There are a list of things in life that stress a photographer out, especially if you are mainly a natural light photographer, which is what I am. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve spent my time with OCF (off camera flash) and studio lighting, but it’s just not my jam and honestly I don’t want to store and lug lights around on a daily basis. If you’re a OCF Photographer.. congrats and mad props.. it’s just not my jam.

Anyway back to the list of stress for a photographer. I was trying to say the top stress as a natural light photographer is RAIN! Back in November I had a bridal session on the books with a bride that I have been working with for about a year. She had scheduled her hair and makeup trial, reserved the venue space for bridals and everything was in place until it started raining the day before and there was no plan of it stopping in time for our session.

Normally I would reschedule but with so many factors in place, rescheduling was not the option, so I began reaching out to indoor venues and different places that could house and host us all while creating a great background for bridals. I hit several dead ends until I 2 min conversation I had at a previous wedding popped in my head. I was talking to a vendor at another wedding and they mention this new intimate event space and AirBNB in New Braunfels. After a few min of mom brain and trying hard to remember the name, I found the website for it and contacted the owner. After about an hour the owner contacted me back and we set everything up.

I knew from looking at their website that West River House was going to be a great second option for bridals just from the images and info I had seen on their website but once we got there and saw the property it proved to be the better option then what was originally planed.

The owner of West River House is a kind gentlemen by the name of Kurt with impeccable taste in art and photography. When I arrived as the bride was getting ready he took me on a tour and it was like stepping into the fountain of youth as a creative. I became so inspired. Everywhere you turned there was something new and exciting. The exterior of the house is inspired by a famous covered bridge over the West River in West Dummerston, Vermont. It is located on Lake Dunlap with great spaces for rehearsal dinners, intimate weddings or just vacationing in luxury.

As an artist I try to study and creatively prepare for sessions long before I walk into one. For this session I originally planned on open fields, livestock and blue skies. Don’t get me wrong that would have been fun and gorgeous but clearly the big man had other ideas. Thankfully my bride trusted me completely and we took a totally different route.

If you’ve watched any of Netflix’s popular Historical Dramas over the last year you’ll easily see where the inspiration for these images came from. I’ll leave those shows up to your guessing. This session has become one of my favorites for sure and it reminded me why I love photography so much. Before I show you the photos special thanks to Laura for trusting me to photograph her bridals in a unique way and thanks to Kurt and his team for opening this gorgeous space to us at such short notice!