whimsical riverside wedding in new braunfels, texas

riverside hill country wedding // new braunfels, texas // outdoor wedding photography // www.abbihearne.com

I mean, where do I even begin with Katie + Rayan's gorgeous, intimate, outdoorsy wedding? I'll start with the happy dance I did when Katie told me they were going to be kayaking away for their send-off, and another happy dance when she showed me the venue a few months before the wedding and said she wanted to take portraits IN the river, and yet another when she + Rayan explained their love for nature and the outdoors and that they wanted the wedding to highlight their love of God and his creation. Dream couple! We had so much fun with them at their engagement session back in January that we were really looking forward to their wedding day.

Callen actually shot video for their wedding (his first wedding video! We're considering adding this to our business!) so I had my good friend Elizabeth Jones (remember her?) join us as our second shooter. Callen had so much fun shooting and editing this video! We're thankful for friends like Katie + Rayan to push our creative limits and insist on being Callen's first videography clients! Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to watch what he made.

Considering how focused on the outdoors they were, you'd think Katie would've been bummed out when it started POURING rain during their first look (and kept raining until the ceremony!) but Katie, quite literally, chose to stay positive and dance in the rain! They improvised and moved the ceremony inside, but the large windows still allowed for a gorgeous outdoor backdrop and thankfully the rain let up enough for outdoor portraits and festivities following the ceremony! So, let's just say that when Katie told me she wanted photos in the river, I pictured her lifting her dress and sticking her feet in. Well, never one to be shy, Katie went for it and let her dress flow in the water!! Photographer's dream. The water was so refreshing and we truly had a blast getting creative with their portraits! Katie and Rayan, you two have been such a joy to work with. I would be sad that your wedding is over, but I know we'll spend time together in the future and I'm sure we'll run in to each other on numerous adventures - be it in Canada, Texas, or the Middle East!