My Friend Has a Camera, He Can Do My Photos. Right?

Professional photographers are very passionate about insisting that you shouldn't ask just any friend with a camera to take your wedding photos. But aren't they just out to make some money? They are running a business after all. What's the real difference between a professional with a fancy Canon camera and your friend with one?

Seattle Bride set out to answer that question and the results are quite fascinating. They asked Cody Ellerd, a professional travel writer with a Nikon D60 to tag along with Joey Hong of John & Joseph Photography at the wedding of Vicky Wu and Chris Nicoll. Cody Ellerd has had a few of her shots make the covers and pages of magazines so she definitely has an eye for photography! To quote her "If you didn’t budget for a professional photographer at your wedding, I’m the friend you might call to take pictures."

After her experience with John Hong, Cody has changed her mind about hiring a friend for her own wedding which she is in the midst of planning. To quote her: "I now disagree more than ever with the digital-age adage that “now everyone is a photographer.” Tens of thousands of dollars in education, equipment and experience separate me from the pros. Professional photographers, like any other artists or business owners, need to spend money to make money. When you hire them, you’re helping them pay for their investments."

An example of Cody's shot:

And John's:

You can see the rest of the photos and read the full article on Seattle Bride's website.

There are so many reasons why I would be scared to ask a friend or family member to photography my wedding. Do they have a contract? What happens if their camera or lens breaks? How will they handle the posing of group photos? What if their landscape or portrait photography skills don't translate well for the varied circumstances of a wedding day?

Are you having a friend or family member (non wedding photographer) photograph your wedding? Or how are you making room in your budget for a professional?

Sistacado Got Married!

I have never felt so grateful to have one sibling in my entire life, because marrying off a family member is exhausting! I am sure it was much more so for my mother who outdid herself on the DIY details of this wedding. But Sistacado looked beautiful, and they both were so happy, and that is all I have ever wished for her.

I know it's a bit unusual for someone to "recap" the weddings of their sibling, but I think you're going to agree that it would be a good idea in this case because of the amount of unbelievably awesome DIY details my mom and sister came up with! I have a few iphone shots I took throughout the day to act as teasers for right now, and when Kelli Nicole (yes, Sisatacado loved Mrs. Avo's photos so much that she used the same photographer!) gives the photos back I'll see if I can get my hands on them to share some of the inspirational details with all of you.

A bridesmaid with no updo experience did her hair (after a failed attempt to do her own) and she altered a strapless dress to make it temple ready. Can you believe those sleeves are built on to what was once a strapless dress? The pleats on the bottom and at the sleeves were her own design.

The veil was fashioned by Mamacado and the flower comb purchased at a boutique in Utah.

Oh those shoes. To die for!

She had my grandma crochet her a garter with a blue ribbon running through it.

She was married in the Columbia River temple in Kennewick, WA.

Similarities to my wedding included gold ties for the fathers and groomsmen and suitcases in the group and family photos. We used the suitcases again in the photos to add a cohesive look to the pictures from our weddings, that way my mom can create a photo wall of family photos with an element that brings them together (and the same style shots since it is the same photographer!) They were also one boutonnière short so they gave the one my dad wore to my wedding to one of the groomsmen instead of trying to make a new one on the fly!

The bridesmaids wore black birdcage veils with fascinators (those who read my recaps will remember I had my maids do something similar). Of course these were created by my mom.

They ran out of black netting so I wore a cream birdcage, made of the same netting as the bride's birdcage! My pearl earrings are by Emily Walter Ryan (find them here) and my bolero is by Mary and Angelika.

Feathery centerpieces? Made by Mamacado of course! I've heard rumor that they are going to try to sell them, so if you're interested in picking them up from SLC please message me and let me know!

The cake topper was DIY (of course) and made from a candle that Mamacado picked up somehwere. They covered the top with moss and pearls and feathers and it looked darling!

Cake buffet. Yet another duplicate detail from my wedding, and quite possibly the best idea ever.

I love that our weddings were so similar, and yet so different AND, the best part, there was never any competition between us. We got married in different seasons in different places surrounded by different people to very different men. No we'll live different lives, but I think they'll both be happy ones.

Did you have a sibling get married around the same time you did? How were your weddings similar or different?

The Newlywed 10... wait, ummm 15

In 17 days, my little sister and I will be switching roles from the ones we had last October. I'll be the MOH and she'll be the bride! LDS girls tend to have short engagements (mine was quite long at 7 months), and she's pulling this thing together in just over two months.

I'm so happy for her, and I'm very excited to be wearing the black dress and new nude heels seen below (please try to pretend I'm wearing make-up and did my hair), but I've been feeling a little soft around the edges lately after gaining a total of 15 LBS since my wedding day in October.

I worked hard to look and feel confident on my wedding day, and I swore that I wouldn't let myself slide back into bad habits once the honeymoon was over. Unfortunately the call of our new Kitchenaid mixer and the row of pretty new cookbooks were too much for me to handle and I started baking and cooking with a focus on taste, not on health. I made my first chocolate cake, used phyllo dough for the first time, and went through multiple sticks of butter. And, worst of all, I started dishing out equal portions for both of us. He would eat half the pizza, and I would eat the other half.

Mr. Avocado has been supportive and wonderful, both telling me he loves the way I look, and encouraging me in my efforts to lose weight when I ask him for help. I lost about 50 lbs a few years ago by tracking my calories using Fitday (I use the desktop version) and decided to start weighing and measuring my meals once again, but Suavacado suggested adding a second element to my routine to help with the fitness and activity side of things. I would start tracking both my calories in, and my calories out in a very controlled manner.

You may have seen this black armband on The Biggest Loser contestants before? It's called the Bodybugg, and it tracks calorie output. It measures how fast your body is moving, the amount of heat your body is giving off, the electrical conductivity of your skin, and skin temperature. Yeah, I have no idea what that means, but it's supposed to be really accurate!

It's not the most fashionable thing I've ever worn, so I try to convince myself I look really tough and cool whenever I wear it. :)

I also bought a digital display, which gives me the chance to see how I'm doing in real time. 2291 calories burned is still not quite what I need to lose weight as fast as I would like, but that's actually a really good number for me. Yesterday I burned a pitiful 1747, and only walked 1901 steps. I don't have to wonder why I'm gaining weight anymore, I'm realizing that I'm very, very inactive!

I'm grateful that my Mr. Avo was willing to splurge on this for me, because it has made a huge difference in my motivation to be active. I'm getting a lot more workouts in than I normally do because I want to see my number of calories burned be as high as possible.

That being said, in the end it's just a fancy "toy" that tells me I need to get up and start moving around a lot more. Something I actually already knew! This was definitely a pricey investment for us, and knowing how much money we put into it makes me want to use it as much as possible (similar to the way entering into a contract with a personal trainer makes you workout more often). If you can budget the money for it, I think it's a great investment (as long as you don't mind wearing the big black band on your arm all the time!)

But if you can't afford it, I think that's okay too. The overall message for me was to get outside and get moving, and I've started doing that, even in this unbearable Dallas heat. If you're trying to lose like I am I believe you can do it!

What kind of activities do you participate in to get yourself moving during the heat of the summer?

Taking San Antonio By Storm

This weekend I had the privilege of meeting two lovely ladies you might recognize.

MRS. Lemonade

and

MRS. Kitten.

When Lemonade asked me if I would like to come to come down to San Antonio for her wedding I danced around the room. When Mr. Avocado said I could go (jobless me doesn't really have the budget for adventures like this so I would have to "borrow" from him!) I could hardly contain my excitement. I knew from Lemonades posts that it was going to be a party to remember, and it was definitely all of that and so much more!

I partied with Lemonade and her friends and family Friday night, met up with Kitten on Saturday morning, and then spent the rest of the day following Lemonade around wherever she went. The lovely Mrs. Lemonade was kind of enough to agree to let me do a little bit of a teaser post for all of you. She is going to be able to do some recaps to remember once she has all of her photos back!

Mr. and Miss Lemonade doing a little dance at La Fogata. It was Mr. Lemonades birthday that night and he was nice enough to share it with all of us. :)

I was sitting down for dinner when I naively asked what the eggs on the table were for.

Next thing I know I'm having a confetti filled egg cracked over my head. Fiesta baby!

The next morning I woke up and spent the morning with Kitten before heading over to watch the bride and her maids (and mom!) get their makeup done.

I love watching each woman have their "I'm a bride!" moment. Lemonade began jumping around like a little girl for hers!

How many bridesmaids, mothers, and flower girls does it take to attach a veil? Apparently more than this as Lemonade joked that she was going to have to ask Mrs. Avocado to come over and do it. :)

A shoutout to the lovely Mrs. Lovebug!

The backdrop for the ceremony was stunning. STUNNING. S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G. This photo does not do it justice.

The grooms face the moment he laid eyes on his bride coming down the aisle.

It was a beautiful ceremony.

Presenting, Mr. and Mrs. Lemonade! The newly married couple literally floated into the reception.

Mrs. Lemonade's dad mentioned Weddingbee in his toast! Lemonade and I were so proud to be bees! I'm not sure why Mr. Lemonade is making that face at her in this picture though.

There was a photobooth. I visited three times. Twice by myself. I am not ashamed.

Lost in Austin blew my mind. Everyone danced all night long.

Loved this moment. Mr. Lemonade fainted at the sight of his new wifes hot hot legs!

The last dance.

And the getaway!

Congratulations again to the couple. I love you guys!

Goodbye...For Now

Have you ever seen Hello Dolly? There is a scene where Dolly sings to Mr. Vandergelder "Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye! Goooooooodbye. Don't try to stop me Horace!" Dolly says goodbye, but she doesn't really mean it, since she has no intention of ever leaving.

Scroll to 44 seconds in the video.



I show you this so you understand what I mean when I say I'm pulling a Hello Dolly. I'm saying "Goodbye" but what I really mean is "Goodbye for right now". Friends and family frequently ask if I'm still writing for that Weddingbee thing, and my response is "Always!" I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to give it up completely, and so you will continue to hear from me sporadically throughout the years until Bee says "Enough Avocado!"

But for right now, I need a break. Somehow, life seems even crazier now that the wedding is over. I have school to worry about, a husband to take care of, and lot's of other exciting things going on in my life. Rumor has it though, that my sister is considering throwing her own big party this Fall, and since she has promised me the official role of wedding planner, I'll have plenty to tell you about!

Why the big dramatic post about my break? Before I was was a writer for WB, I always got so excited when the Bees I had followed from Will You to I Do would post their newlywed blog addresses so that I could continue to follow along with their lives. It feels presumptuous to type it out, but I thought there might be some of you who felt the same way, who might like to know what I'm doing now that I don't have wedding on the brain 24/7.

Shortly after the wedding I started a new blog called That Wife (before I was Miss Avocado I was That Bride). I write about my adventures in the kitchen, photography, struggles with my weight, my faith, my overwhelming desire to have a baby, and pretty much whatever else I have on my mind. I do challenges and those who sign up with me try to cook/bake something, take a picture, and make a lifestyle change all geared around a certain theme each month. I'm lucky to have such a supportive husband because I'm absolutely in love with my blogging! In November I committed to blogging for 365 days in a row, and I'm still going strong (sometimes posting multiple times a day even!)

So you won't see me dropping off the face of the internet anytime soon. Right now I'm all about my business ventures and avoiding school, and hopefully sometime soon you should hear talk of cribs and nurseries and little baby booties (not yet, but soon!)

When I received the email from Penguin informing me that I had been accepted as a Bee I jumped around flapping my arms and crying like I had just won Miss America. It has changed my life in so many ways. I've thought long and hard of some way I can express my appreciation for Bee, Peng, Mr. and BIL Bee, my fellow writers, and ALL of you readers. I thought about writing it in all caps, or using lots of exclamation points, or even composing you a little poem. None of that gets my point across strongly enough though. As melodramatic as it sounds, writing for WB has been one of the best things I have ever done. It wouldn't have been the same without all of your love and support. Thank you for following along as I led you through the craziness that was planning my wedding. Thanks for all of your kind and enthusiastic comments about my wedding recaps. You make me feel so loved.

All of you make Weddingbee what it is. Thank you for letting me BEE here with you! (I just couldn't pass that one up!)

Love,

Jenna

That Wedding: Hometown Reception

After a full week of absolute gluttony and decadence while on our Relaximoon, it was time for us to put on our wedding attire for the last time and pose as bride and groom. We had gone back and forth so many times about whether the hometown reception was a good idea, or even necessary, but now that it's over I'm really glad we took the time to spend some time with the community that helped raise me.

I wish I had a camera in my hand as we drove up the road to the reception site. Our dear friends who hosted the party for us had sprinkled their property with lamps, torches, and twinkling lights. It looked magical. Guests were directed to park in a lot a few hundred yards from the house, and if they didn't feel like walking (it was a cold October night!), they were escorted up to the house on golf carts.

I smiled as I walked into the tent. I was so happy that we had decided to create our centerpieces ourselves, because it meant we would be able to re-use them later. For very little money we had created a cozy and beautiful atmosphere for the evening.

Of course Mamacado was walking around with camera in hand before the reception started. I don't think she can leave home without it.

The food! Oh the food was amazing. We worked with Jeff and Michelle of Sage Catering out of Yakima, WA. They worked to create a completely personalized meal that had our guests raving. Their presentation was really got me, since I'm a detail person, and Jeff went out of his way to make all of the food look at delicious as it tasted. If you are a central Washington bride, get in contact with them! I'm really happy with what they did for us.

When they asked what kind of menu we were interested in serving, I mentioned that we would love to have a fusion of foods that described the childhoods of both Suavacado and myself. For the Polish dishes they made mini cabbage rolls, pierogi, potato pancakes, sernik (Polish cheesecake with chocolate glaze), and poppyseed cake. Mr. Avo couldn't get enough of the poppyseed cake and said it was some of the best he has ever had! The American style dishes included beef satay, sliders, french fries, crudites, fruit and dip, mini apple pie bites, and chocolate decadence.

I wasn't surprised when many of our guests went straight for the food line instead of coming to see us! Here are the pierogis, don't they look delicious?

Guests were greeted by this frame as they entered the tent. It's a wedding gift from Mr. Avocado's aunt, and the pictures are of my cute little husband as a boy with his grandpa. The poem is in Polish, written by his grandfather about the time they spent together. We really wanted to find ways to make the decor and atmosphere very personal at this reception, and putting this poem on display really set the tone for the night.

For the festivities, I did my favorite fancy hairdo. My sister wasn't there that evening, and when talking to her a few weeks later she said, "I heard your hair looked really great that night!" I also loved being able to put on my birdcage veil one last time.

I love this picture of my Mr. Avocado and Papacado.

Who would be crazy enough to have an outdoor tented reception in Washington state at the end of October? We would!

My grandma knit me this very cozy, very soft shrug to keep me from turning into a popscicle that night. Now that the wedding is over, details like this shrug that I can use over and over in my everyday life are my very favorite.

It got so cold that our fabulous hostess dug into their snowmobiling closet for some heat packs. Once the guests saw mine they started asking for their own set as well. I spent most of the evening holding them over my ears and nose.

When I created the postcards for our guestbook at the Seattle wedding, I made sure they were general enough that we could use them for our hometown reception as well without anyone realizing that we made them pull double duty.

The little ones stayed entertained with a free wedding themed coloring book I found on the blu sky designs blog.

We had one of the images from our After Wedding Shoot with Mamacado on display. The benefit to having your mom take the pictures is that you can have the session on Friday, and display the images on Saturday. I'm not sure many other couples see such a quick turnaround time. :)

Although it was quickly thrown together, the slideshow of images from our relationship was a big hit. I was really overwhelmed by the amount of gifts we received. It was wonderful to spend time with so many people who care about us.

Compared to our wedding extravaganza the previous weekend. our hometown reception was a really laid back and informal event. There was no first dance, no cake cutting, and no bouquet. What we did have was good food, family, friends, laughter, and love. I realized that these things are all we ever needed.

Koniec. The End.

Previously:

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
That Wedding: Woodsy Family Portraits
That Wedding: To Wed! To Wed!
That Wedding: Showered With Love, Coins, and Hugs
That Wedding: Group Shots With a Little Spice
That Wedding: Those Groomsmen
That Wedding: The Whole Party
That Wedding: Me and My Maids (+ Manmaid)
That Wedding: Ring Ceremony Prep
That Wedding: The Ring Ceremony
That Wedding: Let Us Whet Your Appetite
That Wedding: Photobooth
That Wedding: We Dance
That Wedding: Dining Details
That Wedding: Toasting
That Wedding: Bridesmaid Cake Pull
That Wedding: 8 Lovely Cakes
That Wedding: Bedding Down
That Wedding: Grand Exit

That Wedding: Seattle Skyline Finale