We love firsts and Lauren and Conor’s wedding had some great firsts for Carpe Vita Photography.
This was our first time to photograph at Saint Michael Chapel – what a beautiful house of worship. And from this view you can see where the reception was held – at the Park Cities Club in the high rise building behind the church.

We have never had a bride so relaxed that she was dealing cards for her brother and her friends to play before the wedding.

We have photographed weddings with a Best Woman before but this was our first wedding with a Man of Honor and ironically, the movie of a similar name (Made of Honor) was released the day before their wedding.

We have had couples walk from their reception at the Park Cities Club to their hotel (Park Cities Hilton – which Lauren and Conor also did). But we have never had the couple walk from their wedding at a church to their reception at a different venue. Luckily the club was just two blocks away and it was a beautiful day for a stroll.

This was the first time (for us) that a bride and groom really rocked out on their first dance together (set to a live version of Cake’s Love You Madly). This really impressed the couple’s band, Otis & The Metro Band who did a nice jump of keeping everyone on their feet and set the tone for the rest of the party. The fact that Conor challenged all in attendance to a dance off anytime during the night helped as well.

This was Kim’s first encounter with a Sarah Jane Francis cake – which will live on in my memory of cakes that won’t be forgotten – can you tell I love cake… I now know why she calls it the 24 Carat Cake. Here’s a quote I found from a 1995 D Magazine – lucky me that Lauren is related to Sarah Jane and I got to sneak a bite.

SARAH JANE FRANCIS 214-373-1810
Hands down, the ultimate name in grooms’ cakes is Sarah Jane Francis, who has been called the “grande dame” of chocolate cakes. You haven’t seen chocolate until you’ve seen one of her cakes lavished with big, round chocolate curls.

As a way of getting to visit with all of his guests, Conor helped to serve wedding cake to everyone. This pleasantly stunned the Park Cities Club staff.

The last first I can think of was Conor’s bow tie with the fashionable skull and cross bones that he wore especially for the reception. Cute and very James Bond when he undid the tie to really get down and dance the night away.

Here the Evans men show everyone how it is done.

Lauren and Conor’s friends and family who want to see all of the photos from the wedding can click here to be linked to Pictage where they can register to receive an email when the photos are released to the public.

Now, here’s a slideshow showing off more of their wedding day fun:

We are so blessed to be invited into some many wonderful people’s lives and sweet celebrations. We are always treated like family which is such an honor to us and that makes us want to leap even taller buildings for our clients.

Lauren and Conor’s wedding photography coverage at the beginning of May started with us photographing the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner Friday night. We love photographing this part of the celebration because you learn so much more about all of the individuals involved. Plus this was our first opportunity to get to meet Conor.

The wedding/rehearsal was at Saint Michael and All Angel’s Episcopal Church and Gayle was most helpful in making sure everything moved along smoothly. Lauren’s brother Bear was her Man of Honor.

Signing the church’s wedding roster for their historical record.

We grabbed a few photos of the couple in the chapel’s courtyard before heading on to the rehearsal dinner.

The Cantina Laredo on Lovers Lane is where Conor’s parents Jamie and Bob gathered everyone for yummy Mexican food and margaritas. This gave the guests a chance to relax and get to know each other while honoring Lauren and Conor with their touching toasts. General Manager Irene and her staff made everyone feel at home. If you are looking for a Dallas restaurant to host your rehearsal dinner – they will definitely take care of you.

Lauren gives a special hug after receiving one of a kind artwork from her little brother Cameron.

To top off the evening, Lauren’s girlfriends threw her a little bachelorette party there at the restaurant. Here are a few of the photos before we called it a night.

Lauren’s Fighting Irish pose for her honey,

A kiss goodnight before she heads to her little party.

A group photo of the ladies. Looks like someone (gentleman in the back) wants to hang out with the girls…

Here’s the slideshow to share a little more of the evening.

Friends and family can register to see all of the photos from the Rehearsal by clicking here. When Lauren and Conor release the event, an email will be sent to you.

The morning of Lauren and Conor’s wedding, Lauren was honored with a tea at Maudee’s Cafe on Lovers Lane. This gave her a better chance to visit with all of her girlfriends, aunts, cousins and future female family.

Of course, as the bride’s left hand person and Man of Honor, Bear was there for a part of the luncheon.

It was a great beginning of a wonderful day to get married.

We have been so busy lately that we are a little behind on our blogging. Here’s some photos from Carolyn and Nathan’s engagement session back in March. We started at the Frisco Horse Park in Frisco off of 121 where Nathan proposed to Carolyn last September.

The guys at the horse farm were kind enough to loan us Frisco who loves to be photographed with brides.

Some fun with the reflecting pool.

This is where Nathan actually proposed – so sweet.

Then we were off to see the sun set not too far from Carolyn’s parent’s home in Lucas.

We finished off with some different clothes for the last few shots.

Gotta to have a slideshow…

We just did Carolyn’s bridal session which has some beautiful shots and we are looking forward to the wedding in July.

April 29, we had the pleasure of photographing Felicia and Danny’s wedding. They chose to celebrate with an outdoor wedding and intimate lunch at the Rosewood Crescent Hotel.

Mayra with myfabulousfaces.com added Felicia’s beautifying make-up touches and Mary Wright-Shah and her Diamond Affairs staff made sure everything ran elegantly and smoothly.

Dr. Delphinium Designs & Events provided the lovely florals. This charm with Felicia’s father’s photo was a wonderful tribute and so that he was in fact there in spirit to walk Felicia down the aisle.

We witnessed our first Spoons contest at the luncheon – we’re not sure but we think Danny might have started it. If he didn’t start it, we have photos to prove he participated.

After the reception, we were treated to some extra time with the couple. We started at a park in the Turtle Creek neighborhood and then headed to downtown Dallas from some fun. One of the highlights while we were out and about was a Troy Aikman sighting…

Felicia and Danny were great sports for letting us take them around town for some extra photos. To see more, check out this fun video slideshow.

Friends and family interested in seeing all of the photos from the wedding, click here and you will be taken to our online lab, Pictage. You will need an event key you can get from Felicia or Danny.