Wedding in Willis

Last night, I had the honor of helping a friend (Joe Heiliger) by 2nd-shooting a wedding with him. His usual assistant was not able to attend with him at the last minute and I was glad to help. I've known Joe for a few years now and it's always fun to work to work together when we can.

Last night's wedding was for Kelsey & Cody. They picked a beautiful location, one that I hope to have the opportunity to visit again sometime. It was quite a drive but Shepard Hills Estates had a lot of photo opportunities that were hard to pass up and a lot more that we just didn't have time enough to get to.

Arriving at 4:30, we had just a little over 2 hours until the ceremony was to start. That gave us plenty of time to get detail shots of the facility, get some of the "getting ready", and do most all of the formals of the bride's and groom's families separately. They had large blended families on both sides, so the extra time was greatly appreciated.

The ceremony was an outdoor wedding, set up simply and beautifully at the gazebo with tea-light candles lit around the garden. During their ceremony, they chose to do a sand ceremony instead of the unity candle. I have seen the sand ceremonies becoming more and more popular recently and, personally, I love it. To blend the sands, symbolizing the blending of the couple, and to show that they can never again be separated... awesome!

The reception followed in a beautifully decorated hall with lots of personal touches that the bride and her mother made. The colors were chocolate and tiffany blue and elegantly used. The reception was, again, simply beautiful.

Kelsey and Cody, if you read this, please know that I was honored to be a part of your day! Such a young couple and so full of love for each other!! And Joe, thank you SO much for inviting me to help!