Jim Rode Photographer exhibited at the Colleyville Center Open House this November, 2016. Lovely venue for a wedding! Of course, if you are planning a wedding, contact me and we can meet and talk about making the event great!
Here is a 1 minute video of the evening.
Enjoy.

Decorated Wedding Reception Chair at Colleyville Center

 Johnny Gonzales plays at the Colleyville Center stage.

Open House at the Colleyville Center

Reception table decor at the Colleyville Center ballroom

Wedding Cake at the Colleyville Center Open House

reception table lantern style candles

black glitter linens with water lily centerpieces

grand hall at the Colleyville Center with floor to ceiling windows

find your soul

It was an absolute pleasure to drop in on David Carr Jr. as he played a coffee house in Addison. No agenda, no spotlights...just simple back-to-the-roots jazz. Going back to the "beginning" can free your soul.

You can see some of the shots I got by clicking "find your soul". (Music by David Carr Jr., Images by Jim Rode Photographer)



find your soul

All I Need

See the video from Dallas Photographer Jim Rode - All I Need



Had a blast photographing Bod and Michelle in Dallas and the train station.

The first stop was a root beer float at Big State Drug Store. Then it was off to the train station for a few shots in front of the passing trains. Later, we walked the park, then headed for Dallas and its Art's district. We paid homage to Annie Leibovitz with a new take on her portrait of Clint Eastwood. Then we walked the cobblestone streets at the Opera House. As the sun went down, I had a few precious minutes of light to capture Bod and Michelle on the city sidewalks.



I know they will have a ton of pictures from their wedding at Piazza in the Village, but I also think it is important to capture their love for each other in the days before the wedding. 

Wedding - Dallas Union Station

Click here to see the wedding - there will be music!    Wedding - Dallas Union Station

Union Station

Andi and Scott had a fabulous wedding at Union Station in Dallas. This historic building was decked out beautifully. The staircase that lead up the second floor event space had photographs from Andi and Scott's engagement that I photographed around Dallas, including photo's from the Arts District, Deep Elumn, and the Bishop Arts area. The cake was from Opulent Cakes. The lighting in the atrium's giant space created a beautiful mood. The ceremony was so wonderful! The chuppah was beautifully crafted with tiny cubicles for candles and flowers. Dots of light accented the chuppah from the rear. It was the best I've seen.

Wolfgang Puck Catering

The wedding catering and event services were handled by Wolfgang Puck Catering. Each table setting was perfect. A dinner hour was scheduled and flowers adorned every table. They were purposefully arranged so as not to interfere with dinner conversation. Family and guests had a wonderful time witnessing the wedding and festive reception.

Trey and the Tritones rocked the building! 

I believe there is nothing like a band to rock a wedding. Trey and Tritones were a fabulous way to send the couple off with a night of dancing. Union Station is a giant space that looks 3 stories tall, yet the sound was deftly handled by the bands speaker system and musicians.

Passion for Fine Art Weddings

I believe that every wedding day I photograph becomes a milestone in my memory. It restores my heart. Love, laughter and tears are the heightened emotions of the heart which I get to photograph. Creating fine-art images from these moments is my passion. It is what I do. Calling myself a photographer seems inadequate. I hear so many people who say they hate their jobs being tied to a computer…me? No way. I take a photograph of two people in love and work the images until they can hang art on their wall. It is my canvas, my paint, my pleasure. No snapshot will do! That's how I feel.



I give this art to the couple to begin their family history. They doctorate their walls. These images can create fine art coffee table books to show to guests and family, to be given as gifts. A great photograph is a gift of yourself to others. I love being a part of the decor in many homes. It is my passion, my pleasure. I believe that in art, we live forever. Jim Rode

Do your have a great love story? See more at Dallas fine-art wedding photographer.

Wedding at the Lancaster Theater, Grapevine Texas

Click to see the wedding, there will be music!  Wedding at the Lancaster Theater, Grapevine Texas

Erin and Phil were married at the Lancaster Theater on Main Street in Grapevine, Texas. Their names were on the Palace marquee! After their first dance, they boldly visited the marquee and walked the streets for a few minutes while cars honked and people waved. Capturing their kisses in the crosswalk on Main Street at sunset was a thrill.

Congratulations!

More can be found at Fine-Art Weddings in DFW.
Each image is color corrected, retouched for blemishes and artistically enhanced using computer painting programs. Working with fantastic people like Erin and Phil make creating fine art weddings the thrill of my life! 

Sam and Drew at the Ruthe Jackson Center

Click to see the wedding, there will be music!  Sam and Drew at the Ruthe Jackson Center

Samantha and Drew had a beautiful June wedding at the Ruthe Jackson Center (RJC) in Grand Prairie Texas. Her mother escorted her down the aisle and they looked gorgeous.

Gobo lighting and music was provided by Randy Ro Entertainment.

There was a balloon release in remembrance of those recently passed. They were with us today. After the wedding, the couple danced the night away in the Grand Ballroom of RJC. It was a perfect night.

Sunset weddings at the Ruthe Jackson Center
I use HDR camera techniques and a lot of work in the darkroom to create the low light photos for sunset garden weddings at the Ruthe Jackson Center. It involves bracketing the shots, layering them together, removing elements from two of the layers for perfect skin tones, then adding clarity to details. I'm very careful with flash so I do not white out that expensive gown. Not only that, it allows me to use the ambient light that is available in the scene. Afterwards, in the computer, I can move the photograph into a fine art rendition.

When a friend offers to photograph your wedding...
Too many people have friends who offer to photograph the wedding. The results are often sad. When they ask, simply say 'No, we want you there as a friend, not a worker.' The wedding is a high-pressure, get-it-right event that doesn't allow for mistakes and do-overs. And it is this way from beginning to end. For 6, 7, 8 hours or more the newly is being tested to come up with great images that will not only last a lifetime, but be loved by the couples children. Some day, your children will inherit your wedding book. It will be a glimpse into their family history. Will it be awesome? Or will it be a dark boring secret fail they find hidden in the closet they clean out? What would you give right now for an awesome image of your parents?

Pictures become your family legacy…the very ones you want your children to cherish when they are older need to become art, not snapshots that "saved" you two hundred dollars by using a weekend photographer. Worse, the family friend who is just "starting out" but is free is a poor choice. Believe me, that is no wedding gift, it is a wedding curse. Thirty years from now you'll roll your eyes at what you lost for price of two months of cable television. Most images shot by non-wedding photographers cannot be repaired. Those moments are gone forever.

Your Legacy in Wedding Photography
The images you hang on your wall are not only for yourself, they are for your children to see when they come home from school. They need to grow up in a home where they know there is love. They need to know they are born of love, and they belong.