Ross & Emily’s Beautiful Summer Ranch Wedding in Fredericksburg, TX

Emily & Ross had their Wedding at a beautiful ranch, The Lodge at Country Inn Cottages, in Fredericksburg Texas on a warm summer day in August.

GETTING READY

When we arrived we could immediately hear the laughter and MUSIC coming from the Bridal Suite! Emily and her Bridesmaids were having a par-tayyyy!!

They were all getting dolled up by the crew at Blush’d Beauty and were looking good!

After we said our hello’s we gathered Emily’s Detail items and got to work!

The entry way of The Lodge at Country Inn Cottages made for gorgeous lighting, and a fun spot to hang the dresses, as well as get the girls together in their cute robes and get some fun shots poppin’ the champs!

Emily opted for a Bridesmaids First Look to happen after her and Ross did their First Look. Which actually made for a special time between Emily and her mom. We took Emily away from the Bridal Suite to get dressed, and had her mom help her with the finishing touches. It is always such a precious time to watch the Bride and her Mother as she truly becomes a Bride and the reality of the day becomes so tangible. Emily in her gown, her hair all done perfectly, putting on all the little pieces of jewelry so carefully chosen to wear on one of the most memorable days of her life. Her mother watching, with pride and joy as she knows her sweet girl has found love and will be cared for…what a JOY as a mother!

Once she was ready, we prepared for the First Look.

FIRST LOOK

Emily and Ross had both written notes to each other and we allowed them to read them together prior to the first look by having each of them on one side of a corner wall. I loved watching their reactions as they read silently, the words meant only for each other, on the day they would become husband and wife.

Watching these two…you knew without a doubt that love is real and that these two have it bad for each other.

After they read their notes, we guided Ross out and he stood awaiting Emily.

She walked up behind him, told him to turn around…

The reaction was amazing! You could almost envision his thoughts being “WOW I get to MARRY this girl!”

He looked her over, as he was tearing up, hugging her and telling her how beautiful she looked. They were both tearing up at this point, and ROSS pulled out the tissues! I just LOVE that he was the one prepared to cry…to see a man truly love his Bride…there just isn’t much that tops that on Wedding Days.

PORTRAITS

We love First Looks on Wedding Days! Getting extra Portrait time is one of the BIG reasons!

I LOVE portrait time! I love getting to take pictures of you all dolled up, and so in love…my heart swells with every click of the shutter.

When we do a First Look, we immediately go into Bride & Groom Portrait time. This gives us a bit of uninterrupted time, that isn’t rushed trying to get to the Reception. It is usually a peaceful and less stressful time for portraits. You aren’t worried about your guests, you can focus on each other. And that was exactly what Emily & Ross did. They are so easy to photograph (one day when I catch up on all the Engagement Sessions I need to blog you will see how easy going they were for that day too)!

Once we finished with Bride & Groom Portraits we took Emily back inside to touch up and gather her Bridesmaids for THEIR First Look!

This worked out nicely since it was AUGUST, and while it was *cool* for an August day, it was still quite warm and Ross and Emily both needed a few moments to cool down.

BRIDESMAIDS FIRST LOOK

I gathered the Bridesmaids together and took them outside. Once they were ready and looking the opposite way, Emily walked up and told them to turn around!

I just love watching Bridesmaids react to their Bride! We girls have been playing dress up since we were old enough to dress ourselves even a little…so when one of us gets to put on a STUNNING gown and get MARRIED…well we all get so excited!

These girls sure didn’t disappoint in their reaction either! They were genuinely so happy for their sweet friend and were so excited to see her in her gorgeous Bridal gown.

WEDDING PARTY PORTRAITS

Once the Bridesmaids saw Emily, we headed out to a field on the property and started portraits of them!

I love getting portraits of the Bridesmaids surrounding their Bride, and while I don’t usually show this on my blogs, I also love taking a few moments to get an individual portrait of each Bridesmaid with the Bride. That role is so special, and I want each of these incredible girls standing beside the Bride to have a special portrait.

We then gathered Ross and all of the Groomsmen and had fun with the full Wedding Party, and this bunch was FUN! I absolutely LOVED that at one point Emily turned to everyone and said “OK GUYS! Let’s do a S*&$% Show picture!” haha!!! Those are some of my favorites!! Emily & Ross with their best friends just having fun!!

Once we finished with the group as a whole, we sent the girls inside to get cooled off and touched up. We then did Groomsmen Portraits, and I do the same thing with them that I do with the Bridesmaids. These guys had some fun with it!

After we finished with the Groomsmen, we sent them back inside to cool down and got to work on Ceremony + Reception Details.

I planned that time specifically so that we can make sure to capture all the details that Emily & Ross worked so hard to make happen. The venue space was beautifully done and we wanted to make sure to capture it before anybody came inside.

CEREMONY

Ross & Emily’s Ceremony was held outside under a few trees with a beautiful cross behind them. The clouds had started to roll in, threatening rain and a bit of wind kicked up.

This slight change in weather brought a cooler temperature.

Everyone looked beautiful as they walked down the aisle. As all eyes turned towards the back, Emily walked down escorted by her brother, Ben.

Ross watched her every move, not wanting to take his eyes off of his Bride.

The Ceremony was beautiful, with little moments of laughter, and sweetness sprinkled in. They exchanged vows, rings and sealed it all with a kiss!

After the Ceremony, we took a few moments to do Family Portraits and because we did a First Look we got ANOTHER Portrait opportunity to do Husband & Wife Sunset Portraits!

And while we didn’t have much of a sunset due to the clouds, it was still another few minutes to let them have some time to breath without anyone around!

RECEPTION

The Wedding Reception got started with a bang! These two hired the Cap City Band to play their Wedding and they did NOT disappoint!

There was dancing, glow sticks and a confetti canon!

They even had one of their little guests (meaning little girl) get up on stage, sing and dance with the band…she chose to sing the Aggie War-hymn and that little girl knew EVERY.SINGLE.WORD! I was incredibly impressed haha!

It was a FUN night!

Emily & Ross, thank you so much for having us as your Wedding Photographers! We loved every minute with you guys and are so happy for you!

Welcome to the Married Kids club!!