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Featured : The Knot Magazine : Meg + Tim
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© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad. |
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W e had met before. But--if I was being totally honest--my recollection of the event was vague at best. For me, I met Meg four years ago when we shared a cab in Las Vegas. Wait, wait...hold on...let me relish the fact that I sounded cool right now. I mean A CAB in VEGAS?!? Pffft, in a few seconds I might say Paris Hilton and I partied together last night, too.
There was a random group of photographers heading to WPPI from McCaran Airport and we decided to share a cab and split the fare to the hotel. {This is where the appearance of cool dissipates.} Meg sat smashed between a group of people and regaled us with stories of road trips and her random outbursts of show tunes. And right there? Well, right there I decided I really, really liked her.
As years passed, Meg and I became peers who saw each other at industry events and occasionally had the chance to connect over a meal. When she got engaged--much to my delight and surprise--she asked me to photograph her wedding. I was beyond honored to document her wedding in San Francisco. No, really, I pulled her aside on her wedding day to thank her profusely because it was a sweet moment for me, both personally and professionally.
To make things even sweeter, Meg and Tim's wedding was published in The Knot Magazine...an honor I feel extraordinarily blessed to see... |
    
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Good Reads : Rebecca Skloot + Ann Tyler
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I t was close to 1am and the bedside lamp made oblong shadows on the far wall. JD woke at midnight and asked me to close the book, but I promised it was just a few more pages. When I got the end, my eyes filled with tears. And gratitude. That's what a good book does for me. I turned off the light, molded into the curve of JD's spine, and said an evening prayer. The kind of prayers my mom used to say when she put me to bed as a child and made me laugh. Angels dancing above my head and sweet dreams (which I presumed meant aisles filled with candy). That's what a good book does for me. Perhaps that's why my dearest friends know when to pass along a good book...
*Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders. This book was given to me by David Jay, a huge proponent of reading business books. He was so excited about this book he gave a copy to both me and JD. I finished it in a few days and it's a great read because while it touches on business aspects of life, its focus is on life aspects of life. Quality time, appreciation, and balance...I needed to read it.
*The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. My dear friend Gail sent me this book all the way from Indiana, so it's extra special to me. It's the true story of procuring, acquisition, and fostering of cells that changed the course of history and science, but the cells were taken without Henrietta's knowledge. It's story of bio ethics and legal battles and chronicles the lives of her children and as grapple with her death and legacy.
*The Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. When my friend Brianna placed the book on my bed, I didn't know what to think. Our taste in books is...well...she sometimes reads books with a silhouetted poodle and french girl on a pink cover. Umm, yeah. This true story is the intersection of a homeless man and a prominent art dealer in Texas whose lives become dependent on each other through a series of heartbreaking events. It reads like a movie and I cried like a baby. |
*Back When We Were Grown Ups by Anne Tyler. My mother gave me a Barnes&Noble gift card, so when Gail recommended this book, I immediately snagged it. And it didn't disappoint. The way Tyler writes is near perfection. The flow, the narration, her ability to draw a reader in...augh...beautiful! The story is about Rebecca's struggle determining--later in life--who she is, who she might have been, and who she thought she'd be. And the balance between her thoughts and the ever-present pressure of family life. I loved it.
If you have a good book, pass it to a friend. If they're anything like me, it'll make them feel loved. Happy Wednesday! |
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Chicago Engagement : Rachel + Rush
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I t had been years since he'd seen her and there she was biting his head off for a pile of transgressions. A few drinks ahead of him, Rachel was empowered with angst...and the liquor helped. While at first perturbed at her public admonishment, Rush stared at Rachel's moving lips and remembered. Remembered what he saw in the girl who lived downstairs.
During their first year of college, their apartments were divided by a single story. Rachel spied Rush amongst throngs of new students and was somehow drawn to his preppy New York appeal. Completely her opposite--both in demeanor and appearance--Rush was drawn to Rachel's vivaciousness. She's the type of girl who walks into a room and her voice creates curlicues in the air.
They dated for almost two years, but broke up after distance, traveling abroad, and growing up created a moat of difference. Rachel called Rush every nine months or so. Nine, as if she counted. It was happenstance. He stopped returning her calls and delayed accepting her friend request on Facebook. It had been years since he'd seen her and there she was biting his head off for a pile of transgressions, but it was then when he remembered what he saw in the girl who lived downstairs.
Last week I was incredibly honored to join Rush and Rachel in their hometown of Chicago for their engagement session. It was great getting to know them better and I'm getting SO excited for their wedding in New Mexico later this year. Here are a few of our time roaming the streets of Chicago together... |
| We started their engagement session at their apartment and I was greeted by Hudson, an adorable Havanese...who I was tempted to bring home with me. |
| The night before I left to Chicago, weather was predicted as rain. ALL DAY. As in, thunderstorms. We made plans to shoot indoors, but when I landed, the sky was blue and clouds scattered an otherwise perfect day. |
| We walked to Lincoln Park and the Chicago shore and Rush gave me a detailed history of the city...in between kissing Rachel, of course. |
| I've decided I officially love Chicago for engagement pictures. That is all. |
| The weather was little crazy...overcast one minute...and blazing the next. It's a good thing Rush looks great posing adjacent to the building where he also happens to work. |
| Rachel suggested a slightly more urban vibe to end the engagement session, so we drove back and found a cozy spot under the L Train tracks...apparently, if I know about the L, I'm officially way legit with Chicagans. |
| I'll end this engagement session on this sweet note. Rachel, you're gorgeous. And absolutely perfect the way you are...because, really, don't forget what I told you: you have CHEMISTRY! ;) |
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WPPI ROad Trip : Southern California
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H ollllllla and happy Monday to my friends! I spent the weekend catching up with loose ends, but--moreso--just hanging out with my friends and family. And I couldn't think of a better way to spend the weekend. Well, if I could add a yacht to the aforementioned equation, I'm sure that'd make things better (and while I'm at it, I'll also add a butler!), but let's keep things simple, eh?
I recently was invited to speak in Southern California on the WPPI Road Trip 2011 on Monday, August 8, 2011 and I can't express how honored I am. I haven't spoken in SoCal in over two years, so I'm getting amped to hang out with my local peers and peeps.
Feel free to CLICK HERE for more information!
When I told Polo the Road Trip was in Long Beach, he threw a fit and decided that if I was going to spend another day away from him, he wasn't going to talk to me. He's such a brat. |
I t must be hard to be who you are. Sometimes I feel like everyday you give away a piece of yourself to ensure someone else is happy. I wonder if you'll ever run out, ever become a hollow version of the person you once were before. And yet. After decades of taking care of others, you continue to move forward and pick up people around you. The lost, the hurting, the overlooked. You've shown me there's no other way to walk through life, and I thank you. For never running out or becoming hollow.
Dad, in spite of your pain, you show dignity, grace, and perseverance. I am watching you...and I love you for it. Happy Father's Day. |
| A few days ago, my dad invited us to share in his new-found passion for Korean food. I can't tell how how awesome it was to have a non-english speaking waitress converse with my spanglish-speaking father. Somehow, we ordered and made it through the kimchee. Together. |
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