Day 611 - Last entry

Not even sure what to put here. I'm running around ensuring everything is ready for tomorrow but not the slightest bit scared. I was smiling at something David said yesterday that I thought I'd share with you.

Everyone keeps asking David if he is getting excited and/or nervous. He is so relaxed and laid back and he said one time when someone asked and he seemed casual they said, "Am I more excited than you?" he said, "I don't know how to explain it. It's not that I'm not happy, or not looking forward to it. It just .... it just feels right."

That about sums up the emotions in the house lately. Our daughter has been coming into our room in the morning counting down the days. I even accidentally captured her excitement at the rehearsal when I ended up recording her squealing about our wedding. I believe she thought it was our wedding that day and not just practice. Regardless she was extremely excited! I'm scared that I'm going to forget something but then I remind myself of just how organized I am so with the exception of mother nature and others I can't control what happens and I'm just going to have to relax and enjoy the day....YA RIGHT! ;p

But really, I've done this before. I've choreographed 24 kids into a shakespearing play which we then executed in front of an audience of their family and friends. I can choreograph a measely 70 adults to do the same....right? :p

No matter what happens tomorrow I will be happy because tomorrow I marry my best friend!

<3 your hippie bride, will return as a hippie wife 

Day 282 - Genevieve says yes to the dress

Nothing particularly productive, however my toddler has found her dress!

My daughter and my maid-of-honors daughter were copying us and flipping through bridal magazines. Genevieve ended up getting really into it. :)

The link is relatively private and so can't be embedded. Click here to enjoy. :)

<3 your hippie bride

Day 82 - Photos last longer

Today we had a photoshoot with who will be our wedding photographer. This was to see whether or not we enjoyed his style and talent. Photography, to me, is a subject of which I know I can be a total c*nt. You see, I know some people believe they are photographers just because they have great cameras. I have seen some people take beautiful photos and get lots of praise, but the photo itself has nothing to do with their talent and more to do with their camera. These same people would use a creased bedsheet as a backdrop. This is not terrible, provided you are honest with yourself and your limitations. If you are trying to pass yourself off as a professional photographer and I can see the folds in your bedsheets behind your subjects ... I am not spending hundreds of dollars on a photoshoot with you.
I never had a concern that this would  be the case with Shawn (my photographer) however for me the real test would be, how quick can he capture a moment. I don't want a lot of posed pictures at my wedding. I want a natural candid style photography. When it comes to capturing the emotion and the moment with a photo you have to be right on and focused. Some people have it and some don't. What better way to test this than to have a candid photoshoot of our two daughters (my ring bearer and flowergirl) running around playing. No fancy backdrops, no on site location, just a simple moment when all he had to rely on was his ability to capture the girls with their moms and all the precious moments that happen throughout a day. To add a challenge my ring bearer has days where she is full of the dramatics. This, was one of those days. I swear the moment we stepped out of the car she screamed and hollered the whole time. You couldn't even LOOK at her at some points and she would pitch a fit. Of course this raises the stress factor for most people, including her mom, and so it can make it that much more difficult to work under. But Shawn kept at it and didn't flinch. And although there were probably many a snotty nosed shot there were still many others that caught the moment. Some of the girls playing, some of me with our little diva blowing kisses, others where you could see the tired love in her moms eyes as she held her. When I look at that one photo I can see the expression on her face of, "please...don't you know I love you? Can't you please stop crying? PLEASE!" Many of my daughter and I playing and her swinging from their rocking chair. One of my favorites, however, is one of myself with our little diva. I had sat down on my knees and was speaking to her about how she had to be nice to her mommy. I told her that when she cries all the time it makes her mommy sad. In the photo you can see her looking off to the side, holding her hands in front of her and looking genuinely remorseful for making her mother sad. Not everyone would have captured this moment, it's not a particularly flamboyant moment of sunshine and lolipops and THAT is what I love about it. It's real, it's honest and it's what I want. I didn't tell him to take that photo, he saw a genuine moment and he captured it and that is what I want in a photographer. Sold!