hail, lightening, and a wedding!

not too long ago I had the pleasure of attending my husband's cousin's wedding.

which just so happened to be in Copenhagen Denmark. and I have to say, those Danes have a very unique way of celebrating a marriage!

it was an intimate wedding of less than 60 people... in a cottage off a secluded highway somewhere near the water. Sweden was in the distance. lawns were long, open, green, and decorated with clusters of trees. it was humid and hot - making an ice cold beer a beverage of choice.

after a short, sweet, and chairless danish / jewish ceremony we were served cake and champagne. and then appetizers and alcohol. and then dinner. 4 courses of it. the food was amazing. the company was entertaining. the evening was hearty. we sat at the table for about 5 hours. between dinner courses there were toasts - lengthy and heartfelt ones requiring projectors, handouts, instruments... it was quite an experience. the night ended with a record rain storm for the area: 6 inches of rain in 2 hours... accompanied by thunder, lightening, and hail.

memorable... to say the least!

while I was not the photographer for the evening, I did snap some shots prior to the ceremony and throughout the evening.

Congratulations Jenn & Rasmus!!

Sneak Peek: Sarah & Saul

this is going to be the shortest yet sweetest blog post from me to date.

sure - I always exaggerate. ya ya. roll your eyes. but trust me.

sneak peek of my friend's wedding... I present to you Sarah & Saul.

the end. (see? I told you.)

Rochelle & Kevin

today I ran ~ almost ~ as fast as I could down a hill. almost because, it was a busy street. and really - who wants to fall in front of that many people? not me.

but that half-risk I took made me forget about everything else. it may just have been for a couple minutes but - no matter. a couple minutes of free. blank. nothing is wrong. hard. difficult. complicated. there are no lists of obligations. things to complete. to-do's. priorities. deadlines.

and then I hit my uphill. my indoors. my desk. time to chug along with a clean palette.

I am behind on a lot these days. so in an attempt to make more things like a fast downhill, let me tell you a story.

I met Rochelle and Kevin at a coffee shop in Aptos - I guess I really met Rochelle at her sister's wedding in the summer of '10 but didn't get to talking very much.

anyway...

they were so amazingly adorable over coffee. when one would leave the table to order food or fetch some more napkins, the other would secretly fill me in on something he / she didn't want the other to hear. I learned that Kevin was a perfectionist and that he really really loved converse. I also learned that Rochelle was all about family - she loves her daughters, her sisters, her mom and everyone that Kevin was bringing in to the mix. they were both so giggley-excited about their upcoming wedding... it was a little contagious.

when their day finally arrived, I couldn't be more happy to meet the entire family... and of course, Rochelle's two girls - who walked her arm-in-arm down the aisle and gave her away to Kevin. so.. SO cute.

so congratulations Rochelle and Kevin - your wedding day was a beautiful one! and may you have happy days for the rest of your years!!

to auto-focus!

to have a challenge is to have a purpose.

sometimes 'according to plan' evolves in to 'flying by the seat of your pants'. and honestly - I mean - who doesn't like flying? if I recall correctly (which I always do), I used to spend lots of money every summer to let disgruntled gum-smacking vest-wearing teenagers strap me down in metal containers and press a button that would then shoot me through spirals and loopty-loops - the most exhilarating moments being those fractions of seconds where my body felt negative weight... my well-practiced shoulder straps and buckles being the only things touching me and keeping me alive.

over-used plastic and metal: don't fail me now.

and then - when the moving and the rush is over - and the body realizes it is still functioning, it takes me to the end of the line again. a lemming lining up for another feeling.

oh you endless thrills of summers passed. if only you weren't accompanied by all the shirtless, nipple-pierced, over-tattooed, and overweight men that waited in line around me.

in other news...

...Lady Gaga concert days away. time to get crafty - with an outfit.

...Europe trip weeks away. time to get crafty - with a wardrobe.

...best friend's wedding days past. yay for Amy and Bobby! boo for the only picture of me delivering my toast.

Ray & Trinity

my eyes are burning today. if I swam with my eyes open in a pool full of Visine, would that fix the problem? if so, I imagine it would create others. I'll stick to the eye dropper for now.

this past Friday I paid San Francisco a visit with camera in tow. Ray and Trinity were getting married in City Hall followed by a reception at the B of A building (52nd floor!). while waiting for the ceremony at City Hall to begin, I had some free time to loiter in front of the Mayor's office but alas, no Gavin sighting. maybe next time.

I had so much fun taking their photos - they are just two 'goofpeas' in a pod (instead of goofballs). the ceremony was very intimate.. only about 10 people. and the reception had maybe 35 or so which made documenting the event feel more like attending a family member's celebration. and there is nothing wrong with that!
in fact, I loved shooting their wedding so much that I finished all of their photos within 48 hours. this proves that 1. I do not sleep and / or 2. I have no life and / or 3. I had nothing else to do since my husband has been drafting for one of his fantasy football leagues for hours now.
I think it is a bit of all of the above.

in other news...
...I cannot wait for Monday. for once.
...ocho cinco - I think I like him now.

lots of lots

my nerves are as frayed at the ends as the hairs on my head.
summer has officially exploded. the next time I have available to breathe isn't until... Saturday August 22nd. if my lungs were larger this might be a little easier.
while I am really excited about all the opportunities that have presented themselves to me, the weather is very overwhelming with a slight chance of panic attack and sudden weight loss. good thing I have spent the past couple months beefing up my beef.

inhale, exhale. and repeat.

on top of that, my husband is turning 30 in October and we are going to Vegas baby! I am looking forward to winning another $5 on slots so I can buy myself half of a margarita.

until then, I will be spending my time mulling over past shoots and areas that need improvement... feel free to offer me your thoughts!

in other news...

...my house is a mess and is scheduled to remain that way until November 2009

..."cumulative" should not be abbreviated to "cum."

...if this photography thing doesn't work out, my next dream is to be in a rap video.