The Engagement Story

Several months ago Kyle and I went ring shopping. I knew I wanted a vintage ring so we went to a couple of antique showplaces and the beautiful, Doyle & Doyle. I tried on several I liked, but fell in love with a very special ring. During this trip Kyle kept telling the vendors that we would be engaged by Christmas.Flash forward four months, still no ring. Not that I was getting antsy (well,

I'M ENGAGED!!

This Monday, I'm happy to be right where I am, as of Friday I am a bride-to-be!! It's been a crazy whirl wind weekend, as you can imagine, but we are so pumped to start gathering inspiration and planning the wedding!I'll be back tomorrow with all the details.

wedding love...

Loving this girl's sweet freckles. Loving the flower headpiece. Loving the way her man is looking at her... x

Via Ruffled

Give: Valentine's Day Cards

I love gifts.  Like, LOVE them.  But to me, there is nothing better than getting a nice (bonus points for letterpress) card.  Here are some lovelies for Valentine's Day.

Credits:  The Hungry Workshop, Rifle Paper, Susy*Jack

Crystal and Stephen got Married!

Congratulations to Crystal and Stephen, two of the nicest clients I have ever worked with! They had their official wedding ceremony this December in Richmond Hill, GA at the Richmond Hill United Methodist Church. Their genuine love for each other is clear. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your special day! Truly.

 Crystal and Stephen love fishing together so Crystal made this fish hook with their wedding date to photograph with their rings! Love it!

 All of the bridesmaids wore boots because Crystal basically lives in them normally. A couple of the bridesmaids even borrowed boots from Crystal for the ceremony.

What beautiful ladies!

These groomsmen stepped straight out of a movie. 

 Stephen was thoroughly enjoying his "bridal" moment with Crystals accessories.

 Too cute.

 Stephen surprised Crystal with this gorgeous (and HUGE) ring during the ceremony!

Love this idea for guests to sign instead of a guest signing book.

 The Cupid Shuffle is my wedding reception guilty pleasure. Thank you to Katie, my awesome assistant for this shot.

I love kisssssing

How cute is this blog!  

Go here for photo credit and more kissing fun.

Kelsey and Erik's Wedding Slideshow!

Kelsey and Erik got Married! A few of my faves :)

Kelsey and Erik had a beautiful and touching ceremony (I cried for most of it) at the Whitefield Chapel on the campus of the Bethesda Home for Boys on Sunday, August 22, 2010. Then the reception was held in the backyard of a close friend of Kelseys' house. The DIY elements, from the gorgeous flowers, to the hand painted signage and delicious homemade foods made this wedding very personal and special for both the couple and their guests. I feel very privileged to have been a part of such a warm and loving bonding of two wonderful people.

Alex and Amelia's Wedding Slideshow!

Check out the full story of Alex and Amelia's wedding day in their slideshow! Let me know what you think! I got a bit teary watching it. :)

Kelsey and Erik Engagement Slideshow!

What do you think?!

Wedding Wire and Such...

It has been a few days since my last post and I feel like I should update all of you with the latest. I now have an account on Wedding Wire and you can check it out here! If you are fond of my work it would be genuinely appreciated if you would write me a review here. In other news, I am avidly retouching the photographs from the Castano wedding and there will be a few posted here with their slideshow shortly! Stay tuned for more work very soon! For now, you can take a sneak peak with this photograph.

Birthday!

This day, the 22nd of July, at 7:16 PM 23 years ago yours truly was brought into this world after an intense and LONG (more than 24 hours) delivery by her beautiful mom. Thank you mom for being such an amazing person and bringing me into this world. Thank you for being adamant that the doctors not do a c-section, and telling them that I would come out on my own terms (even though it might have been easier for you). Thank you for giving me a beautiful name, home, and family. I love you more than you will ever know.

That was me the day I was born! ♥

Bonus shots: Kelsey and Erik's Engagement!

Ok, so I got too excited about these to not put them up on my blog. Enjoy the bonus shots from Kelsey and Erik's engagement shoot!

Aren't they just too cute?

Love Locks

Is there anything more romantic that committing your love to another person, sealing it with a lock and then throwing away the key? 

I suppose some may find that thought dreadfully terrifying, but being the hopeless romantic that I am, it makes me all warm and fuzzy.     In honor of what I am unofficially deeming Romance Week here on Vita Nostra, I am going to share with you one of my favorite spots in Paris, the Ponts de Arts, filled with the ultimate display of love and commitment, Love Locks.

What’s a Love Lock?   Ahhhh.... this is the romantic part.    No one is really sure where the tradition started, although there are varying theories, but the story is that young and old lovers alike commit their love to each other in the most symbolic way possible by adding a Love Lock to the bridge.    Each lock is inscribed with a romantic little tidbit, names, dates, meaningful quotes and dreamy thoughts.    Couples affix their inscribed lock to the bridge and then throw the key into the Seine.      How incredibly romantic is that?

I could literally spend hours on the bridge reading these.  Imagining each couples unique love story.  Unfortunately, as I learned after the fact, right before my first visit to the bridge, the Parisian government cleaned out the majority of existing locks leaving a blank slate.   It certainly isn’t stopping anyone and new locks are cropping up all the time, but how disappointing!   

I hope this tradition continues.   I would love to someday be able to add our own Love Lock to the bridge.    

And if you are wondering, we’re celebrating Romance Week here this week because John and I are approaching our three year anniversary.   A special one as this is our first as an engaged couple.     Since we’re feeling all in love, I figured we’d share some of this romantic gushiness with all of you!   Enjoy and I’d love to hear your own favorite romantic stories this week…. Inspire us!