Handfasting Ceremony: Joseph & Florencia

With gloomy skies and freezing rain outdoors, Joseph & Florencia held their handfasting in Florencia's parents' home in Allen one day in early February. I befriended Joe and Flo (as most of us call them) while working with them at Starbucks back in the day. They started dating about six months after my husband Opie and I went on our first date (Opie was one of our regular customers). Opie and I didn't waste any time getting married and will be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary this year. Joe and Flo are heading to the altar at their own pace, and took a big step this year with this Handfasting ceremony. The ceremony binds the couple together for a year and a day. Though initially booked for a wedding a year and a day after the handfasting, I now look forward to photographing their wedding in 2016! They're my first ones on the books for that year.

Vacation: San Diego

My husband Opie and I took a rare vacation to his other home town of San Diego, California earlier this year. Opie was a Marine Corps brat, and much of his childhood and young adulthood was spent in and around San Diego. We've been together for seven years now, and this was my first opportunity to see the other city that he calls home. If money were no object, I could see us living there together. Most of our family (and most of my business) is in Dallas-Fort Worth, and money is an issue, so we'll continue to deal with the Texas summers. At any rate, it was a great place to vacation, and I look forward to doing so again someday. Here are my favorite photos from our stay.



















































P.S. I was there too. Opie took these photos of me being me.