We all know there is a wealth (er, overabundance) of wedding-planning information out there for brides on sites like The Knot, Style Me Pretty, Wedding Wire, Martha Stewart, Brides … the list goes on and on. If you’ve been a bride for more than five minutes, you know how overwhelming it can be to sift through all the information about how to find the perfect vendors to fit the vision for your big day.

This next statement is going to sound biased but I don’t mean it to: Your wedding photographer is perhaps one of the most important vendors you will hire for your wedding. Think about: You spend more time with your photographer than you do with your husband on your wedding day (crazy, right?!) and your photos are the only thing you take with you after the cake is eaten, the flowers have wilted, and your gown has been cleaned and preserved. Your wedding photos are forever.
I’ve heard horror stories of brides who have hired less-than-professional photographers and completely regretted it years later. I don’t want you to be one of them! So in addition to loving your photographer’s work and trusting their business acumen, here are a few things I wish brides would ask photographers to get a better idea of who they’re hiring:

1. What do you like to do when you’re not working or photographing weddings? This might seem silly but who knows what common interests you might unearth! It can really help build a relationship with your photographer if you’re both obsessed with all things France or are total movie quoting buffs (for the record, I am the former, not the latter). Plus it helps you get to know the stranger you’re spending you’re wedding day with.
2. What are your favorite/most challenging parts of the wedding day? If the photographer loves wacky reception dancing shots but you had your heart set on gorgeous stylized details and breath-taking portraits, they might not be a good fit for you.
3. What is the craziest thing that’s happened to you on a wedding day? Probably enough said here. Make sure you ask how they handled it, too.
4. How would you describe your personality, especially what we’ll see on a wedding day? This one is huge. HUGE. If you want someone who’s going to put their camera down and dance with you but you’re about to hire a wallflower, that might not be the best fit! Or you might need someone you can trust to wrangle your big, loud family and it might be challenging for someone who’s afraid of the spotlight or is really soft spoken.
5. Why do you love shooting weddings? Hearing their heart behind their business and vision can often be the deal-maker or deal-breaker. It’ll help you know if your visions align and how the photographer is going to approach your wedding.

I've found that while the questions you should ask your photographer lists on Pinterest and The Knot can be helpful, usually the average bride doesn't understand the difference between Canon and Nikon, or off-camera flash vs. natural light. But I'd love to hear from you! What else do you want to know about your wedding photographer?

Back in the spring, I had the extreme honor of doing an editorial shoot with BenBella, a publishing company based in Dallas. I love food and food styling, cooking (of course!), and eating plant-based so this project was right up my alley.

I thought it'd be a fun way to kick off the weekend by sharing a few of my favorite foodie photos and maybe inspire some new recipes.

Jen is one of those brides who I knew from our early emails that we would hit it off. She was upbeat, kind, and ready to share she and Ben's story with me! One of the reasons I do what I do is to tell the story of the beginning of marriages and Jen seemed to get that right away.

We did their engagement session at Harry Moss Park in Dallas in the morning and oh my, was it beautiful. It was nice to get out before the heat of the day and enjoy the beautiful light. With all the rain we've had recently, however, some of the paths were *a little* muddy. These two were such troopers, especially Jen who clomped through the dirty in heels. (I apologized profusely, believe me!)

Without further ado, here's the future Mr. & Mrs. Warnick!

I have a crazy goal this year.

I'm going to read 50 books.

Let me explain.

This is not a New Years resolution. I didn't write this on my 2017 goals on December 31 and then carefully plan out which books I was going to read and how I was going to conquer it all. The idea to read 50 books just kind of happened.

I'm an avid reader anyway but most years I read between 12-17 books (which I know is still really good and a lot for most people!) In January, I had surgery that put me out of commission for almost a month. I had planned to binge on Netflix most of the time but when it came to it, I felt even worse watching TV all day and I had a huge stack of books some friends brought over to me. So, I started to read instead.

I flew through books in a matter of days. In the month of February, I read seven books. And these weren't shorties, either. At least three of them were 450+ pages. OK, they were easy reads but they were long. But still, I figured I'd slow down once I got back on my feet and back to working.

Then I stumbled upon this article. And it totally resonated with me. OF COURSE I could read 50 books. If I gave up one evening of TV (or just read while Travis watches Mavs games), it would make this feasible. If I read while I ate lunch instead of scrolling through Instagram, I could make this happen.

When I looked at how many books I had already read this year (somewhere in the mid-20s) and it was only April, I knew I could do it.

I've since slowed on my reading (I'm at 3-4 books a month, not seven) but with a lot of summer travel coming up, I thought it'd be fun to share the books on my list and keep track of my progress (I'm currently on book 29).

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (Recommended by Dave Ramsey)

Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist (I read this every July; I don't know why but it's the perfect summer book and a good reminder to stay grounded in the slug of everyday life)

At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider (Her story is amazing!)

Make It Happen by Lara Casey (The guru behind Powersheets)

Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin (Another Dave Ramsey recommendation; I started this a few days ago and it's awesome)

The Nix by Nathan Hill (reading this for book club)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (Heard about this one on Shauna Niequist's new podcast)

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller (Been wanting to read this one for awhile!)

When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (everyone just raves about this one!)

What's on your summer reading list? What should I add for the fall?

Courtney and Andy were some of the most laid-back and easy-to-talk-to clients I've had so far this year. Their late April wedding took place at the DEC on Dragon in the Dallas Design District against sweeping views of the Dallas skyline. These two planned a heck of a party and it was so clear how well-loved they are by all who attended. I loved how they kept most of the details modern (like those gorgeous Gatsby-esque bridesmaids dresses and the sharp groomsmen's tuxes) but had a few softer elements like the pale pink floral palette and Courtney's BREATHTAKING blush Essence of Australia gown. It was a complete showstopper!

They kept everything so real and down-to-earth, it was a breath of fresh air. Don't even get me started on how much I loved Courtney's choice of shoes!

Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Sholl! I'm so honored to have been such a big part of your story.

VENDORS:

Photography: Chelsea Q. White // Venue: DEC on Dragon // Courtney's dress: Essence of Australia // Bridal stop: Bridal Boutique of Lewisville // Groom & groomsmen tuxes: Culwell & Son // MUAH: La Bichette // DJ/Entertainment: Le Force // Film processing: The FIND Lab

The temperatures are rising, skin is browning (or burning!), and vacations planned in the long cold months of winter are finally on the horizon! Summer is such a glorious time, is it not? What is it about summer that makes us want to live life a little slower and shrug off all the "have to do's" for "I wanna do's." I'm not sure but I'm certainly not complaining about it!

As is the tradition, my summer playlist is here, just in time for the official first day of the season. This is definitely one of my favorites I've made in a long time and I really hope I haven't over-listened already! (Am I the only one guilty of playing songs on repeat until I can't stand it anymore?!)

Some of my favorite tracks this time around include: "Love Hangover" by Sam James; "You Broke Up With Me" by Walker Hayes; "Tied" by Strangers You Know; and "Second One to Know" by Chris Stapleton (side note: I'm obviously having a Chris Stapleton moment. I'm trying to convince Travis we need to get tickets for his show this summer. If you're going, LET ME KNOW!)

​Get the playlist here and get ready for a dang good summer.

I remember planning my wedding in the spring/summertime and being so frustrated that all the blogs were showing spring/summer weddings. How on earth was I supposed to find inspiration for a winter wedding?! 

Thankfully, I managed but I do wish the wedding inspiration world operated a bit more like the fashion industry. Alas, here is my meager attempt to rectify the situation (I know, one blog post ain't gonna change the world).

This shoot was a collaboration with my local film photographer friends and some of our favorite Dallas-area wedding vendors. The past few wedding seasons have seen a lot of pastels and neutrals but I absolutely loved this fresh take on saturated, vibrant colors. I hope you find it as inspiring as I do!

VENDORS:

Photography: Chelsea Q. White // Planning: Chic and Pretty Events & Kate Pease Photography // Venue: Nasher Sculpture Center // Cake: Sweet Somethings by Ashleigh // Dress shop: a&be bridal shop // Dress designer: Sarah Seven // Furniture: Beautiful Event Rentals & Bella Acento // Paper suite & calligraphy: Letter Love Studio // MUAH: Amanda Carrette // Ring: Shapiro Diamonds // Model agency: Wallflower Management // Film processing: The FIND Lab // Featured on: Wedding Sparrow

Before I got married, people would often talk about how easy it was to become like roommates with your spouse rather than partners, passing each other like ships in the night. On an intellectual level, I believed them but since I wasn't married yet, I had no idea how easy it was to fall into that trap.

When two young busy people join their lives, it can be really easy to keep your separate schedules because you'll just see your husband/wife when you get home, right? Or you're both exhausted from a long day of work so you plop on the couch and eat your dinners while mindlessly binging on the newest Netflix series. Don't get me wrong: loving the same shows has been such a fun thing in our marriage but we have to be careful not to get to caught up in it.

I'm not even sure how we started this (pretty sure it was Travis's idea) but when we get home from work, we try to sit on the couch for as little or as much time as we need to touch base and process events that happened throughout the day. We do talk throughout the day but it's usually short, utilitarian conversations ("Can you stop and get bread?" "Did you pay the electric bill?") Sitting on the couch gives us the opportunity to take a deep breath and re-acquaint with each other. 

Is it a huge time commitment? Nope. Does it take a lot of effort? Sometimes. There are so many things constantly pulling for our attention but we make an effort to shut out the noise, even if it's just for five minutes, to reconnect. 

Now that I work from home, it's even more important for me to draw the boundary line of when I close the door on the home office and transition out of worker bee mode. Our daily "couch time" is a lot like my relationship with coffee -- I don't necessarily feel a zillion times better each and every time (though sometimes I do!) but if I go without it too long, I feel the withdrawal.

Do you and your spouse have daily touch points? I'd love to challenge you to try some couch time! It doesn't have to be anything monumental. Just a brief period of time with no phones and focusing on each other. Let me know how it goes!

I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to learn that when I was younger, I was always the girl with the camera. My friends and I would arrange photo shoots in our backyards and shoot rolls and rolls of film (cuz no one had a digital camera at that time besides the pros!) I loved dropping off the film to be developed and picking up the thick white envelopes full of prints and negatives. It was so fun to relive whatever memories the film had captured just a few days before. You know what I'm talking about -- someone blinked with a crazy look on their face or you captured the perfect mid-air jump on the trampoline.

I still have so many of those photos (organized by year with written descriptions and ages of everyone in the photo OBVIOUSLY) in my home office. I've said it once, I'll say it a million times: there is nothing like flipping through those tangible stories of my childhood.

You can imagine my excitement when I found out a few years ago that a lot of the photographers I followed and admired had started using film in their business. And y'all, it has come a long way from one-hour developing at CVS.

Film has a lot of benefits but many brides have no idea why someone would choose to shoot film over digital -- and sometimes, they have no idea what film is! (For reference, it's not video. It's the stuff we all used to put in our cameras before digital cameras burst on the scene in the early 2000s). 

Some brides get concerned when they hear their wedding photographer is going to shoot film at their wedding -- and I get it! We can't see the back of our camera and there's a lot that can happen to damage a roll of film. But if you're hiring a pro (and you should!), they will have safeguards in place to make sure that even if the worst happens, you have every aspect of your wedding documented beautifully.

NOTE: I do not shoot everything on film on a wedding day. I utilize digital all the time for numerous reasons (lighting, time constraints, etc.) but I always have digital backups of anything I shoot on film. Either I take the backup or I have my second shooter do it while I shoot film. Just thought I'd throw that out there so we're all on the same page.

Without further ado, here are some reasons why I personally love incorporating film into my work:

Film is timeless

Ever seen wedding photos of someone who got married in 2009? I bet the editing style is pretty different from what's popular today. Of course it's difficult to plan a wedding that won't look dated on some level but I would hate to look back in 10 years and have very dark, moody, and muddy images that are so 2017, ya know?

Film has a timeless look. That's why your parents wedding photos (aside from the hideous bridesmaids dresses) still look like they could've been taken today. No weird editing filters. 

Film captures most detail better than digital

What do I mean by this? Well, I'm going to try not to get overly technical here but basically on super bright days, if there's a lot of light behind you, because of the way the digital sensor works, the background will look almost white. The background is blown out. With film, because it is so hungry for light, I'm able to capture the couple and also all the pretty detail in the background.

​In the photo below, it would have been really hard to retain all the details in the clouds and ocean had I been shooting digital. But because of how film works, I was able to capture all of the texture.

Film also make skin tones look really pretty. Skin looks smooth and has a realistic color tone. With digital cameras, sometimes it can take a lot of editing to make uneven skin look even and like the right color. Digital sensors are more sensitive so skin tones are more likely to have colors casted from the environment (i.e., bright green grass can make your skin appear green).

Film has made me a better artist

Because each roll of film has a limited number of shots, it forces me to slow down and really think about what I'm shooting instead of just clicking the shutter rapidly. It helps me make sure your hair looks perfect and your husband's tie is straight because I don't want to have to reshoot it. Film is expensive so I think very carefully each time I compose an image.

Film has helped me see light differently (and better!) and I truly believe it's what has elevated my work over the past two years. I believe shooting film is one of the best ways I can serve my clients and provide them with beautiful romantic and timeless images. My clients tell me all the time that although they weren't sure about film at first, they absolutely love the look of their images on film!

Weddings like Ali and Jordan's was such a sweet reminder of why I do what I do. I photograph couples who are madly in love and tell the beginning of their marriage story, and the Corona wedding was no exception to that. 

Ali's joy radiated all morning. She was always asking if everyone was OK, if they needed anything, how they were feeling. When a bride is serving her bridesmaids and families that way, you just know she's going to make one heck of a wife.

I loved all the thoughtful details throughout their day. Ali is originally from Nashville and had a lot of her roots represented: Her sandals were from ethical fashion company, Nisolo, and their wedding rings were made by local jeweler Consider the Wildflwrs. 

Their whole wedding and every single person there was filled with joy, service, love, and grace. I can't tell you how many times I choked back tears during the day. Their ceremony was filled with worship and the people who gave toasts at the reception overflowed with encouragement and nothing but wonderful things to say about the two. I am so honored to have been welcomed into their families for the day to document the joining of these two into the newest Corona family.

Thank you just doesn't seem like enough to express how incredibly grateful I am to have been a part of their day. 

Vendor team:

Photography: Chelsea Q, White // Planning & coordination: Wedding Day Consultants // Venue: DaySpring Baptist Church // Bride's dress: Pronovias // Bridal boutique: White Dresses (Nashville) // Rings: Consider the Wildflwrs // Bride's shoes: Nisolo // Groom's suit: Stitch It & Co // Groomsmen suits: Combat Gent // Bridesmaids dresses: Azazie // MUAH: Stellar Beauty by Casey // Hairpiece: Ellen Hunter NYC // Floral design: Wolfe Florist // Cake: Tulip & Rain Bakery // Film processing: The FIND Lab