Goodness, where to begin with Maddie and Chris’ wedding day? Perhaps where it started would be a good place. I’ve never actually arrived to photograph a wedding day so early that I beat the bride and bridesmaids to where they’ll be getting ready, but this day it happened. Chris’ grandma invited me into her home, offered me fruit-infused water while we sat and chatted in her living room — mostly we talked about how wonderful Maddie and Chris are, all the remodels and projects her sweet son did around her home (you’ll see later that at this same moment Chris’ dad was single handedly putting together the wooden arbor he made for the ceremony) and of course her trusty pup companion. You know, topics good grandmothers cover first when conversing with someone new. I feel like this was a signal for how the rest of the day would go — Chris, Maddie, their family and friends inviting us into such a special day in their lives as they all come together to pool their talents to make the day as beautiful and full of love as it turned out to be.

Back at the Filter Building on White Rock Lake, James met up with Chris, his dad and the groomsmen for the finishing touches on the handmade ceremony arbor.

Finished up at the Filter Building, Chris and his groomsmen headed out for some drinks at Mudsmith, a local coffee shop and pub.

The day before, Maddie had set all of the clocks in the room she’d be getting ready in to “7:30 p.m.” — the time of her wedding ceremony.

Why a canoe? Because that is what Maddie and Chris would be exiting their reception in. Yeah.

It’s not a wedding day without an Instagram of the groom.

Maddie and Chris chose to do a first look on their wedding day to allow for time together on their wedding day plus plenty of time for some sunny bride-groom portraits around the Filter Building.

One minute the sun was shining, and then right before the start of the outdoor ceremony some clouds rolled in to curb some of that Texas July heat. The timing was perfect.

One thing I wanted to note is the variety that Chris and Maddie’s bride-groom portraits were able to have because they planned for portraits both before and after the ceremony — some bright and sunny ones from during their first look and then also some softer, moodier portraits once the clouds rolled in the second half of the day.

 Maddie and Chris were the JZP wedding photography giveaway winners from earlier this year, and I’m so glad they were the couple we chose.

Thank you for welcoming us into your wedding day, Chris and Maddie. It was awesome, just like y’all.