SILVIA + JAVIER engagement session | mission, texas

I have been working on a new project lately and was in need of a lovely couple to model for my camera a few weeks ago. Due to an overwhelming response for a last minute casting call, I met a few couples who gave me their time. Silvia and Javier were one of those generous couples who happen to be recently engaged and dreaming of a lovely beach wedding. The two of them and I have also previously met and we didn't realize until the day of our session. Perhaps it was meant to be ;) 

I photographed their friend's wedding (Christina & Marco!) a few years ago and Javier even served as a groomsman. So they have technically been in front of my camera before and I suppose that is why it was so easy to photograph them this time. I'm glad to have met up with them again and captured them at a very special time in their lives. 

Their session took place at La Munequita Ranch in Mission, Texas. The location is lovely and undergoing some renovations. It's been a favorite place of mine and I always enjoy going back. 

Congratulations Silvia and Javier! I hope you both are enjoying the wedding planning!

AIDA + JOVI a classic wedding | donna, texas

Some of my clients request a date with me way over a year in advance and others call and ask for a date right around the corner. Aida gave me call on a Wednesday morning and said she was getting married that weekend - wow! Thankfully I was more than ready and available ;) Jovi and Aida were married a few weeks ago and I have been wanting to share their images for over a month now. Thankfully, now that I am back to blogging I can share my favorites with you. 

These two love birds were quite and a little timid on the moments leading up to the moment they said I do. It was utterly romantic and very intimate the way they glanced at each other and smiled throughout their ceremony. After they said I do, the celebration was ready to commence and both Jovi and Aida were ready to start the rest of their lives together as one. 

It wasn't until after I was delivering their wedding collection that I finally realized and remembered I did attend high school with the beautiful bride. Honestly, I have the faultiest of memories at times.

Congratulations Aida and Jovi! I am honored to have photographed your wedding day. I wish you both an amazing marriage full of health, love, and blessings. 

Happy Monday Friends!

ADRIANA + MANNY engagement session | mission, texas

Adriana and I have known each other for a few years after meeting in college. As my sorority sister, I saw Adri often throughout my junior and senior year. Now that we have grown up, it is truly beautiful to watch my beautiful sorority sisters marry and become mothers. Adriana and Manny have recently become engaged and are planning their own fairy tale wedding. 

I have photographed Adri before for senior portraits when she graduated from the University a couple of years ago so it was nice to have her back in front of my camera once again. She is a natural and Manny was as well. They were so easy to photograph and possess such natural qualities in their personalities. They are quiet, observant and very funny to be around. 

Adri and Manny, congratulations on your engagement! I wish you both all the blessings as you prepare to join together as husband and wife. Be blessed!

ZAYRA + IVAN a courthouse elopement | brownsville, texas

These past few weeks have been filled with some seriously romantic and intimate weddings. This was my second time photographing a courthouse elopement at the Cameron County Courthouse in Brownsville, Texas. It is amazing to witness the love two people share between each other on their wedding day. Whether large, opulent, and lavish or small, quiet and simple, each wedding that I am a part of allows me to create tangible memories for my clients.

Congratulations to the newest Mr. & Mrs!

Zayra and Ivan were married in a truly intimate ceremony a warm Friday morning in Brownsville, Texas. They chose to have their small courthouse wedding photographed and I am delighted that they chose me to document such a special moment. Thank you both for letting me do what I enjoy most. Congratulations on your marriage and may you continue to be blessed!

NEW BLOG!

Please follow the new blog :) www.marisolizaguirreblog.com

Hugs!

Starting Fresh.

Howdy my beloved friends!

After much consideration, I have decided to start fresh with my photography blog. It's been a decision I have long been contemplating and it finally excites me to begin writing and blogging once again. There are a couple of reasons that have pushed me in this direction and I thought, in the spirit of honesty which is what made my blogging so personal in the past, I'd share them with you.

My photography blog served a purpose: sharing my most recent work and aspects of my life which inherently showed the progression of my life both professionally and personally. It's always been easy for me to intertwine the both of them because I am, after all, my business. Part of what makes running my photography studio is being myself. My clients choose me because they make a connection with me and I pride myself on that. But the past year, 2012, to be exact, both my professional and personal life took me for a roller-coaster ride. The trip, filled with both positive and negative, has drastically changed my life. And since my life and all that entails in it makes me who I am, it also impacts the type of photographer I become. 

The negative events kept me from wanting to share all the positives on this blog for one simple reason: fear. 

I feared that by sharing all the great, wonderful and amazing things in my life I would be opening the door for someone to step back in and ruin it or, much worse, take it all away from me. Oh Marisol, quit being so dramatic... 

My blog shows a progression of my work, the things I have learned, from the very beginning. It also shares a lot about the personal aspects of my life and it, too, shows how I have grown as a person. It is for this reason that I heavily contemplated deleting it completely. I want to be able to look back and see how far I have come but I also wanted to metaphorically break free from some of the past. 

Am I being selfish?

I don't know. What I do know, however, is that I finally feel like I am getting back on track. The past cannot hurt me; I have to let go of that fear. Things happen for a reason and the most important thing I have learned is forgiveness.

I saw this quote on line last week and it seemed to open my eyes and heart to something I thought I knew...

"Forgiveness doesn't excuse their behavior. Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart." #beyondordinary

I am unaware where the quote originates. If you know, please feel free to let me know so I can properly give credit. 

In my heart, secretly for the most part, I have spent the last year fighting my blessings and happiness with a lot of hurt and anger deep inside my heart. I whined and complained to my closest loved ones about the emotions I felt. 

So here it is, out in the open and finally leaving my chest.

I was angry that I ever allowed someone to hurt me.
I was angry that I fell in love once and trusted only to be tormented.
I was angry that I lost some of my most beloved friends I once considered family.
I was angry that my once best friend could so severely turn on me.
I was angry that a simple no could not keep me away from anything.
I was angry that I could not stand up for myself directly.
I was angry that I didn't know how to stand up for myself.
I was angry that I was fearful of a ringing phone.
I was angry that I felt my life was crumbling in front of me and I couldn't see the love I felt.
I was angry that allowed myself to still care when I should have focused on taking care of myself.
I was angry that I was shouting and no one could hear my voice.
I was angry that I worked so hard to build this business and had to let a lot of it go.
I was angry that didn't know how to deal with the crazy.
I was angry that someone could so easily use your concepts, your thoughts, your wordings, your self.
I was angry that everything seemed to be moving forward for the world and yet I felt stuck.
I was angry that I couldn't so openly share so many of the blessings I enjoyed.
I was angry that I couldn't shout it louder when I found the man whom I truly love.
Most of all, I was angry that I was hurt.

I was hurt.

But I don't want to hurt any longer. I am choosing to forgive and forget, openly.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV

So you, whom I once ago trusted, I forgive you. You, who I envied because you took some of me and made it better, I forgive you. Most importantly and above all, I forgive myself for the mistakes I made, the walls I crumbled, and the pain I felt. It was necessary to experience everything, all of it, so that I could pick myself up and accept the blessings God has for me.

My beloved husband, Joshua... thank you for embarking on this journey with me. Marriage has been honest, beautiful, exciting and so very rewarding. Together we built our little family and we became one the day we married. Our sweet baby girl is the biggest blessing we received and I am so glad I followed my heart and met you. 

Opening my heart to let go of all the hurt is the only way I can foresee myself moving forward. If I can finally forgive and forget, I can move on and be who I enjoy most being, myself. 

And who am I?

I am a wife and a mother.

I am a lover of life and believer of kindness.

I am a child of God.

And I am ready to start picking up my camera once again, and do what I enjoy - my job!

Thank you for reading through. Thank you for always coming back to follow. Thank you for trusting in me and allowing me to create heirloom memories for you and your loved ones. My clients are amazing. My clients are the best. My clients become special in my eyes and hold a special place in my heart. They take up the courage to smile, invest, and receive. For all my past, current, and future clients: THANK YOU!

For myself, smile - the best is yet to come!