BLOG

I had been looking forward to the day for a long time. Since August, I think when Cristie first reached out to me about photographing her wedding. My first impression was that of course, she had to be awesome because we have the same name and neither of us has an "h" in our spellings of our name. ;) More email exchanges solidified my hunch as I learned how easy and fun she was to work with! I got to meet Cristie and Ryan in person in the fall to shoot their engagement portraits in the Dallas Arts District, and it was such a great experience. Every time I photograph a couple, my goal is to tell their love story with each snap of a shutter, and Cristie and Ryan made it easy. They're proud of their love and you see it when they look at each other and when they laugh together. They fit together beautifully and naturally and it was an honor to watch. 

Where do I even start? The tall, bright-eyed young man you see below is Danny, a senior at Garland High School. He's ambitious, funny, so much fun to talk to, and more than anything else, he's a kind soul. He's also the younger brother of a dear friend of mine. And before he became the 18-year-old 6-foot-something he is now, he was the goofy 11-year-old I remember as if it were yesterday. Seven years flies by! 

On Friday evening I had the honor of photographing the wedding of high school sweethearts. Denisse and Jared and I share an alma mater and as a romantic, I was happy to see their Facebook relationship status upgrade from "in a relationship" to "engaged" last year. Lucky for me, they let me photograph their engagement portraits and then asked me to photograph their wedding! One look at the couple and you'll see one reason why I was so excited. They're gorgeous! Denisse is beautiful and so charming and Jared is handsome and sweet. It's endearing to see them fit together so well, and it was heartwarming to see the masses of people who so obviously adore them. Not everyone is lucky enough to find love so young and to continue nurturing it throughout young adulthood. Jared and Denisse are the prince and princess at the end of your favorite love story and I was so charmed to be a part of their wedding day. 

To the newest mr. and mrs. I know, I hope that decades from now, you look at your wedding album and the photographs take you back to the way you felt on your wedding day. I also hope that on that day, you feel the same joy that you did on March 8, 2013 and that your love has grown each day since. 

Congratulations!

Happy Valentine's Day! A couple of months ago I got the chance to shoot an Arboretum wedding with the amazing Laura of Loewen Images! She's a photographer who used to shoot in the Chicago area but who is now living and working in Dallas! What made it even more special is that the groom is her husband's twin! I loved working with Laura, and both the bride and groom's families were sweet and great to talk to. I had a wonderful time working and getting to be a part of this wonderful family's celebration. 

We started out the early afternoon at Blow Salon in East Dallas. The salon is perfect-- vibrant and colorful.. plus, the stylists and other staff were incredibly welcoming and helpful. 

The ceremony and reception were at the Dallas Arboretum. 

I'm in love with the succulents in the bride's bouquet!

The bride and groom got ready in separate parts of the beautiful Arboretum house and were getting prepared for their big first look in the courtyard.

I love it when they get emotional during the first look! See the little flower girl peeking through the window?

Quick break for a BFF photo!

And a mother and son photo. :) The family was getting ready to take their places for going down the aisle.

One last portrait before the ceremony!

These flower girls were gorgeous and adorable! Am I right? Love the dresses!

And even with a first look, the bride still got emotional walking down the aisle with her dad :) So sweet.

I love stealing a glance at the family during a ceremony. You can tell how happy they are to be gaining a son and brother!

Love these shots with the Chihuly exhibit in the background. 

In honor of Valentine's Day next week, I'm having a Pinterest contest to find a sassy couple (or two!) to model for the camera! So if you've got a hubby and a gown and want to take them both out for a spin, I want you to show me how you strut! And engaged couples, if you know you and your partner can show the camera some love, show me your most stylish ensembles for the best engagement session ever. 

Here's how to enter:

Create a board on Pinterest and name it "My Dream Session With Cristy Angulo Photography."

Post a photo of you and your spouse, a photo of your wedding gown, and pin the kind of photos you would love to have with your husband or fiance.

Leave a comment on the photo on my Pinterest page announcing this contest with a link to your board by 11:59 p.m. on Wed., 02/13/13. The winner or winners will be announced on my Facebook page, Twitter, and/or Instagram on Valentine's Day, so make sure you're connected with me. 

Here's what I'm looking for if you're married:

Pin a photo of you and your spouse

Pin a photo of your wedding gown and a suit or outfit that your husband can wear for the session

Pin a hair style that you would be able to wear for the session

Pin any kind of idea of how you would make the session memorable

Here's what I want if you're engaged (or seriously committed and in love ;):

Pin a photo of you and your fiance

Pin some outfits that match your and your fiance's style-- your idea for what you'd like to wear for your session. In fact, plan a few outfits!

Pin any kind of idea of how you would make the session memorable. 

Here are the rules:

I adore portraits that are romantic so you have to be comfortable or at least willing to have fun for the sake of a swoon-worthy photo. 

You have to be available either 02/16, 02/17, 02/23 or 02/24 for the session 

The location will be my choosing (it will be outdoors) but I'm happy to hear your ideas if you know of a great spot!

You will get to keep my favorite images, and I will edit and hand over the high res versions so you can print them off real big and pretty for your home and of course, put them up on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter! ;) 

This time last week, I was going through my personal photos from 2012 and reflected on what an amazing year it's been for me. Then I wrote a message to my 2012 clients and thanked them for their support, and while doing that, I realized all of the beautiful parts of life I got to witness through this business. Here's part of what I wrote:

"This year, I witnessed couples pledge their wedding vows, young adults graduating high school and college, and families cherishing their newborn additions. I celebrated engagements, pregnancies, first birthdays and anniversaries. I photographed families for the second and third years in a row and got to see how babies have become big kids and how beautiful it is to remember those changes. I captured smiles and laughs and tears, and from behind my camera, I smiled and laughed and cried tears of joy with you."

I am SO fortunate. And I thank all of you who keep up with me, refer me to your friends, book with me and cheer me on. While this year was a whirlwind (I graduated college with my BA in Journalism, moved from an internship to a full time position at an amazing company, took a trip to northern California and continued to slowly but surely grow this business), it was full of beautiful gifts. 

At the halfway point of 2012, I decided I would try to blog at least once a week but was unsuccessful. Because of this, I only put up maybe one or two previews for each photo session on my Facebook page and didn't even get to write full blog posts for them! So, I picked my favorites and piled them all on to this post! Yay! Haha... It took forever so I hope at least a handful of people see it. And because it took me until 9 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2012 to get to it, my resolution for 2013 is to blog more. So we'll see how that goes. 

This November 24th is Small Business Saturday®, a day to celebrate and support the local small businesses that boost the economy and invigorate neighborhoods across the country.

Cristy Angulo Photography is proud to take part in Small Business Saturday, and we’re encouraging everyone to Shop Small® here on November 24th.

Plus, we’re having a special Small Business Saturday offer! Comment with your ideas for freebies/discounts/specials and we'll make the announcement tomorrow!

Most importantly, get out there, Shop Small, and let’s make this November 24th the biggest day of the year for small business.

To learn more, visit ShopSmall.com.

2009.

You may remember this cutie from November, when I photographed him and his parents for their very first family portrait session. Back then, he was only five months old and here we are now, looking at a one year old! I got to photograph him on his exact birthday too! So Jen & Bryan will always get to remember that he was exactly 365 days old in these photos. 

Jennifer and Paul are HAPPY and they share the kind of love which can only be illustrated in bright, bold, vivid and HAPPY colors. So we picked out a few locations and prepped for the engagement session. I had it all planned out and had posing ideas in mind. And with the first click of my camera, I knew I was lucky. Lucky because the couple I got to photograph was so honest and proud of their love. They laughed and hugged and held onto each other, and every smile showcased how excited they were at the idea of sharing the rest of their lives together. 

It's easy for that kind of happiness to rub off on you. 

So to my beautiful cousin Jennifer and her soon-to-be husband, Paul:

Thank you for reminding me to cherish what an amazing thing it is to be in love. I'm so glad I'll be in the audience next Spring when you marry each other, on what I'm sure will be the most exciting day of your lives!

It was sometime in March 2011 that I got a call from Andi. She had been referred to me by a friend (shoutout, Yoamy!) and she was going to be married the following March and was interested in my photography info. When I got the call, I was in the middle of writing a news assignment for class while at work in the Maclab.  It was the spring of my junior year of college and even though I knew working toward my degree was important to me, all I wanted was to devote more time to my photography. I was hoping and working and hoping and working to book another wedding. It's basically all I thought about (still do.)

So I printed a copy of my contract and forced confidence out of my voice to prepare for my meeting with Andi. I was nerrrvous! And when she sat down at the table across from me for our meeting, she described her ideas for her wedding, shared with me about herself and her fiance, and we talked details.  But really, we just had a great conversation! She was open and easy to talk to, she was funny, and we shared so many commonalities in our style! AND, she was a fellow Garland High School alum! I was so excited about the idea of working with her. And when she decided that yes, I would be the right fit for her big day, OMG. A year could not go fast enough for me. But it did! Six-months-later, we were shooting a fun engagement session at a replica Texas Rangers ballpark. A little while after that, we shot her bridals at the Dallas Arboretum, and soon enough, it was the big day.

I told Andi over and over on the day, that I was in AWE of her decor. I mean, there was not a single thing I would have changed, had it been my wedding. They are detail by detail, the exact things I would have chosen. Totally my taste, my style. I lovvvvvveeeeddddddd her centerpieces, her roses, her hair accessory, the lights, her cake! And guess what. Her entry table, her candy bar, her centerpieces...decked out with detail after detail, was all her handiwork. Everyone congratulated Andi on making her wedding day beautiful! It was obvious she put so much hard work into it. Among others who helped put together their awesome wedding day were:

Floral arrangements: Buds & Blooms in Garland

Cakes: Stephanie & Sabrina at Simply Sisters in Keller Dress: Terry Costa in Dallas by designer House of WuHair: by Franchesca at Yolo Salon in Garland - also owned by a fellow GHS alum! Venue/Lighting: The Atrium in Garland by Mark & Matt Popcorn at the candy bar: Popcorn Papa at Firewheel in Garland. DJ: Eddie Renz

I'm waiting to find out who the exact Ebay seller was for the awesome baseball cufflinks! :) (Check back later) 

Anyway, here we go!

The engagement & bridal photos I shot were used for decor around the reception! I loved it. ;)

Andi's mama was so sweet! When I  saw this expression,  I clicked before the moment was gone! I love this one.

I thought this was cute. They went down the aisle after Andi & Josh. Aren't they adorable?

Chris was definitely a fan of the cufflinks! He wants some too now. 

See? She had every detail covered! From the frame, to the peanuts, the baseball, and all of those candles. Beautiful. 

Simply Sisters did a great job. The cake matched the style of the room perfectly!

It has been more than FOUR months since I've blogged! In the last four months I finished up my undergraduate career and walked across the stage to celebrate earning my bachelor's degree from the nationally accredited Mayborn School of Journalism at UNT! I also began an amazing internship, where I am still learning everyday. I've second shot  a whole lot of weddings (like SIX in the month of April) and have had a busy few months with portrait sessions on my own. Chris and I also shot two weddings with some awesome couples! Overall, I have a lot to be grateful for, but I'm excited to put more effort into growing this business, now that I am no longer a student. I have so much to share! But for now, I'm going to post just a few of my favorite shots from a session I did a few weeks ago. I met Carolina back in 2007 through a friend of a friend. We've stayed in touch and at the end of her pregnancy, she told me she wanted to get newborn portraits done. Timing was a little difficult, but we were eventually able to meet up for a session, one day after her baby girl turned one-month-old.

I love how baby Camila is looking at her beautiful mom! I just feel like it's one of those moments they'll be able to cherish forever! 

Camila looks so sassy here! She's so pretty. :) I also love the red and gold tones coming in, backlit! This is why I love shooting just before sunset, y'all!

First family portrait <3

I'm going to try to get back in the habit of blogging regularly... right now, it looks like it'll probably be every Friday. So, keep checking back for posts on recent:

weddings

bridal sessions

mother & daughter sessions

family sessions

senior sessions

First of all, yay for the first blog post of 2012! Ellie + Jose's session was also my first engagement session of the year, and their wedding next month will be my first wedding of the year. You know when you meet people and immediately know you're going to like them? That's Ellie + Jose. I've only had the pleasure of meeting with them twice, and even so, I think they're awesome. So awesome, that I had to go ahead and share a preview of how their engagement session in Denton went. We used a lot of different locations and looks, but so many of my favorites came from the end of the session, which you can see here:

 Jose, you need to frame this one of your beautiful fiance. I LOVE this picture. She is absolutely beautiful.