Hitting it off with our photographer

For those who don't know me that well, I'm kind of superstitious. I wish on clocks when it's 11:11, think it's funny that Greg's area code is the same as his birthday, and will buy almost anything when it's the last one in my size. It's some combo of  fate + kismit + meant to be.

So when I was hunting for a photographer and found Sean Walker, it was only fitting that he started his business after a stint in minor-league baseball. And loyal readers will know how much we love baseball, and it seems to love us back. He got injured after a few years and decided to make the hobby he'd developed on the road into a new career. (He's been booked every weekend this summer and into October!)

The phone calls I've had with Sean start out with poking fun at our Washington Nationals, hoping the best for his San Diego Padres and eventually talking about shooting the wedding. When we finally met him for our engagement photos, we could tell that his personality was a great fit. He's energetic, spunky and down to earth. When he blogged about our session, he even extended an invitation to a game. (Alas, we won't be back in SD until Thanksgiving.)

His ease with making us comfortable in front of the camera could be chalked up to him having been there before; he and his wife, Brianne (who will be our second shooter), were models for a Jessica Claire photography workshop this year in SoCal. :)

Aren't they adorable?!
(source)

And when you couldn't think things could get bigger than being a baseball player then starting your own business ... Sean and Brianne are expecting their first child! They had the most genius idea for finding out whether they're having a boy or girl, and it involved this:

Seriously, the coolest idea! (source)

You must check out the result (and more fun pics) of their gorgeous party on their personal blog.

Greg and I wish Sean and Brianne the best of luck with what life's got in store and can't wait for them to shoot the wedding!

Rewarding you with photography news!

OK, OK, so I know I vowed to be a better blogger, but some (good!) things happened in the past month that have severely cut down on blogging time. First, I've started a new job that's keeping me busy, and it feels good to be back in a newsroom-type environment. The real time-eater: Greg bought tickets for the rest of the Nationals' season. And it's all good because I'm a fan, ya know. ;)

Because you've waited so long for an update, I'll tell you about our engagement photo session!

Photography is high on our priority list since pictures last forever (and we can show them off to everyone, haha). I browsed San Francisco area photographers, but the people I liked couldn't give me a lot for my budget, so I looked outside the area, knowing I'd have to add travel costs.

I considered someone in D.C. so we could have all the monuments, cherry blossoms, etc., in our engagement photos, but the cost of flying someone to Cali for the wedding was too much to handle.

I looked in Greg's hometown of San Diego (since we'd be making a trip there sometime) and found Sean Walker. I checked out his site (auto-starts with music, FYI) and blog, and I was intrigued. He was able to tweak his pricing to quote us both a fabulous package AND travel costs for him and his wife — all within budget. No matter what stage you're at in life, those are three words that make things better!

We did the shoot last month when we were flying to San Diego to hang out with Greg's family and catch our very first LA Dodgers game. I spent hours picking outfits; we did a casual look and a dressier one. Sean picked out places for us to pose, and off we went. (It was basically two hours of public kissing, hehe.)

I'll expand on Sean's background and our interaction with him more in another post, but I know what you're waiting for: eye candy!

Sitting pretty in downtown La Jolla.

Being book nerds by the ocean. Kindle and Harry Potter, for the win!

I am so glad I was able to afford the engagement session. We got to see how Sean operated, were able to get comfortable in front of a camera and now have some great (non-iPhone) photos of ourselves! He even included an online gallery where you can see the rest and buy prints, if you're interested (after registering for free).

It was so fun getting to have some fun photo time with Greg, and from the looks of it, he really enjoyed it, too. :)

If you're not sick of looking at us, here's the link again to the online gallery. :)

What do you think of our engagement photos? A worthy investment?

* All photos copyright Sean Walker Photography and used with permission.

Fourth of July wedding inspiration

We return from San Diego only to be welcomed by a holiday weekend! We might not be close to family, but it'll still be a fun time with friends.

And of course, I can't let such a party weekend pass by without thinking about some Independence Day traditions that would make great wedding details.

(1) Fireworks

Whether you love 'em, think they're too loud or get worried about their environmental impact, there's no denying that there's something magical about bursts of glitter in the sky. The wedding world caught onto this within the past couple of years, and sparklers have held the spotlight, as Hello to Hitched recently profiled. They're easy to hold, photographers know how to make 'em look hot, and I'm all for some childhood fun. :)

Fun photography that glows - too cute!

(source)

Sparklers are also a great way to get guests involved, and using them as part of the evening sendoff is popping up on blogs all over. My pals Joey and Chelsea, who got married in San Diego in January, did a sparkler exit, and it was so fun!

Not my pals, haha. Just another super-cute couple — on a tandem bike, too!

(source — Their vintage wedding is worth a click.)

Unfortunately, I'm not 100 percent sure if sparklers would be possible at our San Francisco wedding, seeing as my family had to head down the peninsula to light our safe-and-sane fireworks every Fourth of July. And I'm not the only one being let down.

(2) Pie

I used to not really like pie — then again, I would sometimes only eat chicken nuggets for years of my childhood, so I'm no foodie — but now that apple pie has my seal of approval, it's a real treat. And even more sweets at a wedding? Yes, please.

What my mom usually whips up...

(source)

Sitting pretty at a country wedding's pie bar. PIE BAR?! Mmm.

(source)

However, cake will always be the winner in my book, mostly for the heaven that is buttercream. I'm always the kid to snatch the corner piece, even quicker if it has those big roses. I's gots ta have my frosting!

(3) Red, white and blue

This one is the easiest and the most fun tradition to make your own. I've found that some brides using this palette tend to shy away from the true shades of red and blue, leaning more towards mahogany, orange-red, cornflower or cerulean. How's that for some Crayola color knowledge? ;)

The save-the-date design below is one of my all-time favorites. It's by Hello!Lucky, a super-cool stationery studio based in San Francisco. I love the cartoon feel, and there's another ironic detail in the sample that tickles my fancy. Can you guess?

(source)

What holiday traditions do you think would be fun at a wedding? Happy Fourth of July, and a big hello to our family and friends around the country!

Another guest of honor: The iPhone

If Greg wasn't marrying me, there's a good chance he'd propose to his iPhone. He uses it to check e-mail, navigate when we're lost, read Kindle e-books, watch baseball games with MLB.TV — pretty much everything except make a call. ;)

I'm not smelly; he does that with his hood when he's deep in thought, hehe!

(personal photo)

Despite no service in Mexico, he brought it along — to read. Hello? Beach?!

(personal photo)

And on our big day, I doubt he'll be able to put it away. I don't mind as long as he knows when to keep it tucked away and when to show it off, like in these gorgeous wedding photos:

We definitely need one of these!

(Kuang Woo Photography via Beauty and the Bride Blog)

We know our techy friends will have theirs too.

(Christine Remoulet Photography via Google search)

Wedding-day text? This makes me melt!

(source via Weddingbee)

With the dawn of Apple's newest gadget, the iPad, at least one officiant is getting in on the action, too! Only in the Bay Area, home to Silicon Valley — though I gotta admit, it looks way slicker than a black portfolio.

(source)

I love that something so influential in our lives will make an appearance on our big day. Do you agree or think phones have no place at a wedding?

I believe in (Disney) magic

Though I promised in my last post that I'd try to be a grown-up for the wedding, it's very hard since I've been a Disney kid forever. My brother and I grew up amassing the signature VHS clamshell cases and replaying our favorites until the poor tapes would actually start to jump.

 If a Disney movie's on, I'll be up front like Lucky of "101 Dalmatians."
(source)

(Now that I'm older, my feminist tendencies sometime impede my love for the princess films. I'm not one to silence myself to get a guy or get married because a law says so. And this social commentary is a bit disturbing but has a point. Then I remember that these ARE stories, and the warm fuzzies of childhood glee return. Anyways...)

Disney has a hold on all things sentimental movie-wise, so it was no surprise when I found myself back in the day beside my pal Christina (hi!) checking out the Kirstie Kelly for Disney line of wedding gowns in our high-school library. Each design is inspired by a different Disney princess, and I love this one based on my headstrong, bookwormy pal Belle.

Style B2810
(source)

And logically, Disney gets in on the location game, offering weddings and honeymoons at Disneyland, Disney World and even on its cruises. Don't worry, this was totally nixed by both of us. Surprised? I honestly think that would be overkill, especially being around crowds on your big day.

Besides the obvious, there are ways to integrate some Disney magic into the wedding experience without going hokey or over the top. Case in point: A few days ago, The Wedding Chicks featured a gorgeously adorable engagement photo session by Wildflowers Photography inspired by the Disney and Pixar hit "Up."

I'm not usually a fan of themed photo shoots, but this one is too cute! Fitting for such a moving film.

From the screen...

(source)

... to reality!

(source)

Check out the rest of the shoot here (complete with grape soda!). For those that have seen the movie, aren't these photos perfection? For those who haven't, get on that!

Are you a Disney fan? Would you be a little weirded out by a full-on Disney wedding?

An illustrated start of 2010

This past month or so has held so many great events and memories for us, so I set up this slideshow to give you a slice of our life.

We went to Mexico around New Year's, followed by heading to Phoenix for the proposal (!), flew to San Diego at the end of January for my friends' wedding and now are facing snow of epic proportions here in D.C.

Hope you enjoy! If you want to pause, there's a button in the lower left-hand corner.

Winter wonderland

I was born and raised in California, then I moved to Arizona. While both states have great snowy destinations, I'll take sunny skies any day. Having moved to D.C. just more than a year ago, I became fascinated by snow (read: I act like a squealing 5-year-old) and that feeling hasn't faded.

The D.C. metro area is bracing for a big blizzard tomorrow similar to one that we had right before Christmas, which was nicknamed the Snowpocalypse. (You can name tomorrow's, too.) All the typical newspaper stories have been written about crowded grocery stores, fighting for jugs of water and the like, especially with it endangering Super Bowl (and Puppy Bowl!) Sunday. I don't know if I'm just naive, but I don't see why someone like me needs to fuss: Greg and I don't have a car, our employers follow the government's lead with regards to postponing work and there's always tons of food in our house. And we're content to stay in and blog all weekend, haha. :)

If anything, it's an opportunity for a big kid like me to go enjoy myself in the beauty of nature. Yes, I still play in the snow.

 

Scenes from the December blizzard. Matt and I were unsuccessful

in building a snowman. (Photos via Greg's iPhone)

And since I am wedding-crazy, I've come across many winter weddings during my blog travels. Though I know I'd never get married anywhere that cold — boy, are they pretty.

 

From a Colorado photographer, mmm. (source)

 

Taken in the streets of D.C.! (source)

Imagine shots like that with all the beautiful monuments in the back. I definitely want to do an engagement photo shoot so we have material for save-the-dates, other paper goods and decor at the wedding, but part of me wonders if such seasonal photos would get old quick. We probably won't do this, but then again, there are six more weeks of winter.