It seems like only yesterday Mr. B looked like this:

Yet all of a sudden, he’s an adorable, squirmy real live baby who looks like this:

What an amazing thing it is when new, precious life enters the world and how honored I am to get to capture it!

I am getting married! But that is not the news.

It is always my goal to give 110% of myself to my clients and to the art that I am creating. It is also my goal to have a beautiful wedding and enjoy these last couple of months of planning, while maintaining my sanity. It is so easy for a bride to get caught up in the stress and mayhem of putting together the largest event of her life and let other obligations slip or become a rather unpleasant person. I believe that I have managed to avoid this so far (Johnathan and my mom can correct me if I’m wrong). I hope for myself, as well as the brides that I work with, that the weeks preceding the wedding are all about spending time with family and making special time to relax with the groom before taking that leap. I would also like the first few weeks of my marriage to be about quality time with my new husband and adjusting to having a roommate for the first time since my freshman year of college.

With all of this in mind, I have decided that I will not be taking any more portrait sessions until May, 2010. If you have already booked or contacted me about a shoot/event for this period I am still available for those. This also does not apply to weddings or events.

Please contact me if you are interested in booking starting in May or if you have previously contacted me about a session in the next couple of months.

Photo above taken by my [soon-to-be] sister in law, Katy. Check her out!

There may be an actual statistic out there to back me up, but by my experience, I’d say that when it comes to booking a photographer (no matter the type of session or event), there is a 90% chance that a woman is doing it. Aside from the stereotype of women filling the role of planner in most relationships, they just tend to be more interested in having pictures taken. So it is not uncommon that the first time I have any contact with a groom/husband/father is the day of the shoot, whereas I’ve most likely emailed back and forth with the bride/wife/mother several times, as well as having talked to her on the phone and frequently met her in person. All this to say that when I’m going into a shoot, I generally feel like I am well acquainted with one of the participants and I’m always very curious to see what the other one is like and particularly how they interact.

I so enjoyed spending a couple of hours with these two. I’d been warned that they are not very comfortable in front of the camera and that I might have a hard time, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Because they were so comfortable with each other that they seemed completely at ease and that is what showed through the lens.

What a fabulous wedding these two will have. I cannot wait to capture it all!

Look for more pictures of this little cherub soon!

My niece was brought to the hospital yesterday. This is what I’ve been looking at for the past 24 hours:

She’s been a great patient. She’s doing much better today, and will be going home tonight or tomorrow.

It was such a joy to photograph Erin and Matt’s wedding this week! Their intimacy was palpable and their friends and family were so much fun. Not having any interest in a traditional wedding, they made the day all about celebrating their love and forgoing the stress that so often comes along with a big affair.

First up was the ceremony at the Williamson County Justice of the Peace:

Following the ceremony, we headed to the town square in Georgetown for some more photos and stopped at a wine shop for a celebratory toast.

Later in the evening, the couple hosted a dinner at NXNW. One of their friends made the dairy free wedding cake:

I’m so honored to have been part of this beautiful day. Congratulations Erin and Matt!

Are you looking for a Christmas gift for a very special someone? Spice up his holiday with boudoir pictures!

I have two spots open THIS WEEKEND - Sunday, December 6 at 6:00 PM and Monday, December 7 at 9:00 AM. Email me at elyse@constanceelyse.com to book your spot and contact Katie at Modern Muse if you are interested in having your makeup done.

I had so much FUN shooting this session yesterday afternoon. Baby A could not have been more agreeable. He was all smiles and giggles and sitting up all on his own. But the highlight of the shoot has to be when he got to put on his Halloween costume.

His parents were fabulous as well. Total naturals in front of the camera and up for anything I asked.

J Family, thanks for hanging out with me. Enjoy your sneak peek and rest assured that we got plenty of toothy grins as well.

While I’m on the subject of Trash the Dress, I thought I’d come back and share more of Lauren’s shoot from a while back.

I just love the Spanish style she chose and how her red hair piece, shoes and lips pop against her ivory dress and all of the greenery and stone.