some of my favorites got married : when a perfectly elegant couple had an autumn celebration worth swooning over

oh, what a happy celebration! my dear friend, nicole, married our friend, luke, last friday.
and oh how autumn brought its bluest sky and its most fiery leaves. these two deserved the best of days.
i admire them for their hard work, determination, humor, and goodwill. not to mention they're probably the handsomest couple i've ever known. such an elegant woman should have the perfect gentleman.

i stole a few shots of the happy couple as i tried to stay out of the photographers way.
i couldn't resist capturing her classy dress and his permanent grin.

congratulations to some of my very, very favorites!

an end of summer wedding

over the weekend ceej and i went to a good friend's wedding.

it was one of those beautiful gatherings when we got to see friends

we haven't seen in weeks, months, and years, a gathering where there

were lots of big smiles and big hugs...and lots and lots of planning:

planning yurt trips, cabin trips, lord of the rings parties, picnics in the mountains,

and buying houses on the same street so we can all settle down together

for our kids to play together and most likely marry each other.

the wedding itself was simply perfect : a view of our valley and mountains,

party lights, beautiful flowers {yay ranunculus!}, cupcakes flown in from nyc,

a taco truck, and hand-squeezed limeaide...holy smokes that food was incredible!

and, and, and! the bride's elegant dress was made from a curtain purchased

at the local thrift store. a lovely night indeed.

someone's got to get married again so we can see everybody.

i'll be dreaming of the wedding all weekend...

the wedding couldn't have been more lovely.
we had a blast with the whole wedding party...
generous and kind people to the max.
i could do this for a living if it was always like this.
can't wait to show you all the images. you'll love them.

we've got a busy weekend ahead of us:
organ recitals, birthday parties, furniture building,
and hopefully a little r&r.

a big thank you to greg for featuring my lil' ol' blog...

his photos are quite wonderful.
what's in store for your weekend?

what we're bringing to the wedding :

ceej and i get to be photographers at our friend's wedding today.
should be lots of fun. we haven't done a wedding in years...
in fact, i think the last wedding we shot was purely shot on film,
not because we were trying to make a statement, but because
we didn't own any digital cameras at the time.

this time around we're having a lovely mix of film and digital.
yesterday i shot the bridal photos which turned out beautiful
{just wait until you see her dress...so wonderfully designed and made},
but this new b&w polaroid film has been, let's say, difficult.
i was quite excited to try out the impossible project's efforts...
but was quickly disappointed when the first couple of images i snapped
didn't develop very well. the first was totally washed out...the second image
looks ghostly {not in a good way...you can barely see anything!}
anyone else tried this new b&w polaroid film? any success? did i just
get a bad batch? do i not know the new in's and out's of this stuff?

anyway...the rest of the wedding photos should be fun.
can't wait to show you!

the wedding: succulents, square dancing, shotguns, streamers, etc.

location: spring city, utah at the birch creek ranch

the ceremony: sweetest thing i've ever been to.

activities: eating lots of yummy food, square dancing till we dropped, hanging in hammocks,
drinking fresh squeezed limeade, shotgun shooting, fighting for prizes {not for bouquets}, talking, talking, and talking.

best. wedding. ever.
!!!!!!!!!!!
{photos by me, ceej, and holly jo}

{and one of you mentioned my own wedding...well, it was almost seven years ago, it was thrown together in two months (to accommodate family, etc), and the photos didn't turn out (and were taken way back when film was still dominating and they have yet to be digitized)...sad, yes? one day cj and i will celebrate our wedding the way i always imagined it...until then, we LOVE when our friends and family members get married so we can enjoy the party!}

when two very lovely people were married in a small town over a summer weekend

mo & matt.

they made sure that not only was the day perfect for them,

but for their guests as well.

we were quite proud of ourselves as bridesmaids for picking out dresses totally independent of each other, and some how making it look like we kind of went together.

loved the centerpieces. so colorful and light.

i loved all the time we had to sit around and chat with each other.

i could have sat here for the rest of my life and been content.

and am so happy to be married to ceej.

nothing like attending a wedding to remind me

of how magical our marriage has been.

{more photos and details from the wedding tomorrow}

super bridal shower extravaganza sundance, utah {part 2}

no photos exist of our night together...we were too busy sharing relationship advice {giggling, uh-huhing, taking mental notes}, cooking, eating, making fabric flowers for the big wedding day, and catching up with each other. no games for us. no crazy stunts {though using 30-year-old powdered sugar for "muddy buddies" might seem risque to some of you}.

our morning was slow...more cooking and eating and talking. all of that followed by an impromtu walk up to the meadow and falls.

we ended our little girls' trip {because i look at these photos and think all of us still look pretty young-barely women} with a jaunt to the sundance general store for the yummiest wood-stick suckers you've ever tasted...and, yes, suckers DO taste better if you dip them in water.

thanks to all of you for a lovely weekend. let's do it again soon, please.

super bridal shower extravaganza sundance, utah {part 1}

where has the time gone?!
a couple of weekends ago a few of us women
packed our bags and toted our gifts and advice
to my family cabin in the sundance neighborhood.
oh, what a night!
thanks to all who came and helped with planning and
making this such a perfect bridal shower.
more photos and details to come tomorrow...