Tuesday, January 6, 2009

That Wedding: Showered With Love, Coins, and Hugs

As the guests gathered outside to wait for us to exit the temple there was a flurry of activity while everyone tried to finish getting ready. The groomsmen were given their ties (all from ebay) and the boutonnières Mamacado crafted for them. Isn't she amazing?



MOH Shay has often acted as Mamacado's second shooter at weddings and because of that has become an expert at pinning bout's on.



Big congrats to BM Nate who got engaged this weekend and will be planning a wedding of his own in the coming months.



Kelli captured a great shot of my cousin Jaimie, who is a Seattle photographer herself (and captured some of the fabulous shots you will see in my recaps). I was lucky to have a lot of guests interested in photography present at the wedding.



I love this shot of GM Jasher and his girlfriend (now fiancée!) waiting outside in the sunlight to warm up. We really lucked out with the such nice sunny weather in the middle of October (especially for Seattle!)



Honestly, I find this shot horrifying. This is NOT what you want to see the uncle you asked to act as videographer doing minutes before you emerge as husband and wife. I can't even look at it. It's so terrible!



One of the things that Kelli did that I love was to take a second to capture pretty portraits of my BM's! They worked so hard to help me get ready and they all looked so pretty in the outfits I told them to wear, I love that I'm not the only who that came away with some nice shots at the end of the day.



As we walked out of the temple doors we were greeted with a wall of sound coming from our family and friends. Whistles, clapping, cheering. It was a feeling of love that hit us like an oncoming train and I wish I had paused just a moment longer to soak it all in.



I looked up to see someone coming toward us.



It's That FIL and That MIL. Why are they looking so mischievous?



I love the look on That Groom's face. It says "I have no idea what my parents are doing, can we just go back inside now?"



Then we both knew. It was the Polish tradition of throwing pennies at the bride and groom!



I knew what they were going to do, but it was still such a shock when the coins came pouring down on us.



Uh-oh I think a few of them went down my dress. Should I fish them out in front of this huge crowd? The answer is yes.



We looked down and thought. Now what?



Good idea honey! You bend down and pick them up. I will stand up here clapping (remember, that is what I do best).


Were they nice to the bride and groom, only making them bend down to pick up one or two? NO! They were merciless, and the coins were everywhere.


People started to laugh at me and say "You have to pick them up too!" So I bent down and joined in. I kept one hand over my chest the entire time because I was afraid of giving everyone a little show.


That FIL looks quite proud of himself, don't you think?



Both That Groom and I were really happy that his parents brought a little piece of Poland to our thoroughly American wedding.



I'm pretty bummed that in the shuffle of things that day, we ended up losing this bag and all of the coins inside of it. What a wonderful memory box addition that would have been!



Finally, we were done!



One of my favorite shots (and my favorite memories!) from the entire wedding.




We realized that in all the craziness we hadn't yet indulged in one of the most important elements, our first public kiss as a married couple!



Then the hugging began. Looking through the photos I realized that I always hug with my eyes closed.



That Groom, on the other hand, always left his eyes open.



It only took me a few seconds to lose my veil. "You take care of the veil for now maids!" I said.


The hug I was most nervous about was the one with That FIL. Why? Because we would have to kiss! The kissing still makes me really nervous. Don't people miss and accidentally kiss on the mouth all the time?



Alright, we're going in. He's going to go left, I'll go right.



Right cheek, left cheek, right cheek.



And done! I made it without any embarassing mishaps yet again. Now that we have done it a few times it's one of my favorite things about seeing That FIL.




Then there were so many hugs to be had! Mother and son hugs.



Best friend hugs!



Thank-you-for-flying-all-the-way-from-California-to-be-my-bMaid hugs!


Extra special hugs for the one who flew all the way from Poland!



And a few sweet hugs to be had for those who were a little bit overcome.



My lovely bMaids managed to catch me in the middle of all that hugging to put my veil back on.


It started out as a simple enough task for one.



But then everyone wanted in on the fun!



This is one of the many reasons why I wanted so many bridesmaids. To be surrounded by so many women who truly care about you is a wonderful feeling.


Thanks ladies, it looks as good as new.


One piece of advice? Make sure more than one person knows how to put your bustle up correctly. I had to drag That Mother away from all the festivities since she was the only one who knew how.


Photo by a family friend

While I was busy doing all of that, Kelli managed to grab some really great shots of That Groom looking relaxed and happy. This is definitely my favorite.



Not only do I like to clap, I apparently also like to flash cheesy grins at the camera whenever the opportunity presents itself. There's this one.



And this one.


And this shot, which I think is my favorite individual portrait of myeslf from the day.



Kelli managed to capture a few good shots of my bouquet before I completely trashed it during group portraits.



I thought the bouquet wrap turned out really nice for the last minute job it was. I grabbed some diamond head pins and green iridescent ribbon from my mom's house and BM Princess Jess and I made the bouquet and wrapped it up the night before the wedding. I think if I were to do it over I would have used pearl headed pins instead.



Soon I was tired of hugs and my internal planner clock was ticking saying "Keep to the schedule!" What did we have scheduled next? Why those boring, awful group shots of course. Don't worry, I found a few fun things to do to pass the time.

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That Wedding: To Wed! To Wed!

After I rushed everyone out of the woods there were quick hugs all around (I'm usually really casual about whether I show up to things on time, but the day before the wedding we visited the temple and I had a breakdown when we walked in 2 minutes late. I didn't want a repeat on the wedding day.) It was so sad to say goodbye to Sistacado, MOH Shay. Since she is not yet endowed she was not able to attend the sealing. We'd known almost our entire lives that this would probably be the case, but it was still hard to say "See you when I am a Mrs!"



The closer it got, the more demanding I became. I think I am saying "Someone needs to come get my flowers from me! I can't carry all of these things at once."



I'm joking about being crazy about being on time. I was yelling over my shoulder "Mr. Avo hurry up! We're going to be late!" He was so kind and patient and carried my mom's dress in without a word.



That is definitely the face of someone who needs to relax. Luckily there are no more faces like that for the rest of the day. Hooray!



See all of those people in front of us? They are actually gathered outside to greet another bride and groom on their way out of the temple. I was so nervous the bride and groom would decided to come out right when we approached and that we would run into them and spoil their big moment!



We made it through the crowds and we were in!



I think that many of you wonder what a temple sealing is like. For most it is very difficult to comprehend being married in a place where all those who we love most can't be present. Being in the temple is the most beautiful experience I have ever had the privilege to undertake. As difficult of a choice as it was for my husband (his parents were not able to attend), I know that neither of us regret choosing to be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. The entire experience was serene, hallowed, and glorious.

After changing into my mom's wedding dress, I was led into a small room to meet Mr. Avocado met with the officiant who would be presiding over a sealing, and he spent a few minutes asking us questions and getting to know us. I waved at our family and friends as they walked by us on the way to the sealing room. When all of our friend and family had been seated, it was time.

We were led into a room that looks much like this one. An altar sits in the middle of the room, flanked by large mirrors on either side. These mirrors are included in every sealing room in all the temples around the world (to my knowledge). Setting the two mirrors across from each other creates a reflection in each that seems to go on forever. It is a very visual reminder that the covenant of marriage we are about to enter into will last through death and on into eternity.



We were seated on a loveseat underneath one of the mirrors, both of us dressed completely in white. The officiant began, saying words very similar to these:

“Today is your wedding day. You are caught up in the emotion of your marriage. Temples were built as a sanctuary for such ordinances as this. We are not in the world. The things of the world do not apply here and should have no influence upon what we do here. We have come out of the world into the temple of the Lord. This becomes the most important day of your lives.

“You were born, invited to earth, by parents who prepared a mortal tabernacle for your spirit to inhabit. Each of you has been baptized. Baptism, a sacred ordinance, is symbolic of a cleansing, symbolic of death and resurrection, symbolic of coming forward in a newness of life. It contemplates repentance and a remission of sins. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a renewal of the covenant of baptism, and we can, if we live for it, retain a remission of our sins.

“You, the groom, were ordained to the priesthood. You had first conferred upon you the Aaronic Priesthood and probably have progressed through all the offices thereof—deacon, teacher, and priest. Then the day came when you were found worthy to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. That priesthood, the higher priesthood, is defined as the priesthood after the holiest order of God, or the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God (see Alma 13:18; Hel. 8:18; D&C 107:2–4). You were given an office in the priesthood. You are now an elder.

“Each of you has received your endowment. In that endowment you received an investment of eternal potential. But all of these things, in one sense, were preliminary and preparatory to your coming to the altar to be sealed as husband and wife for time and for all eternity. You now become a family, free to act in the creation of life, to have the opportunity through devotion and sacrifice to bring children into the world and to raise them and foster them safely through their mortal existence; to see them come one day, as you have come, to participate in these sacred temple ordinances.

“You come willingly and have been judged to be worthy. To accept one another in the marriage covenant is a great responsibility, one that carries with it blessings without measure.” Source

We were pronounced man and wife (at exactly 12:48 according to my uncle), we kissed, I cried. Afterward those in attendance filed past us out of the room, hugging and kissing us in acts of congratulations. We separated briefly while I went back to the brides room to change into my wedding dress and then I met up with my new husband in the lobby. I clutched his hand and we walked out into the sunshine together as man and wife, greeted by the sound of applause and cheers and an all-encompassing feeling of love from our family and friends.

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Monday, January 5, 2009

That Wedding: Woodsy Family Portraits

We wanted our immediate family portraits to be epic. We wanted something we would get excited about hanging on our wall. So we restructured the day a little bit and asked our parents and my sister to meet us in the woods after our own portrait session and before our marriage ceremony. I realize now that if we didn't have the vintage suitcases the plan would not have worked and we all would have been taking portraits standing in a line in the middle of the woods. There is nothing epic about that.

But something magic happened when we added those suitcases to the mix and the shots became really beautiful. Well they would be beautiful if the two lovebirds front and center could take their eyes off each other long enough to look at the camera!



It was a good time. Really it was. How else could I show you a picture with everyone smiling and laughing?



Apparently bunny ears are funny in all countries.


I made sure to get some formal portraits with each of my family members, since I knew there was a chance we wouldn't have another chance in the madness of the day. Make sure you do this!



I'm going to guess Mamacado doesn't love this shot, but I do since we are making the exact same expression yet again.



It's a little bit freaky how much my dad looks like his dad in this picture. Except he has all his teeth (Grandpa loves to pop his tooth out and scare us grandkids, which I guess explains where I got my tendency to go toothless from).



I love this series of photos. Mr. Avo and his parents only look semi-excited to be in the photos.



Then FILcado and MILcado get the urge to flash a thumbs up at the camera. Mr. Avocado says "Really mom and dad?"



If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Polish people are the coolest.



A wall worthy shot of the groom and his family.



We set ourselves up for a family portrait with the new addition to the family and everything was looking rather staid and a little bit boring.



Sistacado decides to spice things up a little bit. What is this pose? I don't know.



I can't be mad at her for ruining the last shot with her silliness once I look at this ultra sexy shot. Where does she come up with this stuff?



Mamacado is so bummed Suavacado is not in this shot because it is hands down our favorite family portrait ever. I have a feeling it's going to be blown up to a 40X32 on Mamacado's wall very soon.



I was very calm and relaxed for these photos, but once they were finished I was back to crazy bride mode once again. I ran back through the forest yelling "Get me to the church on time!"

All photos, unless otherwise noted, by that hot babe Kelli Nicole.

That Wedding: Bridesmaid Party!
That Wedding: Whole Foods (Rehearsal-ish) Luncheon
That Wedding: Harbor Sailing
That Wedding: Putting My Face On
That Wedding: The Gift Exchange
That Wedding: Dressing The Bride
That Wedding: Bridal Details
That Wedding: The First Look
That Wedding: Into The Woods
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Sunday, January 4, 2009

Capturing "Studio Quality" Ring Shots

Yes, I know the ring shot train has left the station, but I'm standing here with my camera in my hand crying out "But wait! Let me on! I think I have some good ideas to share." So if the conductor (in this case Mrs. Bee) wouldn't mind hitting the brakes for just a second so I can catch up, I'll hopefully be able to share a few secrets that might help you in your quest to capture the perfect ring shot.

I'm guessing that many of you received fancy new cameras for Christmas (I'm jealous of you lucky girls who were blessed with a dSLR this year), and unless you have previous photography experience you are probably shooting all your pictures on the automatic setting. This ring shot tutorial of mine should help you attempt to turn your camera off of the automatic setting and start exploring things like aperture, shutter speed and ISO (I promise I'll explain those really confusing terms soon). Even though it can be kind of scary, shooting on manual not only makes you a better photographer but with enough practice you will find that you can take better pictures than the camera can!

If you don't have a dSLR don't worry! I don't. I have the Canon G9 (which Mr. Avo thinks is exactly the same as an SLR but I disagree!), which I love because it can be used in so many different ways. If you can find it, consult your manual camera to see which settings you can manipulate. Remember you are looking for terms like macro, ISO, aperture, exposure, manual focus, and shutter speed. Manipulating any combination of these settings can make a huge difference in the ring shots you take!

You are going to need a set-up that looks something like this (a system I learned about through Mrs. Eggplants awesome blog!) A frosted plastic bin (I think mine is clear and I want to switch to frosted for the light diffusion it provides), 2 lamps, a piece of white poster board, and a tripod. Read the exact setup instructions on the make blog.



I got my tripod for $5 off of ebay. It's a piece of junk but it makes a huge difference in the sharpness of my photos. Now for a quick explanation of the settings you will want to manipulate. Consult your camera user manual to learn what to push and pull to change these settings. If you lost your manual, you might be able to find an online version here!

Macro: Anne Ruthmann encouraged you to use the macro setting in her post. It looks like a little flower or tulip. It's the only way to get really clear ring shots (the other automatic focus setting is landscape and it looks like a mountain)

Manual Focus: My g9 has a manual focus setting (find the button that says MF) and when I seleft manual focus I turn the scroll wheel and a little box apppears in the middle of my screen showing me a closeup of my subject. If you are using MF take a lot of shots at different zoom levels because it's really tough to judge the perfect focus on that tiny screen.

I'm not going to give you a really technical description of the following terms (they are still really difficult for me to understand), I'll just explain what changing them will do to your pictures.

ISO: The higher the ISO number, the more grainy your photo will be. So 1600 ISO will be really grainy, whereas 200 ISO will be very clear and sharp. If your picture is really dark, you can make it lighter by changing the ISO to a higher number (this gives you more light and more grain).

Shutter speed: The shutter is the thing in your camera that goes "click!" when you take a picture. The longer the shutter is open, the more light enters the camera. The numbers on your shutter speed setting range from fractions (like 1/60) to whole numbers (like 2"). A higher number (my camera has a setting for 15 seconds!) will give your photo more light. A lower number (like 1/60) will give your camera less light. The lower the number is, the less blurry your photos will be.

Aperture: Aperture is REALLY hard for me. I didn't understand it until I read this post on Pioneer Woman. Aperture is what gives your photos depth. You know those really cool photos where one small thing is in focus in the foreground, and everything else is blurry in the background? That's called depth. Manipulating the aperture will you a range of numbers with a decimal (mine ranges from 2.8 to 8.0) A lower number (like 2.8) will have LESS in focus. A high number (like 8.0) will have MORE in focus. Since you want the focus to be on your ring, I reccomend setting your camera to a lower number.

Exposure: You also might be able to manipulate the exposure of your photos. A very high exposure setting will give your photos a "blown out" look, where the whites will be overly bright. A low exposure can look a little bit dull. Exposure is also easily manipulated in Photoshop or other photo editing programs.

The last thing you want to think about is white balance. I change my white balance by choosing settings like "daylight", "cloudy" or "tungsten" on my camera. Consult your manual to find out how you can make your whites as white as possible in your photos.

I hope I didn't lose you in all of those explanations. Maybe the best route to take would be to choose one or two of those options and play around with them until you understand how they work.

Below are some ring shots I took, straight out of camera (I usually photoshop the heck out of my photos but I wanted to show you what you can accomplish by changing the settings on your camera). I've included the information about the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for each photo, which might help you when you take your own photos.


ISO: 400
Shutter Speed: 1/15
Aperture: 2.8



ISO: 400
Shutter Speed: 1/50
Aperture: 2.8



ISO: 400
Shutter Speed: 1/25
Aperture: 2.8



The bears below are the first gift I ever received from Mr. Avocado. He and a friend teamed up to give me these salt and pepper shakers when they went on vacation. Mr. Avo later told me that he gave me the one with the heart on the chest on purpose (we weren't dating at the time!).

ISO: 400
Shutter Speed: 1/15
Aperture: 2.8



ISO: 400
Shutter Speed: 1/25
Aperture: 3.2



I'd really love it if you would come back and share your results with me if you use my advice!
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Thursday, January 1, 2009

Mrs. Avocado: Professional Wedding Industry Stalker

For a self-proclaimed wedding aficionado like myself, big name wedding industry professionals are my version of celebrities. If they made a wedding industry version of People magazine I would wait with breathless anticipation for each weeks edition. "Oh my goodness!" I would exclaim. "That photographer is dating that florist! And look, my favorite wedding cake baker had a baby!"

So when I found out that Jessica Claire (she is Mr. Avocado's dream photographer) would be shooting the New Years Vow Renewal I attended this week, I immediately started scheming ways to introduce myself to her. You know that scene in Win A Date With Tad Hamilton where she practices introducing herself to Tad multiple times in front of the mirror attempting to get her smile, tone of voice, and pose just right? That was SO me. I love love love photographers and the pictures they take.

Of course Jessica was super nice and turned to me the afternoon of the ceremony and said "Hi my name is Jessica." I giggled and said "I know", and then the bride outed me as the stalker I am. Jessica didn't even get freaked out (or didn't show it) when we were talking at dinner and she said "Oh I can't have a drink tonight, I'm working." And I replied with "But you did at the wedding you shot last year." Or that other time when I directly quoted something she wrote on her blog like a year ago.

Jessica Claire, Michael Norwood, and Mark Brooke were all perfectly nice about my fanaticism and even agreed to pose in a photo with me. Michael shot all three days worth of events using exclusively film, and I even engaged in a little mini conversation with him while I pretended to know what I was talking about. My hands were clammy and I wondered if he knew what a fake I am. I threw out terms like Holga, Polaroid, and nodded my head when he said "Medium Format". I giggled like a teenage girl who finds herself face to face with Johnathan Taylor Thomas in 1999.



The most exciting thing that happened? I shot a picture USING THE CAMERA OF JESSICA CLAIRE. I depressed the focus button just like she showed me and heard the shutter click and wondered if it was the worst photo ever taken with her beautiful camera. I think I am now a better photographer through osmosis, just from holding her camera in my hands.

In short, they were all extremely cool about my slightly stalker-ish demeanor, and I'm very excited to write a little guest recap of the event using their photos in the near future.

Have you ever met any "wedding celebrities"? Would you subscribe to my imaginary wedding industry celebrity magazine?
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