We’re looking forward to photographing their wedding next fall at Kent Hall. Jeanette, Jeliliah, it’s always great working with you; we can’t wait to see you again!

Jason

After they chatted and snuggled for a few minutes, we did several portraits around their home, inside and out, before heading to the UTEP campus, where Rocio had made arrangements to take some photos at the Alumi Lodge. Then, we headed downtown to Camino Real, where we placed them in the Dome Bar and on the marble-and-brass staircases for more portraits. We also did a few outside the Plaza Theater next door, where the upcoming production of Wicked was advertised by the inflatable feet of the Wicked Witch protruding from the front door.

Rick and Rocio had budgeted plenty of time for their portraits, so we were running well ahead of schedule by the time we were ready to head to the next location. We spent the down time chilling in the Central Grill and Bar before we met up with the rest of the bridal party at Club Vanilla, in the bar district where we did Rick and Rocio’s engagements. Vanilla was an incredible background for some very compelling group portraits, and we ended the session with Rocio standing on the bar, backlit by the shelves of drinks.

The wedding mass was held at All Saint’s Catholic Church, an older cathedral with plenty of character. The balcony wrapped over the entire seating area, allowing Roz to get very close to the bride and groom during the ceremony, while shooting from above. I shot from the floor as usual; although the church was very small and pretty crowded, I was able to move around a little without interfering with the ceremony in the slightest. After the mass, we photographed the families on the alter, and then headed over to the reception.

When I walked in to Isaron Hall, my first impression was of the huge, octagonal gazebo-like structure dominating the center of the two-story space. My second was of the huge amount of lighting and effects gear hanging from the ceiling! After dinner, the party kicked off in grand style with a waltz by the bridal couple. They’d obviously practiced the dance, it looked very natural and some of the poses provided perfect photo ops (which we took full advantage of!) Then the dance floor opened, the smoke machines and lasers kicked in, and we were off into some of the best dance images we’ve ever captured!

Eventually, Rick and Rocio stopped dancing for long enough to cut the cake (which was decorated with custom bobble-heads, dead ringers for Rick and Rocio) and throw the garter and bouquet, but the party started right back up and was still going strong when Roz and I bowed out sometime after midnight. Rick, Rocio, we had a wonderful time, and we got some incredible images! Keep an eye on the blog for even more incredible images, this time from the Trash the Dress session we did on Sunday, out at Red Sands on an ATV!

Jason

I think they thought we were a little crazy making them do some of this stuff, but it really was loads of fun! Jason got to play traffic cop while Roz took the photos of Esther and Alice crossing the street. It was such a gorgeous crisp fall evening, and the light was just wonderful!

Thanks for coming downtown with us you two! We’re so excited for next months festivities!

Roz and Jason

We had so much fun, we’re planning a second installment of engagements. The next session will focus on their horse and German Shorthaired Pointers; we’ll probably shoot them out by the mountains. We simply can’t wait!

Jason

We had a great time just playing around and shooting photos out in the desert, and then decided to head downtown to the newly finished Downtown Mall. I’m still working on how to incorporate the Rio Grande Theater’s sign into some shots, so we tried a few. I’ll post them if they turn out, they’re still in the “to be edited” pile.

Here’s a few shots from last night, since I’m sure Rachelle is anxious to see them!

Aren’t those some adorable kids? We sure had a lot of fun!

Roz