Trust me, it was beautiful!

My son and his new bride forbid me from bringing my camera to their wedding. 

Can you believe it? Something about "relaxing" and "enjoying the moment" and "paying big bucks to someone else"...

So I don't have any photos of my own to share of 

The. Most. Beautful. Wedding. Ever. Amen. 

but you can click on that link to see a few that others posted on Facebook, and I "borrowed" to share on my Long Hollow blog.

I do, however, have photos from the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner, and here they are!

(I still had fun!)

 Oh, well, congratulations to my precious son and his beautiful wife!

The One She Chose...

Ah... it was so much fun tromping around Austin, photographing wedding venues the past couple of weeks!

Thank you to all of you who voiced your first picks!

The last venue, Vista West Ranch, won with you, hands down.

Alas, when all things were considered, such as having to travel down miles and miles of twisty, turny Hill Country roads (and guests having to drive back to hotels miles away down dark twisty, turny Hill Country roads after a celebratory drink or two), it was the second favorite of the future bride.

Her first pick?

Barr Mansion, the first venue I visited.

The one with the gingerbread woodwork, wrap-around porches and fans hanging from the trees.

It has that country feel but it's just minutes from downtown Austin, convenient to hotels and restaurants... and closer to our house!

 Also the bride and her sister can easily put their special touches on it... centerpieces, lighting, and other ideas gleaned from Pinterest... 

But I think the true selling point is the rose garden that will be in full bloom at the time of the wedding.

I confess, despite the photo-mania I fell into at Vista West Ranch, the Barr Mansion was my favorite. 

I just can't resist those porches and that huge oak tree... and can already envision those love birds there, walking hand-in-hand.

Can You Picture a Wedding Here?

I tagged along with my son, his future bride and some of her family yesterday, visiting potential venues for their wedding. 

It's still more than a year away, but that gives them time to think about it.

Hallelujah! I don't need to think about it... I just need to be excited about it!

...So I just enjoyed the tours and took lots of photos...

First stop was the Barr Mansion, a beautiful Victorian home in what used to be Sprinkle, Texas, now part of Austin... truly the home of my dreams for years.

I always wanted to find an old house like this and restore it to its glory days.

Well, not this one specifically, but one just like it, with beautiful gingerbread woodwork, wrap-around porches, and an old oak tree gracing the yard.

Now, I prefer photographing old houses like this over living in them... I have enough experience with homebuilding, maintenance issues and electric bills to know living in one would resemble a nightmare in more ways than it would a dream.

But photographing them and dreaming about it is still fun.

Loved the fans and lights hanging from the trees.

Would you believe this is the kitchen? 

Loved these doors!

...and the stars on the tiny windows. Love the detail!

This section is newer, as you can see. But the unique details continued.

Loved these doors, too, but love the sweet couple in front of them more.

Unique handcrafted touches were all over the reception area.

Finally we toured the inside of the old house. 

This ceiling painting wasn't original, but isn't it gorgeous?

Meet Mouse.

What a cutie and I loved the mini-chaise lounge!

The bathroom of my dreams, believe it or not.

Not so much anymore, practically-speaking, but I still love the art of it.

A Harry Potter under-the-stairs-closet. 

Such beautiful woodwork!

A mirror. How could I resist?

So much to take in. I'm glad I'm just on the sidelines with a camera.

Next stop, the Driskill Hotel. 

I'll post those tomorrow.