At the beginning of the summer, Mateo announced there’s a missile on the roof, outside of his room. Uh-huh. Well, as is pretty much always the case, he was right. There was a toy missile, that somehow was launched up and away onto our roof and it looked pretty fun. We returned the missile to our neighbors pool and promised to buy one for Mateo. Of course, when we get to the store, they don’t have the regular missiles, only the mega missiles, baby baseball bat sized ones. And as any seasoned negotiator will tell you, timing plays a key role and Mateo has it in spades. As we place the mega missile in the cart, he points to droopy-faced Lucas, who is saddened by the prospect of sharing a missile, so we add another to the cart. And then, Mateo reminds us that Pete will be coming over tomorrow to swim and will be quite sad if there’s no missile for him to play with, so, we add another.

Well, as it turns out, the allure of the mega missile is quite strong. While our darling Zelda used to love jumping in after a tennis ball, one look at the mega missile and it’s smooth, gliding path through the pool triggered her prey instinct better than mechanical rabbits for a greyhound and ever since, she would have nothing else. She’d snatch the missile out of the boy’s hands when they came close to the edge and soon she began jumping after it as well. Of course, she could never come close, as it travels under water, until one day, out of the splash, there she is, totally soaked with the missile in her mouth.

Just one last hurdle to clear. Joey too, likes the missile, but in a different way. Zelda loves the chase, she wants to catch it, give it back, rinse and repeat. Joey on the other hand is a bit of a stinker, he likes to tease, he takes the toy, wants you to chase him and when caught, engage in puppy combat (tug of war). Joey would take the missile from Zelda as she got out of the pool and do his thing. This was fixed easily enough, Zelda now drops the rocket on the step as she gets out of the water and guess who won’t stick his face in there to get it?

It’s amazing at how adept she’s become at this and how much fun she has, she really can’t get enough. Which of course, is right in line with Mateo and Lucas, they can’t get enough of this either. While Andrea was in Brasil, we’d sometimes have to add a night swim session, which of course doubled as a bath (there’s lots of chlorine in the pool, right?).

And without further adieu, the amazing Zelda

And what a beautiful day it was too, eventually. We arrived in the midst of a thunder burst, gray and chilly, with a touch of gloom, but since this is Sedona and not Seattle, in less than an hour, the sun shone brightly, the skies were brilliant and the day was a perfect 75 degrees. There’s just something about Sedona that makes for bright, vibrant skies in the middle of the day, they don’t ever seem to get washed out and lose their color.

In real life, Janet is a wedding coordinator at a local venue here in The Valley and this always proves a mixed blessing- they get to see lots and lots of weddings, which can make it a little harder to put their personal touch on things, though Janet did very well and added many personal touches. Sedona proved a great fit, everyone is out of their environment and lots of family came in from across the country to a variety of activities. Destination weddings are neat that way, you get spend more time than normal with those important to you, when everyone is “on vacation”.

The other great thing about photographing a wedding coordinator’s wedding is the planning! We get a two for one, professional wedding planner that knows weddings like the back of her hand and a bride that stays on schedule without even having to try. Easy speasy. As for Jason, he’s a policeman and as such, still carries this air of authority about him, even out of uniform. We’ve also photographed a lot of policeman and have yet to get a proper explanation- just why do they -all shave their heads? Please feel free to share any ideas in the comments section below.

After everyone was ready, we did a “first look” on the veranda and then it was off to Tlaquepaque for some photo fun. Tlaquepaque is a really interesting place, while you know you’re in the southwest, there’s also this village-hamlet vibe, with an European flavor that photographs really well. We had great fun taking some photos and dodging the tourists, one of which was curious if Janet & Jason were actually getting married or just here for a model shoot. I told him both and to check out People magazine in a couple of weeks {grin}, which prompted him to take his own photo as well.

The ceremony site was rather stunning, those big blue skies again, set against Sedona’s red rock, off in the distance, it proved both grandiose and cozy at the same time. Janet was given away by their son Trey, who walked mom down the aisle as a perfect gentleman, it was just so adorable to see, the two of them, meandering down the path slowly. The ceremony was over before we knew it and then it was off to Agave for dinner and dancing and cupcakes! The cupcake display tower was specially designed and created for the wedding day by Jason’s dad and best of all, it was full of cupcakes!

There was much dancing and laughter and a wonderful evening was had by all. Congratulations Jason and Janet & Trey!

Babies are just so sweet, Riley was so little and just a dream to photograph. She was super easy going and so cute I could not help myself and I totally got addicted to photographing her.

Newborn photography sessions are so much fun. Baby photos in general are fun, but with newborns, you just never get that same sense of how truly small and delicate they are, within a week or two, they just grow so much. I still have a purse with Mateo’s newborn photos. He starts kindergarten in two weeks.

Here are some of my favorite images. Congratulations to the proud parents Heather and Josh for such a perfect little baby.

As for the time, that was June! When they told their friends they were getting married outside, in June, in Arizona, I’m sure that raised a few eyebrows, with everybody thinking, it’s going to be unbearable. Well, on the day of their wedding we had this amazing weather in Arizona, so perfect it felt a spring-like 80 degrees. Who woulda thunk it.?

As for the place, another fine selection, they chose Sassi for their ceremony and reception venue, a wonderful little Italian Villa, right here in Scottsdale. We may be partial to Sassi since we work there a lot, but you just can’t argue with the results- fun weddings, talented staff, stellar food and Sassi photographs like a dream. When I asked Brittany if the wedding day was everything she always imagined it would be, she said “Yes, everything and much more, it all was so perfect” then she added, “Well, we did have a couple of little hiccups.” Uh-huh, just like Brazilians are a little into soccer.

They had sent their rings off to the jeweler to be cleaned and for one reason or another the jeweler failed to send them back their rings. On the wedding day at 9:00AM they still did not have the rings. That’s when Brent steps in, finds a courier that was able to send the rings via air, from out of state and they finally arrived, just a few hours before the ceremony started. Well done Brent- a man of action.

Amazingly, that did not worry our easy going couple at all. Brittany said she would marry him with rubber bands if the rings did not make it, she couldn’t care less.  I cared, rubber bands, purple fingers, not so good for my photos. I spied some Cracker Jacks in the corner, and considered the odds and kept that fallback for plan B.

As for the second, minor hiccup. On the morning of their wedding day, Brittany and Brent had yet to get their marriage license, you know, that little piece of paper in the manila envelope, that makes this whole thing official, yes, that one. Well, as previously stated, it was meant to be. Somehow, our happy couple was able to go to the courthouse on their wedding day and secure this precious document! Looks like deciding to get married on a Friday was a better decision than they could have ever possibly known at the time.

As an avid movie goer and lover of romantic comedies, it reminded me of this exchange between Philip & Hugh (Shakespeare in Love)- I made just one tiny, little edit

Philip: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the wedding business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.

Hugh: So what do we do?

Philip: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.

Hugh: How?

Philip: I don’t know. It’s a mystery.

It’s still a mystery. And it all turned out well. The ceremony was charming, complete with real, shiny wedding rings, on a splendid day, all followed with the signing of an actual marriage certificate. A grand time was had by all and they have already started living happily ever after.

Well, that day is upon us and we have decided to sever ties. All of them. That’s right, ten years of comfort and familiarity, made unworkable in the space of thirty days, with differences that took on an irreconcilable shape. It’s over and there’s no going back. We have officially fired Dish Network and Tivo! We’re done, through, finished and kaput.

Ahh, how I remember the early days, when this combination first befuddled and perplexed my lovely young bride- “Why on earth would I want to watch more TV?” she queried. Dish Network carries O Globo, from Rio de Janiero and Tivo allowed for recording around the time-is-fluid Brazilian programming guide (the programs never lined up with the guide). We soon actually watched less TV and began our journey down the lazy river.

Fast forward to today and the proverbial back breaking straw was HD. Tivo and Dish are having an HD urinating contest- the Tivo HD recorder does not work with Dish and the Dish version of Tivo is horrific and unusable (our friends have it and would like to throw it out the window). So what to do? Fire them both. It’s really quite easy.

Get an over the air HD antenna and supplement with Netflix DVD+Streaming, Hulu and a library card. Windows Media Center has it’s own version of Tivo and with a little plugin, *automatically* skips the commercials- sweet- can’t wait to set it up. We don’t watch much TV, but after the little Mongrels go to bed, there’s an hour or so we like to switch gears and wind down. The funny part is, now that we have a gazillion more choices, it’s actually harder to find something to watch than with Tivo, where there’s just a handful of recorded programs to choose from.

The flowers were classics, beautiful, vibrant, red roses, bringing in some color, without dominating the scene. Red roses were used for all the bouquets and rose petals were sprinkled about on the tables, around the floating flower arrangements and candles. The roses were accented with gerber daisies, alternating red and pink, for the centerpieces.

The programs were these cute little fans to help keep the guests cool, after all it gets hot here in Arizona. The same pattern from the table runners was used in the programs, the seating chart and petal holder. All so beautiful.

It was during this escapade that Lucas delivered his latest edict- “You will now call me Thunderhorse! My name is Thunderhorse”.  Mateo, always questing for equality, too, chose a new name, “Lightning”, which I thought was apropos, though he did soften it up a bit when blending into the animal kingdom- “Lightning Bug”. I also learned that trash talking in men’s competitive sports is an innate behavior, within five minutes, Lucas could be heard emphatically- “COME ON, LET’S GOOOOOO LADYBUG!”. Not to be outdone, I begin taunting Lucas with the derisive slur “Thunderbunny!”. He likes it not.

At some point, it dawns on Lucas that bedtime is fast approaching and he needs to set the wheels in motion. When taken with excitement, he speaks very fast and assumes that all of his experiences were also ours, often leading to confusion. Alas, I get it, Thunderhorse was drawing things up in the sand and I was an integral part of the plan.

In summary, the next day, we were to take the car out driving, until we see a horse, at which point I pull over, coax the horse towards me, secure it with one hand and launch Lucas, errr, Thunderhorse on top of the real horse with the other hand and with my third hand, promptly smack the horse on its back side, sending them off on their way. I was on a need to know basis, so I cannot tell you about the second half of the plan, but Thunderhorse showed no concern about how he would return in time for bed.

This is quite funny, unless of course, the next day you have reason to take Thunderhorse and Lightning Bug in the car, dreading the possibility of coming across a horse the entire trip. “Are we there yet?” and “Can you drive with one hand“ are suddenly sounding a lot better.

And then it happened. We saw the horse. I stopped the car. I grabbed the helmet. Lucas jumped on. And off they went.

Well, okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly like that. We might have made a phone call, arranged for a ride. What is for certain is that the idea of Thunderhorse galloping off into the sunset is a much different scenario, when you’re in your pajamas before bed, running around the house, telling everyone your new name, then say, when you’re face to knee with a magnificently powerful creature that could send you over the moon with a simple flick of the hips.

It took Thunderhorse a little time to adjust, but it wasn’t long before the speed demon residing just below the surface took over, the pace quickened and the smile widened. And right on cue,  Andrea begins reciting the litany of reasons we should not be going so fast, though they seemed to just get lost in the wind. Well, that’s our story at least and Thunderhorse and I are sticking to it.

As for our happy couple, they had planned our favorite kind of wedding- enough time for photos (of course) and a great party. Yes, we enjoy the decor, traditions and all the details (they’re great for our albums!) but what we really like is a great party. Letting loose, having fun, really enjoying the moment, because the moment is fleeting.

At the risk of sounding like a sappy Hallmark card, every wedding really is a little different, I’ll leave it to the girls to go into the emotive aspects, for me, it’s more like a night club. Each club has a certain vibe, attracts a certain crowd, which is reflective of its owner and weddings are the same. Everyone keys off of the bride and groom and the style and atmosphere that they envision sets the tone for the entire evening. Kevin & Jen were super relaxed and fun and they put all the pieces in place to let everyone have a great time. More on that later.

We begin the day, a few hours before the ceremony, wedding dress hanging over the door, makeup and hair getting their final touches and the gentleman congregating in the wine room. Kevin stayed the course quite admirably, resisting both temptation and a little teasing. Many brides have the, perhaps not entirely unfounded fear, of their grooms overindulging in drink before the ceremony and request a no drinking pre-ceremony, which of course, most grooms summarily dismiss, but not Kevin. It’s apparent he’s learned one of the basic tenants of marriage already, fight the good fight. Seems to be working splendidly, before the wedding, Kevin and the boys were playing rounds of golf and trekking off to Vegas for weekend hockey tournaments, excellent negotiation Kevin!

And then the moment is upon us. Our happy couple get to spend a little time together, just the two of them, which often turns out to be the only time throughout the entire day. Sassi has this wonderful, meandering path, adjacent to the ceremony site that is perfect for their private moment. We let them admire each other for a little while and then we’re off, working our way around Sassi, a few photos inside, a few outside, rinse and repeat.

Jen is a little nervous and seems to do best when she thinks she’s not being photographed. It doesn’t take long though and she gets her sea legs, mostly by ignoring us and making goo-goo eyes at Kevin. As for Kevin, well, his demeanor hasn’t changed since he arrived. He’s been ready to go, not a care in the world, all smiles and just taking things in.

The ceremony kind of sneaks up on us, the seats are filled and the music has started. Jen’s college friends give a lovely reading, complete with water works and a new record was set for the sand ceremony, “Most Layers in a Heart Shaped Vase” {grin}. And before you knew it, we’re watching them sign the certificate. It’s official!

Time for a few more photos, Kevin’s first drink and off to the grand entrance. The timeline was perfect, we finished up just as twilight was leaving us and then dinner was served. One of the things I love about Sassi is the courtyard. We don’t really get to photograph much during dinner, but at Sassi, just outside the banquet room, there is this lovely courtyard with a fountain, rich, warm lighting and lots of stone and tile. We can keep an eye on the room and break out the tripod for “l’heure bleue” (the blue hour). The lighting is amazing, the sky takes on this vibrant, royal blue tone and we get to feel “old school’ again for a while, back when color came from the sky and not the saturation slider in Photoshop.

For the rest of the night, there was much dancing and partying, with a brief moment that kind of scared me. Kevin’s brother takes the mic and informs us that he has written a song for Kev & Jen’s wedding and he is about to perform that song for them right now. Note, the pre-ceremony, no drinking rule applied solely to the groom. Rut-Row! I scurry to the front of  the room, hoping to get Jason’s attention (our stellar DJ, of Muscleman DJ) such that we can cut the mic at the first sign of “Nantucket”, but alas, it was all for naught, as he continued “I went into the studio last week…” What do you know, guess who’s a musician? It was a lovely song, performed quite well.

And finally, Kevin & Jen had a little surprise for everyone just before cake cutting. We all went out into the courtyard for a “group photo” and the ruse worked splendidly, everyone was startled and delighted, as the sky erupted with our very own private fireworks show.

Congratulations Kevin & Jen!!!!

When we arrived, Kristin was super relaxed, you’d never know this was her wedding day, just hanging out, getting her make up done. All the bridesmaids were on time (Yey!) , ready for action, though that was left for the groomsmen and their fix-it-on-the-fly-MacGyver routine- check out the safety pin magic below. Well done gents!

Kristin selected two wedding dresses for the day, one for the ceremony and one for the reception, which was really quite fun. The breakdown was a traditional and formal wedding dress for the ceremony, complete with train and for the reception, elegant, flowing & light.  While the traditional style is always beautiful, I’m a sucker for shiny things and just loved the trim work on her second dress.

This has been a stellar year in the weather department, we’ve been having such good weather that May and June could pass for March and April in a police lineup. Back in 2005, we hit 100F on April 16th (Hi Amy!) and seemed to skip the entire spring part of spring weddings. Welcome 2010, with double digits all the way into June, the fireplace wasn’t crackling, but neither was the pavement, we’ll take that as a win any day of the week.

The ceremony went off without a hitch and all of the kids did an exceptional job (you too- Kristen and Scott). Four flower girls in splendid dresses, with a very pretty flower and “Artisan green” sash,  were accompanied by two dashing young men, chips off the old block.

Before we knew it, the ceremony came to an end and it was time for the fun stuff- photos! Kristin slipped into her second wedding dress and off we went to chase the sunset. Scott and Kristin are just great people, super easy going and game for everything. They’re very comfortable with each other and that really shows in their photos.

We dashed all over Troon North, there are so many beautiful locations and with the rich blue skies and gorgeous natural light, we just went to town on the pictures. There were lots of gigles, hugs and kisses, well between the two of them I should say.

We arrived just in time for the reception doors to be opened, (as scheduled, we’re never late   . The decor was just gorgeous, for the chair bows instead of selecting a solid color they decided to go with a vintage pattern, it made it all look so elegant, really beautiful, and the sun setting on the outside patio made it all just perfect. We get such splendid sunsets at Troon.

As for the rest of the night, well, you know the drill- there was much dancing, fun and partying and let us not forget the cake!

Congratulations Scott and Kristin!

Jen wrote us the following email.

“Dear Friends-

This email comes to you with a very broken heart….

Recently I had a girlfriend try to volunteer her family at a food bank for Disney’s “Give a Day, Get a Day” promotion only to find out that they literally have no food in their pantry. Then I was at church this weekend and was informed of a state wide push to fill the pantries called The Arizona Hunger Campaign. Their goal is to make sure no child goes to bed hungry. You can click here to read about it’s kick off that occurred this past May 6th.

To be very vulnerable with you all, since my pride is much less important than this cause, I have very vivid memories of walking to food banks when I was a kid. My mom was an uneducated, single mother who worked two jobs to make ends meet. But most months she fell short. If it wasn’t for food boxes, my mom would have to endure putting us to bed with growling tummies. As a mom now, I can’t even imagine that scene without breaking into tears. My mom was one strong lady though, so I am going to be just as strong, and bold.

So, I am asking for your help. I personally want to make a difference in this Arizona Hunger Campaign. But I would love your help! I need your help! You can help two ways.

1. You can buy any of the following items and I will come to your house, personally, and pick them up.

Peanut butter & jelly
Spaghetti sauce & pasta
Canned meat such as Tuna or Chicken
Canned fruit & vegetables
Cereal
Canned soup
Macaroni & cheese
Rice
Boxed meals (like Tuna Helper)
Canned meals (chili, Spaghetti Os, etc.)
Boxed desserts (instant pudding, gelatin, brownie mix, etc.)

2. Or you can send in a check and I will make trips to the grocery stores as the money comes in.

The goal of Arizona Hunger is to raise 5 million pounds of food in one year. My personal goal is to raise at least 1000 pounds of food in the next two weeks. Huge goal, but I know we can do it. In addition to what I am going to donate already, I am going to match whatever you donate to this cause. Dollar for dollar, can for can. This means a lot to me.

Please let me know if you would like to help. I will send you my address if you would like to send a check, or I will get yours if you would like me to come and pick up food. Either way, just reply to this email so I can start to track some progress.

This issue ways very heavy on my heart, but I am hoping the next two weeks will change lots of lives for the better, including yours. Thank you in advance for playing your part!

Hugs,

Jenni
”

If you are interested in donating please contact Jen Thye by sending her an email at jen@imonievents.com to make arrangements.

We don’t really eat much packaged food- my headaches make most everything a no-go and Greg has a sinister plan to make us eat better (he BBQ’s almost every day- veggies too!),  we did have a few things in the pantry (gluten free of course) and we made a run for some Mac & Cheese-  (Lucas’ favorite)

This image is a collaborative effort, with myself tasked performing the retouching work at the demanding direction of Mateo,  Art Director Extraordinaire.

Despite only five years of experience and by that I mean total life experience, not work experience, (he’s only five), a few minutes under his direction and it’s quite clear, good ADs have a vision and they know exactly what they want- even when the lowly grunt working the Wacom tablet in Photoshop doesn’t have a clue.

I was researching important and valuable post processing techniques in Photoshop, or as Andrea likes to say, “dilly dallying”, when Mateo, streaking through the office,  stops mid-flight:  “MONORAIL!” and assumes command. “No, not like that- it needs to be darker. Like a pencil. Ok, now cut the side off. Make it look like Brasil … “  And so it continued.

While my technical abilities failed to impress and I was repeatedly informed of such dismal performance, enough carefully placed words of encouragement were sprinkled about to ensure we continued.

And in the end, we arrived at the right mix of grit and tone and a monorail that looks like it lives in Rio de Janiero instead of Las Vegas.