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A few weeks ago, I had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of watching my childhood best friend marry the love of her life at Crystal Springs in Magnolia, TX.

 

I’ve known Megan since we were 12, and I can’t tell you how many conversations we had about meeting “the one” someday. We’ve both been immensely blessed to have found wonderful husbands, and coincidentally we both married our first boyfriends. You may remember Megan and Chris’s Houston engagement session. I was overjoyed to capture their engagement, and even though I was a bridesmaid, of course I brought my camera to capture a few of the getting ready moments before the hired photographer arrived.

Megan and Chris met at Texas A&M (I couldn’t convince her to join me at OU) and established a strong friendship before they began dating. I love Chris and Megan together because they bring out the best in each other. Megan is an engineer (logical, brilliant, beautiful, and very much a planner) while Dr. Chris is a dentist (but also an adventurer-outdoorsy, spontaneous, and very much a people person). They’ve always gotten along so well, and I’ve never seen them together without big smiles on their faces. Chris makes my Megan happy—what more could a girl want for her best friend?

I hope you enjoy the few snapshots I snagged the morning of the best day ever. Congratulations Chris and Megan!!

With joy, Lizard.

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Oh me, oh my, how the time flies! Hadelyn Mae’s first birthday was a very exciting event for our family! She is our very first baby, AND we had recently moved into our very first house, AND this was our very first time hosting a “gathering” there. So, we really wanted it to be a special celebration of love, gratitude, and family, obviously with the focus being on sweet little Haddie Mae’s first year.

As an interior designer-turned photographer, it’s very important to me that my children’s surroundings make them feel happy and provoke them to think creatively. I can’t wait until the day that Haddie Mae can tell me about her thoughts and dreams. With that said, I knew that I wanted her very first birthday party to reflect that whimsical side of life. After much (too much) deliberation, I settled on the theme of “Time Flies.” Besides the obvious correlation to her birthday, this theme allowed me to subtly incorporate whimsy into the small details. Dishes painted with florals, bugs, birds, and hand-made glittery arrows, as well as an abstract mini hot air balloon (and real balloons) all had to do with the theme in some way. Things that fly, or even just move with the wind—this, to me, really gave the whimsical, flying-through-life vibe that we wanted. The pastel color palette kept things light and airy, and the DIY confetti banners hung on the fireplace provided a nice photo backdrop for some family photos. The invitations, as well as the “Time Flies” banner, the label cards, and the “Hooray” pennants were all supplied by Minted. I found the perfect floral napkins (and birthday outfit for Hadelyn) from H&M, and made her a headband to coordinate with the handmade glittery arrows. There were several small DIY projects (table confetti, confetti banner, arrows, etc), but the most time-consuming one ended up being the hot-air balloon, made out of a candy dish, yarn, ribbon, a pencil wrapped in washi tape, and a balloon. I had a lot of help with getting things ready from a couple visiting friends (Laura Bow, Ryan and Andrea Lorton–Thank you!!), and it took us quite a while to get it just right! As much as I love decorating and photographing, I absolutely loathe cooking. I didn’t want the food to be a let-down after all of the hard work planning and getting the house ready and decorated, so I opted to have the food catered—RIGHT move. Little Chicks Bakery did a fantastic job, and I just adored the simple (and extremely tasty) birthday cake with the arrow shot through it! We decided to keep the food rather light and brunch-like, since the party was at 10 am (usually Hadelyn’s most playful time of the day). We served savory and sweet scones, sausage balls, orange cinnamon rolls, pigs in a blanket, and a few different flavors of mini muffins. The only thing I made myself was Haddie Mae’s pastel-rainbow smashing cake. I may not be a supermom, but I thought I should at least make HER cake! Of course, she barely dug into it, but it was still so much fun to watch! Most of the serve ware was from Anthropologie, with a few BHLDN exceptions, and just one or two family hand-me-down pieces. Also, we used a few objects to help get the vibe across, like the vintage lace tablecloth hung over the window, the BHLDN beaded gloves, Anthropologie framed antelope (he doesn’t fly but he’s whimsical, right?!), and a vintage Ginger Ale wooden box to help give the table texture and height. The one thing I’d tell any other mommies planning a party is don’t be afraid to ask for help, and plan ahead of time—get any DIY projects out of the way EARLY so that they all actually get done, and you aren’t scrambling at the last second. I doubt every birthday party of Haddie Mae’s will be this “done,” but it sure was fun, and definitely worth the effort.

With joy, Lizard.

  

Credits:

Photography and Design: Lizard Nickel Photography

Serveware, Dinnerware, Decor (And Mom’s Earrings): Anthropologie

Small Plates, Gloves, Striped Straws: BHLDN

Floral Design: HEB Blooms

Mommy’s Shirt: Free People

Hadelyn’s Axe-Patterned Diapers: The Honest Company

Stationary: Minted

Napkins, Hadelyn’s Outfit, and Pink Cake Stand: H&M

Catering: Little Chicks Bakery

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This is the third and final chapter of the lovely DIY Redwoods Forest wedding in Foresthill, CA. Candace and Ian’s day was perfection, as I’ve described in my two previous posts, part 1 and part 2. Today I’ll be showing a few favorites from the adorable backyard reception.

Candace kept her decor very simple and sweet, and let the natural beauty of the redwood trees shine. The reception began just as the sun was setting. I watched as the glow from the stringed lights grew brighter, guests strolling from table to table, visiting with old and new friends. It was so full of that old charm that gets lost at larger-scale weddings. Everyone felt at ease and comfy…and no one left hungry! I believe the final count on the HOMEMADE (yes, all made by only two people) pies was 47. FORTY-SEVEN PIES, Y’ALL. The wedding pie had a pie-topper that just read “hitched.” The cute couple dug into the pie with custom Mr. and Mrs. Spoons, which are becoming quite the trend. You can find them on Etsy and also at BHLDN. (If you are a bride of mine, you will most likely get a set before your big day, due to my BHLDN obsession.) It was so adorable, and what lovely keepsakes to have!

Speaking of keepsakes, Candace had several wedding dresses from generations before displayed at the reception, with photos and tags stating whose was whose, and how long they’ve been married. This was a wonderful (and decorative) way to add sentiment to the already sacred event.

From the pies, to the centerpieces, to the mismatched seating, everything at the reception was either handmade or from the family’s own personal homes. It had that “collective” vibe with vintage elements everywhere. When Candace called me and told me about her vision for her wedding day, I was thrilled—Not just because she asked me to photograph it, but because I knew this was going to be one of the most epically wonderful events I’ve ever been able to attend. This is one of those weddings where I really enjoyed the portraits of the guests and family that I took. You can FEEL the love between the two families—Two Christian families coming together and making a whole new family unit. It was fun, it was gorgeous, and it was blessed. What more could you ask for?

I hope you enjoy the photos, and if you’d like to see a slideshow, please view at: http://vimeo.com/101172768

You can also view the entire gallery from the wedding day until October 1, 2014 at: www.lizardnickel.shootproof.com

With joy, Lizard.

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  • Norma - Thank you for sharing these wonderful pictures. I was so sad that I couldn’t come to the wedding. It was spectacular. I am honored to have Ian and Candace sit behind me each Lord’s Day and hear her beautiful voice.l
    Norma Curtis
    Aunt of Julie Bohine
    Sister of Julie’s Mother ShirleyReplyCancel

So happy about this week’s Wedding Hint Wednesday topic! THE dress for a Bohemian bride. Let’s remember, what truly makes a wedding dress bohemian or not is the bride in it. Just because you want a bohemian-style wedding, doesn’t mean you have to stick to this style of wedding dress. There are tons and tons of styles that could tilt in the bohemian direction with just a few added accessories. I could really go on forever about wedding dresses, and since there are new designs every day, this could easily be a recurring topic here. For today, I’ll just be posting a few recent wedding look favorites, with designers cited below. You can also visit my Pinterest board for more awesome finds. Enjoy!

With joy, Lizard.

 

*Images below from daughtersofsimone.com, shopruche.com, bhldn.com, and graceloveslace.com

A) Daughtersofsimone.com : Caterina : $1670

B) shopruche.com : Angelique : $128 (that price is not a typo!)

C) graceloveslace.com : Ariel : $999

D) graceloveslace.com : Josee : $1150

E) bhldn.com : Lita : $1400 (currently on sale from $2400)

F) daughtersofsimone.com : Lu : $2550

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I love me some alone time. And I also love road trips through small towns. So I was pretty much stoked to take a recent road trip BY MYSELF to Wimberly, TX for a friend’s bachelorette party. Lately, when I travel with my little family, it’s a “just get there while the baby’s still asleep” type of situation. As few stops as possible. This is just fine most of the time, but it was pretty awesome to take it slow and stop every so often to take some photos.

I met so many interesting people along the way—all super sweet and friendly (duh, they were TEXANS). Every time I asked to take someone’s picture, they were confused and surprised, but still obliged. Just some good ole Texans, a few abandoned structures, cotton fields, and spurs everywhere I looked. Good trip.

The bachelorette party was in Wimberly, TX at the Paper Moon Log Cabin. We stayed for 2 nights and had a great time reconnecting with old friends and making some new ones! Congratulations to Megan and Chris! I was a bridesmaid in her July 5th Crystal Springs wedding in Magnolia, TX so of course I took a few pics there too (Soon to be blogged). Enjoy the photos! I feel that they need no explanation

:)

With joy, Lizard.

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