These shots are at my 4800 Burnet office, inside DNA Events. Since this is a shared office space, sometimes a few other wedding vendors schedule meetings, and to avoid conflict, just give me a call at 512.712.5842, or send me an email.

During the meeting we will talk about your upcoming wedding.  I want to learn about how you met each other, your wedding color schemes, some family traditions, and any special details you are planning.  I’ll show you  several complete weddings, and usually at least one at your venue.  You can of course as me any question you want, take a look at sample albums, and see if our personalities click.

And the best part is that it’s centrally located, just 3 blocks north of 45th and Burnett and tons of parking in the back.  Can’t wait to see you here

Front of the office (as seen from the street)

Comfy and private meeting area

View sample wedding albums

This is the best seat in the house

My unique business cards

Examples of big framed wedding prints

Photographer meeting space

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The beginning stages of the bride getting ready - by Austin wedding photographer, Eric Hegwer.

The arrival of the mothers.

Two mirrors only

The wedding dress makes it's first appearance

Finishing touches on the eyes

The wedding iron, and the backup wedding iron

Notes between the bride and groom were exchanged

Reading the note from her future husband

DIY wedding bouquets

The dress hugged the body, and elegantly flared out at the bottom

What leg does the garter go on? In this case the left leg.

Getting ready pictures

everybody helps get the bride ready. I really really like it when everybody is dressed before the bride. The photos are so much better if you aren't wearing sweats in the shots.

Simple flat white wedding sheos with a bow

Getting ready for your wedding

putting on the earrings

adjust the veil

all ready for the wedding

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So if you want a classic car to make a fast get away from your wedding, take a look and then give them a call.  Don’t forget to tell your photographer, and make some time for an impromptu photo session with the car, too.  You won’t regret it!

1959 Jaguar Mark IX Saloon at Villa Antonia

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A wedding portrait on the steps of the Mansion on Judges Hill

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You see, every spring, this couple had a housewarming.  It was a nice affair at their home, fully catered, and pretty low key.  Just a way to get together, and see each other at least once a year.  But over the years this particular spring fling had grown to around 200 guests:  family from around the country, friends, business associates, and even the neighbors were invited.

Of all the guests only a handful of us knew what was going on.  Of course the caterers knew because they were hiding the wedding cake.  And the band knew, because they were going to interrupt the set with the wedding march, as the couple came down the back steps of their house to be married by a minister who was hiding in the garage until the moment arrived.  And I was instructed not to tell anyone what was going on, and to be sure to get lots of reaction shots of the guests as people began to figure out what was really happening.

Boy oh Boy!  let me tell you.  It was absolutely incredible to see the expressions on people’s faces as they realized what was going on.  Nobody had any idea this was going to happen.  Not mom.  Not even the bride’s best friend.   Nobody knew this was a surprise wedding.

This wedding started out as just a regular spring party. Adult Pink Lemonade was the signature cocktail.

There was tons of great food. Lobster egg rolls were passed as appetizers.

Gourmet sliders were grilled on the back patio BBQ

When you come to Austin, you might see someone playing washers, a game similar to horseshoes

Cold drinks were on hand to keep everyone refreshed

Over time, guests knew to dress-up for this annual party.

This is Austin, so of course there was live music.

Mom's reaction when she realized her daughter had changed into a wedding dress.

This is the moment when everyone learned this was more than a regular spring party. The band began playing the wedding march, and the bride and groom came down their back stairs together.

The bride's best friend, who was pointed out to me earlier, didn't even know.

The expressions on the guests was priceless!

The couple had simple handwritten vows.

The couple had simple handwritten vows.

I think it was a relief to finally let everyone know

Here's the happy couple. We decided to do the wedding portrait on the very steps where everyone learned about the wedding.

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Hi – I understand your concern about the situation at Barr Mansion, and I want to help any way I can.  I’ve personally visited the grounds and spoken with the owners, and want to re-assure you that your wedding will be perfect!

Last night a very very sad thing happened.  The Austin metro area was having one of the late spring thunderstorms that are so common this time of year.  Unfortunately, during last night’s storm a bolt of lightning struck Barr Mansion and the ballroom caught on fire and was destroyed.

Not only is this a tragedy for the wedding venue, and all the brides who were planning their wedding there, but also all the couples who got married in the magnificent ballroom that was one of the gems of the Austin Wedding community.

Immediately upon hearing the news, I headed out to talk with the owners and see if there was anything I could do to help.  Upon arrival, as the fire crews were just finishing mopping up, I was greeted by Abby and her father, and several of the absolute best wedding pros in the Area.  Damon, the owner of Marquee Rents had already measured the grounds and was arranging for new tents for this weekends weddings.

The great news about this situation, it is that the rest of the grounds are OK.  The old victorian house was spared, as was all the additional buildings.  Only the ballroom was destroyed.  Everything else is in perfect condition.  The old pecan tree is still standing, and the rose garden looks absolutely beautiful this spring.

Barr mansion was the first wedding venues in the country to obtain USDA organic green certification.  They were a Zero Waste facility recycling 97% of all garbage generated.  They were featured in numerous magazines, from Martha Stewart Weddings, to Texas Monthly, and everything in between.

After talking with everyone, I learned that Barr Mansion has already made arrangements for all the upcoming weddings.  The couples that were scheduled to wed this weekend have all been contacted and arrangements (and even upgrades) are in the works.

I know that right now things seem tough, but I am also confident, that in the near future, Barr Mansion will rebuild and be even better than before.

Most of the building is hidden behind the landscaping

The ballroom was completely destroyed.

Fire at Barr Mansion

The ballroom was still smoldering when I arrived

The victorian house was undamaged, and the owners were already planning how to take care of all the clients.

This is where the tent will go for all the scheduled weddings at Barr Mansion

All the other buildings at the venue were untouched, and remain perfect.

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I know everyone talks about copywright, and licensing pictures, and stuff, but I have a different take on it. These are wedding photos. Joyous, exciting, FUN! They are to be shared, commented on, and viewed by everyone. Not just stuck on a CD somewhere collecting dust. Now please keep in mind that each photographer is different, and many are not as liberal as I am with picture releases.

From my perspective there are two kinds of pictures – High-Rez and Low Rez.

High Resolution pictures are the kinds that make great prints.  ALL the digital data is stored in the picture.  The load slow over the internet, and make most computers grind to a halt.  They are usually 300 DPI, around 2000 pixels long, and around 3+ megabytes in size.

Low Resolution Pictures – are more lightweight.  The file size is smaller, and they load super fast over the internet.  Specifically, low rez photos are around 72 DPI,  900 px long, and about 100K.  When printed they look all pixelated and grainy.

Here’s the strange thing:  Both High and Low resolution photos look exactly the same on a standard computer monitor.  You can’t tell which is which unless you look at the get info for the picture.

So how do I make it easy for you to download and post pictures on Facebook.  Here’s how!

This is the thumbnail view of a wedding gallery

Every bride gets a password protected wedding gallery.  This is the starting point for sharing wedding pictures.  You can view all your wedding, e-pics, and bridals here in an easy to navigate, organized way.

When you start out looking at the gallery, you are in the thumbnail view – this is when there are 25 photos per page, in a small size, so you can quickly view the pictures.  Each picture has a unique file name so you can easily identify each shot.

To navigate to the next page of 25 pictures click the grey next button, or use the pull down 1-25 menu to find the next batch.  I usually organize all the photos in the order they were taken, so it’s easy to find the exact picture you want.  The first beginning of the gallery has all the getting ready photos, the middle has the ceremony and formals, and the end is the reception.  At the very, very, end of the gallery are all the detail wedding shots.  I’ve found that by moving in batches of 25 or 50 it is super easy to jump around and find the exact picture you want to view.

Then when you do locate your favorite, simply click on the thumbnail to make the picture bigger.

Sample of a large image in the wedding gallery

The screen changes a little bit and offers some additional features.

The photo is bigger but you can still use the previous and next buttons to navigate, or you can click the name of the couple to go back to the gallery thumbnail view.

The photo has my blue circular logo (watermark) in the bottom left corner.  I do this because some people do screen grabs, instead of downloading the image.  That’s cool with me, but you get a better quality image if you download it instead of doing a screen grab.

Why do I have a watermark?  Because sometimes people forget to credit me with a link back to my website.

There are three grey boxes above the photo with some additional choices: Add to lightbox, add to cart, and download image.  Each of these choices is pretty straightforward.  Since this is a set of instructions about putting the pictures on Facebook, you will want to click the Download image button.

download image from gallery

Click the blue 500 pixel link to download

Then a pop-up window opens and asks you if you want to download the picture.  Click the blue

>> 500 pixels (may be watermarked)

link and the picture will be saved on your computer in whatever location you specify.

Now just do this for all the pics you want.  I don’t care if you do your three favorites, or the several hundred that are in the gallery.

Once you get all the photos you want, you can create a Facebook wedding gallery by logging into your Facebook account and uploading all the wedding pictures to the gallery.  I really like it when you mention Eric Hegwer Photography in the description, and be sure to spell everything correctly, too (not like me).

please add the text Eric Hegwer Photography in the description box

After you’ve uploaded the gallery be sure to share it with all your friends, and tag, and comment away!  You can even share a link to your gallery on my Eric Hegwer Photography Facebook Page, and talk about the pictures in the discussion section.

Here’s my whole philosophy – It’s your wedding, they are your wedding photos. You have hired me to capture all the details, and do a job for you. That’s what I do. You are too busy getting married to take pictures yourself (I’m sure you would if you could), so you need a photographer. That’s what I’m here for.

Now legally I still maintain copyright. But the couple gets an unlimited print release for personal use, and the rest of the images are covered under a creative commons license for wedding photography. With a Creative Commons license, I keep your copyright but allow people to copy and distribute my work provided they give you credit.

What kind of credit do I ask for? I’ve broken it down into three categories:

1. Low Rez Photo with watermark – FREE, but my logo is on the photo.
2. Low Rez – No watermark – These cost $1.99, and you need to buy them by adding them to your cart.  The cost is to cover my server costs, and bandwith.  Just like iTunes.  And you don’t need to give me credit when you pay for a photo.  You are buying the use of it
3. High Rez wedding photos are provided to the bride and groom on their wedding disc, and don’t have a watermark.

Questions, comments?  Let me know in the comment section below.

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That’s why third party reviews count. Reviews from previous brides. Reviews from established services like the Better Business Bureau.

Today, I learned I had been accepted into the BBB. It’s a big deal. My Austin Wedding Photography business has been checked out from top to bottom, and the information I provide has been deemed accurate and honest. Here are a few of the standards I had to meet to gain accreditation:

• Building Trust
• Honest Advertising
• Accurately represent products and services
• Embody Integrity
• Address disputes professionally and in good faith
• and Safeguard Privacy

We’ve all heard the wedding photography  horror stories on the nightly news.  Some studio charges thousands of dollars and then never delivers the wedding pictures.  I can guarantee that won’t ever happen.  The accreditation procedure investigated me for the last 5 years, and I haven’t ever received a single complaint.  Yep, that’s over 300 happy brides and grooms, and counting.

But don’t believe me, click the logo below to check out my review for yourself.

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What he should have said is none of the above.

Each and every wedding I photograph is full of joy, and there are so many little details planned out by the couple to make their big day special.  But his wedding was different – from the watermelon that was served before the ceremony to the Dia Del las Muertas cake toppers at the end, everywhere I turned there was something unique, and individual to these two.  But these details didn’t make it special.

Each and every guest, from their family who lived locally, to their friends that flew in from each coast, fully supported this union in both spirit and actions.  There was dancing, and hugging, tears and laughter.  Every emotion was expressed in the name of Joy.

Thanks Gordon & Kamara for allowing me to be a part of your wedding.  I’ll never forget it.

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If she looks familiar to you, it’s because you’ve been stalking my blog and saw her bridal portraits in a previous post.

Lavender Roses, arranged in a beautiful wedding bouquet

Some great candid moments at a wedding.

A bit of refreshment.

The bride and groom at Nature's Point

Dancing at a wedding

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