This is such a fun time of year for all of us wedding professionals as we get to answer calls and emails from many elated brides who received a ring over the holidays. I have never hosted a sale before, but I am in the spirit and having fun celebrating all these new engagements, so I’ve come up with a little something for all you brides-to-be.
Check back here on the blog on New Year’s Day when I will post my exciting “Ringing” in the New Year Special.
Detail photos from one of the most romantic bridal luncheons I’ve photographed were featured in the most recent issue of Smitten Magazine.
Gathering Events + Floral Design along with Kristin Newman Designs worked their magic to create “A Fairytale Affair”for Anne Marie. The love and care that went into the details is just amazing, from the heirloom china lovingly packed and brought to Charleston to the fact that Anne Marie’s dad played bartender. This is definitely one to check out!
Let me make sure you know all about the “velcro dog” called a Vizsla. They did not get that description for naught. This is Bella and she must be snuggling with one of her tribe at all times.Truth be told, it can drive you crazy. She totally has us trained to share the duvet and any blankets that may be on the couch for snuggling. I remember picking her up from the breeder and being warned not to give in, not even once, to any comfort that I didn’t want to then provide her forever and ever, amen. So so true and I have failed miserably at this.
She follows this little boy around constantly, making sure her nose is within his reaching distance so she can shoot out her tongue and give him a quick lick at a moment’s notice. I’ve even seen her pen him down with licks and I concede, that’s a bit much. Outside is her collection of toys she’s stolen from the poor kid. Dirt covered stuffed animals, wooden blocks, legos. She does not destroy them, just collects them. Thank goodness the washing machine is in between the backyard and the toy bin.
On the flip side, Seamus will surely grow up with a trusty companion by his side, in his face, and breathing down his back. He’s learned to do the duck and roll to escape her kissing tongue and sometimes I wonder if he thinks he’s a dog too as he opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue to kiss her back.
I am loving these new “As seen in Smitten” badges that the talented Becky Hoppmann of Hoppmann Creative designed! I am eager to get mine up on my blog, if I could only remember how.
In the meantime, here it is. Now I’m off to call my web guru Graff Creative for some help getting it on there.
Do you ever play that game of “What Was I Doing A Year Ago Today”? I do it all the time. Well not everyday… but usually in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep and I’ve exhausted every other app on my iPhone. That’s when I start scrolling through years worth of calendars past.
Three years ago right now I was methodically (and excitedly) packing for a three week trip to SE Asia. The original plan had been to meet up with a friend who was traveling the world. But plans changed and I ended up traveling alone over the Christmas holidays. To be honest, that was a lot harder than I ever wanted to admit. Spending Christmas eve and Christmas day alone in a foreign country is not for the weary. Watching everyone else have a jolly ol’ time was the hardest part and I still get an uncomfortable feeling just thinking about it. I need to remember that feeling and take advantage of the fact that I will see lots and lots of family this year and enjoy it.
Without further ado, here’s what I had to say back in 2008 during the lead up to Christmas. I spent a few days in blissful Bangkok before heading off to Laos and Vietnam. Now I want to go back…
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I flew over the mountains and into the tiny airport for Luang Prabang. It was the luxurious way to arrive, sparing me from a 12-hour bus ride through the fog and along the edge of the mountain to get here. How is it that places and events are never what you expect them to be? Instead of wide boulevards and multi-storied balconied buildings, Luang Prabang is more Carmel, with wooden signs that all look the same naming the restaurants, shops and sights. The entire city of Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and some argue it is the most beautiful town in SE Asia.
Laos itself is sandwiched between Thailand, Vietnam and China and has remained largely removed from the modern world until recently. But now that it is on the traveler’s map, Laos is changing rapidly, modernizing and sweeping in to reap the rewards of a tourist industry. To be honest, Luang Prabang is almost too discovered. On the plus side, some smart entrepreneurs who understand how depleting to the culture the tourist industry can be, have come in and set up eco-tourism companies and fair trade shops. But it feels as if Westerners are behind many of the businesses here, they too want to make a profit.
The people of Laos are very gentle and calm and perhaps this is because the country is predominantly Theravada Buddhists. It is common for the boys to become monks for several years as part of their education and as a rite of passage, I imagine. (It definitely cuts down on the teenage angst.) The city is dotted with Buddhist temples and wats and lots and lots of Buddhas.
One of the wats I visited is also a school of arts, where young monks can practice the art of wood carving, casting, painting and drawing.
Caves where Buddha slept and imprints of Buddha’s foot are paid homage to at Wat Phu Si.
There are many different Buddhas here… Fat Buddha, Sleeping Buddha, Enlightened Buddha…
Here are some of the young monks as they come down the street waiting to be fed by the people.
The view over the Mekong River in Luang Prabang.
Monks collecting alms.
1. Every time I walk by Basil at night and inhale the luscious aroma of spicy•salty•sweet Thai food, I almost fall to my knees salivating.
2. My LR3 is a badass truck because it has not one, but 5 “cup” holders large enough to hold a bottle of champagne.
3. The above LR3 is also a pain in the arse at times (it’s British, it can say “arse”) as it requires frequent and expensive trips to the repair shop.
4. I’ve come to love public holidays on a whole new level. They are the only time that I am absolved from the pressure to return voice mails, texts and emails. (Does anyone else feel that pressure like I do?)
5. The Christmas season is a whole lot more fun when you have a young child to share it with.
6. The amount of information on the internet is mind boggling. I really have to set limits so I don’t spend entire days reading artist manifestos, watching TED talks and bookmarking things to come back to.
7. It’s hard to separate one’s self from work when you share the same name.
8. A twist of lime in champagne (or was it white wine?) is tasty.Try it.
9. I’m intrigued by the Huffington Post and it has replaced my NYTimes addiction, which is no longer free.
10. With the new year on the horizon, I am looking forward to change and new resolutions.
My dear friend Rebecca had a horrible thing happen to two of her dogs. They were shot. Yes, that’s right… shot. Luckily, both survived and are doing well, though they’ve been through a lot. One has had to have extensive medical care including daily sedation to clean a wound. It makes me hurt thinking about it. They were running on their own private property where they were most likely shot by a frustrated hunter who happened to also be trespassing.
The idea of a dog being purposely shot is hard to fathom. Then it dawned on my that I had a dog who was shot when I was 12. She was (most likely) chasing a truck in the neighborhood and they shot her in the leg, shattering the bone. I can remember my mom coming to see me at school to ask me if I wanted to have her put down or to have her leg amputated. My answer was obvious… amputate! Snickers went on to have a litter of puppies and was an amazing 3-legged dog.
Anyway… all this is to explain this photo of Bella, my velcro vizsla, who was obviously not thrilled that I was giving away that bag of tasty treats to Rebecca’s poor pups who are convalescing. You can just see the sadness in her eyes but don’t let her fool you, she’s as spoiled as they get.
I’ve got to say that I think this idea and website is absolutely brilliant. I totally wish I’d thought of it. It makes me feel better that it is a mathematical piece of art based on algorithms, which is way out of my league. The brilliance is in the simplicity and the complex mathematics that go behind it. Type in any word and Fung Kwok Pan’s website the color of will produce an image for you created “by querying and aggregating image data from Flickr”.
Try it, it’s awesome!
Over the summer, which of course seems like eons ago, I had the great privilege of being the “behind-the-scenes” photographer/videogrpaher for an editorial shoot for Southern Weddings Magazine.
It was a steamy August day, but the real steam was coming off of Argentinean polo player Alejandro, who was convinced to play the “groom” to our model Nikki on the shoot that took place at Hyde Park Polo Club.
The shoot was for a feature in their latest issue and features the incredible styling of Calder Clark Designs along with her creative team that includes Blossoms, Cru Catering, A Bryan Photo, Vieuxtemps and Dulles Designs and Allison R. Banks.
I had a total blast putting together this video, which combines stills and video footage and a chance to see what really goes on behind-the-scenes of an editorial shoot for Southern Weddings Magazine!
What really goes on behind the scenes?!