Emily Lockard Furry dreamed of a career as a choreographer, but an injury sustained while pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in dance led her to pick up a camera to fill a creative void.

She got her start assisting with wedding shoots in Dallas, arriving at the venue without knowing the lay of the land or even the name of the bride, and recognized immediately that wasn't her style.

Now, six years later and saddled with three distinctive endeavors housed in her Houston studio — Emily Lockard Photography for weddings, Photo Love for family portraits and E. Lock for her foray into the fashion industry — Lockard Furry has worked to create a brand of business that is intensely personal.

"I bustle dresses, I pin hair, I put garters on," Lockard Furry tells CultureMap. "It's all about having a personal connection."

That's part of the reason why she requires an engagement session with the couple before each wedding — so that she can get to know the bride and groom, learn about their tastes and their family's respective dynamics, all to make the big day run as naturally and smoothly as possible.

She is often joined on assignments at home and abroad by her husband, Russ Furry, a self-taught wedding videographer. Just as the two finish each other's mile-a-minute thoughts, when they work together, they subconsciously perform a sort of silent dance, orchestrating movements so that each can always get the best possible shot.

"Shooting a wedding takes more intuition than you might think," explains Furry, who looks for movements and glances at each step along the way that he can weave into a storyline for the couple.

The life of a wedding documenter isn't always as glamorous as it may seem: Sure, they get to travel to the tropics on assignment, but on the other hand are unlucky Thanksgiving Day stints at customs in Scotland. But witnessing moments of adoration between a just-wed pair makes it all worthwhile.

"We've been there," Furry says. Lockard Furry agreed — she knows how the bride feels, she loves the familiar sight of a couple in love.

Emily Lockard Furry got her start assisting with wedding shoots in Dallas.

Photo courtesy of © Emily Lockard Photography

Emily Lockard Furry got her start assisting with wedding shoots in Dallas.