- the Blog!
We couldn’t believe how adorable Brittany and Jonathan’s long-distance love story was when we first met them… and we loved how they retold their love story with their engagement session. We couldn’t be happier to see it featured on Style Me Pretty!
-Cheers,
Matt and Ivy
When we first met Jessica and Taylor, they were so clearly in love, and so confident. I don’t think there was anything we didn’t love about them….if you know Jessica and Taylor, you know they are impossible not to love! They want everyone to know that growing together in love, is secondary to how much they have grown together in their faith. Needless to say, we knew their entire story and photo journey would be different and oh- so- unique!
Jessica and Taylor came to us with a very out-of-the-ordinary idea for their engagement session. At first, nobody was sure whether it would be possible, but everything worked out… And the result was a magical journey through a beautiful 19th century train station over 300 miles away in Arkansas. Here are a few (well, ok, wayyy more than a few!), of our favorites from their session. We don’t normally do styled destination engagement sessions, so we have been dying to blog this, but even choosing our favorites took us a while. The magic between our couple made each and every image glow. : )
Isn’t it beautiful how photos can tell a story? Here’s Jessica and Taylor’s story of boy meets girl…
Jessica and Taylor’s love story started when they met in college… Jessica has really high standards, so everyone knew that there must be something really special about this boy when she brought him home to meet everyone.
Taylor is indeed an amazing guy, and his attention to detail and Jessica’s heart is what helped him win her love. Over time, Taylor learned that books were Jessica’s favorites…
When it came time to propose, Taylor incorporated all of the little details from their time together – from the first meeting to past dates – into an unforgettable scavenger hunt through an empty library. Jessica looked up books which led her through a maze of literature and memories. The amazing journey led her to a final special book. She opened a French copy of one of her favorite books, where she found the center hollowed out… holding a stunning ring, and a promise of forever.
She said YES. : )
How cute are these two?!
Jessica and Taylor were totally amazing in front of the camera – and you can see how completely in love they are!
Phone booth love.
Jessica, you are so stunning!
Favorite!!!
Y’all stop being so cute!!
Sometimes magic is undeniable. I love when photos can capture a small part of the magic a couple has. : )
Jessica and Taylor love to travel, and want to see new things together, so it’s fitting that they left with a group for Greece and Turkey a few days after our session.
Jessica and Taylor… rocking the look on the legendary WWII-era Engine 819 – the last steam locomotive of its type to ever be built in the Cotton Belt.
The history of this location is special to Jessica, and we were excited to meet her grandfather, who looks after the station and it’s vintage trains. It makes every single photo, and all the happiness our bride had, even more special to have gotten to be in a location that has meaning to her.
Jessica handmade these adorable paper flowers out of vintage books.
You guys!! Engine 819 never looked better! : )
Wrapping up the session inside an amazing passenger rail car…
I love it when couples are caught away in the moment, the romance, and the magic…
Epic black and white – love!
The glow of the natural light trickling into the station for the final shots… mixed with a touch of ambient train light, and a perfect last kiss.
Special thanks to Jessica’s grandfather who oversees the Cotton Belt Station, and it’s priceless history. We had a fabulous time getting to “travel back in time” and are indebted to him for allowing us to use the station, and sharing with us stories from his past. We loved every part of it! Congratulations to our couple, who just got married. Check back for photos from their big day!!! : )
-Matt and Ivy
For more photos and upcoming wedding sneak peeks, “like” the Fanpage!
June is a wrap, and what a wrap it is! These past few months have been incredibly busy for us, and we can’t believe summer is already well on its way! June turned out to be one of our busiest wedding months on record, and we’ve had the opportunity to meet more amazing new brides this past month than ever before.
We wanted to send a heartfelt THANK YOU to the wonderful ladies at Style Me Pretty, who’ve sprinkled our year with lots of pretty features. We love seeing our beautiful couples rocking the show with their gorgeous details, and romantic moments! A big congratulations to our newlywed couples, and for our soon-to-be’s – we can’t wait for those beautiful weddings coming up!
Jenn and John on their dreamy countryside engagement session…
Staci and Jeison at their vintage Grand Hall at the Hofmann Ranch wedding…
Jane and Andrew on their romantic Dallas meadow engagement session…
Tina and Raja at their vibrant, 2-day multicultural mehndi party and wedding…
Carrie and Andrew at their stunning Mansion at Judges’ Hill Austin wedding…
Congratulations to all of our awesome couples…y’all have already made the first half of 2012 amazing!! : )
Cheers!
- Matt and Ivy
We love engagement sessions….they are awesome, but it’s easy to get behind on blogging them, so we are super excited to share with you one of our recent sessions!
Meet Jane and Andrew.
They actually found us through our blog, and their love story is just too cute! So, you definitely have to check back for their wedding post when summer rolls around to hear all of the romantic details. : ) We started their session outdoors, and Jane and Andrew brought a hand-painted kite with them…how cute is a kite for a Save the Date idea? Adorable!
A favorite!
A cute couple, a picnic basket, and a retro bicycle? Love.
Seriously, Jane and Andrew, you two are so cute!!
After shots by the water, our couple set up a lovely vintage style picnic…with lots of fun retro treats and sweets. : )
How cute are these “Marry Me?” candy hearts!?
Part of Jane and Andrew’s relationship was long distance, and we love how they showed that with these adorable tin can telephones.
Sweet Jane, you are so beautiful! Love, love, love this photo! : )
We’ll end on a fun shot that perfectly captures how happy and playful our couple is….
Jane and Andrew, congratulations on your engagement! We are so excited for you two, and we’re looking forward to the wedding! : )
Cheers!
-Matt and Ivy
Cotton Candy + fun city spots + cute moments & one adorable couple = an unbelievably awesome engagement session. : )
Meet Mallory and Mark.
These two give cuteness a whole new meaning. Here’s just a few of our favorites from their Austin engagement session.
Favorite!
After some fun shots around downtown, Mallory and Mark changed, and showed us how they could rock the serious shots, too. LOVE.
Ahh! Love your smile, Mallory : )
Hope you enjoyed this sneak peek ~ check back for more!
Congrats to Mallory and Mark on their engagement. : )
Cheers!
Matt and Ivy
For future photos and updates, you can find the latest on the fanpage.
We think La Belle Bride rocks, so we were beyond excited to hear from the editor, Chantale, letting us know we were featured today. Oh, and just to make it all more amazing, she featured some of our favorite photos from one of our sweetest couples!!! You just have to see this for yourself. : ) Go check out Mihi and Simon on La Belle Bride, here!
To see more from Mihi and Simon, you can visit their wedding post and story here, and the feature on their wedding, here.
Cheers!
Matt and Ivy
Good morning! Can a day start off any better?! We are so excited to see Ivy Weddings, and our rockin’ hot couple, Brittany and Keith, on Essence.com AND The Bride’s Cafe. Go check out the feature, and their love story, on Essence.com, and head over to The Bride’s Cafe to see more! Special thanks to Janie Medley, at The Bride’s Cafe, for always being such a sweetheart, and the fabulous Charli Penn for her great write up on Essence!
AHHH!! So excited! Can you tell ??? ; )
Brittany and Keith, we have had such a great time meeting you and we are so excited about your wedding…it’s almost here! Yay!!
Best wishes for the future!
-Matt and Ivy
To see more from Brittany and Keith’s engagement session with us, head over to our post.
Become a fan on Facebook for more photos, and to keep up with photos from their upcoming wedding!
They first contacted us from Russia, and months later we finally got to hang out with them on their engagement shoot…and we came away thinking they were adorable, and their story was pretty amazing.
Meet Brittany and Keith.
Sometimes mothers do know best, and Keith’s mom definitely knew Brittany was special when she first saw her…and so with a little help, Keith met Brittany and they clicked. We love how they tell the story, and how they tease each other, too. : )
We started their session at North Crowley High School, in Fort Worth. Keith is a professional basketball player who actually got his start on the court at North Crowley, here in Texas (oh yeaa!), so we thought it was neat when they mentioned starting their engagement session there! Here are a few of our favorites from their session…starting with this first shot (taken through the hoop).
Check out Brittany’s gorgeous ring! Keith, you did gooood ; )
How cute are these shots of them playing…? We thought the shots were just for play (because how hard can a girl really play in 4 inch heels?!), but Keith definitely took the opportunity to play ball with his girl seriously. ; )
AH! LOVE THIS! Don’t know if it’s the moment or their reflection on the court, but it’s magic….and we heart magical pictures. : )
Shoes. Gotta love the shoes, ladies…!
With such a cool location, we had to get some individual shots, too. Brittany, I think you rocked your “power shot”…you look fiercely beautiful!
I’m thinking future profile pic? Or maybe a huge poster in their game room?? : )
After the indoor photos, we went outside for some sunset photos. Light was fading pretty fast, so we had to work fast, and Brittany and Keith seriously Rocked. Every. Shot.
I love all the laughs and fun they have in between the awesome dramatic shots!
Another series of favorites…
We’ll end with our favorite image of the day.
Brittany and Keith, congratulations! Thank you for being so fun and easy to work with. Next time we’ll see you, you’ll be tying the knot, and we can’t wait. We know it’ll be beautiful! : )
-Matt and Ivy
For future updates, and photos, “like” the fanpage.
The Ivy Weddings afternoon advanced workshop recap is here! We’ve been dying to blog this, but between weddings, sessions, traveling and editing, it’s taken a little while to catch up on the blog.
We had an amazing time getting to meet all of the photographers who came out for the afternoon workshop… a hands-on experience photographing real couples on-location. Photographers from across the metroplex (and one from across the state!) joined Matt and I as we worked on lighting, interacting with our couples, and all the in-betweens that make up a photoshoot. Two couples modeled for us, and we split the time between two gorgeous locations.
The afternoon began with some makeup by the lovely Jenny Torry, who helped the ladies rock their looks. : )
After everyone had met up, we started the outdoor portion of the workshop. We talked about how to encourage your clients to interact naturally, and how to shoot in different situations. Chris and Ashley modeled an Engagement style shoot for us, and we spent a lot of time talking and explaining how we like to shoot. We didn’t take as many shots as we normally would, but here are the ones Matt or I took during the day.
When we’re photographing clients, we love to utilize different angles and looks. I’m not as tall as Matt, so I sometimes climb things to get a higher perspective. : ) I suggested the attendees stand on the table for some cool shots from a totally different angle….and I love that Christi took me up on it and jumped on the table, too!
Here are some of my shots from beside and on top of the table….
FAVORITE!!!!! Ahhh, Ashley and Chris, stop being so perfect! : )
One of Matt’s many shots…that I LOVE. : )
A behind the scenes shot during Chris and Ashley’s session- and yes, that hottie on the right….? My hubby teaching by example. ; )
Ashley, you are so gorgeous! Love your smile!
Shot by Matt.
After being outdoors, we went indoors and talked a little about off camera lighting, and different set up for lighting. Here’s one example shot…
Now for some fun photos from our second couple, Kate and James. They modeled a Day After session for us…and after photographing Kate’s family, and her sister’s wedding, it was fun to finally get some photos of her in her wedding gown, too!
An artsy black and white – taken with a homemade lens…. and James, rockin’ his groom’s shot.
Behind the scenes shot of some of the photographers trying to learn how to photograph with a horse! I’ll tell you, it’s a lot harder than it looks….especially if the horse is hungry. ; )
The shot of Kate with the horse is one of our favorites, too…I don’t know if Champ is thinking of munching on her dress, but I love the windblown look! : ) Plus, we had to include a shot of Kate’s bouquet…because we made it ourselves and (for photographers who don’t know anything about flowers or vintage bouquets), we think it’s pretty cool! lol
Kate- your eyes! You are so darn pretty. : )
Love, love, love! I cannot wait to put this on the website!
How cute are you two!?
The workshop attendees were taking solo shots of the bride, and we think this shot of Kate (not paying attention to our camera, but to theirs) is stunning.
I asked James to let me get some solo shots of him, and I found out that he rocks solo shots. Like, really really rocks them!
After outdoor shots, we got some indoor shots of Kate and James also…and Kate changed into the veil I wore on my wedding day.
After two kids, we love the way Kate and James still look at each other, and how he makes her smile. : )
Behind the scenes…
We’ll end with one of our favorite images of the day.
We are indebted to JTorry Artistry for her fabulous job on the ladies makeup, and to our couples who modeled for us. Ashley, Chris, Kate and James- you made our job easy! Thank you for having such a great attitude and being willing to let us move you around a million times. We love you guys! : ) Thanks to all of the photographers who came out, listened to us, shot with us, and shared some pizza- we had such a great time getting to know you all!
Keep in touch : )
Matt and Ivy
For information about future workshops, be sure to follow us on Facebook!
Here’s a sneak peek of some of our favorites from Brittany and Keith’s engagement session. Keith is a professional basketball player, so we started the shoot on the court…and I think this shot (through the hoop) is one of our all-time favorites : )
After the court, we headed outside to get some sunset style photos that Brittany was super excited about…and who wouldn’t be?! Gorgeous couple, stunning light….love, love, LOVE.
Ahhh!! You two are TOO gorgeous!
Brittany and Keith, it was so great to finally meet you! You are the cutest couple….and we hope you enjoy this sneak peek : )
Looking forward to the wedding!
-Matt and Ivy
