Did you know you can get married at a library?

If you’ve never been, I highly encourage you visit the Austin City Library. This spot has the perfect mixture of cool eclectic vibes to create a space unlike any others. And as a wedding venue it’s totally insane.

I’m not going to lie to you, I’m about a year and a half late making this post. I know I said I’d write the post right after posting their after the wedding blog, but life happened and the blog got put on the back burner. So anyways here’s a quick recap of A and S’s gorgeous wedding as the Austin City Library, located in Austin Texas.

from the very start of the day the couple was surrounded by love. While A got ready off site, S and their mutual friends worked to set up a ceremony space and decorate the reception hall. they were so excited for their friends to finally get married. Multiple times the group reminded me that the couple had been together for many years, and everyone was so excited it was finally happening. s later told me that the reason they waited so long was because they were waiting for the state of Texas to become accepting of same sex marriages. He told me “if our friends can’t get married why should we?” that devotion to their friendships played a theme throughout the night.

Once the decor was put up and the parents started to come in, we began shooting the groom getting ready, and a few of the finer details before the bride arrived. Keeping with tradition, the two did not want to see each other until it was time for them to walk down the aisle. A did not want any getting ready pictures, to make sure the gallery was not overpowered by photos of himself, S opted to take just a few of his friend helping him with his tie.

When it came time for the ceremony we moved down a set of stairs into a lower level of the library. THis space was set up much like stadium bleachers, but made out of wood. Their arch sat in front of the seats, and the stairs that the bride would walk down hugged the seats on the left side. The ceremony site held a large circular arch that their friends had put together an hour before.

After the ceremony they had all their guests gather around for a group photo in front of their arch. This was nerve-wracking for me because this was my first time ever doing this. (this was also my FIRST ever solo wedding).

After the ceremony and the traditional formal pictures, we took the bride and groom around the library to get some just married photos. You aren’t able to free roam this library. They City of Austin provides you with a media escort that follows you everywhere and shows you cool places around the building. I believe our media escort was named Josh, and he was great! I told him what the vision was, and he led us to where he thought it would work out the best. He’s the reason we were able to create gems like this.

We had a quick bite to eat, speeches, and cake before diving right into the party.

It was a great wedding. To view the full wedding gallery look here.

Now, let me take a minute to remind you that this was the first wedding that I have ever solo shot. prior to this I had done a handful of second shooting at weddings, but I was never the lead. The couple was fully aware of this, and despite that they loved their images. For photographers that are on the newer side I would not recommend this venue without making sure you have off camera flashes, and knowledge of how to use them. IT’s a great and unique place to shoot at, but the lighting is inconsistent and often time yellow.