I met Hannah and Leelynn out at their wedding venue, Western Sky, in Bulverde, Texas to photograph their engagement session. After months of communicating via email, I was so glad to finally meet this sweet couple.
Tag: Engagement
Miranda + Jason Engagments
The first time for me to meet Miranda and Jason was right before their engagement session in the Gruene Historical District near New Braunfels, Texas. As most couples are, they were a little nervous to get started because they had never taken ‘professional’ photos together. I simply let them know that there was absolutely no pressure and that we’d just spend time walking around and having some fun while I got to know them a little better. In no time, they were laughing, I was laughing and we had a great time. This is why I love engagement sessions so much! It really isn’t bad and I promise to make your experience easy-going so I can showcase how you really are as a couple. These two were so sweet and they had an amazing story about how they met and fell in love. I love hearing these stories and I truly believe I’ve been blessed with the best couples imaginable!
Chandra + Sean Engagements
For their engagement photos, I met Chandra and Sean out at Chandra’s alma mater – The University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. It was a great afternoon! Let’s face it, taking photos can sometimes feel strange —especially when someone you just met asks to you to snuggle and flirt in public (…yes, I routinely tell my couples to “ABC”…Always. Be. Cuddling!) Not surprisingly, Chandra and Sean were natural pros and did absolutely amazing with each new pose we tried.
Lashelle + Jerome Engagements
Country…Coastal…Confetti…this one was fun! It’s not hard to see how in love Lashelle and Jerome are while scrolling through their engagement photos. I had the absolute best time with these two during their session! Before we decided to take the photos at their house, both of them asked me for advice for how we should find the perfect location to take pictures. My guidance to them was that the location really doesn’t matter as long as we can find a way to showcase them as a couple. A few days later, Lashelle contacted me with a few ideas and told me that they wanted to set up some personalized scenes in their backyard–and it all turned out magically!
Kenzie + Cody Engagements
I met Kenzie and Cody out at the phenomenal new wedding venue, The Weinberg at Wixon Valley, in College Station, Texas this summer. It was definitely a WIN-WIN for me because not only was the property a dream, but Kenzie and Cody were one of the best couples to work with! We had so much fun trying out different poses and waiting for that gorgeous sun to set over the vineyards.
Kenzie has amazing taste and she was ultra prepared for their session with a lot of different outfit selections to match the different textures around The Weinburg. These two are seriously the sweetest and I’m so excited to see what these two have planned for their December nuptials later this year.
Celina + Brett
We were finally able to reschedule Celina and Brett’s engagement session after a few missed tries due to the craziness of the 2020 pandemic sweeping the nation. And…it was worth the wait! To stay away from public places, I met this sweet pair out on our family property in La Vernia, Texas. Sessions out there are always my favorite because I get to showcase some of the gorgeous hidden spots on the land where I grew up. We were blessed with pretty light and no mosquitoes this evening — but, we did have to combat some CRAZY wind bursts and grasshoppers jumping all around. Both Celina and Brett were troopers and we had fun trying to find ways to keep Celina’s beautiful wrap dress from blowing away while photographing.
Jackie + Tee
During these crazy times, let’s take a minute to throw some love to all the engaged couples out there — and those who are planning weddings. I have the most amazing couples and though we’ve had to open our calendars and move many of the events, I’m looking forward to the day we can have big gatherings and celebrations once again.
Hunter + Rob
Oh how I love these photos! Hunter and Rob did amazing during their engagement session — and let me tell you, it was hard to narrow down our favorites. Engagement sessions are always one of my favorites because they give me the opportunity to really get to know my couples a little better before the wedding. So far, I’ve had the most amazing luck at this particular location. I’d say it absolutely was yet another magical experience on the big granite dome dominating the center space of the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Valerie + Chaz
I met Valerie and Chaz out at The Historic Pearl in San Antonio on Super Bowl Sunday this February. We had a great time walking about and finding the myriad of beautiful textures in and around the property.
Lauren + Brandon
I absolutely loved spending time with Brandon and Lauren during their engagement session at the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. We had the best time walking around the enormous granite dome and finding some amazing pockets of light. This was the second December in a row that I was asked to photograph engagements here —and once again, we were blessed with 70+ degree weather and no heavy winds. It was warm, but all in all an idyllic setting for a magical evening.
Justin + Erica Engagements
Working with both Justin and Erica for the first time was a blast! I met them at their wedding venue, the Happy H Ranch in Comfort, on a beautiful January afternoon to explore the property and take their engagement photos. Pulling into the main entrance, I was met by curious deer and a sweeping landscape topped with a large cross at the crest of a hill. The owners were incredibly accommodating and allowed us to meander around the event space and even took us up to the cross to captured a gorgeous sunset.
Keaton + Chelsea
With the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area less than a 30 minute drive from Fredericksburg, it’s not only an amazing place for hiking but it’s probably one of the most fun (albeit challenging) places to take photos. If you are up for a little bit of a climb and it’s a nice evening, the sunset from atop the rock is well worth making it up the half mile incline! The colors illuminating the evening sky just before sunset were simply breathtaking.
Arron + Krystal
I recently had the pleasure of traveling to East Texas to take engagement photos with Krystal and Arron before their upcoming wedding this November. We started at the UT Tyler campus where Krystal and Arron first met — and, as an added bonus, I also was able to sneak in a few family and individual pictures of the ever charismatic Lilia. She’s full of sass and SUCH a cutie! After shots near the library and the clock tower, we headed downtown to The Foundry where the happy couple had their first date. We had a great time laughing and reminiscing over lattes. Not only was it a great coffee shop, but it really was a fun spot for photos. We even had the opportunity to sit at the very same table where the infamous date took place. Scroll down below to see some of our favorites from the evening.
Nic + Katie Engagements
This was a great example of how couples can have fun exploring a downtown area during an engagement session. I met Nic and Katie in downtown New Braunfels, Texas near the Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre on a warm summer evening. We had a great time exploring the spots near the theatre and the railroad museum before heading to a few places for drinks. We ended the evening on the back side of Gruene and then back to the theatre to pick up our vehicles. We were able to capture a great variety in a small amount of time and even got the best of both the city vibe and some more nature inspired shots down by the river. This may be one of my new favorite formats for couples! Scroll down to see a sampling from our session.
Nick + Taylor Engagement
A recipe for the perfect Texas engagement session is as follows: take one ranch, add in a great couple (cowboy included), bring a horse, an awesome vintage couch and accentuate it all with an epic sunset. I was pretty excited to see all of these details from Taylor’s and Nick’s engagement session come together. They rocked it big time with most of their photos looking like they were ripped straight out of a magazine.
2017 Year at a Glance
I can’t begin to express the gratitude I feel for having the ability to photograph amazing families, couples and individuals near my hometown. This was a busy year! From lifestyle newborn sessions to high school and college seniors, maternity sessions, anniversaries, weddings and beyond, I was able to work with hundreds of individuals across all ages.
Ben + Caitlin
I’m not quite sure I can pick just one favorite out of these engagement photos for Ben and Caitlin! It started as one of those days where we just didn’t know what the weather would do. It was gloomy and grey all afternoon–and then, right before sunset, this beautiful glowing light magically appeared for us. We followed the light and sought out some great locations with depth and texture across fields and creeks on the land belonging to Ben’s family. This is just a sampling of what we captured, but they were all great. Scroll down to see more!
2016 Year at a Glance
Wow! As a busy mom and wife it’s hard to imagine how it was possible to have had so many great sessions this past year. As many of you know, photography isn’t my full time gig, but it is my love, passion and all consuming hobby. In 2016, I was very fortunate to have a broad spectrum of clients and occasions. From newborns, maternity, extended families, high school seniors, engagements/weddings, prom and more, I met so many awesome people and started getting more repeat clients coming back to me for the second and third year in a row. I feel really blessed to be able to have this outlet for my creativity and that so many have trusted me to capture these special moments.
Ryan + Chelsea
It was hard to pick my favorites out of the images we captured during Chelsea and Ryan’s engagement session because I liked them all! They were a little shy at first when we started because they’ve never done a formal photo session together. However, this is actually a good thing! After some time walking around to find beautiful light, we were able to get some great shots and loving smiles.
Mitch + Jen Engagement
I met Mitch and Jen out at the Castroville Regional Park for their engagement session this October. They were naturals and the beautiful trees and light made it even better. I can’t wait to photograph the wedding this coming January.
Carly Barton Photography 