Dallas Mini Session Photos

Since all of my recent posts were wedding related I figured I might as well just keep going, I mean at less than two months out from the big day that is the majority of what is going on over here anyway. Back in December one of my dearest friends got married and I had the honor of being her maid of honor, for her wedding she hired the sweetest photographer, Lindsay Davenport. We got to talking at the wedding and she told me she was about to make the move from New Mexico to Dallas after graduation and take her photography business with her. While following her on social media I saw that she was hosting mini sessions in Dallas the day before my birthday. I immediately asked Evan if he would be down when he said yes I emailed her right away.

On a hot and humid day in May we met her out in a small field in the middle of a neighborhood. The second we drove up I got even more excited as I had always wanted to take pictures in the wild flowers and the field was full of them and greenery. Our mini session lasted about 30 minutes and we took tons of photos. Only an hour after we left the shoot Lindsay posted the first sneak peak photo and I was thrilled to already see one.

Once she sent over the rest of them I was absolutely stunned, there were so many beautiful photos I had a hard time even picking a favorite. I cant recommend Lindsay enough if you are in the Dallas area or New Mexico, I bet she would willingly take the excuse to travel back home :) a small selection of photos below, enjoy!

Austin Bachelorette Weekend Part 3

Need to catch up? Read Part 1 and Part 2 of our Austin Adventures!

After our Saturday morning adventure of stand up paddle boarding and the great taco search, headed back to our hotel for some down time. We had about two hours before our next activity to shower, nap, relax and hang out. No napping happened in my room of course we could hardly stop talking long enough to shower off the lake water, but we each finally did then threw on our group tank tops to head out. My sister ordered a group tank top for everyone that said "save water drink champagne" perfect for a bachelorette weekend if you ask me.

Once everyone was showered and rested we set out on what we thought would be a quick walk to our next destination, the dance studio. The walk was quite hot and we could've used some water but we made it on time and there was nothing but excitement once we got to the studio. Our party was signed up for a private group pole dancing class and we had a great time.

After the class ended we made the walk back towards our hotel and set out to find a spot for dinner. Once we made it to sixth street I saw a sign for a place I read about online and we were sold. We headed in and they told us they could seat our group on the roof top patio, which ended up having a great view.

When we finished up our dinner we walked back to the hotel and it was time to get ready for the evening. For the second night out it was planned for all the girls to wear black and for me to wear white to stand out. After everyone was ready they all headed over to my suite for some drinks and games. We started out with a "how well you know the bride" game and the followed that up with the lingerie guessing game. Each girl purchased a piece of lingerie for me and wrapped it up, I then had to open each and guess who each one came from.

After our games it was time to hit sixth street for night two, we were quickly ushered into our first bar and the party was off. Our second night was an absolute blast, we made our way to a handful of bars and had a great time at each, danced non stop and made new friends along the way. We stayed out until the bars closed and they made us go home, walked back to the hotel and ordered pizza. We waited for at least an hour for the pizza and had lots of girl talk before heading to bed.

The next morning everyone left at various times, a couple before I woke up then gradually for the rest of the day. I couldn't have asked for a better trip with a better group. I am so grateful to my sister for all her hard work planning every detail and thankful for each girl that joined the trip our group made it the best weekend ever! I will remember this trip forever

Austin Bachelorette Weekend Part 2- SUP Boarding

Read Part 1 Here

Saturday morning we woke up in Austin ready to take on our day full of fun activities. When my sister asked me during the planning phase what I wanted to do while we were there the first thing I said was SUP (Stand-up-paddle) boarding on the lake! I think at first she and a couple of the other girls were skeptical but I knew everyone would love it once we were out there. So Saturday around noon once we all came alive again we walked a couple blocks down to the lake and rented some paddle boards.

The coolest part about paddle boarding in Austin is that Lady Bird Lake is right in the middle of downtown so while your on the lake you have awesome views of the city skyline as well as are surrounded by pretty greenery. Out on the water with the breeze hitting you, surrounded by all that is the coolest feeling, I was one happy camper.

 

We paddle boarded the lake for an hour before it was time to head back in. We discussed signing up for another hour but we were all hungry so naturally we only had one thing on our minds... lunch. We were in Austin so I naturally suggested we look for tacos, apparently easier said then done. But we did eventually stumble across a spot on 6th street called Chupacabra with a sign outside that read best tacos in town... so we had to find out. We each ordered two tacos, they were huge and we all ordered different things, but we all agreed they were amazing! I think we all collectively decided the orange brisket taco (first picture) was the fan favorite, I would go back just for that in a heartbeat! However we didn't take any pictures of the tacos because we were playing the no phone game at lunch so the pictures below are from Yelp!

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to shower and rest up before our group striptease class, stayed tuned for part 3!



Austin Bachelorette Weekend Part 1

This past weekend myself and 11 of my girlfriends made our way to Austin, TX to celebrate my bachelorette party. Yep you read that right group of 12, our group alone made it the best trip ever. I just kept telling everyone all weekend it didn't matter what we did or where we went our group was so big we brought the party everywhere we went.

My sister Maddy, my good friend Ellen and I drove down from Dallas on Friday morning with plans to make it there by noon. When we arrived more than half the group was there waiting for us, and the weekend was off!!We settled into our hotel room and headed out for lunch while we waited for the last few members of our group to arrive. While I was in another room hanging with some of the girls my sister decorated our suite as cute as come be, with several personalized signs, bachelorette décor and games. She truly went all out and everyone was super impressed!

After our very late lunch at Moonshine (a highly recommended downtown spot) we just hung out in the suite gave everyone a little time to get to know each other, and relax before the night.

Once everyone was ready we walked straight from our hotel to sixth street. We headed out a little early which actually worked out to our benefit. Since many of the bars were still semi-empty several bouncers asked our (huge) group to come in for some free drinks and fill the dance floor... and that we did. Like I said before our large group instantly filled each dance floor and brought the party, we pretty much had a blast at each and every place we went no matter what. We ended the night at a bar slightly off sixth street that had a rooftop patio complete with a see saw and other games, we were huge fans. Overall we all had a great night and couldn't wait for our fun-filled second day on Saturday.

Stayed tuned for part two, our Saturday adventures!

Bridal Shower

This past weekend I was more than blessed by the best bridal I could've ever imagined. My Matron of Honor Ellen went above and beyond planning a Hawaiian themed shower including a hula instructor, a mimosa bar, yummy food and lots of family and friends. Here is a recap of the day

When myself and guests walked in the door they were welcomed by her beautiful homemade sign, then once inside they were told to choose a lei and head over to the mimosa bar.

The mimosa bar had four juice flavors: Orange, Apple, Cranberry, and Blood orange as well as fruit garnishes. Unfortunately we didn't get a better picture of it all set up.

Once everyone arrived we all chatted and enjoyed plenty of yummy food all cooked by Ellen and my mom. Then suddenly we were told there was a surprise waiting for us in the living room. When I walked in I was greeted by Cindi, a local hula instructor that was going to teach us some hula dance moves.

Everyone participated and enjoyed learning the dances, but everyone agrees my five year old niece was the star student. She was so diligent learning each move and got the dances down better than anyone. The picture above is the instructor placing the handmade lei she braided from silk ribbon for me around my neck.

After the dance lesson ended we continued eating, sipping and chatting before we opened presents and took lots of pictures.

 
 

 
 
 As soon as the subject of pictures came up I insisted everyone head to the backyard, I wanted that gorgeous mountain in the background. Now that I have left New Mexico each time I am home Im even more obsessed with the beauty of the Sandia Mountains and the New Mexico sky.

I could be more thankful for each friend and family member that joined us for the shower and made it such a special day. I also can not thank Ellen enough for all her effort in planning each and every detail of this shower to make it wonderful down to each craft she completed and each dessert she made. I am one lucky girl to have a friend like her.