A Downtown Austin Courthouse Wedding

Some days don't need to be long to be full. Lydia and Jose Eduardo found me through Instagram, and from our first conversation it was clear they wanted something small. Just the two of them, their closest family, and the quiet courage of saying yes in front of the people who've loved them the longest.

Close-up of bride and groom's hands and rings during their courthouse wedding ceremony in Austin, Texas

Bride and groom embrace on the steps of the Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse in downtown Austin

The Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse has a kind of stillness to it — Art Deco lines, warm afternoon light, a room that holds a lot of beginnings.

What I keep coming back to in these photos is the way they looked at each other.

Bride laughing while groom in white cowboy hat holds her close on the gazebo steps near the Travis County Courthouse

Bride and groom in cowboy hat smile at each other under a sunlit pergola near the Travis County Courthouse in Austin

An intimate downtown Austin courthouse wedding

There's a kind of love that doesn't need an audience to feel real. You can see it in the small things.

Portraits outside the courthouse

After the ceremony, we stepped outside into the park next to the courthouse.

Newlyweds share a dip kiss under a white pergola at Wooldridge Square Park after their downtown Austin courthouse wedding

Bride in cowboy boots and groom in white cowboy hat sitting on white gazebo steps after their Travis County Courthouse wedding

They brought boots and a Mexican hat — a little nod to themselves, a little play, a little reminder that the best portraits happen when people feel free to bring who they actually are into the frame.

The whole day was short, and they enjoyed every second, nothing about it felt rushed.

Newlyweds cheer as they walk down the steps of the Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse just after their ceremony

Lydia and Jose Eduardo — thank you for letting me be there. For trusting me with the small room and the soft light and the people closest to you. Your day was exactly what it needed to be.

Planning your own Austin courthouse wedding?

If you're reading this, I'd love to hear about your day. Whether it's just the two of you or a small handful of the people you love most, courthouse weddings deserve to be documented with the same care as any other.