Occasionally, it’s near impossible to decide what to write in this space to accompany the photos – no words can really do justice to an entire day of awesomeness. What do you expect of a wedding weekend extravaganza with its own name, Camp Pizza, a mash-up of Sarah and Henri’s last names? Things are clearly aligning well for you when your wedding is on Cinco De Mayo and nature gives you not only a “supermoon” but also a lightning storm for the ages. Epic is quite the overused term these days, but it’s the only word that properly describes Camp Pizza. EPIC!

Plus, I already used “awesome” in the second sentence.

Hundreds more images to come soon at www.jakeholt.instaproofs.com!

Some days you get a sunset, and some days you get a SUNSET, if you know what I mean. I kept flashing back to the final scene in Vanilla Sky, except that this was much, much better because we had tons of cupcakes, one GIANT cupcake, and an amazing painting of a bearded guy with a rad hat exploring a glacier. In my book, that’s just about perfect. Many thanks to Abbie at The Simplifiers for her über-helpfulness all day long!

When a bride’s reaction to wild 35-40 MPH wind gusts blowing her veil right off her head during her ceremony is laughter + a little dance, you know you’re with a group of people that have the right attitude about, well, everything. This observation held true throughout the day, as some of the most tear-jerking toasts I’ve heard yet preceded jubilant dancing that featured PLENTY of jumping, always a sign of a great time. A little wind is nothing to worry about when you’re with a group that knows how to laugh, smile and dance like no one’s business…

Hundreds more images to come soon at www.jakeholt.instaproofs.com!

Austin Wedding Photographer – www.jakeholt.com

Perfect blue skies by day, a big, bright full moon by night, and plenty of fun & dancing (and cupcakes) in between – it’s a recipe for a great celebration. There were no werewolves in attendance, at least not that I was aware of, but we did end up with groomsmen riding around on each other’s backs by the end of the night, so I guess that’s a fair trade…

By the way, I think Jed officially wins the award for “Happiest Guy Ever.” Non-stop smiles, I’m tellin’ you…

When your ceremony is over at 5:00 but you still have guests leaving your reception close to midnight, you clearly know how to throw a party. Picking an awesome location like Camp Lucy is a good start, and a band that plays their instruments while dancing among your guests doesn’t hurt either. However, the real kicker was all the amazing little touches –  custom microbrews, TONS of tasty baked desserts, an “Operation” themed groom’s cake, Amy’s Ice Cream, Airstream Photobooth, pinwheels instead of boutonnieres, bottled iced coffee for departing guests…the list of amazingness goes on and on…

Hundreds more images to come soon at www.jakeholt.instaproofs.com!

Austin Wedding Photographer – www.jakeholt.com

My favorite photo from Lisa & Eric’s wedding at The Mohawk in Austin placed 2nd in the “Musicians & DJs” category of the prestigious Wedding Photojournalist Association’s international photo contest! Hooray!

These quarterly contests are judged by photojournalists with years of experience, photojournalists who have traveled the world shooting everything under the sun, NOT wedding industry insiders – click here and scroll to the bottom to read more about the contest judges. Because of this, these contests aren’t mere “wedding industry” popularity contests. Unlike many wedding blogs, magazines and organizations, winning images in WPJA contests are selected due to their inherent journalistic merit, not because of passing trends or because the style of the image fits whatever style a wedding blog wants to showcase this week. I’m incredibly honored to have been included!

Thanks so much to Lisa, Eric, The Mohawk, Becky at Pearl Events Austin, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt and the WPJA!

New York City Wedding Photographer – www.jakeholt.com

Incorporating small children and big dogs into your wedding day can sometimes (always) be tough. I assume that Kelly & Terrell have some kind of super-secret (candy? dog treats? candy-shaped dog treats? dog-shaped candy?) that causes kids and dogs to behave wonderfully and smile – yes, as you’ll see, even the dogs were smiling. I need to know 1) what the secrets are and 2) if they will work on my neurotic cats. Please do tell. Many thanks to Margaret at 3 Apples Events for working her usual planning magic!

Hundreds more images to come soon at www.jakeholt.instaproofs.com!

Austin Wedding Photographer – www.jakeholt.com

When you hear the term “backyard wedding reception,” you probably think of a modest DIY get-together with a small group of immediate family & best friends. Time to redefine your expectations…this backyard reception was grander than most ballrooms. I found myself forgetting that I was in a home, as Keely Thorne Events, Mary, Ben, and their families did such a fabulous job transforming the place into a beautiful wedding reception venue. Amazing. I would expect nothing less from a couple that chose the awesome Hotel ZaZa as their prep location and the beautiful St. Paul’s Methodist for their ceremony. Extra bonus points to anyone who can guess what Ben was saying to Mary (while sitting under the tree) to make her laugh so hard…good luck!

By the way, for you fellow photography buffs out there – bonus points AND a high five to anyone who can correctly pick out the 2 images from this post that were shot on black and white medium format (6×4.5) film. I’ve been shooting a few rolls here and there lately and I’m really loving the results…

Hundreds more images to come soon at www.jakeholt.instaproofs.com!

Austin Wedding Photographer – www.jakeholt.com

This is going to be a BIG post…but when your wedding spans multiple days and your photographer is taking photos for close to 20 hours, well, you’re going to have one heck of a blog post. Deservedly. It was a whirlwind weekend full of bright colors, tradition, family members watching from around the world via Skype, and people playing guitar while wearing fake paper faces.

Austin Wedding Photographer – www.jakeholt.com

Two awesome weddings were featured this month in magazine-land: Mairin and Chris’ Dallas wedding at Three Three Three First Avenue and Lisa and Eric’s Austin wedding at The Mohawk. Seeing my work in print never gets old, and I always have to grab at least 2 copies – one to cut up and scan for my blog, and a second copy to send to my mom. She needs frequent, tangible proof that I’m actually doing well enough at this “photography thing” that I can afford to take her out for coffee. I could afford to buy even more coffee if I wasn’t buying 2 copies of all these magazines, but that’s beside the point. Many thanks to D Magazine, Austin Monthly, Mairin, Chris, Lisa, Eric, and Becky at Pearl Events Austin!

Austin Wedding Photographer – www.jakeholt.com