Falling Out of Love After 10 Good Years

It’s never a waterfall, with a steep, sheer drop off, the kind when you get to hear a rumbling sound off in the distance, long before the current speeds up and you approach the precipice, but rather a lazy drift, down calm waters, where one day, you look around and you don’t like where you are anymore.

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.

Beautiful Wedding Details: Red & Black

While we see lots and lots of pink, purple and green, this wedding showed you can have some gorgeous details in black & white, with a little splash of red too. We start with the damask flocking pattern in black and white, which was used in the table runners and chair ties. I think it gives the room a very elegant look and works especially well for the room layout.

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.

The Genesis of an Action Plan

It’s post bath time and both our little energy balls are flying around the room, bursting through a variety of pillow road blocks, set up by yours truly. Lucas prefers the brute force approach, with the singular goal of an explosion of feathers for each running of the gauntlet, while Mateo is more aligned with speed and vertical, like a mini gazelle, that’s not yet worried about getting gobbled up by a lion.

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.

Kevin & Jennifer’s Sassi Wedding in Scottsdale

Kevin & Jen chose to tie the proverbial knot at none other than one of our favorite wedding venues in Scottsdale, Sassi. Sassi is this wonderful Italian Villa style restaurant and wedding venue, transplanted from Tuscany, right into our very own desert. It’s both private and quaint, with a touch of the palatial and grand.

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!!!!

Kristin & Scott’s Wedding

We photographed another beautiful wedding at Troon North Golf Club, thank you, Kristin and Scott for having us!

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!

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