Yeeah yeahh!! We are on Green Wedding Shoes.. Thanks Jen for featuring our wedding on your fabulous blog!! We are totally honored!!
Category Archives: Personal
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WE ARE MARRIED!!
February 3, 2010 – 11:07 pm
WOOOHOOOO!!! I proposed to my bride almost 6 months ago to the date.. As you can imagine an insane amount of planing and construction has taken place to get this thing pulled off.. We were so sooo thankful for ALL of our amazing vendors and friends that helped make this wedding such an incredible one! If you recall a couple weeks ago we had quite the interesting weather conditions here in So Cal which included an insane amount of rain, hail and even tornadoes.. TORNADOES for crying out loud.. This is Orange County!!! Hahah Kristin and I loved and enjoyed every minute we had during this time..
I wanted to post just a couple of the amazing photos taken by the incredible duo from Jasmine Star Photography. Jasmine and JD completely rocked our wedding photos more than I could have ever hoped or dreamed of.. I cant tell you how many people asked Kristin and myself “Well whose going to do YOUR wedding photos”… Like there was supposed to be this HUGE pressure to select the “perfect” wedding photographer.. Well there was.. Of course 
But during our initial client meeting with Jasmine all these fears and pressure quickly faded! We knew we would be completely blessed to have these two amazing photographers document our big day! In fact this was the case with ALL our amazing vendors..
Lauryl Lane, Floral Extraordinaire, was the one who was responsible and the mastermind behind our flower creations.. We came to her with ideas and that we mostly wanted a rustic vintage vibe that incorporated the use of cotton.. lots and lots of cotton.. Well what you are about to see we hope will leave you speechless like it did us.. Honestly.. when I try to describe how insanely talented and amazing Lauryl is I just cant do it.. I cant put words down that would do her work justice.. so I wont even try.. All I can say though is that Lauryl is super easy to work with, fun and energetic, ridiculously talented and an incredibly hard worker! I will refer everyone I know to her for the rest of my life
Huge thank you’s to Eva Chiou with Red Velvet Occasions and Melody with The Sweet and Saucy Shop. Eva worked tirelessly for months and months helping with the details both large and small.. I dont think she knew what she was getting into but I am sure thankful she hung in there with us all along the way!! Melody is someone you can always count of for shear brilliance. Her cakes and deserts are flawlessly delicous and way super cute! Coming from a guy is a huge compliment!! They were amazing. Also thank you’s to Drew from Shady Tree Fims and Tony and Jillian from Zany Booths. These guys deserve an entire post by themselves they were so awesome so be on the look out for them in the near future…
I want to thank DJ Taso from Atmosphere Entertainment for all the beautiful bistro lighting as well as rocking the party all night for us.. They are the industries best entertainment company by far and completely blew us away by their love for what they do and for their clients. Again if any of you need a DJ or lighting for your event.. please please please contact AE you wont regret it!!
Last but not least.. A HUGE thank you to Josh over at CHIPOTLE.. It took quite a bit of planning but we actually got Chipotle to cater their very first wedding EVER.. We had to though considering that we eat there at leat 3 times a week.. well … at least I do.. we were super proud and honored to be the firsts.. it was a huge hit with our guests!
Ok Now time for the photos.. Here is the start of the day with Kristin getting ready… she is just drop dead gorgeous!!
One of our fav shots of the day.. Kris’s shoes on her grandmas memorabilia box.. This was super sweet and special to Kristin and her mom.
Along with our cotton we fell in love with the bolsa flowers.. made from real wood, we felt would really help add the rustic element we were looking for!
The ladies..
and us..
Probably one of my favorite shots of the day! and although I haven’t seen them all or even close.. I know that this is one of them for sure!! This is right before our first look.
Look it how rad Kristin’s Bouquet is… R I D I C U L O U S
check out the awesome light…
Our awesome programs made by the amazing and talented Lucy from D*LSH. She also did our invites too so you can check those out here. She did an awesome job!
This was my favorite aspect of the day.. Lauryl hand strung all those cotton bolls on fishing line that ran for our entire aisle.. which was about 100 feet long each.. that’s dedication!!
awesome flowers and set up by Eva and Lauryl.. You girls ROCK!! It was absolutely perfect
As some of you know we sponsored the construction of a water well to be drilled in Honduras this march and Kristin and I are actually going to physically drill the well along with Living Water Int’l. We had each of our guests right an encouraging note to the future well recipients as we are going to personlally hand deliver the notes during our trip. The pencils they used to write the notes was part of their thank you gift.
Cakes and mini desserts…Like I said.. FLAWLESS!! Thanks Melody!!
Our first dance as husband and wife! I love Kris’s face.. she so adorable!!
God delivered HUGE for the big day.. not a single cloud in the sky, air perfectly clean and crisp, snow blankets completely covering the local mountain ranges and the temperature… perfectly brisk… just the way we like it! Honestly only the big guy could pull it off.. and we knew He could! We were so blessed by the day.. Surounded by friends and family, It was such a great experience from start to finish.. As Kristin and I were reflected on our wedding the next day we relized that all our our hearts desires were met and exceeded.. super exceeded.. We were thankful that we saw each other for the first time before the wedding and with just the two of us.. as that was probably one of my favorite, sweetest parts of the day.. The location was gorgeous, birds chirping and the sound of a little water creek in the background with the sight of impressive old oak trees. The sunlight was present but soft and filtered. The ceremony was priceless and touched our hearts deeply. We ate our food while it was still warm, we talked to as many of our guests as we possibly could and danced for hours unitl the very last dance.. ate our cake, and roasted up some smores.. ummm my favorite!! It was a perfect day. Not a single complaint..
Looking back on the wedding, I noticed that being in the same circumstances as our clinets really opened up a whole new world to us. We have been to hundreds and hundreds of weddings before but never had our own.. I think we will really be able to treasure moments even more and equip us with a different perspective in documenting the love of our future clients. It has really brought us incredible insight that we look forward to incorporate our new experiences into our photography in the future.
Thank you all for your prayers and your presence in making this day something truly specail that we will hold and treaure all the days of our lives.. Lord Bless
Honeymoon!!
January 24, 2010 – 8:46 am
Today we are off to our honeymoon where will be completely isolated and removed from every ounce of society! A much needed thing for us. Sorry clients I promise to get back to work the second we are home but we are going to a place with no internet, no cell service, or even television!! We are talking remote! (pun not intended ) Anyways I wanted to take this time to say thank you to Renee over at Unforgettable Honeymoons for taking care of all our travel arrangements and suggesting one of the most beautiful and intimate places on earth! Not to mention handling every last detail every step of the way! If you are interested in booking an awesome honeymoon and not having to worry about a thing and getting a great deal, I highly recommend the team over at Unforgettable Honeymoons!
Check out where we will be staying All open aired suites with only 3 walls (Photos taken from their website) I will post mine when I get back!!
See you all when we get back!! Feel free to email so we can respond when we get home
Im Getting Married!!
January 22, 2010 – 12:45 am
Wow i cant believe its finally here. How many times I have gone to wedding after wedding shooting and documenting one of the most amazing days in other peoples lives and now its finally here for me.. Its kind of surreal. actually is really surreal. In 2 days I am going to marry the girl of my dreams and I couldn’t be happier! The latest weather has thrown quite a monkey wrench in our planning and preparing but God has continually been faithful to provide. Regardless if the sun is going to be there on Saturday we know that the SON will be and we couldn’t be happier. We just finished up our rehearsal dinner tonight and I had to write just a little something about it.
As I was just sitting there in the middle of all the noise and commotion, listening to the sound of laughing and old story telling, I took a look around the room and couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. Not with stress or anxiety for the wedding day and all the details still left to do. I was overwhelmed by God’s goodness and His ability to enrich and bless our lives, continually, in fact, throughout our lives. This was so evident sitting at the table surrounded by friends and family members that have all entered into our lives through different times. Different stages when we needed them most. Times when I needed their encouragement, others when I needed their honesty. All in all, they have all played a very unique and important part of helping me get to where I am today. Psalm 37:23 says “The Lord directs the steps of the godly and delights in every detail of their lives.” As I took a look around the crowded room, absorbing and taking in all I could, my eyes always seemed to gravitate back to my beauty. my bride to be. I was just amazed, left in awe. Not just by her outward beauty but how she completely compliments me. Reminded by how blessed I am to have such a wonderful woman to cherish for all the days of my life. And to think that I met her 10 years ago. I had no idea then that later on she would become my wife. I hoped.. but had no idea.. I cant help but think that God was just smiling at me back then when He heard my prayers.. I could just hear Him saying “one day Brandon.. soon enough Its so cool to be able to see it all come together.. little by little the glimpses of the big picture He reveals to us.
Now as we make the final preparations and the transition from single life into married life, I am just amazed by all the loves ones God has put into our lives right here and now than will help strengthen, encourage, and help keep us to the path of a successful relationship. I am excited for the journey, for the stories, for the excitement and the adventure. I thank God for the hand picked woman he made for me. I couldn’t think of anyone else I would rather enjoy the ride of life with. I love you Kris. I cant wait!
End of the Year! 2009 RECAP!
December 31, 2009 – 10:10 am
Hi everybody! I wanted to post a little recap of the year for us here in 2009… We had such an amazing year with even more amazing and wonderful clients! We feel so blessed to have worked with so many special and loving people throughout the year and 2010 looks just as awesome with some really amazing clients and cool weddings on the way..
One of the most amazing things that we feel so blessed to be apart of was the overwhelming support of our new philanthropic campaign. Earlier this last year we launched a new campaign where we donate a portion of each wedding package on behalf of our clients back to a charity of their choice that they felt particularly close to.
Our vision was to give 10% of every package we book back to people in need and the turn out was so amazing that we actually superseded that !! Here is a list of the charities we worked with and supported throughout the year..
Living Water International -World Vision-Toms Shoes – Compassion International -Operation Smile – Hill of Hope
We thank God so much for providing all our clients who made this dream and vision become a reality. By the grace of God we accomplished some pretty awesome things and made the world just a little bit better for a few more people.. Here is a little recap of the gifts and blessings given to other people throughout the year:
We sponsored 7 kids in 3rd world countries to receive surgery for fixing cleft palates and cleft lip and gave them new smiles and happy faces (Operation Smile)
Education for 15 children for 1 year (World Vision)
$1350 for the Horn of Africa food crisis, providing the basic necessities of life (WV and Compassion)
8 chickens – Chickens are easy to raise, and will naturally multiply to impact generations of children. Each family that receives chickens is asked to give back hatched chicks to help another family in need. Chicks require little money, space, or food to thrive and grow — making them an ideal business venture for a single mom or vulnerable family. (WV)
4 goats -Goats nourish hungry children and families with healthy milk, cheese, and yogurt. Goats also give a much-needed income boost by providing offspring and extra dairy products for sale at the market. (WV)
$1900 worth of clothing for kids who are without proper clothing, providing warm jackets for kids in high altitudes and cold climates.. (WV)
$500 to help reach young at risk teens in orange county, ca and provide them with a loving, safe environment to grow up in. (Hill of Hope)
1 dairy cow- provides some 120,000 glasses of milk in its lifetime to one village, and extra dairy products for sale at the local market. (WV)
safety/protection and hope for sexually exploited girls in 3rd world nations. (WV)
2 sheep for wool and money provided by local markets by selling of products. (WV)
providing shoes to kids who are without to prevent soil borne parasites from entering the body (TOMS)
Sponsored 4 kids through world vision for one year providing them with shelter, food, clothing, security and education:
Collins Limua, Nairobi, Kenya age 4, Elisee Kainda Manyonga: Dem Republic of Congo Age 4, Mesay Mamo : Ethiopia, Age 6, Etania Richard: Haiti, Age 5
And to top off all this wonderful stuff..We had enough of our clients to donate their portion to Living Water Int that we raised enough money to sponsor the construction of a brand new water well in Honduras providing clean drinking water to hundreds if not thousands of people who were previously without before!!!! We are so excited because Kristin and I are actually getting to participate in this trip next March to see the well be brought to life. We are thrilled because we will be able to document the actual people benefited by all the contributions and bring back all the photos for you to enjoy! I went to Honduras twice earlier in the year so if your curious to see the photos and what the process is like please feel free to check out those blog posts.. Honduras trip 1 Honduras trip 2
We are just so over whelmed by all the love and the events fof this year and are so excited to see what God has in store for us next year! So again a HUGE special thanks to all of our clients for helping make this dream come to life and we cant wait to see how to impact the world with all your help in 2010!! Heres to a great 2009 and an even greater 2010!! We love you all and God Bless!!
OUR WEDDING INVITATIONS!!!
December 9, 2009 – 3:49 pm
I am sooOOOO excited to post these.. it took a lot of hard work and the D*LSH girls did a fabulous job designing along with my beautiful bride to be with all the little details and assembly! What a project!
I think my favorite is the burlap and cotton since we are going to have these incorporated into our wedding.. these invites give a perfect insight to how we envision our big day to look.. WOW this makes it so real and I am SOOO excited for this day to come! Also thanks to paperwink for our sweet return stamp!
Here are our invites.. take a look and leave a comment if you like them!!
