Senior Portraits – San Antonio Fiesta Style

Hello April! It’s Fiesta Time in San Antonio!!

April is here and you know what that means, it means springtime, graduation, and senior portraits. And if you live in San Antonio or South Texas for that matter, April means FIESTA!!!! Because the Strawberry Festival is this coming weekend and that’s the event that kicks off Fiesta I thought I’d share this Fiesta inspired high school senior portrait session. We love themed sessions and love that our seniors have so much fun with us at sessions. They put up with our corny jokes and we get to learn what’s “hip” at the moment. Oh god- now I feel old! Melanie was one of senior models last year when she was a junior at Clemens High School (you can see those photos here). It was so nice to work with her again for her official Senior photos this year. She’s such a sweet girl with a huge heart and such a fun and spunky personality! Oh, and did I mention the girl is in theater at Clemens- and can seriously do an outfit change in less than a minute- we love her!!!

This session was extra fun because there are so many different ways to celebrate Fiesta! Fiesta is a pretty big deal to San Antonians- one of my good friends plans his work vacation around Fiesta! I have another friend who throws the most elaborate and fun Fiesta parties and collects medals like no other! It’s that serious people! I mean what’s not to love an awesome party that goes on for 2 weeks straight with awesome food, amazing culture, bright and colorful everything and the best part is that all the events support the growth of our city and community. According to The Fiesta^® San Antonio Commission Inc. website, 

“Fiesta San Antonio started in 1891 as a one-parade event as a way to honor the memory of the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto. It has evolved into one of this nation’s premier festivals with an economic impact of more than $340 million for the Alamo City. Fiesta is the Party With a Purpose. and the funds raised by official Fiesta events provide services to San Antonio citizens throughout the year. That commemoration still takes place, but for more than a century, Fiesta has grown into a celebration of San Antonio’s rich and diverse cultures.”

Of course, we had to take it to Market Square– and I gotta tell you, I have been to Market Square so many times and every time we go, I see more and more beauty in it! I know this is the go-to place when we have visitors in town. We got so lucky too that we had the place to ourselves! And what’s a visit to Market Square without a giant colorful fruit cup?? It was so awesome to work once again with my good friend Sandy Rodriguez, owner of Urban Provisions TX, a beautiful boutique in Old Town Helotes. She has some unique and gorgeous outfits. If you haven’t been by- you are totally missing out! If you need an outfit for Fiesta, this is the place for you! And if you want to look extra gorgeous at those Fiesta events, make sure you see the talented Jax Roberson at Jax Studio! Seriously- how amazing is that pink lip color she custom created for Melanie’s session?? And she recently opened up Jax Salon this year too so if you need your hair done- be sure to check them out! It was so much fun putting this session together. I think my favorite had to be the long hot pink skirt from Urban Provisions and the Yellow Concha earrings we found at The Fiesta Store. Have y’all seen the amazing mural painted on The Fiesta Store?? It’s stunning! Check out the amazing work by Los Otros Murals here. Oh and if you didn’t know, they just opened up a HUGE fiesta store right behind North Star Mall on Rector St. – there’s no sign for it but the papel picado banner outside will let you know it’s there. Super huge thanks to Chelsea at HEB Blooms at San Antonio #43/Lincoln Heights for helping me find the perfect flowers for my homemade flower headpiece on such short notice! I seriously thought I was gonna stroll into The Fiesta Store and find a huge flower crown waiting for me- boy was I wrong! It was a lot harder to find a flower crown that wasn’t a colorful rainbow in a day – lol! Also huge thanks to Jason at The San Antonio Flower Co.  for educating me on how to store Peony’s. He found me a tightly closed peony and told me that they opened up huge in a matter of hours and he was totally right- see how big that hot pink peony in Melanie’s hair? I’m glad he told me how to store it because it was just the perfect size by the time we needed it!! 

So if you are a senior, it’s not too late to take those senior photos, we have photographed senior portraits even during the summer! In fact, if you are a junior and about to be a senior this fall, now is the time to start booking those sessions for the fall. We usually book about 2-3 months in advance so be sure to call us as soon as possible to ensure we have an available date for you!

This week is all about Fiesta in our studio- a Fiesta Senior Portrait session and a Fiesta themed engagement session all in 1 week! Last year we photographed a beautiful Fiesta themed Quinceanera that we have been dying to share and we are super excited to announce that it will be published on Pretty My Party‘s blog on Friday!!!!! I know you have heard me talk about this Quinceanera several times- it was a pretty big deal, I mean I even got my makeup done for the day (thanks to my amazing friend Danielle). So be sure to check their blog out on Friday to see all those amazing Fiesta details!!! We love Fiesta and love seeing how everyone celebrates uniquely all around the city! I know I dream of living at the beach constantly, but I think if I left, I’d really miss it here. The culture and hospitality our city offers is one that can never compare anywhere else. Although I am not originally from here, I’m happy to call this amazing city our home! 

Thanks to these amazing vendors:

Fiesta Accessories:  The Fiesta Store behind North Star Mall
Concha Earrings: The Fiesta Store
Bracelets and Wardrobe: Urban Provisions
Makeup: Jax by Jax Studio
Hair: Olivia for Jax Salon 
Purple Rose Earrings: Love Bird by LSB Designs
Fresh Flowers: HEB Blooms and San Antonio Flower Co.