This past Saturday I once again played second fiddle--er, photographer ;) to the super cool and uber laid back Stacy Reeves. As you may know, things went well our last time out so it was my pleasure to chip in with some of my own images to complement her coverage. A big thanks to Miss Reeves for inviting me out again.

It was a fabulous event all the way around. Their wedding was at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, which featured a huge cathedral-style area for the ceremony. Their reception was at the Houstonian, certainly one of the premier venues in town.

The guys, pre-ceremony. I captured some great moments of them as they prepared for the big event.

The ladies prepare to make their entrance

Ashley gets ready to meet her new husband

This wedding was definitely not short on great details--the cake was marvelous. I was too busy shooting to sample it this time though. ;)

The groom's cake wasn't too shabby either!

I loved the mood and ambiance of the lighting in the Grand Ballroom

The cake is cut...

...then whisked away to be served to guests

Getting down, literally

This was definitely cool--as the couple prepares to exit, the band follows

As this goes up, Nick & Ashley are off in Hawaii. Enjoy your honeymoon guys!

Earlier this year (May 17, to be exact), Dr. John Rudley was named the interim UH System Chancellor and UH President.

This past Saturday, friends of Dr. Rudley organized an event to commemorate the occasion and toast the celebrant. Among them were William and Chana Traylor. I photographed William's 30th birthday party at Brennan's restaurant a little under a year ago and I was more than happy to come out for this event as well. There was also another Angela sighting. It's always good to bump into friends when out working.

The event was held at the luxurious St. Regis Hotel which helped set the tone for a classy evening.

Here are a few images from the occasion:

Congressman Al Green and Texas House Representative Sylvester Turner talk shop

Dr. Rudley (center) and some friends

Dr. Rudley was presented this plaque by Representative Turner

Dr. Rudley's wife, Docia, reacts to the guests applauding her

The Chancellor receives gifts courtesy of the event organizers

It's been a busy summer and it doesn't seem to be slowing down any. As I hinted at in a previous blog entry, I'll be teaming up with Stacy of Mist Photography once again for a wedding this weekend at the Houstonian Hotel. I'll be sure to post some images from that as well.

Alizé recently launched a new beverage, Alizé Rose, and have been holding some parties to celebrate the launch in several cities in the country.

Luckily I was given an invite so I went along with my friends James, Chevonte, and Top to sip the new drink and mingle.

I wasn't the official photographer so I used the opportunity to make an exercise for myself. I really liked the theme of the masquerade and thought the event would look appealing in a really wide format.

Here are a few...

Check out the slideshow here:
http://www.collinsmetu.com/nightlife/alizerose/

Following on the same theme as the last blog entry, I followed up Kyla & Wyatt's wedding with TriCoast by teaming up with Stacy Reeves of Mist Photography.

I throw around the word relaxed a lot when it comes to weddings, primarily because that's really my approach to them, but Stacy is trés relaxed. She's very confident and doesn't get rattled about anything—my type of photographer! She also encouraged me to work for some interesting photos of Katie & Justin's wedding. As that's always my main focus I was happy to oblige.

There was a brief thunderstorm in between the ceremony and reception but luck was on our side and the skies cleared as we made it to the reception venue.

I usually document the bride and her bridesmaids, but in a departure from the norm, I tagged along with the groomsmen...

Luckily they were willing to try some more interesting formal arrangements...

Once again, thankfully we avoided any signs of inclement weather during the reception

A great advantage of having two photographers is the ability to get different interpretations of the same shot. Stacy actually set the couple up and lit them with flash units for a dramatic look that incorporated the blue sky (great idea!). Instead of reproducing her idea, I went ahead and tried a different approach and this is what I got.

The couple's first dance

This is what I call a "happy accident." I wanted to get a cool angle of the cake cutting and as I captured the shot, another flash from a camera on the right lit up the couple for a more dramatic effect.

Reactions to a great speech by the best man...

...and he receives pats of praise for a job well done.

Spying on a convo at the dinner table...

And now, reception fun...

A hearty congrats to the happy couple and thanks again to Stacy. I had such a great time, I think I'll join her again! More images to come soon. :)