Erika and Danny’s Felton Ranch Driftwood Wedding

Come join me for a day at Felton Ranch on November 8th, 2024. This is a perfect day in almost any measurement; the sun is shining, it isn’t too hot (or too cold). Oh yeah, and Erika and Danny are gettin’ married!

This day was beautiful from start to finish. I first arrived in the morning to hang with Erika as she got ready in the cutest yurt. The yurt is located at Morning Star Farms, nestled in the Driftwood area of Texas Hill Country. Their sweet dog got to hang out with Erika as she got her hair and makeup done. From here we went to Felton Ranch where they began greeting their loved ones & setting up for the party!

They had their cocktail hour before the wedding ceremony. It is the best idea! Everyone got to mingle while enjoying snacks and drinks. By the time the ceremony started, the sun was setting under the live oak tree. The most romantic atmosphere was set as Danny and Erika made the walk down the aisle together. Marriage for them was a continuation of the beautiful journey they already began walking together a long time ago.

One moment they brings tears to my eyes even now is when they invited the matriarchs of their families to water their unity tree. Together they began this new growth with a watering from their loved ones who started the paths that led to Erika & Danny’s union.

I will let the photographs speak for themselves as a testament to the beauty of the people and love Erika & Danny surround themselves with. It was a night full of pure joy that I know will continue for the rest of their wonderful lives together!

A Wedding with No Formal Photos

They chose to structure their day around intentionally connecting with others, creating space for authentic moments to unfold organically, and being fully present. To them, this looked like absolutely NO formal photos, outside of a 30 minute allotted timeframe to get some formal smiling photos with those closest to them. Every single photograph you seen here was not directed, posed, or planned- just the day happening naturally. It was my first time undertaking this so I am pretty dang proud of all the beautiful moments I got to witness & capture.

This is very abnormal from a typical request I get as a photographer, so I was of course a bit nervous. I love being intentional & present, both when helping couples take photos and within my personal life. That said, it can be hard for me to unlearn things that were taught to me from my very first wedding. For example, wedding photo timelines! I promise everywhere you look you’ll find ‘why you need a wedding timeline’ blog post. This is for a good reason; knowing what your day will look like helps you plan accordingly. It tells your makeup artist when they should start your makeup, it helps you think about things you value (like a first look), etc.

Having no plan or structure on your wedding day can lead to feeling stressed all day, or like you are constantly missing where you’re supposed to be. However do not mistake choosing not to have a timeline full of photos, as not having structure or a plan to your day. You get to spend your day how you want.

How to Ditch a Photo Timeline, Intentionally

Erika & Danny approached this topic with SO much care and intention. Throughout the wedding planning process they asked themselves “How do I want to feel at this moment?” then planned around that. When they thought of their wedding gallery & what they would like to see out of it, they told me they wanted real photos of all the people they love. Laughing, dancing, smiling, crying, hugging, and everything in between. The thing I find that people don’t realize when they ask for these photographs is that in order to capture moments like these, they have to actually happen.

You can’t spend 30 minutes taking photos of you in your dress, 30 minutes on the groom’s suit, an hour doing family photos, then an hour doing bridal party photos, another hour doing couples portraits, then go into 4 speeches that take 20 minutes, then do a first dance, then do all the other formal dances, and expect to somehow have 4 hours worth of candids on the dance floor.

Sure you can hire a second shooter, but how does the second shooter capture you and your childhood best friend hugging if you are actually outside still taking photos? I have cracked the code on figuring out how to get two of me (hello to my beloved second shooters). Unfortunately, I haven’t cracked the code on how *you* can be in two place at once on your wedding day.

Not everyone will enjoy this approach, and that’s okay; it was perfect for Erika & Danny. I hope that this post finds you if you are overwhelmed with the concept of taking photos all day. Please see this gallery & know that you can still have a beautiful gallery without filling it full of photo-time!

Felton Ranch November Wedding Gallery with Erika & Danny

Erika & Danny’s Wedding Vendors

It was an honor to work alongside these wonderful people and come together to help celebrate Erika and Danny’s union. They selected the people that they brought into their day with so much thought & care. It was truly an honor to get to be a part of such a wonderful celebration.

The lovely Austin venue and host of this event was Felton Ranch located at 1100 Lanier Ranch Rd, Driftwood, TX 78619.

Coordination by Events in a Crunch to help make the set-up of allllll the details +vendors as seamless as possible.

Their invitation suite was designed, hand drawn, and curated by the couple Erika & Danny- that’s right, they are artistic geniuses!

Musical vibes curated by Strawberry Jams Vinyl; they don’t usually do weddings, but Erika was persistent 😉

Hair & Make Up Artists : Hill Country Bridal Stylists and Luxe by Lexi

Flower Design by Mother Flower Design

The equal parts delicious and beautiful cake by their friend Sherry Lim who owns Bakersology.

They spent the night prior + got ready on their wedding morning at Wandering Star Farms, in their super cute Yurts!