A couple weeks ago I visited the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center as part of Austin's Museum Day - a wonderful city-wide event when many museums are free to visit. Of course I brought my camera along! See below for a few quick snaps L this lovely place.
Shane & Jen - Laid-Back, Outdoor/Courthouse Wedding
I first met Shane & Jen in person at their home in Houston, TX, right before we took their engagement photos. After speaking to them on the phone and via Skype, it was wonderful to meet them in person and see how perfect they are for each other. Like chips and queso or good beer and friends, each of them are lovely apart from each other, but even better when combined! Below are the highlights of the day; click to enlarge.
I travelled to Blanco, TX to photograph their morning ceremony at the Blanco County Courthouse. Shane & Jen got ready together at their hotel, before we headed to the courthouse to take family photos. Jen made her veil by hand, which was a lovely touch.
After the portraits were finished, everyone headed down to the park across the street for the ceremony. Guests picked up a copy of "a brief guide to today's marital events," custom printed sunglasses and choose which team to root for - Oklahoma or Texas. Shane & Jen's ceremony was unique and personal - one aspect I really liked was they they placed the rings on their own fingers, symbolizing that they each chose to make the commitment on their own.
After the ceremony, we went to a different part of the park with a giant tree to take some portraits. Afterwards, Shane & Jen went to get some coffee at a local shop nearby, and to take a few minutes to themselves before heading to the courthouse for the brunch reception.
The brunch reception was full of Shane & Jennifer's friends and family and it was clear that everyone there loved them both to pieces! The reception was full of personal touches, from the succulents on every table to the hand-illustrated cake toppers that Shane created. There were heartfelt, funny toasts, a photo booth, and lots of laughter.
After the reception, I headed back to Austin. In the evening, I headed to the Gatsby on 6th Street for the after party and more good times with good food and good friends. Part of the night was comprised of taking photos of every single person that put on Shane's hat! The night ended with a sing-along, toasts, and a special congratulations video from Shane's favorite band.
Dan & Leslie - Vietnamese Tea Ceremony Wedding
One of my favorite things about being a wedding photographer is being exposed to new traditions - Dan & Leslie’s north Austin Vietnamese wedding ceremony is a perfect examples of just that! Dan & Leslie live in Washington D.C., where they held an American wedding ceremony, but travelled to Austin to celebrate with Dan’s side of the family. Check out Leslie’s two wedding dresses, tea ceremonies, and lots of love below - click to enlarge images.
As per Vietnamese tradition, Dan and his family arrived at the rental home where Leslie and her parents where staying. They brought gifts, wrapped in red, to share and asked Leslie’s parents for their permission for the marriage to take place (of course they said yes!).
After the tea ceremony, Leslie and her parents opened the gifts that were brought over, including wine, fruit and a roast pig.
We headed to a pavilion area nearby and to take some portraits.
The whole group then headed over to Dan’s grandmother’s house where Leslie and her parents were welcomed into the family. Leslie had changed into her red dress that Dan’s mother made (Leslie’s mom made the white dress - what a cool way to involved both moms!). Leslie & Dan presented tea to all that were present and received advice and red envelopes in return.
After the tea ceremonies were complete, Dan & Leslie and I headed to the park across the street to take some more portraits. I really enjoyed seeing how Dan & Leslie interacted with each other - they seemed to be perfectly in sync.
ATX: Cedar Park Farmers Market
I am honored to be volunteering my time and talents to Keep Austin Fed, a non-profit organization that specializes in food rescue. That means that their mission is to take food with a short shelf life (such as excess food from restaurants and events - stuff that needs to be eaten SOON) from the donor to a local recipient. Volunteers pick up the food and drive it from point A to point B, keeping wholesome, nutritious food out of the waste system and getting it into the mouths of people who need it.
Most recently, I went to the Cedar Park Farmers Market to talk to some of the farmers about why they donate - and of course take photos of all of the gorgeous produce! Click to enlarge.
ATX: Humans of Austin that Responded to My Craigslist Post - Josh
Josh is my second Human of Austin that Responded to My Craigslist Post, but actually, I was the one that responded to zirs* Craigslist post. What started as a shoot to provide Josh with images to add to zirs alternative modeling portfolio became an artistic collaboration to recreate and document Josh's journey of self-discovery. Click to enlarge.
Josh has been an Austinite for about 3 and a half years, a transplant from Denton, TX. Ze came to Austin to pursue a career in theater design. "For me, Austin is a place to explore. I was a part of the independent art scene for three years. I live in intentional spaces where we try to create an urban tribe of friends and support. I try to live consciously."
Josh says that although ze loves Austin, the city needs to work to hold on to its uniqueness. "As Austin grows, it's turning 'weird' into a commodity, which defeats the purpose. By continuing to live in experimental spaces and exploring alternative ways of living - it's not always about getting a condo and a 9-5 job - I can help uphold the Austin ideal."
"If there's something you want to do, there's someone to do that with you," Josh said. "The relationships I've developed and the friends that I've gained are pretty awesome. There's such an amazing diversity among the people in this city - it's a good place to cut your teeth." For Josh, Austin was also a good place for self-discovery. Josh identifies as gender-fluid, or as having a neutral gender, but that hasn't always been the case. "For me, gender is a performance. For years I was performing as a picture of masculinity with bit of queer."
Next, Josh tried exploring the far side of the gender spectrum. "As dsyphoria hit, I started performing femininity, which was, for me, just as inaccurate."
"I then became more comfortable in a queer femininity that didn't try to mask my body, just decorated it the way I wanted," Josh explained. However, that wasn't a perfect fit either.
"Now, I have quit gender. I am way more comfortable than I've ever been. Historically, I've had a picture that I was trying to enforce - how I was supposed to look and behave as a man or woman - but both of these were wrong for me," Josh said. "I had a picture of how I was supposed to behave as a queer, which was closer, but still not quite right. Now I am no longer holding onto any pictures in my head."
Josh provided me with the names of some of the LBGTQ resources available to Austin residents.
Waterloo Counseling - providing affordable counseling services
Violet Crown Counseling - counseling specific to LBGTQ issues
Cheer Up Charlie's and Genuine Joe's Coffee are queer-friendly social spaces
QUEERY - an upcoming app "connecting the queer community, one person at a time"
*Josh prefers to be identified with ze as a replacement for he/she and zir/s (pronounced “zeer”) for him/his/her/hers.