Yay it’s finally Friday and we have an intimate and beautiful wedding to share! I love this wedding not only because this is the sweetest couple ♥ but because it was so cozy with just the closest family and friends attending. I present to you the sweet and intimate wedding of Brian & Angelica!

The colours of the wedding were orange and black. Black is always a classic choice but really the colours represent the school which was integral in their meeting. Angelica is always so thoughtful and caring. She bought lovely earrings for all the bridesmaids. To finish up their looks, all the girl’s hair were pulled back into tight clean buns. It looked so neat! Thanks to Julie of Scissortails of Stillwater. ♥

Angelica is so beautiful! I love gowns with long trains and this one was particularly breathtaking with exquisite embroidering and beading all the way down the back. Isn’t she radiant?! Thanks to the best man, Aaron, for suggesting an awesome pose! What a handsome group of guys!

What an adorable group of girls! The Little Shop of Flowers did a beautiful job with the orange bouquets, boutonnieres, and table centerpieces. I love the touches of purple. Angelica really was a gorgeous bride! And these little ones are just too cute for words.

When I saw Brian’s eyes light up when he saw Angelica for the first time in her wedding gown as she walked down the aisle, it brought me back to their engagement shoot last fall. You can see the love in their eyes. These two are definitely made for each other. ♥

I love how we were outside and inside at the same time. It gave the ceremony a modern feel with a touch of whimsy. And the bubbles definitely made it magical! All the guests executed the sea of bubbles perfectly.

I love these photos of them. As the light drifted through the windows, Angelica and Brian shined! They are so easy to photograph because they always light up when they are together.

Mmmm…their food and cakes were delicious and they looked great too. Jessica from Food Pyramid did an awesome job. The main cake was classically styled and the tractor design for the groom’s cake harks back to Brian’s Nebraskan roots.

I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room when Angelica danced with her Dad. There is so much love in her family. I’m so blessed to have met all of them.

The favours were Jelly beans in cups. Sweet idea, literally! Once the formal dances ended and everyone wiped their eyes, the party revved up into full gear.

Oh my gosh! It was so hilarious when Angelica did the bouquet toss! All the girls gathered and picked their lucky spot. Angelica steadied herself and swung the bouquet…but wasn’t able to let go! It was definitely the funniest part of the reception. She got it on the second try, lol.

The reception was so much fun! The best man is always on hand to help but this is a new one, lol. With Mission Impossible music setting the tone, this was a very funny scene indeed! There were some impressive line dancing! Once the country music came on, I found out that Brian is quite the dancer! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since he’s from Nebraska.

I love looking through these pictures. They are so genuine and beautiful! Make sure to hop over to their Event Page, and check out the slideshow. Have a great weekend y’all!

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Well, I have to say that we did enjoy this weekend despite our very hectic schedule. Chris & Kristena finally got hitched! And we are thankful to be part of their big day. It seemed just like yesterday when we did their engagement session at the hangar. Boy, time really flies by so fast! Anyway, their beautiful wedding was this weekend so I thought I’d give you a little peek *wink*.

Thank God for Moms and awesome bridesmaids! They always seem to have the perfect solution for everything on the craziest (yet happiest) day! And I love Kristena’s unique Savvy Couture fabric bouquet with little trinkets on them! How pretty cool is that!? And Kristena just looked stunning in her beautiful wedding dress.

And aside from the gorgeous bride and groom, the wedding party looked pretty handsome too in their classic black suits with orange carnations and personally picked out green dresses.

I love their sweet first glance by the deck. ♥ I don’t think anything can stop these two from getting married that day, not even Oklahoma’s crazy weather. It was very cloudy, then a little sun came out, then it rained off and on, and finally just minutes before the wedding it decided to just stay cloudy with no rain.

And those score cards were for their wedding kiss! Awesome idea! The newlyweds were definitely surprised since they didn’t know about the rating scheme.

They had a s’mores dessert table, how neat! Everyone danced the night away and had so much fun!

And the day wouldn’t be complete without Kristena’s close girl friends, her Aspen coworkers. I love these girls! ♥ Thank you Courtney (lady in the far left) for being an awesome wedding coordinator! We had so much fun working with you. I can’t wait to share all the wonderful details Kristena created and included in her wedding! So be sure to come back in two weeks to check out their full story. Have a great week!

Happy Saturday Everyone! The weather today in Oklahoma reminds of Jay and Kayla’s beautiful wedding two weeks ago held in the historic downtown of Oklahoma’s original capital. Clouds rolled in and rain loomed in the distance but the powers that be saw to it that this wonderful couple be given the perfect day. And it was perfect!

It really makes the day special when the bride has planned out every little detail and Kayla is one of those thoughtful brides. I love how her robe was embroidered and every little extra was in a matching pink!

The bridesmaids got ready in rooms above the ballroom and the groomsmen were put across the street in the Pollard Inn above the old Pollard Theater. All the vintage details played my heart strings. Oh, Kayla is such a classic beauty!

Off to the clandestine meeting of these two lovebirds to start their special day together! It was a little bit a walk, so I’m glad the girls came ready with matching pink flip flops to save their feet during the down time.

I love this set of photos! Kayla was so excited to show off being all dolled up and Jay was just so anxious to see his beautiful bride. I love their expressions! It looks like it was well worth the wait. ♥

Girls adorned in hot pink dresses with matching lipstick. Beyond cute! The lily bouquets were not only lovely but they smelled great too! Thanks to Donna Curtis’ talent for all the wonderful flower creations.

We felt like paparazzi following these dazzling girls and cool guys in their sunglasses around town, lol. And this beautiful lady in purple beside Kayla is her mom, isn’t she just stunning!?

Kayla found the cutest flower girls and ringbearers. Yes those are real butterflies! I can’t get over the little bow-ties and plaid shirts!

I love old Catholic Churches…the meticulously crafted statues and and beautiful architecture. My eyes kept drifting up to the amazing stained glass windows. St. Mary’s is definitely one of those timeless churches.

Of course you can’t keep the butterflies caged up! So, after the ceremony and before heading to the reception, Jay & Kayla released the delicate butterflies. What a beautiful way to share the beauty of your day with the rest of the world! One butterfly had eyes for Kayla’s bouquet and tagged along with everyone to the reception.

The Sand Plum ballroom is simply elegant. A perfect venue for making your day unforgettable. I love the color and playfulness of the flower arragements! It tied the reception together stylishly.

Everyone toasted, danced, and partied into the night! The exquisite cakes by Bev’s Cakes looked absolutely amazing and delicious. You almost don’t want to cut into them!

I love how it seemed like the party would never stop! Everyone danced into the night. Even these little girls can’t get enough of the dancing. Everyone young and old joined in on all the fun!

Wasn’t their day magical?! Make sure to hop over to the Event Page, and check out the slideshow. Enjoy the rest of your day and don’t let gloomy weather get you down!

Happy Monday! I love intimate weddings! Brian & Angelica’s over the weekend was surely one of those treasured moments. They had their closest family and friends attend all the way from hot Mexico and chilly Nebraska.

Julie of Scissortails did a classy job with Angelica’s hair-do. And I love the hints of purple on her lovely bouquet by The Little Shop of Flowers. The strapless gown was exquisite with embroidery and buttons all the way down the long train.

Oh but let me say that dress was challenging to get in! These two lovebirds appeared to be blissfully relaxed but I’m pretty sure that the moment Brian saw Angelica walk down that aisle, his heart skipped a beat…or two! ♥ ♥

Angelica was an absolutely stunning modern bride! And of course she wouldn’t be complete without her charming groom by her side. I adore them!

The best word to describe the ceremony was…touching. ♥ And everyone joyfully went from wiping tears from their eyes to blowing bubbles to celebrate the joining of this beautiful couple! How fun!

The celebration continued through the night with plenty of dancing and story-telling. One memorable highlight was a heart-warming speech by the maid-of-honor, Miri, who looks up to her sister so much and welcomed Brian to the family.

Want to find out who caught the bouquet? Check out the lucky girl and more of Brian and Angelica’s touching wedding in two weeks for their full wedding post. Have a wonderful week!

A historic hotel…a magnificent catholic church…a trolley ride to an old world ballroom…the makings of a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple ~ Jay & Kayla. ♥

Bridesmaids are awesome because they are always there to help! Getting Kayla all dolled up and traipsing around a historic downtown with these girls in hot pink dresses was a blast!

I really love the shot above and the lily flower creation by Donna Curtis is so gorgeous {and smelled great too}! Kayla was so excited to see Jay and show off her beautiful dress and I think finally being able to see Kayla cooled Jay’s nerves.

Now this is riding in style! Off to a reflective and beautiful ceremony under the faint glow of the majestic stained glass windows.

And the little ring bearers had the most adorable getup! Love their silly faces!

This wedding was none-stop jaw dropping with the ballroom at The Sand Plum topping off the night. The exquisite cakes by Bev’s Cakes was a perfect finishing touch.

Check out these dancing machines! These showstoppers were dancing the night away to Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson tunes.

Want to see more of this grand wedding?! Make sure to check back in two weeks to follow their whole day!

Happy Friday everyone! Drumroll please…we’ve been teasing you with engagements and such but we now have our first wedding of this year to share with you! Yay! John & Lindsey’s celebration has a little bit of everything so I think it’s an awesome way to sound off the season. {Can you hear the starting gun firing?! I can } Meet this amazing couple ~ John & Lindsey. ♥ We spent the whole day with this fun laid back couple and we wouldn’t have had it any other way.

We met the girls early in the morning at the Salon to watch them pretty up. It was so much fun watching them because you can tell they are so close. And I can’t think of a better way to start off your wedding day than with her family’s famous cinnamon buns!

We all took a break for lunch with the girls having lunch catered at the church to give themselves plenty of time to prepare and setup at the Children’s Library. The boys showed up soon after and hung out in a classroom on the other side of the church. Covering all bases Lindsey made sure to include something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

I was elated when she showed me her “something blue”. Her bridesmaids Karisa, Martina, Lacey, and Molly along with her parents all wrote encouraging words on the bottom of her heels in blue. ♥

Now let me tell you, Lindsey loves surprises! The only person that had seen her dress was her Mom. She didn’t let a single picture leak out. She wanted to see the expression on her bridesmaid’s faces when she pulled it out and what a surprise! It’s beautiful: exquisite beading on the corset set atop flowing delicate ivory fabric gathered to the side with the same beading and laced up the back. She looked amazing! Lindsey opted for a first glance and just to be sure that John didn’t peek until she was ready, he stood there blindfolded and let Lindsay reveal herself. How fun!

To draw out the suspense even further, Lindsey came up with the idea of a father’s first glance. So sweet! I love the tall ceilings and openness of her family’s church. The flower girl, Lindsey’s niece Harleigh, was so adorable! And when Karisa, Lindsey’s maid of honor, took the stage and sang a sweet song, everyone was brought to tears!

Lindsey wanted to add some country flavour to the wedding. So while waiting for the newlyweds, guests were asked to take handfuls of wheat kernels from galvanized buckets. What a send off! I found myself digging wheat out of crevasses even after we got home. Now let the party begin! The wedding cake had a lovely texture and I’ve never seen a more appropriate groom’s cake, lol.

With cake served Lindsey and her dad kicked off the dance. And of course the wedding would not have been the same without Lindsey’s sorority sisters! It was touching watching the Tri Delta girls gather around the newlyweds and serenade them. ♥

I think one of the neatest things at the reception was the longest marriage dance. All the married couples were asked to come to the dance floor. After a couple minutes the DJ asked that couples married less than 2 days to leave the floor. John and Lindsey promptly sat down. Then couples married less than 5 years were asked to sit down. I think you can guess the game here…10 years, 15 years, 20 years. The amazing thing was how long the count down continued. It made your heart swell to see couples married for decades waltzing across the dance floor…40 years, 45 years, 50 years. It continued until only one couple was left and everyone watched them dance across the floor. Lindsey’s grandparents have been married for over 60 years! Now that’s love! ♥

The reception was definitely not a yawn! After the formal dances the music kicked up a notch {or five} and it turned into a full blown dance party! The robot may be a feat in a wedding dress and high heels but luckily Lindsey brought her dancing shoes, Toms!

Lindsey’s cousins set up a truly hip photobooth with a stellar selection of props. The perfect way to take a break from the dance-a-thon. Check out the Boys! It’s doesn’t look like their stopping anytime soon. John’s got the moves!

Wish you could see more of this fabulous wedding? Don’t fret. Just head over to the Event Page, and check out the slideshow. Have a great weekend!

Happy Monday Everyone! It’s sneak peek time! It was so much fun being a part of John and Lindsey’s wedding day. ♥ In fact, I don’t even know how to begin! I had a hard time picking out a few photos to share out of all the great moments. We joined the girls early in the morning at the hair stylist to watch them get prettied up.

Lindsey loves surprises and waited ’til the very last minute to show everyone the dress! And oh how I love their first glance! Lindsey had John blindfolded to make sure he wouldn’t sneak up to see her in her wedding dress for the first time.

And the day wouldn’t have been the same without all of John & Lindsey’s closest friends cheering them on! The ceremony was nice and solemn. Family, friends, and mates all watched them exchange their vows.

And the party…it was crazy fun! You can’t expect less especially when you have fun sorority sisters and awesome dancing buddies around. Oh these girls are amazing with posing themselves in 2 seconds! Love it! You have to come back in two weeks to see their whole day {John & his friends got the moves!} and see what a blast it was following them around! Have an awesome week everyone!

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Could you believe that February is ending in two days!? Wow, it just flew by so fast! We definitely got a lot of breaks this month. Since it is off-season with weddings here, in Stillwater at least, we spent our precious time drumming up ideas on our display table for the Hello Lovely Indie Bridal Fair on March 11. I can’t wait to take a photo of our booth and show it to you. It will be after the bridal show though since it’s going to be a surprise. We’ve also managed to squeeze in some mini projects this month. Scott has designed templates for the Wedding Photobook and Guestbook that we offer and has finished one of each album. And we just received them!

What do you think? Above is a sample of our new Wedding Photobook we offer. This is the ImageWrap style, so the cover is wrapped in a custom print on canvas material. We are also offering the book in different colours of leather. It has taken us time to find a photobook that we are happy with and we are so excited with how it has come out. I love how the cover material, finish, and our photography style creates a cover that almost looks like a painting! If you have a chance you’ll have to come by the bridal show to check it out. Below is a sample of our new Guestbook which has a leather cover, and by the way, I think it’s super cute since it has these questions that guests can answer or they can leave some advice for the couple. Both books are layflat, and either can come with an ImageWrap or Leather cover {lots of colors to choose from}. Trust me they are gorgeous! It took Scott 3 weeks to design the templates and put these together. He made sure to jazz up the designs because as blue elephant photography we definitely can’t stand something boring.

Anyway, we have a special that we are offering during the Hello Lovely Indie Bridal Fair! We’re offering a $2000 package which includes an all-day coverage {and the rest of these of course} and we’re throwing in a Wedding Photobook for FREE! {Yes, that’s a $300 value}. So if you just got engaged or a bride, make sure to book with us. And please stop by the booth and say Hello! ♥

Hi Friends! How are you today!? I wanted to share something insightful about weddings. This was shared at Stillwater Community Connection, a local information hub for small businesses in town. Thanks Sherry for having me as a guest blogger. ♥

As wedding photographers, a large part of our job is planning out the different types of photos on a wedding day. Within this mixture of formal and candid pictures there is a series of photos we always encourage: first glance photos. The first glance or first look is the first time that the Bride and Groom see each other in their wedding attire on their wedding day. These photos are obviously taken just before the ceremony and somewhere where the couple can be completely alone (as the photographers we are invisible as much as possible).

Placing tradition to the side for a moment, there are several reasons why we encourage this series of photos. First, this may be the only time for the Bride and Groom to be completely alone together on their wedding day and it allows them to more fully experience the excitement of seeing each other for the first time. The ritual of the ceremony along with everyone watching can almost be overwhelming to some couples. This extra time can help bolster nerves and create a pivotal and intimate moment to talk one last time before becoming husband and wife. Second, this is actually the most ideal time for couple photos. The Bride and Groom have just finished getting ready and look their best. Also, it is much easier to allot time before the ceremony than to break away from the congratulating crowd of family and friends afterwards. Lastly, these photos are easily some of the best photos of the day. The bride and groom are genuinely anxious and excited to see each other…the smiles, and tears, and laughter are very real.

We are the ones that coordinate the whole affair. At some weddings we have picked a spot where we know there shouldn’t be any guests and at others we clearly inform everyone not to enter the area. We always have the groom wait with his back turned while the bride sneaks up behind. This gives it a more suspenseful feeling. I love to watch the groom’s anxious expression and the excited look on both their faces when the bride taps him on the shoulder.

Now you may be surprised to hear that first glance photos are quickly becoming popular and almost all of my brides agree to them. I realize that all of this flies in the face of tradition and some would even cry blasphemy at the mere thought that I would even suggest to a Bride and Groom to see each other before the ceremony! Truthfully, all I do is lay out my feelings regarding it to my clients. In the end, it is merely a suggestion and it’s ALWAYS up to the bride to make the final decisions. Some brides may be worried that first glance photos will trivialize the moment when the groom first sees her walk down the aisle. On the contrary, I believe having that alone time before the ceremony relaxes the couple and enables them to appreciate the moment more…more fully experiencing having family and friends watch you descend the aisle and be given away to your handsome husband. I think that this moment still remains equally as special but the most important thing is for the bride to be happy.

And trust me, even when the couple opts for the first glance, there will still be some butterflies and jitters in the tummy. That’s just love, excitement, and a happily ever after! ♥ To discover more wedding ideas make sure to explore our website and blog. ♥

Hello Blue Ely friends! I hope your Wednesday is awesome. A few weeks ago, the write up below was posted at Stillwater’s Community Connection website. I would like to thank Sherry and Courtney for giving us the opportunity to reach out to Stillwater and share some thoughts! This is the first of several posts on her site on how to get the most out of your events and photo sessions. Read on…

As wedding photographers, we tend to notice the little things. You always hear the phrase – “it’s all about the details”. And we believe that these extra little things help make an occasion fun, unique, beautiful, and memorable for everyone. This young couple that we photographed, Josh & Judith, came up with some truly inspiring details for their wedding and we want to share some of these ideas with you.

We market ourselves as fun, vintage, and creative photographers. So, we tend to attract brides that plan their weddings with a vintage and creative feel. Also, our brides make the most of their budgets with unique do-it-yourself details. Josh and Judith married at the backyard of a beautiful 104 year-old home in Muskogee owned by Josh’s aunt, Julie. Instead of paying for an expensive venue, they took advantage of family resources, allowing them to put more money into other wedding things. So be on the lookout for a home or backyard of a family member that might work very well as a venue or reception. We love outdoor weddings. I think the combination of nature with the formality and elegance of the day is enchanting.

The first hint of the uniqueness to Judith’s wedding showed up in guest’s mailboxes a couple months before the wedding. I loved her invitations! Judith collected vintage handkerchiefs and she and her friend designed the invitation on it and had them screen printed at Stillwater Screenprinting & Embroidery. Very cool idea!

And would you believe that Whole Foods made her organic bouquet!? They did such a terrific job with the flowers! Her mom even did her own creative spin by pinning the bride and bridesmaids’ bouquet with fun brooches. So cuuuuuute!

Judith painstakingly made the groomsmen’s boutonnieres. We love DIY brides! These whimsical boutonnieres were made from old book pages and green berries. They went great with the linen suits.

How wonderful that she painted her toe nails blue for her ‘something blue’. And she also added a fun twist to the men’s wardrobe by having them wear argyle socks that were in line with her wedding colors.

The centerpieces were white ceramic vases on top of silver trays filled with arrangements consistent with the bridesmaid bouquets. She also used old book pages to wrap small simple votive candles to give the reception an extra ambiance after the sun set. For more evening lighting, there were white Japanese lanterns hanging around the reception area that were lit up beautifully.

The mismatched floral china was a fun eclectic way to bring both a vintage theme and refinement to the reception dinner. Some mismatches can surely be lovely. ♥

A popular idea that always goes over well with guests is using mason jars as glasses. But what I loved the most was how Judith tagged straws (striped in her wedding color) so that guests could label and keep track of their drinks. Oh and she even let the guests take them home too, so these jars doubled as wedding favours!

Check out her cake topper, isn’t it so adorable!? She picked out a really fun one from an Etsy store and it even matched Josh’s tie And she also made these mustache props. They are quite easy to make actually and brings more fun and quirkiness to the photos.

Even with all these little details, she still wanted the ceremony area to look simple and clean. But knowing Judith there’s always a little bit of a surprise. The trees in the backyard created a beautiful natural arbor but I bet the guests couldn’t help but smile when they saw the vintage chandelier hanging from the trees. It added a magical touch to the ceremony. Again, it’s these little elements that make your day unforgettable and it doesn’t need to be costly. You can rummage through your mom’s or grandparent’s old stuff, check out thrift stores, or look online for DIY projects.

To discover more fun wedding detail ideas make sure to explore our website and blog. Happy Hump Day!