ERIN + THE MONARCHS

Time for a personal post! My good friend Erin, creator of some of the most beautiful, delicate, and elegant hair accessories you’ll ever see, moved into the sweetest little house in the heart of Houston. It’s on the most perfect, picturesque street with a sense of community, pride, and serenity amongst the neighboring houses. After she & her husband Billy were all moved in, she started thinking about what she might want to do with their new home to make it their own. She envisioned a lush, botanical garden, lizards, and butterflies gracing her house daily. When she got to work planting all of the plants she wanted in order to attract butterflies, she noticed the sweetest tiny caterpillars on the milkweed plants she bought. She wanted to protect them, so she bought a little mesh enclosure to keep the birds from eating the caterpillars.

As the grew, and they grow fast, she joked that the chrysalis they form in order to transition into a butterfly looked like a gnocchi, so she named that first one Baby Gnocchi. Then followed Mark-aroni & Riga-toni. As we headed to lunch one day, Erin was kind enough to let me photograph some of her little caterpillar babies, and a butterfly that had just come out of it’s chrysalis. After that, this turned into several different rounds of caterpillar-raising, and she did it so well! She knows which were boys and which were girls, how to tell which are thriving versus those who were not, and how long they’d be in their chrysalis based on the color of the casing. It’s wild, you guys, and so cool to watch her dive in and be so passionate about these butterflies.

It was such a joy to see these little guys at all stages of their lives before Erin set them free to join the migration south to Mexico. Erin documented it so well, too. I encourage you to hop on over to her Instagram & watch the highlight labeled ‘Butterflies’. It’s amazing! I want to photograph them a little more next year, so maybe I’ll do a yearly post about this if Erin’s willing to raise more cater-babies. To see other personal posts, click here. Thanks for reading!

HOUSTON WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER OFFICE TOUR

A place to meet and greet clients & fellow wedding vendors

Until recently, the goal of my office space was solely to do my work; edit wedding photos, communicate with clients, plan for shoots, store my camera equipment, etc. This year a business goal of mine was to transform the office into a simple, efficient, and inspiring space in which I could invite clients and vendors. I also wanted this space to represent the aesthetic elements which I love photographing like clean architecture along with styled interiors and decor. I wanted the space to make sense and be beautiful!

I purchased this clean, neutral couch from my sister-in-law who no longer needed it. It's originally from West Elm. It paired well with the shelf from Target and marble coffee table from World Market. I like to use the shelf to store some of the styling pieces I use in flat lay designs that I photograph, along with some art that I've purchased. Since taking these photos a couple of weeks ago, I've purchased two paintings that I've added to the shelf that fit in nicely with the rest of the items. I also have paper goods & marketing pieces that I store on the shelf for when clients & fellow wedding vendors stop by.

But of course this room would be no meeting space without fresh florals. I always love having flowers around no matter what the occasion, and my kind friend Elizabeth with The Petaler arranged this beautiful work of art. I love hosting in any form, so along with florals I try to have some sort of snack and drink available as well even though that didn't make it into these photos.

While there are some remodeling ideas I have for this room, this was an excellent starting point for this studio office space. If you're ready to book your wedding or portrait session, please feel free to contact me and we'll get you over to the office for some wine, cheese, and good conversation!