The wind blew through the trees outside the Dallas LDS Temple. The birds chatted back & forth in the tall trees & the clouds in the sky resembled cotton candy. You could say that it was a perfectly beautiful Texan day. As their family & friends gathered around the doors of the temple to see Stephanie & Gerardo exit as husband & wife, everyone grinned with smiles just as big as the state of Texas. If you know Stephanie & Gerardo, you know how fun they are…how sweet they are to each other. But there is one thing that you definitely know-that they are meant to be together. It’s amazing how life brings people together…how your life can change after meeting someone. This is true with Stephanie & Gerardo-they met each other & their lives have never been the same since. They’ve spent time together as best friends…they’ve spent many late nights talking, laughing & falling deeper in love. Their wedding day was truly a perfect day for them & I was beyond honored to be able to document them on the most exciting day of their lives!
I was over the moon with excitement when Stephanie phoned me to talk about her wedding. Not only was her wedding going to be in Texas (yee haw!!!), but I knew that her wedding would be absolutely stunning. Their wedding not only lived up to all my expectations-it exceeded them. I loved every.single.detail. They rounded up hundreds of glass jars & Stephanie’s sweet mother made hundreds of flowers out of burlap & tied them around the jars-they made such an amazing impact on each table at the reception. I loved the fact that they chose multiple cheesecakes from the Cheesecake Factory instead of one wedding cake & I especially loved the Mariachi band they had playing at their reception! Their wedding day was a perfect reflection of Stephanie & Gerardo: fun, incredible & totally fabulous.
Stephanie & Gerardo-thank you for letting me feel like part of your family while I was in Texas. Your kindness is something that I will always remember. Thank you for introducing me to Texas Roadhouse & the double baked sweet potato…because that is also something that I will never forget 
. Getting to know you both during the few days I was there was so much fun-you both have the gift of making everyone around you feel loved & important. I know you are far off on your fantastic cruise as I write this, but I wish you happiness to the moon & back-you are more than deserving of all the happiness in the world. With much love xoxo, marielle.
I think this goes without saying but I am obsessed with Stephanie’s snakeskin shoes.
One of my favorite shots of the temple…
I asked the kids to look at the camera & they BOTH did this!
I could have shot at the Dallas Temple all day long!!! So many fabulous places to shoot…
Hands.down.my favorite shots of the day…
I love everything about this photograph. Stephanie-you are soooooo beautiful!
And check out how GQ Gerardo is!!
Gerardo loves watches & Stephanie surprised him with a gorgeous watch as a sweet wedding gift!
Love.This.
Mariachi band?!?!?! YES PLEASE.
Instead of having a wedding cake, they had multiple Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes. Best idea on the planet? I’ll say so.
I usually only post one photo of the couple dancing, but I had a hard time narrowing them down!
Especially since there was a Mariachi band serenading them…
They are THE perfect fit…and it’s obvious in more than one way. It’s obvious because of their shared interests…their love of 80′s music…bookstores…traveling…It’s obvious in the way that Eric’s dimples dig into his cheeks when Tori laughs. It’s obvious in the way that Tori just can’t take her eyes off of Eric. It’s obvious that they are the perfect fit because after seven years of being together, you can see that there truly is no one else they’d rather be with than each other. They met in High School & now after years of dating they are getting married (as Tori says, “finally!!!”).
We met up in San Francisco for their engagements-Tori had told me that they loved bookstores & libraries so we headed to the gorgeous San Francisco library. I loved shooting in the library because of the lighting & the awesome colors…but let’s just say that whispering is NOT my forte!!! We ended up on the beach & had a fabulous, fabulous time.
Tori & Eric-you guys are such a fun & darling couple! Wishing you all the happiness you deserve! XOXO, marielle.
Loooooooooooved their matching Converse…
Favorite.
I had a really fun time with Claudia & her sister Sam for their senior photographs. These girls have such style & always look so amazing. I had a super fun time with them-we had some good laughs & they were soooooooooooooo fabulous in front of the camera. I loved their clothes & their spunky personalities! If you are interested in having me shoot your senior photographs, contact me HERE.
Here are my favorites of Claudia…
And my favorites of Sam…
It was high school. They were on the swim team & at first they didn’t like each other. After all, Vanessa was stubborn & Silvio was bossy (their words-not mine!!). But…BUT in the summer of 1998, things changed. It was at the local YMCA where they re-connected as they worked as a swim teacher & a lifeguard. From there, they realized that when they were together, life was awesome. Fun. And that when they were together life was the best it could possibly be. Over time, they became the sweetest couple & the best of friends. They love traveling, cooking & just.being.together.
One evening as they were getting ready to take a walk, Silvio surprised Vanessa with a gorgeous ring & asked her to be his wife. She said yes!!! They are planning a wedding on the beach in September (along with a clam bake!). I am sooooooooooo excited to be able to photograph their wedding.
I knew the first time I met them that we would have a great time during their engagements. But oh.my.goodness. I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun we had! It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed that hard! We had a reallllly fun time hanging out by the De Young Museum & the Botanical Gardens. It seemed like the perfect light was everywhere we went & the weather was fabulous! I had the hardest time narrowing down their photos to my favorites because I love them all! I can’t wait for their wedding in September!!! If their wedding is anything like the two of them are, I’m positive that it will be filled with fun & lots of laughter.
I feel like every single one of these photographs is such a real reflection of just how fun Vanessa & Silvio are…
Love this one. Sooooooooooo much.
Yep. You read that right. If you are one of my fabulous Bay Area brides of 2011, I have news for you…
I’m hosting a giveaway. And.it’s.AWESOME.
My very talented & amazing friend Rachel is a fabulous videographer & is giving away a FREE videography package. Did you read that right? It’s FREE.
The package includes the following:
FIVE hours of wedding day coverage, edited HD video files (set to music of your choice) and three DVD’s. (can you say holysmokes?!?!?!)
So…if you don’t already have a videographer for your wedding (or didn’t hire one because they were out of your budget)-this is the perfect opportunity for you!
How do you enter???
Ask all your family & friends to “like” both of our facebook pages:
Rachel’s Facebook
Marielle’s Facebook
and have them write the name of the bride & groom (that would be YOU!!!) who they want to win on our facebook fan pages. They must also leave a comment on Rachel’s website with the name of the bride & groom who they want to win.
Please encourage your families & friends to vote for you-it will take just a couple of minutes & having a video of your wedding will be so fabulous. The winners will be announced next week on Tuesday on my blog.
Ready, set, GO! Good luck!
