Picture This: Cory Ryan-- Awesome Wedding Photographer!

copyright cory ryan photography 2011

Yet another great part of my job is that I get to meet all sorts of vendors-- caterers, musicians and, of course, lots and lots of photographers. In my everyday life, I'm not a huge fan of getting in front of the lens (funny, since my partner is a photographer and is forever making me pose for him). But in my work life, being photographed just comes with the territory.

Recently, I did an elopement at Laguna Gloria. It was a wonderful, rainy day-- the grass glistening green, the sky doing all sorts of dramatic tricks. Our happy couple got married upstairs in the old ballroom (now the bridal dressing room) and the only witnesses were me, photographer Cory Ryan, and her assistant.

Cory was kind enough to send me some pictures from the shoot. Here are some of them. She is great to work with!

copyright cory ryan photography 2011

copyright cory ryan photography 2011

copyright cory ryan photography 2011

Let the Busy Season Begin!

Last weekend I "only" had two ceremonies, but those two ceremonies were the lead-in to one of the busiest times of the year for Austin weddings. (October is another super busy month). In addition to two weddings, I also had six potential-client meetings. And this coming weekend, I've got FIVE ceremonies, four of them on Saturday. Woo-hoo, we are off to the races. I'll keep updating as I waltz my way through about twenty April weddings. Meanwhile, a little bit about last weekend.

Wedding #1 was Friday evening, at Laguna Gloria. There was not one non-perfect element-- the weather more than cooperated, at least one peacock decided to show off his full plumage, the bride and groom were smashing and palpably in love. And this particular wedding gathering was very small-- fewer than three dozen guests-- so they had one very long table set up outside where everyone could dine together. I felt like I was on some old estate in Italy-- Laguna Gloria definitely has that effect. Small weddings seem to be really taking hold these days-- a couple of days after I performed this ceremony I read an article in the New York Times about the teeny tiny trend.

Friday's bride, resplendent in an organic, hemp wedding dress. 

Our groom stands patiently as his boutonniere is affixed.

What a stunning table.  

The wedding gazebo at Laguna Gloria. 

Barton Strings played. This trio is part of a larger group of ten musicians that make up Barton Strings. This particular configuration includes members of the wonderful Tosca. Oh what lovely music they make.  

Just Married!

The peacock approves!

The view at Vintage Villas.

My second wedding of the weekend was out at the spectacular Vintage Villas, where I've done a million ceremonies. So beautiful out there, and it's nice to see that the lake is starting to fill up a bit. This wedding was a Persian wedding. Well, actually, I performed the American portion of the evening, and a family friend did the Persian portion later on. If you've never been to a Persian wedding, let me tell you, the set up is really something, with every element you see pictured below carefully selected to symbolize all the important parts of marriage.

I loved all the rich purple accents.

Congratulations!

Oo-la-la! My First Wedding at Camp Lucy!

A couple of weeks ago I performed a ceremony at Camp Lucy, a spectacular venue on the western edge of Dripping Springs, out near Henly. Camp Lucy only recently opened as a wedding spot, but I predict that if they don't already have a long waiting list, they will soon.

First of all, the natural setting-- the Texas Hill Country-- is stunning. So what did the Hanks family, who owns Camp Lucy (and yes, also Whit Hanks Antiques) do to make their place unique? They moved two churches from Vietnam to Texas. Yes, that's right. They had two massive French Colonial Catholic churches, that were built in the late 1800s, disassembled over there, packed in shipping containers, and moved over here.

The buildings were carefully pieced back together on the Camp Lucy site, where one serves as a gorgeous chapel and the other a big open air pavilion. The Hanks family also acquired an Amish barn from the 1800s, which was used as part of the Underground Railroad, and moved that out to the property, too. This building serves as a huge events hall. Really, I'm telling you-- it is just unbelievably beautiful out there.

I had such a great time performing this ceremony. The bride was stunning, the groom handsome and adorable. There were hundreds of people there-- a departure from most weddings I perform, which usually include 60 - 100 guests. As ever, this was just more proof of how excellent my job is. I am so lucky I get to do what I do for a living. Here are some pictures from Camp Lucy:

If you'd like more information about my wedding services, please take a look at my recently updated Custom Hitches Weddings website. You'll find lots of information about what I can offer, including non-religious and same sex ceremonies. 

Happy Little Wedding New Year!

I always counsel my writing students to never start a blog post with, "I know it's been forever since I posted something here..." And yet, I have to say it. I know it's been awhile since I posted something here. Not for lack of interest or energy. It's just that, in the World of Weddings, December is typically a very quiet month. 2011 was no different-- I had a handful of weddings, most of them ranging from small (30 guests or fewer) to totally tiny (the couple and a few family members).

I love all sorts of weddings. I love huge, fancy weddings in big beautiful chapels. I love homestyle backyard weddings where all the guests bring a covered dish. I love the smallest wedding I ever did-- I met up with a couple at Bouldin Creek Cafe, sat at the table with them, asked each if they took the other as spouse (the only legal requirement for a wedding), and then signed off on the license when they said they did.

It's the fluctuation amidst the steady details that keep my job interesting. And it's the steadiness among the fluctuation that keeps my job joyful in a very calming way. Like I always tell prospective clients-- I love the absolute familiarity of knowing that with each ceremony there will be a beginning, middle and kiss and that the couple will be wed on that note. But I also love the unexpected nature of meeting new people every single time. It's like I get to be part of people's families, if only fleetingly, and get a closeup look at what each family is like.

In those senses, the tiny December weddings I did were no different than the really big ones that I performed earlier in the year. Always there's joy and love. Always I have fun. Always I head out to a job in a great mood, and I leave in an even better mood-- no, no, not because I'm "done for the day." But because I get a great energy buzz from what I do for a living.

After my last wedding of the year, things got very quiet for about a week while most of the world indulged in the big end-of-year holidays and I just hung out, laid low, and waited for that hubbub to pass. Then, like clockwork, on January 2nd the requests started coming in. It's true-- at least based on what my business tells me-- that lots of folks get engaged at Christmas and on New Year's Eve. Suddenly, my empty emailbox fills up with requests-- I must've had at least a couple of dozen by now.

Most of those are for weddings later in the year. As for January weddings, well I started 2012 off right with a lovely ceremony at Chapel Dulcinea. The ecstatic bride and equally ecstatic groom had been friends in junior high, parted ways, lived their lives, and then reunited a year ago. It was just a terrific ceremony if I do say so myself. I had an elopement last weekend-- a commitment ceremony for a couple of lovely ladies from Dallas. And I've got another pair of elopements this weekend plus a ceremony at Chapel Dulcinea.

After that the calendar is starting to look more on the full side than the empty side. That's great. I love the lulls and use them to take long walks, extra yoga classes, and stay in bed late most mornings. But now I've had enough of the downtime. I'm ready to get cracking. Big weddings. Small weddings. Teeny-tiny weddings. Religious. Spiritual. Secular. Bring me your brides and grooms, your best men and maids of honor. I'm ready!

For more information about my wedding officiant services in Austin and the Hill Country, please visit Custom Hitches Weddings. Thanks!

You're the One (One One One One One) For Me!

11/11/11 -- My most requested date EVER.

I'm going to sound like a broken record here but this past weekend was another super busy, super happy one for me. While it's not unusual for me to perform four ceremonies in one weekend, it's not that often that I perform more than two in one day. However, seeing as last Friday was 11/11/11, LOTS of people wanted to get hitched. Had I been able to clone myself I could've performed at least twenty ceremonies-- I lost track of how many requests I got. As it turned out I was able to fit three into my calendar. 

Flower Girl-- OMG!! SO CUTE!!

Couple #1!

The three ceremonies were back to back: 4 pm at Hummingbird House, 5:30 at Mercury Hall, and 6:30 at the American Legion Hall over there by Magnolia Cafe on Lake Austin Boulevard. The first service got started a little late which, combined with Friday traffic, made the trip to the second venue a little bit like an exciting game show. Would I get there in time? (Considering how close the venues are, I actually knew that I'd get there in time, but I prefer to show up early to a ceremony just to say hello, reassure folks that I'm there and ready, and -- of course-- snap a bunch of pictures.) 

Couple #2!

Courtyard Southwest School of Art

I was able to get to Ceremony #2 in plenty of time. Ceremony #3, which also involved only a short drive, was a little trickier. By 6 pm traffic was super crazy. So when I arrived there wasn't the usual little cushion of time to say howdy. I pulled up, dashed up the stairs, and we pretty much started the ceremony within five minutes of my arrival. The couple was totally cool with this-- they had graciously offered from the beginning to be flexible with their schedule in order to have me as their officiant. (Very flattering, to understate it.) 

American Legion Hall, Austin, TX

Couple #3! They rocked it with some Journey lyrics in their ceremony.

All three of the venues are lovely, but I got a special thrill out of the third one, since 11/11/11 was also Veterans Day and the venue was originally built to honor vets. Plus, on a more personal note, I'd been to a million Austin Chronicle Christmas parties at the place, and so its halls are haunted with lots of fun memories for me. 

Wedding #4!

Because the 11/11/11 weddings were so close together-- time-wise and logistically-- I didn't get super wiped out the way I might have had they been spread out all over the Hill Country. That was especially good news since I needed to be very well rested on Saturday. Why? Because Saturday I had to drive to San Antonio to get to Wedding #4. That ceremony was at a new-to-me venue: Southwest School of Art, which is across the street from San Antonio's architecturally famous and funky public library. SSA has a GREAT history-- built by the Catholic Church in the mid-1800's, originally it was a convent and girls' school and included a gorgeous chapel. 

I mean this place is FANNNNNNCY!!

Note the groom's undershirt on this awesome cake topper. Also, the bride figure is wearing a dress just like the actual bride's dress.

These days, the facilities are rentable and you don't have to be a priest to conduct a wedding there. Lucky for me! When I walked in and saw the place, it truly took my breath away. I perform lots of weddings in all sorts of gorgeous settings. But most often in Austin I perform outdoor weddings, frequently held under Live Oak trees. Only once in awhile am I asked to do an indoor wedding, and more rare still are times when I am doing my work inside of a chapel. This wedding included lots of bridesmaids and groomsmen-- it was possibly the fanciest ceremony over which I presided. That said, bride and groom were both totally down to earth and the whole crowd had a wonderful time. Everyone was dressed to the nines and I never saw so many teetering, Eiffel-tower-esque high heels gathered in one place before. Wow. What a night. I hope I get to perform more ceremonies in San Antonio-- this was only my second, my first one also having been of the super fancy variety, held at the Witte Museum. 

Can I say it again? I LOVE MY JOB!

Ice Sculpture at the San Antonio Wedding-- some fancy cocktail came sliding down this thing.

I'd love to help you with your wedding -- creating a custom written ceremony, directing the rehearsal, performing the wedding: I do all this and more. For details you can check out my Austin Wedding Officiant website.