Monica + Ian – The Evoke Studio

Houston Portrait Photography – The Evoke Studio:
Did you know there are several advantages to doing your bridal session in the Evoke Studio? To start off with, studio sessions are included for FREE in all of our photography collections. We think that’s a pretty great starting point! When doing your session in studio you don’t have to worry about the weather. Rain or shine, we’ll be ready to capture the perfect bridal images! We also offer several accommodations to make sure your time with us is fun, enjoyable and comfortable. Does your hair and makeup artist only work on location? We have a dressing room with them in mind! A large mirror with vanity lights provides the perfect environment to make sure your look is spot on. Need to have your bouquet dropped off early by your florist? Not a problem! We have a fridge located in the dressing room to properly store your flowers until your arrival. Not to mention plenty of cold, bottled water to keep you hydrated during the shoot.

Six weeks before her wedding, Monica took advantage of all these great features the studio has to offer. With simple yet sophisticated backgrounds, Monica’s personality was able to shine through and take center stage during her shoot. We got so many great laughs and smiles from her! Monica was able to easily show off her playful side – and let’s not forget to mention those amazing shoes she wore! Tell us what you think of Monica’s modern, playful session in the Evoke studio with your comments below!

The Studio lets Monica's personality shine through!

We got some great laughs out of Monica during her session!

This chair is one of several props in the Studio

Another fun moment in the Studio

A background and prop alternative in the Studio

Monica shows off her beautiful ring

2011 Summer Bridal Tour – Full Length Video

Houston Bridal Portrait Photography – EVOKE 2011 Summer Bridal Tour:
Now that the summer is quickly coming to an end, we wanted to share with you the final piece in our efforts of pioneering a new direction in bridal portrait photography. One thing that we’re passionate about just as much as taking pictures is putting those images into motion. Ethan, our talented and creative videographer, captured our journey from start to finish that late June day and highlighted some of our most memorable moments to share with you. And what a journey it was! What started out as a simple idea soon became reality and a great collaborative effort between some of Houston’s top vendors in the wedding industry. Our day would not have been complete without the help of Thalio Beckham Makeup Artistry, Dream Bouquet, Platinum Limo Services Inc. and the Bayou Lofts downtown. We also had great supportive efforts from Specs in Conroe and manager, Kevin Daniel, Almaza Jewelers, BeautyFirst, Dromgoole’s, Monica Seymour Hair Designs, Maison de Mode, Papyrus and Richard’s Fine Wine and Liquor. And what is a bridal tour without brides? We cannot thank our three brides enough for their enthusiasm in this project and their willingness to go great heights (literally!) to promote our creative visions. To Amanda, Leilani and Schande – Thank you for being the stars of our shoot and the first brides in hopefully many more to come to share our passion for developing new and inventive ways of showcasing bridal portrait photography. Though this is the last piece of our first bridal tour, it is just the beginning of what Evoke has in store for the future! We hope you enjoy the video and we look forward to reading your comments and feedback!

Laura + Daniel – St. Laurence Catholic Church & Sweetwater Country Club

Houston Wedding Photography – St. Laurence Catholic Church & Sweetwater Country Club:
This week’s “Wedding of the Week” features images from St. Laurence Catholich Church and Sweetwater Country Club. Check them out below!
When it came time for Laura and Daniel to unite, Laura knew she wanted to keep her wedding day traditional. But having a traditional wedding doesn’t mean your special day has to look and feel like all the other weddings you see in the bridal magazines. With personal and unique touches added, Laura and Daniel’s day was anything other than cookie-cutter.
And this all started with amazing images captured of her wedding dress. While searching Ventura’s vast selection of wedding gowns, Laura came across her flower-adorned dress, designed by Mori Lee, that was a perfect fit for her and complemented her personal style. Evoke was sure to photograph the special elements of this dress for the bride to treasure long after the gown has been tucked away into the far ends of her closet. To complete the look, Laura added a garter belt and veil, both handmade by her mother, to the day’s ensemble.
Part of the classic wedding day traditions that the bride included during the pre-ceremony moments was having her mother place a sixpence in her left shoe for good luck. And with bouquet in hand from Suzanne’s Flowers in Sugar Land, it was now time for Laura to walk down the aisle of St. Laurence Catholic Church to the alter where Daniel waited beneath the beautiful stained glass windows. These stained glass windows at St. Laurence Catholic Church are always a favorite detail for our photographers to capture as they provide great backgrounds for our album designs and not only help to tell the story of the wedding day, but tell a story within themselves. After a traditional full mass ceremony, the bride and groom were now husband and wife and were quickly making their way to the elegantly decorated reception at Sweetwater Country Club.
Jennifer from Sweetwater Country Club assisted the happy couple in transforming the ballroom into a fun and luxurious event for their guests, who danced the night away to music provided by JM Productions. After a little dancing, dinner was soon completed with a slice of delicous cake from Cake Affairs & Culinary Creations. Based on how great the photographs of the cake look, we can only imagine the wonderful taste of the sweet treat!
And finally, the bouquet and garter toss brought the afternoon at Sweetwater Country Club to a close as the bride and groom made their way through the bubble exit and in to the awaiting car.
Be sure to leave your comments below and let us know what you think of these amazing images from St. Laurence Catholic Church and Sweetwater Country Club!

The beautiful and unique details captured from Laura's wedding day gown at St. Laurence Catholic Church.

Traditional full mass ceremony at St. Laurence Catholic Church

Stained glass windows at St. Laurenece Catholic Church

Bouquet and other floral arrangements from Suzanne's Flowers at their reception held at Sweetwater Country Club

Toasting to their future during the reception at Sweetwater Country Club!

Delicious cake from Cake Affairs & Culinary Creations during their reception at Sweetwater Country Club

A bubble exit at Sweetwater Country Club

2011 EVOKE Summer Bridal Tour

Houston Bridal Portrait Photography – EVOKE 2011 Summer Bridal Tour:
Is that a gold couch you’re seeing in the middle of an alleyway in downtown Houston? Yes, it is! And you can bet that only Evoke can pull off something like that! This summer we wanted to do something to not only challenge our creativity but really push the limits on bridal portrait photography. We invited three of our brides to meet this challenge head on with us, and boy, what an amazing job they did! Leilani and Amanda were newly married, Leilani in March and Amanda in April. And at the time of the shoot, Schande was yet to be married and all three brides were wearing their actual wedding dresses. So not only were we testing our creativity but we also had to keep Schande’s dress clean before her big day. And wouldn’t you know it, it rained the day of the shoot! The total rainfall for the year had been at an all-time low and the one day we were actually hoping it wouldn’t rain, it did. But being Evoke photographers and team members, we didn’t let that get us down or stop our plans. The first item on our agenda for the day was getting our brides ready for their close-ups! We had the amazing team of Thalio Beckham Makeup Artistry getting our brides all dolled up for the session. Thalio, Jessica, Robin and Hilda wowed us with their awesome hair and makeup talents, which you can clearly see in the images. And by the time Platinum Limo Services showed up with their stretch Hummer Limo to drive us to the Bayou Lofts on Franklin Street in downtown Houston, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining. (We’d like to think it was Mark with Platinum Limo that gave the sun a ride with him to our studio!) With bouquets in hand provided by Dream Bouquet, Leilani, Amanda and Schande began the photo shoot in the alleyway of the Bayou Lofts and as the sun was setting, we made our way up to the rooftop for an amazing view of the city skyline. To finish up our day of shooting, we headed over to Sabine Street to get some impressive nighttime photos with the Hummer Limo. And waiting back at the studio for the brides were surprise gift bags filled with treats and discounts from Almaza Jewelers, BeautyFirst, Dromgoole’s, Monica Seymour Hair Designs, Maison de Mode, Papyrus and Richard’s Fine Wine and Liquor. All in all, we’d say it was a pretty good day! How would you like the opportunity to be a part of the next Bridal Tour? Leave us a comment below and let us know if you’d like to participate!

Only Evoke can pull off a gold couch in the middle of the Bayou Lofts alleyway!

Amanda, Leilani and Schande did an amazing job during the Summer Bridal Tour!

Bayou Lofts has the best looking alleyway in Houston!

With all three brides in their wedding dresses, you can guarantee there was no diving on the Bayou Lofts Rooftop pool!

The amazing Downtown Houston skyline!

A beautiful sunset on the Bayou Lofts Roof in Downtown Houston!

Platinum Limo took the Evoke brides to Downtown Houston on Sabine Street to finish up our tour.

How to Prepare for your Bridal Session

Houston Wedding Photography – Portrait Photography Tips:
Here is Part II of our Bridal Blog….

Ladies!!! Here is where the Fun begins!! Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of stuff to do the day of your Bridal Session but it can be fun if you plan for EVERYTHING!

The Important Details
Expect delays in your Hair/Makeup appointments and for Traffic on the commute in between appointments. The last thing you want is to arrive to your session stressed and in a bad mood.  (We all know that the commute in Houston can be stressful). Oh and here is something big. YOU HAVE TO EAT!! Too many girls stress and starve themselves the day of the Bridal session. No Good. We don’t want you to get sick and not feel good. You have worked hard to get to this point, eat a cheeseburger, you deserve it! Actually a healthy meal is suggested so that you feel great! Also, another tip, drink plenty of fluids the day before the session, this can improve your skin texture. Oh and get a good nights rest the night before your session!! Do I sound like your mom yet?

The Hairstyle and Makeup
Your hair and make-up…  don’t get crazy!! If it is completely not your style don’t do it! True, you will only be a bride once and want to stand out but something completely out of your comfort zone could cause you to not like the way you look. If your going to bring the Bee Hive back, at least love it!! Light eye shadow will bring your eyes forward and your beautiful eyes are definitely something we want to highlight in your Bridal session. If you have never worn fake eyelashes before and plan to, cool but do a trial run to make sure you like the results. Please be aware that make up with glitter in it tends to leave white specks on your face in photographs when a flash is used. When it comes to your Tan, please be careful not to get burnt before your session. When tanning remember that if you are wearing a strapless dress the lines will show so adjust accordingly. Lotions that have glitter in them look great on you, not so great in photographs; it tends to make specks on your skin in the photos. Also, please keep in mind that your hands and toes could be in some photographs so use it as an excuse to treat yourselves to a Manicure and Pedicure.  (As if we need an excuse, right?)

Don’t forget to bring
Things you might need at your session. 1. Someone to help you finish getting ready (Mothers, friends and sisters love being part of your Bridal Session). It is fun to have someone there to oooohhh and ahhhh at your beauty!  2. Make up for touch ups, Hairspray, bottled water (it gets hot being a model ),
Props (let’s add some of your personality, if you feel like it), Bouquet (if it is too big and heavy during your session have your florist adjust the size for your wedding day), accessories, etc. Something that is important to note is that your dress needs to be wrinkle free. Professional Cameras pick up everything and if there are excessive wrinkles in your dress it will show! This goes for your ring too, if you haven’t taken it off since he popped the question make sure that it is clean enough for a close up.

The Session
Expect to be in the session for approx. an hour, this is just enough time for you to get a lot of great stuff. During your session we are going to use many different poses as well as backgrounds. For the outdoor sessions we will bring a sheet out so that we do not get your dress dirty by putting it on the ground. There is a fair amount of patience involved as we are going to be adjusting your dress a lot and making sure everything is perfect all while taking several of the same pose to insure that we got the shot.

The Photos
It is important that you communicate with your photographer on the day of the session. If you are placed in front of a background that you know you don’t care for or is not the style you are going for, don’t be shy, tell us! We are here to make you happy and would like to know if there are things that you do not like. We are your friend and like to know things like: I do not like my profile. I do not like angled pictures, I am very traditional, etc. At EVOKE we want to make sure that you are 110% satisfied with all of your images and are open to any suggestions/requests that you have so please communicate any of your thoughts with us on the day of your session and prior to your wedding. We hope that you find these tips helpful and most importantly want you to have a great time at your Bridal Session!