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Toby and Grace’s wedding was HOOOTTTT…..and I’m talking about the temperature kind. I guess that’s pretty much what you can expect from any outdoor wedding in the summer in Texas. It was gorgeous though. They did all of the landscaping on their private property only months before the wedding to make it just what they wanted. I am kind of obsessed with water, so any wedding held near water of any kind is one that I will love. (check out the last photo).

The whole world doesn’t stop for just one wedding….which is exactly why these people had no idea that their leisurely float down the river would bring them right through a wedding ceremony. haha!

Yesterday was a 14 work day for me and I still feel like I am NEVER going to get everything done. I love that I get to make my own schedule though, even if it does mean when I work, I WORK FOR.EV.VER.

Jessica and Scott were married last month at Cain’s Cove. Their wedding was actually the same weekend as the boat races on the lake, so there was a little background noise at their ceremony (to say the least). Nevertheless, the day was filled with family, friends and lots of LOVE.

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Have you “liked” the Rachel Russo Photography facebook page yet? If not, then get after it!

Andrew and Sarah’s wedding was unforgettable. The venue was perfect and it was a great party. I love when the couple chooses to do their photos in a location with great light.

Note to future brides: The photos that I showcase, the ones that you fall in love with, are almost 90% of the time taken in shade outdoors or about 30 minutes before sunset. If we take your photos in a dark church or at 3pm in the afternoon outside in the direct sunlight, then your photos will not be as beautiful as they could be. Sarah took this into consideration and saved the “bride/groom” shots for after the ceremony, so that we would have the absolute best light. If you have any questions about timing for your wedding, please contact me and we can discuss it further.

Okay, I’ll shut up and get to the good stuff…..

Below: Sarah and her dad practicing their father/daughter dance.

Dorinda and Marthur were married in San Angelo and had their reception at the Cactus Hotel downtown.  This couple was so sweet and you could tell that they have impacted so many of their family and friends with their lives and love. I felt so privileged to be a part of their day!

I asked Jason and Keri (married May 1, 2010) to share about their “First Look” experience. I am a HUGE fan of this choice, but I thought future couples might like to hear first hand from other clients what to expect.

Jason’s perspecive:

When we first talked about doing the first look I was a little reluctant to do it.  I don’t that I’m necessarily a romantic on the subject but tradition dictates that the first time you see your bride is when she walks down the aisle.  After some cajoling from my now wife I agreed to go along to ease her mind; like most grooms I chose the path of least resistance in all decisions throughout the process.  In retrospect, I am glad that my wife was so insistent on the “First Look” as it had several benefits for us.

The first time you see your bride to be is a really special moment for the two of you.  Would you rather that special moment occur between the two of you or in front of 100 of your closest friends?  Personally I prefer the special moments with my wife to be in setting where the two of us can enjoy the moment together.  This is essentially the point of the “First Look.” I was able to have that awesome first time seeing the woman I was going to marry moment and be able to talk to her, see how excited she was, calm her nerves, all of those things.  It really was great to admire her beauty but also be together on your big day for a quiet moment (there aren’t many of those all day, be warned).

The other benefit (might be the biggest benefit to some of us) is for the picture taking.  You are going to take about 1,000 pictures on that day, deal with it, I had to.  But the great thing about the “First Look” is that since we had seen each other we could go ahead and take the pictures of the two of us.  This allowed us to reduce the number of “staged” photo sessions and take more pictures at once.  You love your friends and family but trying to get them all together for pictures is like herding cats so the fewer times you have to do it the better off you are.  We saved so much time and frustration by being able to have almost all of our pictures done before the ceremony.  Unless you are much more patient than I; you will appreciate the reprieve.

This should be the point at which I list the “cons” to doing a “First Look” moment but I don’t really have any to enumerate on; it was nothing but a good experience for me.  The moment really was so much nicer because we were able to talk to each other and make sure that no one was going to run out on the deal.  The last benefit:  the sooner you finish taking pictures, the sooner you get to go have a beer and think about decision  you just made it (you probably don’t want to reflect on this decision sober).

Keri’s perspective:

I had heard of the “first look” from a friend of mine and considered the notion for our wedding, but after meeting with Rachel I was totally on board. Let me tell you, my “first look” experience was everything she promised it would be and more.

The morning of our wedding I was so anxious. My stomach was in knots. I was tense and on the verge of crying at the drop of a hat. The emotions of your wedding day of are endless. My fiancé and I agreed to meet at the altar of the church to see each other for the first time. I walked half way up the isle and then had him turn around to see me walk up the rest of the way. When he turned our eyes made contact and when I saw his huge smile for the first time that day, I melted. I cannot explain all the feelings running through my body, but I felt such relief and I will never forget that moment.

I released all my tension in his arms and then we laughed together. It was so wonderful to actually talk to him and hug and kiss him and we wouldn’t have had that opportunity if we were standing in front of all our guests. Spending that time alone together was such a great way to start our fabulous wedding day! You won’t get many opportunities through the day so it makes it so special when looking back.

In addition to my calmed nerves, we were able to knock-out the majority of our pictures before the ceremony. I’ve helped with so many weddings where we wasted time tracking down the wedding party after the ceremony and we didn’t have to worry about it! We went to the reception right away and joined our family and friends to start the celebrating.

I hope my advice and memories will give you some insight about what to expect if you decide to take advantage of a “first look.” I’m so happy we chose to start our wedding day this way and know it was one of the best decisions we made during our planning process. Congratulations to you and may your wedding day be as blissful as ours was!

Ari and Sarah were married in San Angelo at Congregation Beth Israel and their reception was held at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. This was my first traditional Jewish ceremony and I loved how Sarah’s style showed through in every part of the wedding.

Below: Signing the Ketubah. This is a traditional part of every Jewish wedding. I had never even heard of it, but it was super neat!