It's easy to stay inside of your personal box and become content with yourself. For this reason I was really looking forward to changing roles from primary photographer to backup for a few weddings. Without the expectations of the primary photographer, I could pretty much shoot whatever caught my eye.

Last weekend I photographed Kyla and Wyatt's wedding with Mike & Cody with TriCoast Photo. These are great photographers and great guys in general and I enjoyed the chance to see how they operate and interact with their clients.

Much like myself, they establish good bonds with their couples and it definitely showed on the wedding day. They received so many hugs and smiles from the family it was if they were just cousins with expensive cameras.

Kyla & Wyatt's story is a modern day "city girl meets country boy" story and they played the country portion up for sure. Some highlights included:
• the flowers the groomsmen wore were set in empty shotgun shell casings
• commemorative koozies with the couple's names for the many cans of consumed beer on the day
• some bridesmaids wore cowboy boots
• One of the most creative groom's cakes I've ever seen...full country theme with faux sheet-metal gate backdrop
• during the garter toss the bride hid a shotgun in her dress to surprise the groom
• birdseed tossed at the couple upon their exit

These two were genuinely in love and had one of the more lively receptions I can remember. Here are some of my favorites from the day:

These guys loved beer!

I was on "sniper duty" from the balcony of the church and was able to capture nice, scenic images of the church...

...but also close up shots of the couple during the ceremony

Moët was showcasing it's Grand Vintage champagne at a private tasting and dinner in the Café Extraordinaire.

A very elegant affair in a stylish venue. Here are some images from the evening:

Amidst all of the pandemonium about 7-7-07, aka "the biggest wedding date of the century" it can be easy forget about the true importance of the day.

You may remember Ebere & Femi's engagement portraits a few entries back. In that entry I mentioned how I got along well with their easy-going natures. I just knew there would be plenty of interesting moments to capture on their wedding day and I was right.

The families are what I remember most about this wedding. I saw some great interaction and plenty of love. Everyone was genuinely happy for them and it resulted in some good captures. Here are a few I wanted to share:

Ebere and Femi, congratulations on your marriage and thank you for letting me be a part of a wonderful celebration. I hope you enjoy your photos!

I'm really excited to share some images from Elena & Otis' wedding from a few weeks ago. This wedding had an intimate feel and I enjoyed being right in the midst of all the action. Many of my friends from the University of Houston were present and that helped add a level of comfort as I was shooting.

Everyone from both sides of the family were fabulous and hospitable and it seems like no one left without having a good time.

Here are a few of my favorites:

I love this moment. I caught this one through the glass of the reception area when they weren't looking!

If you're reading this, Elena & Otis, it was a pleasure capturing great memories for you two and I hope you enjoy!

As I have mentioned on this blog before, working for repeat clients is always fun because they know how I work and I also know "how they work." My presence isn't usually as big a deal as the event progresses and I can try to create some interesting shots of all the goings on.

Chloe and I have worked together for several parties and when I see her and her friends it's like seeing an old friend instead of an invasive presence. This year for her birthday she hosted a mixer with a "What's your inspiration" theme. Several words of wisdom decorated the tables and she brought together longtime friends and even myspace buddies.

Here are a few highlights:

Chloe, thanks for letting me follow you guys around for a couple of hours again. ;)

Looks like I have some more blogging to catch up on (as usual!)...

I always try to foster a connection between myself and my portrait subjects and that process becomes all the more natural if they already know me. I had been meaning to take some photographs of my good friend (of 15 years) James and his girlfriend Chevonté for a little while now, but due to busy schedules and such we hadn't gotten the chance to make it happen.

Yesterday we were finally able to meet up and get these photos knocked out and to say it didn't even feel like a formal portrait session feels like a huge exaggeration. We spent most of the time just chatting it up and joking around--somehow we got some great photos in the process.

Here are some of my favorites from the evening...

Hmm...maybe some engagement photos could be in their future? ;)

EDIT: James popped the question and these two are now, in fact, engaged! I'm looking forward to photographing their wedding next April! :)

Last weekend I headed up to the DFW area to photograph Ebere & Femi's wedding. While I was up there I was invited by a friend, Kene, to check out a party he was hosting on a boat. In addition to some people I've met previously, I got to hang out with some major players from the wedding the day prior and some new personalities. It was great fun and I enjoyed myself immensely.

Some gems from the party...

In addition to the boat, some of the gang jumped on some jet skis for more fun...

Definitely the funniest part of the evening: A wipeout...

...and then a rescue

Check out the rest of the photos in a slideshow here:
http://www.collinsmetu.com/boatparty/

Congratulations to Elena + Otis! You may remember their engagement images from a couple months ago. They were just married this past Saturday in an intimate ceremony with close friends and family in attendance.

They will be off honeymooning for a couple of weeks and hopefully their images will be ready in time for their return.

In the meantime, the embargo on these images has now been lifted so I can post some of Elena's bridal images:

More new images will be coming to the blog this week!