

So, consider this my formal announcement.  Studio Noveau Kids is open for business!  Make sure to check out my new children’s site.  It’s a work in progress and will be updated quite a bit in the next few months.  But here it is!  www.studionoveau.com/kids.

And on that note, I’m thrilled to announce my second big news of the year:

Studio Noveau will be opening a storefront in the Gays Mills community beginning March 1st.

My new storefront and gallery will be located in the new Gays Mills Mercantile Building.  The building is in the final stages of construction and I am so excited to move in that I can barely contain myself!  I’m absolutely ecstatic to be moving out of my home office and into a space that can welcome clients and the community while displaying my work.  It has been a long journey to get to this point.  My first senior portraits were photographed in 2004.  My first wedding was photographed in 2006.  In 2010 I quit my job in the non-profit sector and made the leap to full-time photography.  It’s been a wild and crazy ride, and I never expected life to take me on this path.  But I’m so humbly grateful for the support of my clients, friends, and family.  YOU have all made this possible.  I’ll be planning a grand opening soon, so stay tuned for more details.  In the meantime, if you drive by and happen to see me in the gallery, make sure to pop your head in and say hi!

Grateful.  Happy.  Excited.

With love and gratitude,

Rebecca

P.S.  Even though I will have a gallery, I still plan on remaining an on-location photographer.  I firmly believe that unique locations and the ability to travel to you is part of the service I offer, and your session with Studio Noveau will remain a backdrop-free experience.  (Yay!)

P.P.S.  If you were a family that I photographed in 2011 and are interested in having a quote or mini-testimonial featured on my new children’s site, please email me so I can add your thoughts to the site!  Thanks!

Pages and pictures of wood, burlap, beautiful natural-looking flowers wrapped in twine, twinkling pockets of light, and navy blue accents began to fill my head. I was SO onboard with this. It was Style-Me-Pretty and Etsy and Pinterest and the ever-classic Junebug Weddings all rolled into one. And I liked it.

But what really stood out to me that day was their affection for each other. Daniel looked at her in a way that was magical. It was as if he had been searching his whole life for someone. Something tangible.

He found her.

And sitting there, in the dimly-lit room with spotlights on all of the wedding pictures and gallery wraps and albums full of all kinds of different wedding pictures, he couldn’t take her eyes off of Brittany.

That was when I knew. This was real.

Clark Gardens in Weatherford.

A Rose in Bloom helped bring all of the accents together to make it amazing. April‘s daughter and Brittany’s niece, Lily, wore one of the accents in the cutest way. Very regal, Lily.

And there were other items found at antique shops all over DFW that Brittany and Daniel had specifically picked out together. It was rather perfect because they love shopping the old stores and finding antiques together.

This was one of my {many} favorite ideas: Table Assignments written in white pen on window panes. Genius.

These cloth squares signed by all of the guests will make a quilt one day.

This square was the one I deemed “the best”.

This old screen door was repurposed with chicken wire and held their super-cute response cards (that I also mentioned yesterday).

Ohh, Thatcher!

Ohh, Baby’s Breath!

Ohhh, Mason Jars!

Okay, I’ll stop.

Our photo booth was being set up as the decorations came out of their boxes and were being placed around the garden. They kindly made this sign for the booth to match the wedding.

Daniel was focused. According to Will, he was “like a player getting ready for the big game.” Good description, Will.

He was already having a great time, and the day had barely even begun.

I think it was because he had his best friends there. But also Man’s Best Friend.

Back in the Bride’s Cabin, the details were placed before me. As you know, this made me happy.

That’s Thatcher’s tie under the earrings.

Lily was enamored with her Aunt Brittany in her wedding dress. She loved playing Princess For A Day.

Daniel’s wedding gift was something he had been wanting for a LONG time. I won’t pretend to know about fancy watches, but I do know that he thought it wasn’t even possible to get this one. He loved it SOOO much.

From that moment on, the smile never left his face. It was like a little twinkling of Brittany showed herself and he was ready to get to see the girl behind the twinkling. Walking down the aisle toward him.

The room was full of fast talking and excited laughter, girls sweeping on the last of their powdered blush and touching up any stray curls in the mirror. And Brittany, slipping into her wedding shoes. Just another day, right?

Every few minutes, she would look around and become overwhelmed with joy. It meant so much to her that everyone in that room was there for her. I look at this picture and I hold my own breath, wanting to feel the excitement and the heartbeat that she felt that day. Clenched up/shoulders raised and excited for what was going to happen in less than two hours.

Daniel’s gift to Brittany was definitely not one we’d seen given before on a wedding day…That’s what made it original and memorable. That’s also what made her completely fall in love with it.

Brittany and her mom have a truly special bond. It’s like that of a best friend, but closer. Marie had pictured this day since Brittany was a little girl and was in awe that it was here. But she’d never imagined that she would feel so completely taken away by these moments. They were surreal, but she didn’t block out her emotions.

She snuggled in with every chance she got to be close to her.

And Brittany’s Dad was {and is} her rock. He went back and forth to and from the ceremony all afternoon, helping finish up the details. Setting up tables and chairs. Taking the guests to their seats. And doing pretty much what anyone in a blue dress would tell him to do without complaining. Because he wanted this day to be perfect for her.

It was.

Completely.

Sidenote: Another favorite in which I think Brittany looks gorgeous. Just saying.

Dress and Sara Gabriel Headband amazingness by Bliss Bridal.

I’m not bragging on myself (okay, maybe I am), but this picture should totally be the main image for some really cool wedding blog. Hmmm…maybe one that I start. With Brittany and April’s help, of course (who else?).

I knew you’d want to pin Lily’s sweet and soft hairstyle for yourself. You know, to save for later.

The one-shoulder bridesmaids’ dresses were phenomenal. Obviously.

PS-The bridesmaids wore Stella and Dot earrings for added fabulousness.

You can sense that now Daniel was really starting to realize. His excitement was setting in, and he was enjoying every bit of his wedding day.

Now it was time for the ceremony to finally begin.

The eclectic collection of handkerchiefs sat in a basket at the beginning of the aisle for the guests.

Her heart was racing, and it wasn’t about to slow down. But she leaned on her Daddy for support and calmness.

It worked.

The music from the entire day, by the way, was amazing. Each and every song was carefully selected for a purpose.

As Brittany and her Dad walked down the red dirt path toward the lines of white chairs, my heart filled up too. They walked past this perfect pocket of light and there was just this moment where the music and the breeze and the light completely came together.

For that moment, there was complete perfection under these trees.

The perfection started for Daniel when she rounded the corner and appeared at the end of the aisle.

There’s that magical light-up look I talked about. You can see it too, right?

This is SO THEM. Daniel looks completely thankful. And wistful. And blessed, and happy. He is thinking to himself how lucky he is and how amazing she is. And then there’s Brittany, always laughing. Always being the apple of his eye no matter what she does.

Pretty.

The moment after the kiss. You know it is one of my favorites, and you know why. You get to see them in their truest form. She held his face between her hands and just…loved him.

Yaaaaay!

So thankful.

These were the moments right as the sun went down over the gardens.

The tightest of hugs. The most sincere of kisses.

As the twinkling lights became brighter in the evening dusk, they walked toward their wedding reception hand-in-hand. Prepared for the night of their lives.

[Not to keep plugging Pinterest, but I am so putting this on my Bokeh page.]

Another great use for old doors. A chalkboard wedding menu. Sliders and Skewers? Yes, please.

Thanks, Eurocater, for the yumminess. Yes, I had a slider. And a skewer. I can vouch. It was good.

The first dance of a lifetime of dances.

DJ: I-entertainment. Great job by them! As usual. The dance floor was going all night and everyone had a BLAST.

One more vendor shout-out that must be mentioned due to their awesomeness: Under the Tower Productions. They did the cinematography, and I am DYING to see it. They showed us some of it AND IT WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD AMAZING!! Vewry High Qwarwity.

And the YUMMYyummy always wonderful cakes: The Cake Guys. One of our faves.

These were the sweetest toasts.

During the Father/Daughter Dance, Brittany just hugged her Dad as the tears welled up.

It was absolutely perfect.

Daniel and his Mom had a wonderful Mother-Son dance as well.

Bouquet toss swooshy-hair. Love it!

These are two of my favorite pictures right here.

Best. Ever.

At the end of the night, the guests began to line up and the garden became quiet and serene. With the sparkly lights and leaves around them, they held on for one final private last dance.

The magical world outside and under the trees was splendid. It was all theirs. For this one night.

As the song “Sky Full of Lighters“ played, all of the guests held up lighters for Daniel and Brittany’s grand exit.

And just as he had looked at her all night, Daniel’s gaze was set on his bride. He had wanted this to be her perfect day. More than anything, he had wanted to make her happy today. Seeing her eyes fill with tears as they left, he knew that she truly was.

Now he’d spend the rest of his life making her happy.

Now onto their gorgeous wedding day. We started off across the street at Rockefeller Center, drove up for portraits at Columbia University where Kara spends a lot of her time and then the ceremony and reception was at the 3West Club. Sharon Becker, of SB Beauty, made Kara, her mom and sister look gorgeous. She kept them calm and relaxed the entire time they were getting ready. That is super important because it sets the tone for the rest of the day. Everything else ran smoothly from the limo to the venue to the gorgeous flowers and subtle DJ.

Wedding Collaborators:
Venue: 3 West Club
Make-up and Hair: SB Beauty
Florist: Plant Shed
Cake: Cake Alchemy
DJ: A Starry Night Music

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