MiaBella Photography

I am sure every business teacher will have their skin crawling if they knew what I was about to do... admit fault. EEK! Kelly and I were super excited to be shooting Manesh and Nutan.. we decided we'd start off at the temple with their traditional Indian attire and then head over to Sugarland Towne Center for some less traditional photos. Sounds like fun right?? Not so much when your camera breaks.. yup, breaks. AND you ("you" meaning "we") left our backup camera at home. Ya know, because we NEVER use it on engagement session... argh!! To add to the stress Nutan had her laptop attacked by a cup of tea earlier in the day.. oh boy. These 2 very very very VERY graciously waited while we had a camera rushed out to us.

Note to other photographers- never EVER ever make the mistake of not bringing along your backup.

To Nutan and Manesh - we SUPER appreciate you guys for hanging in there and ending the day with smiles :)

So Derrick is dating Miranda who is the stunner in the previous post. And much like a big sister might feel, I was not too sure about this whole "Miranda is dating someone" thing. Ugh. I DO love taking senior pics but before the shoot I was gearing myself up for possibly not liking this guy. I mean, MIRANDA is DATING someone?? Yikes. Anyway, 30 seconds into our session I realized I couldn't NOT like Derrick. Ya, ya he's cute.. AND he seems like a good boy.. and Miranda's mom likes him so it doesn't give me much room to complain huh? Derrick-if I find out you are not the nice boy I think you are, you may have a problem ;)

Just got back from a quick trip to Cali... Very, crazy busy time. I was beyond exited when I found out I would be shooting Miranda's senior portraits.. 1)let's face it, she's gorgeous. 2)I adore her AND her momma and 3) it's been a while since I've shot senior pics and to be quite honest I love these sessions!!

Miranda is not only a natural beauty but totally natural in front of the camera.. Mix in the stunning backdrop of Scripps College in Claremont and of course my fantastic photography skills and PRESTO!- We now have magical, stunning photographs. :)

There may have been a language between us and the family but with the universal language of joy and the smiles that go along with it, one would hardly notice!

My List of Wedding DO's as Inspired by Jehudi and Irela:

*Hey bridesmaids! DO surprise your bride with a little ditty. Maybe a dance to "Dancing Queen" complete with colorful feather boas? Too cute! :)

*You may need to keep dinner a little more intimate but if you can, DO invite the masses to come late and boogie the night away with you.

*M&M's as a favor? Oh yes, it's a DO! I love me some M&M's.

Irela and Jehudi and family (Abby I must mention you specifically because your enthusiasm was infectious! Love that!) thank you all so much for being such wonderfully warm people and including us in your day. Have a great trip to Chile'!

We took our little Mini Cooper 4x4ing to get these shots and not only was it worth it for the pics but it was an adventure and I love adventures :)

Kris was Rebecca's big brothers friend and baseball team co-player. Rebecca's mom said she knew something was up when Rebecca started showing up at every game... when her presence in the past was non-existent ;) Funny how boys can get us to do things we wouldn't normally do! Now here these 2 are all in love, grown up and getting married!

I'll keep it short for these 2 sweeties... the love each other, they love their precious little girl and they really seem to love life. All together now... awwww....

My List Of Wedding DO's as inspired by Christine and Donnie:

*Being easy going is always a DO. And these guys oozed "easy going"

*Silly faces that your photographer will just love posting in the teasers=a DO!

*Donning a stunning flowy lacy gown and topping it with fun, bouncy curls? It's a DO!

*Hiring us as your photographers and knowing that you got it right=a big fat DO! :)

Thank you guys so much for including us in your day!

2 days, 2 wedding ceremonies, 3 dresses + 1 fantastic couple = amazing photos!

We were honored to shoot this couple who not only seem to be in love but had 2 rockin' wedding ceremonies!

My Wedding Do's as Inspired by Kathy and Andy:

*DO love each other so much that you get married twice. ;) The started things of with a tradtional Lao ceremony. Kelly and I loved this! It was full of honor AND life... sadly, this can be a rarity when it comes to wedding ceremonies.

*Get married at Hotel ZaZa- DO it! This hotel is just ridiculously cool... its very stylish.. its like renaissance and Vogue magazine had a baby, love it! A lot of their wall decor consists of high fashion photos. I am a photographer so obviously I loved this!!

*Smashing cake in face=a DO. Most couples are far too nice ;)

*if you happen to have a nephew who does this strangely adorable dance, DO put him on the dance floor. I wish I was video. It was... awesome :)

*DO DO DO hire us to shoot your wedding. Cuz we're cool, and totally awesome.. oh and ya we take some pretty kickin' photos :D

Congrats Andy and Kathy!!!

I know it's highly unoriginal of me to say but - we have the best couples EVER! Kelly and I are pretty laid back people who happen to love photography so I think we attract like-minded people (soooo if you are a bridezilla and hate photographs you probably won't like us ;))... Alison and Spencer are about as chill as they come... they just wanted to enjoy their special day with family and close friends.. oh an maybe get some fantastic photos to boot ;)

My List Of Do's (you know missed it, so I am bringing it back) as inspired by Alison and Spencer:

*DO find the balance of loving the camera and loving the moment. Alison did this well, she knew where I was but she stayed in the moment.. enjoying guests and taking in the moments around her.

*Live band at a cool Jazz nightclub for your reception?? YUP, its a DO!! If you haven't checked out Sambuca's yet might I urge you to do so? STAT?!

*Squeezing in a "Thank You" card pic to hand out later to guests= A DO!

Spencer, Alison and family; thank you so much for sharing your day with us!

This sweet and sassy bride had her bridal portrait session at The Gallery in Houston. It is a beautiful venue right smack dab in the middle of everything you need.

Thanks Irela for rockin' the camera today... and I must give a shout out to her sister Abby and mom for lugging around a drop cloth and acting as the Glam Squad today :)

Ashley is one of the most genuinely excited people you will ever meet... and although Justin does not "love" taking pictures he does love this precious woman enough to play it up for my camera :) These guys needed no coaching.. I said, "here's a great spot" and they just did their thing! I had a plethora of pics from this shoot that made me smile!

When I uploaded these images I was nearly speechless! Anyone can see that in person Alison is a natural beauty... but even some of the most naturally beautiful people don't translate to photographs with quite the umph they have in person.. not Alison. Not only is she beautiful in person but she takes incredibly stunning photographs.. evidence below.

Brides, take a tip from Alison - be yourself, be confident and know how to work that camera ;)

I told myself that I wouldn't blog when my contacts were dried over and my mind os slowly surrendering to my tired body.. but this couple is just so fantastic I knew I must get this teaser up!

The Houston sky taunted us the entire shoot threatening to open the heavens and pour down its mighty wrath.. okay, its possible I am being a teensy bit melodramatic... but in all honesty the weather wasn't looking too promising.. but the rain stayed away long enough to capture some really beautiful images and long enough for the brides very gracious brother to rush in a forgotten piece of the wardrobe ;)

I feel like I am suffering from bloggers block lately.. (ya I made that up, so what?) anyway.. I apologize because we have been shooting some really amazing couples and working with the most ridiculously incredible families .. and my "bloggers block" really isn't doing justice to what these people deserve... sigh... The only saving thing is I know most of you just come for the photos...

To Tim and Carolyn... thank you for braving the weather, and the wardrobe deal, and my quirky humor ;) Please enjoy your teaser!

The start of this session things were looking pretty grim.. it was raining... and the parks closing time was an hour earlier than we anticipated. Yikes. As you can see we did not surrender!! Though the sun never peaked through, the rain stopped long enough for us to squeeze in some shots and the gracious park rangers let us slide in an extra couple minutes.

Normally before editing I am deciding how I will process the photos but when I pulled these up I just couldn't bare to cover up the beautiful color of the landscape and more importantly, Kat's stunning hair color!!

Congrats Jon and Kat! Thank you for braving out the weather, the potential alligators and of course that nasty spider I had to rescue you from :)

I must admit that because we did not have any before sessions with Ryan and Stephanie, I was a little worried... I mean will they speak my language? Will they know how to rock the camera?? Well all that anxiety went out the window once I started clicking.. Steph knows how to work her sexy piercing eyes and Ryan isn't too bad at rockin' his own "come hither" stare. Together they made beautiful photographs. Their ceremony took place at Sacred Heart Catholic church and their reception followed at Magnolia Ballroom. I must add a quick shout out to Sidney (I know I am spelling your name wrong and I am SO sorry!!!! :( ) who is the coordinator at Magnolia and is a total star to work with!! I was going to take a sabbatical from my "List of Wedding DO's" because really I know you guys all just come for the photos... but I'm gunna do a short list... ;)

*DO rock a total glam hairdo that is reminiscent of old hollywood

*DO dream big with your wedding decor and figure out how to DIY. (Psst.. the centerpieces we awesome and they were carnations!)

*flirting with the camera, "Audrina pose", wedding day PDA - all DO's!!

Thank you Ryan and Steph for sharing your day with us! We are still enjoying the centerpiece you sent home with me :)