So I got a phone call the other day, it was Ella’s mom, she wanted to see if we would be interested in photographing Ella’s
senior portrait. Normally I would have just said no, it’s not work we typically do, but her Mom explained that they wanted a
more creative type of portrait, and spoke of  Ella’s interest in graffiti art.
I am so glad we decided to do it. As you can see below Ella is beautiful, but more than that it was a pleasure hanging out with her,
hearing about her life and pending adventures.

Have fun this year Ella!

This blog entry starts with a few photos from the portrait session we did with Emily just days before her wedding. Typically we
would do these sittings months before the wedding day, but the timing in this case just worked best this way. Having it so close to
the wedding date added a feeling of nervous excitement. I loved the adornment in her hair and the simple clean lines of her dress.

Then came the wedding day. Guests arrived and signed in on a wonderfully designed and framed sign in poster, and were offered
small fans to cool themselves with. As everyone must know by now, the Barr Mansion‘s Artesian Ballroom was struck by lightning
a couple of weeks ago. They wasted no time and had a beautiful air conditioned tent created with a wooden floor, draped walls and
beautiful lighting by Ilios. Guests were directed to the tent for the ceremony where they enjoyed the classical guitar of Michael Gratovich.
The cocktail hour was held outdoors behind the main house, under fans and paper lanterns held by enormous pecan trees.
Then it was back into the very cool and comfortable tent for dancing, dinner and dessert.

Here is a shout out to their wonderful DJ, Barrington Miles of Texas pro DJ’s. He did a great job. Even managed to play some
Helen Reddy and make it sound cool.

Congratulations Emily and Bryan!

This beautiful bride is Christy. We had the distinct pleasure of being able to photograph her at the Wildflower Center in May.
You might remember her from the blog post I did of her Save the Date card, (http://stellaalesi.com/wordpress/?cat=80). She
and her fiance JC are currently residing in Dubai, but she came back to Austin for this portrait session and to prepare for the
wedding.

The wedding took place this past weekend at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. If you have never been out there, you really
should make the trip. No matter what time of year it is, it is always beautiful. This was late June, so the echinacea and indian
blankets were blooming.
JC and Christy had a fairly large wedding party, 28 in all including themselves. A good friend served as officiant, and wore
a custom made stole with their names, wedding date and an image of interlocking rings. I loved the seersucker suits the
groomsmen wore, and the adorable, colorful skirts of the bridesmaids dresses. The ceremony took place inside the gallery, which
has a spectacular view of a field of native grasses and large Live Oaks. Keeping with the season Kurant Events served peach
cocktails. They also created a French Fry station; five different kinds of fries with at least as many types of salt. Yummy!
The reception took place in the courtyard with plenty of mingling and dancing. And as a special treat, the groom’s sister and her
band the Boo Who’s, played a few songs, and happily they rocked!

Congratulations Christy and JC!