Old Mexico Style Wedding – Springs Event Center Tuscany Hill McKinney

The Springs Event Center Tuscany Hill

The Springs Event Center Tuscany Hill. was home to the beautiful January wedding of Caroline and Juan. The Springs is a popular wedding venue near McKinney, TX.  Juan’s Old Mexico Charro wedding tuxedo was a beautiful touch on this blend of Mexican and American families.

The Bride’s Coverage

We are a two photographer team, allowing us to capture a variety of perspectives on the wedding day.  We began our coverage with Caroline in the bridal suite.  She was completing her makeup and her bridesmaids were finishing their prep.  Once her final details were complete, we took advantage of the spacious bridal suite.  We used the window light to capture Caroline looking amazing.  The day was windy and cold so we worked inside for as long as possible.  We were able to brave the wind for a few moments for Caroline and her father to do a first-look.  We took advantage of the soft light to make a few family images there and we finished our bridal coverage with some fun images of the bridesmaids.  We did not get time ahead of the wedding day to create a formal bridal portrait, so we made quick work and created a handful of beautiful images of Caroline in her wedding dress alone.

The Groom’s Coverage

As we detailed in our blog post about Juan’s Mexican Charro suit, we were so thrilled to photograph the groom.  His traditional Old Mexico Charro was an homage to his parents and grandparents who traveled to the US from Mexico for his wedding.  The groom’s suite at Tuscany Hill is small, but the window light is perfect.  A small tapestry hanging on the far wall made a perfectly textured background for the groom’s portraits.  From there we moved to an open shade balcony to photograph Juan and his groomsmen together, and then create a portrait of Juan.  I think this is one of my favorite portraits of a groom.  The charro was perfect for him.  The lighting was soft and from the side.  The texture of the wall at The Springs Event Center reminded me of an old pueblo house from New Mexico.  In the light, he looked like a movie character.  I finished the portrait with a grainy finish and a heavy texture to pay tribute to old cowboy portraits taken in the 1800s.  We wrapped up the groom’s coverage with a few portraits with family before the ceremony began.

The Ceremony and Portraits

The Springs Event Center Tuscany Hill offers several ceremony spaces, but with the wind and cold outside, Caroline and Juan chose the indoor staircase for their site.  The grand doors offer a dramatic entry point for the bride and bridal party processional.  There are two levels accessible for the photographers and we took advantage to show an alternate perspective of the wedding.  Photographing a ceremony from above allowed a viewpoint that you don’t normally get at weddings.  Their ceremony was about 15 minutes long and included American and Mexican traditions.

The arras is a set of 13 gold coins, that are presented to the bride as a symbol of the groom’s trust in her. For Catholic couples, this tradition is incorporated into the wedding mass with an intricately decorated gold box or tray that the priest blesses at the beginning of the ceremony.

The lasso is really more of a string of flowers and rosary beads, usually, and is placed around the shoulders of the couple—first the bride, then the groom—after the wedding vows to form a figure eight as the priest or deacon blesses the couple’s marriage.

Upon completion of the wedding ceremony, we had only a few minutes of light outdoors.  We chose to break the formal photographs into two parts.  The bride’s family was photographed first.  Once we completed several combinations of family photos, we were able to make our way outside for about 5 minutes before the perfect light faded.  We came inside and completed the groom’s family photos.  Just before the cocktail hour ended we made one sunset capture in the back garden of Tuscany Hill.

The Reception

Juan and Caroline’s wedding reception at The Springs Event Center featured a BBQ dinner, served buffet style.  Their reception highlights included the traditional first dance, followed by a dance with the bride’s father. Caroline threw her bouquet from the landing of the stairway.  Her maid of honor was there to catch it!  The men at the reception also performed the traditional “el muertito”.   During the reception, the groom is lifted over the shoulders of all the men, and then tossed several times into the air! Sometimes, his shoes are passed around the guests and they put money and gifts into the shoes.  Sometimes his clothes are even removed.  Juan was allowed to keep his shoes and clothes on!  The evening concluded with a sparkler exit out the main entrance of Tuscany Hill.

Our Review of The Springs Event Center Tuscany Hill

I always wish the architects or designers of wedding venues would call photographers before they build these venues.  There are so many things a photographer sees that regular people never think of.  The first consideration for a photograph is LIGHT.  What kind of light makes the most beautiful images and where can I access sit easily?  Of course, the most easily accessed light source is THE SUN.  But when you’re indoors, the sun only comes in where there is an opening in the building.  YOu need a window, a doorway, or a skylight.  One issue with Tuscany Hill, at least in terms of the way I photograph, is that there is only one tiny window in the bridal suite.  If they had made the windows in the bridal suite about 3 times as large, it would be perfect.  It is the right size, has a great layout, and has a beautiful mirror for the bride to admire herself in.  The lack of light in the room limits our image quality if you like “natural light” or means we have to bring in artificial light.  Although the groom’s suite had one nice set of windows, the room is a little bit small, but overall is better than most groom’s rooms at wedding venues.  What Tuscany HIll lacks in prep room windows, it makes up for in so many other areas.  The reception space is large, but not overwhelming.  For photography, it is the right size to provide depth in the background and allows us to maintain your wedding colors if you have uplighting.  The grounds of course and the venue exterior are of course spectacular and worth whatever fees they charge.  The backdrops for photos are endless, and in the right weather, there are hours and hours of photography possibilities.  The Springs Event Center Tuscany Hill is one of our very favorite wedding venues in all of Dallas.