Wedding Wednesday - Photography

This week I'll be talking about our amazing photographers, Josh and Sara Thurber of Mirabel Photography! 

Photography was one of my biggest priorities when it came time to plan our wedding. Our wonderful planner recommended the husband and wife team of Josh and Sara Thurber to us based on the style of photography we wanted. I wanted our photographer to capture all of the important, posed moments, as well as the candid shots that would bring us back to that night year after year when we flip through our album. I wanted photos of the entire day, from getting dressed to walking down the aisle to dancing and partying to our grand exit. I wanted two photographers to capture moments from different angles. I wanted to own the rights to all of my photos and I wanted a CD of photos that I could make prints from in the future (I put together our wedding album myself...but that's a post for another day!) I also needed all of these requests to fall within our modest budget. Mirabel Photography hit every bullet point and then some! Not only were Josh and Sara a dream to work with (so sweet...so kind...love them!) but they blew us away with their talent and artistry. I will do a separate post next week about our engagement shoot, but today I want to focus on our wedding photos that I am in love with!

Most of my favorite shots from our wedding day are the un-posed, raw, us-being-us photos that were caught on film. The photos that happen when we didn't even know a photographer was there.

I couldn't possibly post every one of my favorites, but I will try to narrow down a dozen or so candid moments that I love looking back on:

A private moment after the ceremony  

A private moment after the ceremony

Possibly the best picture of our family in many, many years

A little ladybug found itself nesting in my dress...a good luck sign!

This happens a lot...

This is what happens when you tell us to look lovingly into each other's eyes

One of my favorites of the two of us

I missed a lot of moments like this in the flurry of the reception...I love being able to see them now

A much needed quiet moment 

We laughed a lot...

And cried a lot...

And danced a lot...

I mean A LOT. 

No really. The dancing never stopped. My poor mother in law just wanted a nice, normal family portrait. 

This laughter is the result of a naughty thing the pastor's wife said as she walked by. 

I don't think I even noticed the sparklers in this moment... 

Next week I'll share our engagement photos taken by Josh and Sara!

Howl at the Moon

Wedding Wednesday - Our Florist

Up next on Wedding Wednesday is our fabulous floral designer, Chloe!


Chloe Lawry with Supposey Florals did the most amazing job. She was so creative and turned my inspiration pictures into our own personal reality. Just different enough to make them our own while still completely encompassing the inspiration we showed her. Chloe was patient with us through the many emails sent, phone calls made and meetings attended. I requested contract changes at least a dozen times during the planning process, and she obliged all of them.

Chloe created my beautiful bridal bouquet, six smaller bridesmaids bouquets, boutonnieres for the men, corsages for my mother and MIL, as well as all of the centerpieces and our cake topper. She also provided the gorgeous burlap and lace table runners at our reception.

I went with a full color palate as opposed to one or two signature colors -- we focused on soft, pretty shades of pink, peach, cream, yellow, with hints of turquoise as an accent (in the form of blue mason jars and dusty miller). The flowers we used include garden roses, ranunculus, poppies, anemones, hydrangeas and fever few. The vases for the centerpieces are all yard sale/thrift store/vintage finds that my mother and I collected over the course of  a year. We searched for a combination of milk glass, mercury glass, mason jars (blue and clear) as well as basic clear glass vases. Mom and I had such a fun time hunting for the pieces we needed to create the centerpieces! It was so special to have those moments with just the two of us amidst the craziness of wedding planning. A few days before the wedding, we delivered all of our found glass to Chloe and she worked her magic to create our beautiful centerpieces. We donated many of the pieces to Chloe to use for future weddings, I kept a few to have around the house, and we sold the rest on craigslist.

all photos by Mirabel Photography

I wish I had researched how to preserve my bouquet, but I had no idea I would love it as much as I do! I would love to one day have a painting of my bouquet to frame in our home. *Hint hint, Christopher*



What topic would you like to talk about next week?

Book Club

How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal

I will admit, I judged this book by it's cover. I did not pick October's book, nor was I that interested in actually reading it. I (wrongly) assumed it would be a self-help book that made me gag. The synopsis on the back of the book didn't do it any favors, either. Too many cliche's.

"Professional baker Ramona Gallagher is a master of an art that has sustained her through the most turbulent times, including a baby at fifteen and an endless family feud. But now Ramona's bakery threatens to crumble around her. Literally. She's one water-heater disaster away from losing her grandmother's rambling Victorian and everything she's worked so hard to build.
When Ramona's soldier son-in-law in wounded in Afghanistan, her daughter, Sophia, races overseas to be at his side, leaving Ramona as the only suitable guardian for Sophia's thirteen year old stepdaughter, Katie. Heartbroken, Katie feels that she's been dumped again -- and this time on the doorstep of a woman out of practice with mothering.
Ramona calls upon a special set of tools-- patience, persistence, and the reliability of a good recipe-- when rebellious Katie arrives. And as she relives her own history of difficult choices, Ramona shares her love of baking with the troubled girl. Slowly, Katie begins to find self-acceptance and a place to call home. And when a man from her past returns to offer a second chance at love, Ramona discovers that even the best recipe tastes better when you add time, care, and a few secret ingredients of your own."

Oh my...I literally laughed out loud at the cheesy synopsis and nearly left it at the library. Except that I was already in the car on the way home so I figured I might as well give it a shot. So glad I wasn't a book snob.  

While simple and fun to read, this book also had deeper moments that made me put it down and think. I felt like part of the Gallagher family, I felt like I was in Colorado with Ramona in the park listening to classical music. I could hear Jonah playing his guitar. I could feel the breeze blowing in from the open window upstairs. The author has such a way with her writing that I was truly immersed into the story. There are a few lines that had me equally as embarrassed as the back cover, but I was eager to see where the story would end up. Fairly predictable with the happily ever after, but not without its tumultuous plot twists. All in all, it was a refreshing book that we all thoroughly enjoyed. 

#46

Crossed another goal off my 101 list today--- I changed my own oil.

And almost died in the process.

This is me looking at how far under the car I actually have to go

This is me having a mild panic attack and asking Chris how
many people die from faulty car jacks each year

This is me being a badass

This is me talking smack about how badass I am

One tarantula bite, two sand spurs and a third degree burn later, and I am officially a master mechanic.