DOWNTOWN MARFA

MARFA ELOPEMENT

TEXAS FILM PHOTOGRAPHER

Today’s post is brought to you by one of my favorite little places to travel- Marfa, Texas. I attended a wedding photography workshop in Marfa about 5 years ago and fell in love with the quaint little town. You can see the images from that first trip to Marfa by clicking here. My style has changed a bit since then, so it’s cool to see how my work has shifted within the same settings.

Big on personality and it’s art scene & very small in size, Marfa has a cool history and is attractive to tourists & road-trippers alike. Most of the town is shut down during the week and open on Friday-Sunday. If you’re ill-informed or don’t know about the town being closed during the week, you’re stuck getting lunch from Dairy Queen with like, an hour wait for your food. You either love Marfa or you don’t. I LOVE it! I love the people, the art, the food, and the varying lodging locations. From 4-star hotels to teepees and safari huts, they have it all.

So this time in Marfa in particular, I was so lucky to get to meet with Lane & Haley, residents of neighboring town Alpine about 25 minutes away from Marfa. We gathered in downtown Marfa to document this exciting time in their lives. We walked a couple blocks around the main drag of downtown near the train tracks, the bank, and The Chinati Foundation. We talked about their jobs & how they’re in the midst of building a house and I talked about my experience touring Marfa Maid Dairy earlier that day (which was like, my absolute favorite part of our trip).

My good friend Elizabeth with The Petaler was kind enough to provide florals for Lane and Haley. The logistics of driving from Houston to Marfa (a 9 hour trip) plus an additional 2 days before photographing this session didn’t make sense for fresh flowers, so Elizabeth’s talented florist self created a bouquet and boutonniere completely of dried materials. Genius. It fit the desert scene perfectly and it’s always so nice to have florals for a couple’s portrait session in wedding attire.

If you’re ready for a photo session in Marfa, give me a shout! I’m always down to travel there :)

Photographer: Christine Gosch | Gown: Rue de Seine from Lovely Bride | Florals: The Petaler | Film lab: The FIND Lab

ELOPEMENT BOUQUET IDEAS

ELOPEMENT BOUQUET IDEAS

ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHER

When you make the decision to elope or have a super intimate destination wedding, you’re cutting out so so so many of the decisions you would’ve had to make if you were having a wedding. You no longer have to worry about guest favors, valet service for your slew of guests, ceremony programs, venues to house 200 guests, bridesmaids dresses, reception decor & details, seating charts, and many other things you would have needed had you hosted a wedding. However, one thing that will remain the same is the fact that you might want a bouquet.

The oh so good news is that there are talented florists everywhere you go, so no matter where you want to elope, there will be options! If you need recommendations based on your elopement location, I’d love to help! Additionally, most florists actually WANT to travel for destination weddings or elopements, so don’t fret if there’s a florist you love from California if you’re eloping in Utah. Just reach out to them and ask- you never know what could happen!

Below are three elopement bouquet ideas that you may not have thought of!

DRIED, SILK, OR FORAGED BOUQUET

If you hire a skilled florist, your bouquet will not look like the silk flower aisle in Hobby Lobby! Now, hear me out. If the logistics of your elopement or intimate destination wedding doesn’t allow for a florist to deliver a fresh bouquet composed of fussy blooms on the day of (if you happen to be in a remote location like Marfa, Texas or Iceland or somewhere like that) a dried bouquet or silk bouquet (or a combination of the two, as pictured in the first photo below) might be a good fit for you! Additionally, if you’re ok with a bouquet made of the local greenery, textures, field grasses, or other local elements, you might consider trusting your florist to forage for your bouquet.

dried + silk bouquet by Clayton Austin

dried bouquet by Magnolia Flower Co

foraged bouquet by flower power productions

BOUQUETS WITH RIBBONS

I love a good ribbon, especially if you’re headed to a destination spot with beautiful views and a little breeze to make that ribbon dance in the wind. Some of my favorite ribbon companies are Silk & Willow, FrouFrou Chic, Poetry of Silk, and Tono + Co. Your florist might already have some of these luxurious brands on hand to adorn your bouquet, but if they don’t you can provide your own.

The Petaler

Blush & Vine

College Park Flowers

Maxit Flower Design

The Petaler

The Petaler

SMALLER BOUQUETS

If you’re an adventurous couple making the trek to a mountaintop to say your vows, or if you plan on doing plenty of exploring on your wedding day to take lots of portraits, a smaller bouquet can aid in the process of a smoother day. Big + fluffy bouquets, while beautiful, are heavy and take up more room.

The Petaler

handmade bouquet

Carpe Diem Florals

Amber Reverie

Film photographer: Christine Gosch | Various florists listed above | Film Lab: The FIND Lab