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T he last time we roamed the streets of Florence together, we were 22 years old. Fresh out of college, convinced we were invincible. JD and I wanted to travel a bit after graduation, so we packed our bags and set out to backpack throughout Europe with my sister. The Eurorail, hostels, and backpacks. After the first night of the trip, I called my dad crying and told him the hostels were worse than I could have ever imagined. And the backpacks? They're heavy.
Then my dad got started about backpacks. If you ever see my father in public, please do yourself a favor and don't bring up backpacks. He'll have no sympathy for you. In fact, he'll likely make you pick up an extra backpack from a stranger and carry it for her. In the rain, uphill, both ways. THAT'S WHAT VIETNAM WILL DO TO YOU.
Anyway, Florence...post graduation. We stayed one night in a hostel then decided to change our plans and live it up while we were out there (no more hostel lockers and communal showers!) because who knew if we'd ever go back. We stayed in pansiones, ate with locals, and consumed astonishing amounts of gelato. Eight years later, I'm happy to say we're going back. Together.
We'll be out of the country until October 8th, shooting a wedding in Virginia on October 10th, and will be back in the office October 13th. I won't be responding to email, so please forgive the correspondence delay. I'll still be blogging and taking pictures...and, no...there will be no mention of backpacks. |
| Here's a scan of a picture of us in Spain in 2002...sometimes I still can't believe after all these years JD still likes me. I'm pretty sure this picture was taken the same day I complained for four hours straight about the heat, sang songs in Spanish, and pretended I was the ambassador to Papua New Guinea. |
    
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Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel : Keren + Pieter
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© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad. |
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K eren sat with her feet dangling over the edge of her seat. She was fidgety and excited and every few minutes her hair stylist told her to keep her head forward. They'd been friends since kindergarten, so Keren simply laughed off the directives and waved her hands as she spoke. She asked what the USC football score was a few times before slipping into her dress, because, really, if the Trojans won, it was going to be an extra amazing day.
Pieter stood at the end of corridor waiting to see Keren for the first time on their wedding day. At each end they nervously stood and waited to see the person they planned to wake up to until death parts them. As Keren slowly approached Pieter, he turned and cried. Deep, soulful tears, as if seeing her for the first time. Ever.
As they walked hand-in-hand, Keren said in a low voice, It's just that I can't bear to be without him...now that we're together, everything is perfect. She smiled and sighed. As if on cue, she turned to Pieter and told him the Trojans won the game. Right then, hand-in-hand, their wedding day was made extra perfect.
Keren and Pieter...I have been so excited for your wedding and it didn't disappoint. It wasn't the amazing weather, the gorgeous details, or the embrace of your families, it was simply being there. With you. Celebrating what could possibly be the most beautiful display of love. Thank you for inviting us to share and becoming friends in the process. Hope you're enjoying St. Lucia and I can't wait to see pictures! Much Love and Appreciation... j* |
| The wedding day started with some amazing light coming into the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel hotel suite...Keren's Amsale dress was especially perfect for her day... |
| Many thanks to Nicole Suite for hair and Dottie with Cheek Couture for makeup... |
| I loved Keren's bridesmaids...I wanted to stick them in my pocket and call them mine. |
Keren...you're divine...no, really...let's be real...
...and many thanks to Carissa of JL Designs for a stunning job with florals... |
| Pieter's reaction to the First Look... |
| A little poolside photo stop... |
| Pieter's reaction to seeing Keren walk down the aisle... |
| Keren's sister, Tal, looks amazing in this light.... |
| Immediately after the ceremony... |
| After the ceremony, we headed to the beach for sunset photos...the following two are JD's... |
| The speeches were especially touching... |
| I'll close with this photo because it sums up everything Keren and Pieter are...perfection. |
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Strung Together Like Salt Water Pearls
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I don't know when it happened, exactly, but it did. And I fell. Hard. Like hearts and giggles and love notes written on college-ruled paper. Somewhere in the eight years of loving you, I fell in love. So in love I noticed life couldn't be lived without you, so when you proposed on that beach in Laguna, I said yes. Because I couldn't live without you.
Five years ago today, I married you. And, sweet lord, did I love you something fierce. Now that I write this, I'm trying to remember when I fell in love, exactly. Perhaps it was when...
...you came to my high school to watch me cheer at a basketball game and watched me from the side of your brown eyes.
...you bought me the Boyz II Men cd for Christmas back in 1997.
...you left me--and my broken heart--for college, promising to call when you could.
...Thanksgiving came around and you took me to the Observatory and promised me the stars, sun, and moon.
...grandma needed groceries, so you stole her list and surprised her with her favorite brand of rice and beans.
...you stayed up with me all night helping me study for my E.U. Econ final so I could get the A I wanted.
...you sat next to my mom in her wheelchair at college graduation, waving your arms when summa cum laude was announced.
...picked me up when I quit Nordstrom. And bought me a jade ring to remind me to never do something I don't love.
...visited me when I took that waitressing job slingin' ribs and counting tips at the end of long nights.
...quizzed me for the LSAT.
...took me out for dinner when I decided to attend UCLA Law School.
...listened patiently when I called every day and cried. Dang, why couldn't I make friends?
...held my hand when I had to buy mom a hat to cover her bald, chemo head on Mother's Day.
...you promised to love me forever in Hawaii and sealed it with a kiss.
...bought me my first camera and said to fail at something I loved.
...we argued over the frozen corn I wanted to make for Thanksgiving. I still think it's totally acceptable.
...gave me Polo because I was so lonely.
...we toasted after booking our first wedding.
...we moved from our tiny apartment because I told you I couldn't work in between to the stove and front door.
...you laid out towels and we read under the New Zealand sun, promising to never forget what life feels like.
...you forced me to wear a two-piece bathing suit. In public. In spite of my unrelenting insecurities.
...you designated certain nights in the month to watch the sun set.
...you reminded me to never back away from the person God created me to be.
Five years ago today, I was the luckiest girl in the world because that was the day I was able to call you mine. All mine. And when I think back to that day, I realize being in love with you wasn't a derivative of a single moment, but, rather, a series of moments strung together like salt water pearls. Thank you for loving me in ways I can't possibly understand.
Happy Anniversary, my love.
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San Francisco Engagement : Clarissa+Lance
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T hey disagree. Adamantly. About how they met and what didn't go right in the beginning. Clarissa actually found him pleasant, and appreciated how diligently he stayed by his grandmother's side at the hospital. She was a nurse on the night shift and Lance visited in the evenings in case his grandmother needed anything. They spoke and exchanged pleasantries for bit, then it happened.
So, you just couldn't hack it?
Lance asked Clarissa this question. Now, the details of this question don't matter as much as their reactions do. Clarissa was livid, but Lance insists she misunderstood the statement and the lines of late-night communication were, well, lost.
For weeks, Clarissa intentionally avoids him. Wherever he is, she is not. Intentionally. One night Lance strikes up a conversation while she's backed into a corner. Intentionally. She replies in one-word answers and when asked what her favorite food was, Lance found his way back into her heart. The following night, he appeared with boxes of Thai food. The night after that, he brought her more of her favorite things. This continued night after night and Clarissa found herself smiling over pad thai take out. A few years later, Lance found himself in the hospital again....but this time it was on one knee. On one of her rotations, Clarissa walked into a hospital room to find Lance perched on the linoleum floor asking her to take him. Forever.
I'm thrilled to shoot Clarissa and Lance's wedding next October...they flew me to San Francisco last week for their engagement session and I loved getting to know them better. Many thanks to Jeannie Savage of Details, Details for sending them my way.... |
| We found some perfect alleys with amazing light, so the day started off quite well... |
| I adore San Francisco and the many backgrounds there are... |
| We made our way over to the Golden Gate Bridge and the light was just amazing... |
| Clarissa, you're beautiful... |
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The Forest, U.S. Constitution, and Breathing
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I cringe at the thought of posting on the blog for Jasmine. I'm not a writer and I find it hard coming up with things to write. I even got stumped on the title. In college I was the guy who compiled a mass of crumpled wads of paper when trying to write an essay. I'm hoping it gets easier with time, so I can stop cringing when Jasmine bats her eyelashes and asks "Would you help me with a post for tomorrow? It would be a huge help."
She's stressed and I see it.
"It's the high season and all we see are the trees," I tell Jasmine as she runs upstairs with a piece of toast in one hand and her laptop in the other. Each year plays out a little differently, but this year we are currently at the peak of our wedding season and Jasmine's To Do list looks like the U.S. Constitution. "You need to slow down take a look at what you've accomplished...look at the forest or else you're going to hyperventilate!" I might sound overdramatic, but when Jasmine feels like something is slipping away from her, she works extra hard to catch up and then wants to run harder so it doesn't happen again. "I just don't know how to say NO," she replied. And with that, she broke down.
She sat in the stairwell with her toast and her laptop. I remind her, again, to see the forest, not the trees. Don't look at a To Do list in a series of shoots, edits, and uploads. Rather, look at life in relation to our goals and how we're measuring up to our expectations. If we're headed in the trajectory of where we wanted to be at the end of 2010, then we couldn't ask for more. |
| I took a picture of her To Do lists. Yes, she SAVES them. She makes fun of herself and likes to remember her days of productivity...if it were up to me, I might have crumpled them up like I was writing an essay! ;) |
2013
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2012
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2011
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2010
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2009
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2007
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