Down the Aisle: Meghan + Brandon

She speaks French. He speaks RPG (a high level computer programming language—er, so I'm told). Together, they make even the rainiest of wedding days look darn good. Seriously. If rain on your wedding day means good luck—Meghan and Brandon are set for life. A few days before when Meghan and I touched base, I told her, "Don't worry about the weather. We'll rock it no matter what!" And rock it she (both of them) did. In fact, I'd say that the rain helped make some of my favorite images from their day possible. Even the most torrential of downpours couldn't put a damper on what turned out to be an utterly flawless flow of events. Way to go team!

What follows is a super-mega-crazy-ginormous post of some of my favorite moments from their day. Don't say I didn't warn you! :)

Ceremony: First Plymouth Reception: The Del Ray Ballroom Florist: Fleur de Lis Cake: Le Quartier Baking Company

Meghan's sister Mindy looks at her with those, "Don't make me cry!" eyes.

Of course, you know what happened next...

Meghan comes downstairs to greet her dad. So sweet!

I always have a sweet spot for grandparents. :)

Gorgeous! When this photo was taken, she hadn't even seen Brandon yet, and look how calm and radiant she was, even while standing in a puddle. Impressive!

Brandon is such a doll. Look at the grin on his face! :) (Those grey suits were seriously stylin'!)

This one is way too cute!

The downpour continued…

Though Meghan originally planned to have the ceremony outside in the courtyard at First Plymouth, mother nature had other plans. Meghan and crew adapted with gusto and pulled off a gorgeous ceremony inside the chapel. (She could write a book on how to stay calm on wedding day!) xoxo!

Thankfully, there was a short respite between downpours and we managed to knock these beauties out. What a day! (Don't you love the yellow bridesmaid dresses!?)

Hilarious! I overheard Vaden directing his subjects where and how to stand. He told one of them, "Go stand over there, next to my girlfriend," referring to Makena, the flower girl.

Merci. x 100 ga billion. :) Working with you all was a royal treat. Much love, health and happiness to all. Enjoy Hawaii!

Shoot Shack: Meghan + Brandon

A Joyous Tuesday?

The sun is shining, my to-do list is filled with exciting things, and—I lost close to 5 lbs. If that doesn't inspire a blog post, I don't know what does! ;) Have you ever had the feeling of being completely, 100% over overwhelmed with joy? Not just on your wedding day, or the day your child is born—but on an otherwise uneventful Tuesday? I find myself struck right now. I'm not sure why—it could be any number of the countless things that I am grateful for on a daily basis: my one-of-a-kind awesome family, the work I feel honored and privileged to do, the people who are part of so many different aspects of my life, and the exciting calendar of events stretching into 2012 and beyond.

My guess is that whatever it is, it probably isn't related to the dead bird the cats dragged into the house this morning... but it could have something to do with the clean-up number I did on my inbox today, or the fact that I turned in the final version of Chapter 9 last night.

Who knows? Right now—I'm happy to just ride the wave.

I'm celebrating with a latte. Happy Tuesday everybody!

Down the Aisle: Allison + Matt

A great day for love!

Congratulations to you both on the beginning of your next grand adventure—viva Mexico!

Down the Aisle: Wendi + Jon

I was five years old the first time I realized it was possible to cry with tears of joy. (Apparently, winning a kite flying contest was an overwhelmingly joyous occasion for me at the time—ha!) Years later, it's not uncommon for me to shed tears of joy at the wedding celebrations I'm so honored to be part of. Yesterday, as Wendi and Jon became a new family, I didn't have to cry alone—Wendi was moved to tears throughout the day, as the love in the room was literally palpable.

Both Wendi and Jon come from incredibly loving families. The love and joy they all share was more than enough to move anyone to tears. (Even without a kite.)

Self-portrait

The wedding reception was held at Omaha's Durham Museum. The architecture and details of the building were an art deco dream!

The ladies snuck away to bustle the dress before the dancing started.

xoxoxoxo!

Shoot Shack: Wendi + Jon

The Book! Available for Pre-Order

As some of you may know, I've been taking some time off to focus on a very exciting project: My first book! Written especially for beginners, it's called, "Your Camera Loves You: Learn to Love it Back." The message is: cameras don't take great photos—people do. If you want better pictures, don't buy a new camera—learn to use the one you've got!

This ain't your average camera book! Believe it or not, I've found a way to combine Law & Order, sumo wrestling, cookie dough, and a chapter called, "Death by Cropping," into a fun and snappy book to help you get the most from your camera—whichever one you already have. But you'll have to get the book to see what I mean… ;)

It recently went live on Amazon and is available at a special price for pre-ordering, so treat yourself, your family, your friends, and learn just how how awesome your camera truly is!

Album Sneaky Peeky

I can't wait for Cassie + Taylor to get back from their honeymoon so they can drool over their gorgeous album design! Here are a few of my fave spreads!

I love using a lot of negative (blank) space whenever possible. This spread makes me swoon!

I love the color and mood of this one. Can't wait to show them the whole thing. :)

How'd I rock their wedding proofs and album design so quickly? I detail my whole process in my wedding workflow guide. Save 10% with the code: CRAZYFAST and rock some albums of your own! :)

Down the Aisle: Cassie + Taylor

Vera Wang dress? Check. Incredible live band? Check.

Man of your dreams? (And a Rolls Royce to drive the two of you off into the future you've always imagined?) Check!

Cassie + Taylor have a lifetime of love, fun, and adventure ahead of them. I'm so honored to have been there to be part of the day it all began. :)

(See the bottom of the post for more info on all the vendors who helped make their day so incredible! But be forewarned, this is a mega-post!)

Here's Cassie's cathedral veil draped across several chairs while she gets her make-up done…

I love this photo of Cassie's dad Tom. :)

Cassie makes Vera Wang shine!

The Doc James Band was KILLING IT. Taylor + Cassie were s-m-o-o-t-h like butter on the dance floor... LOVE IT!

After a second wave of dance incredibleness with Cassie and her dad—I had to ask. Where did they learn to rock the dance floor like that? "Oh, that? We used to dance every night after dinner when I was a kid," Cassie said. How inspiring (and adorable) is that? Check out that Vera Wang dress in action!

Like I said, The Doc James Band was KILLING IT. They brought an incredible light show with them (even a spot light). Made a HUGE difference.

Bo, the ring bearer, was fierce on the dance floor!

Congrats you two! (And special thanks to Julie at The Lincoln Country Club for taking such great care of me last night! She sent me home with cookies & hot cocoa to boot!)

Dress: Vera Wang Rolls Royce: Timeless Transport Church: First Plymouth Cake: Donna, The Lincoln Cake Lady Reception: The Lincoln Country Club Band: The Doc James Band

Gettin' My Yurt On

It was roughly three years ago when I first heard the word "yurt." According to wikipedia, a yurt is portable, wood lattice-framed dwelling typically used by nomads in central Asia (commonly associated with Mongolia). And though it is technically portable, it's definitely more home-like than tent-like. I liked the sound of it, and started researching them. What they're made of, how they function, how we might build our own... and even contemplating buying an acreage and putting up a yurt until Emir and I could get around to building our next home (that may take awhile....).

Thankfully, this past weekend (only three years later), I finally got to experience one first hand. Our friend Jason is a professional outdoor adventure leader with the University of Nebraska - Lincoln who regularly takes people (students and non-students alike!) on all kinds of amazing experiences. He and his wife Christina are living-breathing adventure/fitness advocates who ooze a contagious passion for an active lifestyle that will absolutely (and happily) infect anyone who comes in contact with them (they are directly responsible for the fact that I started running last year, which in turn got Emir into running too). So naturally, when they approached us and said, "Let's take a fun trip somewhere!" Emir and I responded with a resounding, "Absolutely!"

Last Wednesday morning we climbed into a van with another couple of great friends and headed west to the backcountry of Colorado for a weekend of cross-country skiing, good food, good friends and... a yurt. The inside of the yurt had three sets of bunk beds, a propane powered stove for cooking, some firewood, a table and folding chairs, and a wood-burning stove. No processed garbage or canned junk food, each couple would be responsible for a home-cooked/healthy meal. Christina & Jason cooked up our first dinner of whole-wheat pasta with fresh vegetables in an incredibly yummy sauce. The next morning Emir and I whipped together some buckwheat pancakes with 100% real maple syrup. For lunch we ate pitas stuffed with fresh veggies and that night, Paul & Stephanie put together an unforgettable veggie & peanut stew that disappeared in record time. Learning to cook and wash dishes without running water was actually... fun. The wood-burning stove kept the yurt more than warm enough while serving double duty and melting the continual supply of snow we placed in the large soup pot on top for drinking water and washing dishes. (See below.) When we weren't cooking... we were skiing. I had only ever down-hill skied before, so the whole cross-country thing was entirely new to me... but after wiping out a few times (and stepping through a few snow banks that reached up to my waist) I'd say I caught on fairly well. :) The scenery was gorgeous! The feeling of gliding over the snow while surrounded by sunshine and tall aspen trees was surreal. The view from the entrance to the yurt was breathtaking, day or night (that's the outhouse in the bottom left corner). Of course, we had to have a little head-lamp/night time/long-exposure fun! :) If your tail is wagging and you're thinking to yourself, "I'd like to go on an adventure!" Check out the current trip schedule and see what tickles your fancy. Jason and his staff lead folks on all kinds of trips like rock climbing, canoeing, camping, and biking. No experience/equipment required, they will get you the full hook-up! The pricing is unbelievably reasonable and... you don't have to be a university student... everyone is welcome!