Today we’d like to introduce you to David & Katie Alvarez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
David and I met in 2011 in a summer photography class at UTSA. We began dating in the Fall of 2011 and I graduated from UTSA in the Spring of 2012 and David graduated in Fall of 2012. We got engaged on December 25, 2013 and then we were married November of 2014. During our early engagement, we began looking for wedding vendors for our wedding and the reception venue that we went with was an all inclusive venue and the owner ran his own photography company. David began his photography company in 2014 mainly focusing on portraits but he was very interested in exploring wedding photography. So our wedding photographer took David under his wing and mentored him until he was ready to work independently at a wedding of his own.
I always worked outside of the home full time but eventually, I began working weddings with David on the weekends. Our daughter was born in December of 2018 so shortly after that, I jumped onboard with him working weddings on the weekends, working the wedding shows and balancing my 8-5 job. David worked in residential construction for many years after college so he was doing that full time and then working weddings as well. It was a very busy time for us!
Two kids and 11 years later, we are beyond grateful for the incredible couples and families that have chosen us to ride alongside them for their milestone memories. Our work is more than just taking photos & videos – it’s the friendships that we’ve made along the way, the bonds and trust that we’ve embodied and most of all, the everlasting relationships we continue to have with our clients.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the challenging hurdles was each of us holding down two jobs and making it work. David and I would take off work so we could do our weddings. We were responsible with our day jobs and our weddings but we recognized that our wedding world was starting to build traction and that was our dream to heighten that dream.
As you know, we’re big fans of Odd Brew Photography & Video. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Odd Brew Photography & Video is photo and video company that specializes in weddings, all types of portrait photos such as engagements, bridals, boudoir, graduation, family groupings, and newborn/family lifestyle photography.
We’re known for being a husband and wife owned business with a very unique company name. Early on, the first name was Photography by David but David wanted a name with more zig! He thought of the name Odd Brew because he’s always felt like he was the odd one out. For the brew part – well, I’m obsessed with coffee. David is more of the tea drinker and I’m more of the coffee drinker so you have to brew both beverages and there ya go! Odd Brew was created. We’ve actually connected with a lot of couples who are obsessed with coffee like me and we’ve bonded over love of coffee.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I wouldn’t say we had lessons learned but more so we learned what works and what doesn’t work. When couples are getting married, not all weddings are the same. The flow of the day is similar in style but some couples desire certain elements while others might not want that item for their wedding. It’s understanding what’s important to our couples, families, clients, etc that matters the most. Having clear communications, taking excellent notes, scheduling consultation phone calls and pre-wedding phone calls are essential for a strong wedding day/portrait session. We value our client’s wants and needs. We offer advice and suggestions as our guide to them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.oddbrewphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddbrewphotos/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddbrewphotos
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@oddbrewphotos
