Make sure you get your "Mom Shots"

Like every other person in the world, I too looooove me some artsy-fartsy wedding pictures. You know: gritty urban alley, dramatic lighting, Bride in the foreground looking away Groom blurry in the background looking at her....

But! A word (or three) of advice when you are meeting with photographers: be wary of the less seasoned ones (read: new wedding photographers) who go on and on and on about how they are "solely photojournalistic photographers who take none of those boring traditional posed pictures blah blah blah". I know you probably hate those pictures too because you're so non-traditional and edgy, but unless both you and your fiance are orphans: YOU HAVE TO GET THE MOM SHOTS. (sidenote: I think I just made up that term, because I've never heard it before)

The "Mom Shots" are the family portraits. And if you don't get family portraits at your wedding you will never, eeeever, hear the end of it from your mothers, grandmothers, aunts, et cetera. And, unfortunately, to get the Mom Shots, people have to be rounded up and put in a formation that will allow the photographer to capture everyone in one picture. So they all have to be squeezed together facing the camera....and that makes it a posed traditional picture. Boring, I know, but when it's over you and your new spouse can go back to all those awesome pictures of you running through downtown LA. But guess which picture your Mom is going to have framed and hanging in her livingroom? Yup, the Mom Shot.

More Pretty Things for your Friday: Jessica Claire's Wedding

I love Krista's Pretty Things today. JFK and Jackie are so elegant and beautiful. I have to share more eye candy and introduce to you: my favorite wedding.

I can't post pictures here because the photographers have asked that they not be taken from their websites without written permission, so I'll just link you to them.

Some background:

There is in every industry, a hierarchy, or a list of "Rock Star _______" . In the wedding photography world, there is a photographer named Jessica Claire who is one of those Rock Star Wedding Photographers. She's incredible. Well, she up and got married in Napa Valley last week (on a Tuesday, y'all, how wedding industry is that?!) and hired a Mega Rock Star Photographer Jose Villa to shoot the wedding. Oh yeah, and about 10 other Rock Star Wedding Photographers were in attendance: Jasmine Star, Amelia Lyon, Victor Sizemore, Becker, Michael Norwood, Laura Novak, Chenin Boutwell, and so on. Basically, if you've ever picked up a wedding magazine you've seen the work of these people.

Anyway, back to Jessica's wedding: on Wednesday of this week Jessica's wedding was featured on uber-blog Style Me Pretty, and the bloggosphere and Twitter world erupted in a frenzy. I think Jose's blog even crashed temporarily. Once Style Me Pretty was able to break this story, the vendors that created this work of art were able to show it on their blogs. The details are insane. Seriously, Jessica's invitations alone make me want to cry they're so perfect.

And now that I've properly built you up, I'm sending you on to these blogs. Get a cup of tea or pour a glass of wine and prepare to sit for a while:

Jessica Claire, The Bride
Jose Villa, The Photographer
Angel Swanson, The Wedding Planner & Designer (I'm a wee bit jealous of Angel. It's a good thing she's sweet or I'd hate her. Yes, I'm kidding.)
Becker, Photographer friend and guest who brought his camera

Yet Another Box of Sparkles

Ok. This is too, too good to be true--I'm officially in heaven. So today I'm driving down at the Redondo Beach Historic Library for a tasting with some of my clients and my husband calls to tell that I just got a box in from my Mom. She frequently sends me boxes with fun sparkly things or interesting Mom things such as newspaper articles of people we know. So of course I ask the husband to open the box to tell me what's in it. He does and he says to me: "It's full.....of a bunch..... of sparkly stuff. AGAIN." And I start to laugh as he describes each and every item in today's box of sparkles: "fuzzy-purple-robe-type-thingy-with-sparkles-on-it" was a cape that my mom made for some costume a while ago. My mom decided to clean out HER costume closet and send it to MY costume closet. Just in time for Halloween! She sent me a bunch of fabulous stuff that she'd collected over the years. I even got an gorgeous outfit that my grandmother wore in her teens.

As a kid, I used to wear tutus and tiaras to church and my mom just smiled and let me have my fun. I never got over my love of playing dress up--so I have an awesome collection as a result of that. My costume closet is full of wigs, ballgowns (the one in the picture I made when I was 18 or so for a costume ball I went to with my parents. Yes, I know I'm the biggest nerd in the world), Renaissance gowns, tiaras, corsets, jewelry, wings, hats, shoes, vintage dresses, feather boas, masks, and a cow. Yup, a cow.

As awesome as it was getting another box of fabulous sparkly stuff in the mail, it was even awesomer hearing my husband describe every item to me over the phone. I like this game. I've decided that for my birthday I'm going to ask my friends to send gifts to my husband so he can describe the contents to me over the phone in only the way that he can.

The Box of Sparkles

So yesterday as I was out running errands my husband calls me to say "you got a huge box in the the mail today from someone named Sara F." I squealed with excitement because I was expecting a reference letter from Sara, a mother of one of my spring brides, but not a whole box of surprises! I was going to be out the whole afternoon so I asked the husband to open it up to tell me what was in it. He opened it up on the phone and sputtered "it's a.....bunch of.... sparkly stuff and candles and cards" so I asked him to explain what the box of sparkles contained. His description of every item he pulled out of this box of goodies was funnier than the one before.

"sparkly-post-it-note thingies-with-an-A-on-them" = cute note cards

Sara was/is an avid blog reader and knows my undying love of all things red and sparkly and so she put together a box of things she knew I'd love. When I got home I read her handwritten reference letter and got a bit misty-eyed that she'd not only put obviously so much thought and time into this box of goodies, but that she took the time to write out a heartfelt reference letter because she knows my business survives on testimonials. I love my clients. I love my job. And I love my hilarious husband who makes me laugh constantly.

A Sneak Peak: Joanna & David's wedding

The talented Raya Carlisle of Raya Photography sent me the slideshow of David and Joanna's wedding last weekend at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa and I'm in love with all of the pictures so I had to share this gorgeous photo for the time being.

I also wanted to give my condolences to Joanna's family on the loss of Norma Joseph, Joanna's grandmother who passed away the Monday after her wedding. Thankfully, Grandma Norma not only walked down the aisle in her granddaughter's wedding processional, she danced and celebrated the night away! It is such a blessing that she was able to be there and a reminder to us all that life is short and our loved ones are gifts to be cherished. It can also be a reminder that weddings are not only great parties celebrating the love that you have for each other, but also an important ceremony that honors your families and the generations that came before you.