The amazing, simply amazing A+ Team

Karen Lopez; Detailz Events
Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club
Naples Original Video Productions
The Resolvers; Ron Yosef – Reggae Band
Barefoot + Brendon- Cocktail Music
Garden District
Kilwin’s
Sassy Cakes
Atlas Rentals
Niche Event Rentals
Cold Cuts – Ice Sculptures

It’s not that I didn’t have anything to say. It’s that I couldn’t get it down or pinpoint what I wanted to say. It’s happened so much so that this post is a few days late…..being posted the second day of the new year when I wanted to see it up a few days before the end of the year. But things happen for a reason, right? I needed to find that moment still.

So off to the pier we went. We left what was a very thick and yummy game of Horse Lovers Monopoly spread out on the dinner table, to catch the first sunset of the year. The girls got ready in record time. I changed out of my pajamas (yes, it was 5:00 and I was still in my PJ’s), and actually got lucky and found a parking spot close to the pier. And off we went.

The pier was amazingly packed with people. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so full of life and activity and energy as I saw it today. And as we walked down the length of the pier, stepping out of the way of people taking pictures, kids chasing each other, fishing poles being cast, people shouting and laughing at each other I really started to feel the power of what a New Year means.

Little moments together. Special looks. Beautiful places. The light when it hits your beloved’s face. A special hug from a friend. That look he gives you. That sweet smelling hair after a bath. A caring arm around your shoulder. That special text that makes you feel remembered and appreciated. The breeze on your face. The work that is so challenging but makes you feel alive. The family that makes your head dizzy but you wouldn’t know where you would be without them.

Life is all around you and those little moments are what makes it all worthwhile. As I look back on 2011 and despite being filled with personal and professional challenges, it was a year that made me realize how happy I am in my skin and in my life and in the moment.

While very imperfect, it’s perfect for me. I’m happy with this mess of a life that I call mine. And I’m happy right now. I love where I live, what I do and the people that surround me. And my New Year’s wish is that everyone can find that perfect mess for themselves, too.

All the best and Happy New Year……Astrid and René

Our final blog post next week: the Raj reception! Make sure to check back…..

I went back today and re-read my December/New Year post for 2009 and so much of it rings true now a year later. We are so thankful for a year full of wonderful clients who trusted us with one of their most important days in their lives. We are thankful for having wonderful friends in the industry who are always ready to lend a hand, ear or shoulder or lens if need be! And of course, we are most thankful for our mothers, family, our children and each other. Life really is only as good as the people you have in it…..and our life is rich, rich, rich.

So we just wanted to send a big heartfelt thank you to all of our family, friends old and new and to our dear clients. Thank all of you for inspiring us, challenging us, supporting us and being in our lives! We wish all of you a prosperous, healthy, happy and successful 2011!

~ Astrid and Rene ~

Inspiration comes in many forms. And for us, nature is a very big source of inspiration. Since the beginning we’ve always used nature as a means to pull our brand and design together and this re-design is no different. We hope you like our new site! Aside from a new look, we are happy to be utilizing a horizontal scrolling system for our galleries….we love how you can see images, side by side, from left to right. It’s a different way of experiencing a website and a portfolio and we feel that it fits us well. Our site is also optmized for the iPad. Check out our slideshows, too. After many days we were finally able to get our slideshows to work on pretty much all browsers and platforms, including Flash-free iphones and iPads. And for those of you in love with code, we used CSS and HTML5 yumminess! Enjoy!

My very, very first camera was my dad’s old Gaf 136 XF. It took Magicubes for flash and used 126 film cartridges. I still have the brown and black vintage camera. It’s totally beat up, full of personality and history. And there is still a cartridge of film in it. I know the cartridge has some of our family pictures on it…..

I was probably around 8 when my dad gave me this camera. And even though my father didn’t want to give up his camera (he loved taking pictures as much as I did), in the end he gave it to me. I was never the same after I got that camera in my hands. And ever since then I’ve always had a camera in my hands. Sure. They’ve evolved tremendously. That old Gaf and my D700 sit next to each other and it’s an amazing juxtaposition of technology and design.

So even though my D700 is the baddest around, I am an analog girl at heart. And so I’ve been very happy to say that I’ve found a great way to relieve that analog-angst via my Holga. I just got a pinhole Holga too, which I’m dying to try out.

And I also got the best gift an analog, lomo-loving photographer could want: a box full of 120 expired film, which made its way alllll the way from California, courtesy of the Icon lab. Thanks guys, you so rock! If you do film, check them out! They provide traditional and digital imaging services….follow them on Twitter here, visit their FB page here or check out their cool ass site, here!

And if you are a Lost fanatic, and love photography, take a look at the goodies they are offering here. Limited edition custom printed and numbered, fine art museum quality prints of the cast here!! Woot….

I digress.

So I took my Holga to our Disney trip in January of this year. Why do I love this camera? Cuz it’s FUN, and has NO dials or LCD panels or beeps or knobs or menus or battery packs. It’s LIGHTWEIGHT! It’s fun! Not that my D700 isn’t fun, but when I get to use the D700 all the time. When I’ve on vacation, I want to do something different and I also don’t want to carry around a ginormous camera….and let’s face it. I’d die if my D700 was stolen while on vacay….the Holga, no biggie to replace, right?

What I really love about the Holga though is that I don’t know what I am getting….I don’t receive instant gratification. I have to slow down. Take my time. Take in the scene and make different decisions.With the Holga, I don’t have that free-for-all that digital gives you, which means shooting hundreds of variations of the same image….uh uh!

With my Holga, I step back in time and slow down….and then I get to wait anxiously for the film to come back. It’s magic. And I love that it’s not a perfectly sharp, perfectly exposed and perfectly clean image. Right out of the camera it has ‘life lines’. Right out of the camera, it has sensuality. That’s film….!

And so here are three of my favorite shots from our trip….love you holga!

A spectacular venue, beautiful lighting, florals and food were just some of the highlights of the evening. Grace personally autographed books while guests mingled and networked. We were very happy to meet some incredible talent in the Florida wedding industry and we also had a blast catching up with our very own Kelly McWilliiam’s from Weddings by Socialites. What an evening!

And for some wonderful shots of the evening at the Sarasota Ritz, shot by Ryan Joseph, make sure to visit Grace’s blog!

Wow. 2010. That sounds so futuristic, don’t you think? I’m happy to see that a little bit of that future glow can be found in some of the bridal gown trends I found.

Just like last my research last year showed, the experts have a bit of the old back and forth on picking trends, so I’ve listed my favorites here along with lots of juicy links, pictures and videos. Next to the cake, the gown is really the funnest to go shopping for….I took out my bridal gown just the other day and it almost made me cry. Yep. The power of that one piece of fabric is really special, so ladies, make sure you follow your gut when picking out your gown. Get what you’ve always dreamed of.

• So what’s the big trend I see a lot of right now? One-shoulder styles. It seems that First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off this trend when she wore the one-shoulder Jason Wu creation to the President’s inaugural Ball. It’s elegant, regal and classic in all the right ways. And her gown would make an absolutely beautiful wedding gown, wouldn’t it?

• And here’s an example from one of my beautiful brides, Annemarie, who got married at the La Playa Beach and Golf Resort here in Naples, Florida. Her gown, an absolutely breathtaking design from Maggie Sottero’s Destination Collection really stole the show. It’s a one-piece with a corset closure and a single floral embellished shoulder strap made of billowing chiffon. Check out the gown’s url right here!

• A trend after my own heart: black! Whether it’s a bit of black in the gown’s details or yep! A totally all-black gown, black is not just for goths anymore! Want to check out an all black gown? AND it’s one-shouldered too AND it’s shot by the fabulous Jose Villa AND it’s worn with red boots? Check it out here at the Once Wed blog or here at Jose Villa’s blog! And for a few more selections of some totally fabulous black gowns, check out this post, BLACK GOWNS WITH BIG IMPACT I {heart} romona keveza I am Woman… Watch Me Lure over at the Knotty Bride!

• I’m sure that if you are a bride researching for ideas, trends etc. you haven’t missed the fact that vintage is very, very popular right now. Goes to say that 50’s flair in bridal gowns is a very hot trend this year, too. Think high necklines, tulle skirts and tea-length styles on the runways. I love this look, birdcage veil and all and if you can’t find it, have Unique Vintage make it to order for you!

• Another hot trend for 2010? Bows! Big, tiny, huge, droopy or structured anything goes when it comes to bows! The beautiful gown below belongs to one of my brides….Michelle’s gown, from Casablanca Bridal, has a really different half bow with tails and a lovely rhinestone detail. Beautiful!

• Metallic touches! Add a touch of futuristic metallic fabric to your gown and you are set to shimmer all night long! I’d love to pair this up with a black gown. Yum!

• Touches of flowers or anything garden-inspired like vines and leaves! LOVE it! As you can probably tell from our website and blog design is that I’m a nut for garden inspiration….And I’ve seen some really lovely gowns with touches of garden love. Here are a few that I found and love!

From Oscar de la Renta

 

From Watters

• And how fab is this gown from Spanish designer, Jorge Terra? I love it when I find a new designer I can’t stop gushing about. This gown would look SMASHING on the beach here in Naples!

• Coming in to round out the list are couture cover-ups! Gone are the days of the plain Jane wraps….say hello to ultra-sophisticated and ultra-unique from floor-length coats to airy boleros to detailed capelets. What’s not to love? Jorge Terra has some again, unique and really stunning cover-ups! If you are looking for some inspiring ideas, head on over to his website here! If you’d like to see a nifty slide show of his 2010 Bridal Collection during the Madrid Cibeles Novias (bridal fashion shows that feature the latest in bridal trends Made in Spain), visit the CanalBoda (wedding channel in Spanish). And isn’t that turquoise cover up absolutely stunning? Makes me wish I could plan my wedding all over again!

I feel like I have been stuck in some kind of rut since Ben was born almost five years ago. But if I was really honest it has been even longer than that. I struggle so much to find my own path and to not feel pressured to do things a certain way. My parents were all about the 'certain way' in life. I think that they felt success lay in keeping up with the joneses and dotting your Is and crossing your Ts. And when I fell short of that, which I inevitably always did, I didn't know where to turn. I had no model of what else life could look like.

I apologize if I have told this story on the blog before, but one of my favorite anecdotes is the first time I met my birth mother. My parents are neat freaks. You could eat off their floors. Every time we kids put something on a counter my dad would say "Put this back where it goes". Everything was spotless. I was not good at spotless. For years I would have fits of neatness followed by spurts of slovenly living and then back again. The day I met my birth mother I went in to her house in Eureka and when I walked in I thought, "This explains a lot". There was stuff EVERYWHERE and I mean EVERYWHERE. Stuff made up additional furniture. There was a pile of used diet coke cans that almost filled a room. It was INSANE. My mother would have broken out into hives if she had seen that. And suddenly the 'chaos followed by order' cycle seemed a little less crazy. It was nature/nurture in action.

I carry this perfect ideal in my head and as soon as I fall short of it, I let everything go. I am all or nothing. I exercise every day or not at all; if I eat one Haagen Dazs bar, I eat them all. I desperately need some moderation in my life, but seem unable to find it. My life has spun out of control lately. My head and my house are so full of STUFF that I cannot see anything. But sorting it all out seems like an overwhelming task. There is the very famous saying about "a journey of 10,000 miles begins with a single step," but I am unable to take that step. All I see is the enormous mountain top in front of me and I decide to take a nap instead.

My dear friend Mollie is superficially the opposite of me. Her house is perfect, her clothes are perfect, she is beautiful and always looks so put together. I have had periods in my life like that, but never able to sustain them very long. I know that Mollie is not perfect. In personality I think we are more similar than different. I could use a little more of Mollie's togetherness and she could probably use a little more of my laid back ways. When I met my friend Tara for the first time I felt this crazy kinship with her because she was as laid back as I was. She didn't care what she wore or that every hair was in place and yet she exuded a strong sense of confidence that I also share. I KNOW my value, but I want to feel as outwardly confident as I can be on the inside.

And really this is mostly a problem of perception, isn't it? I always have people say to me, "You seem so together" and I almost spurt my Diet Pepsi out my nose. Or they come over and say how neat my house is (in that case I think they are just being polite). And then I wonder what matters more--the fact that I read three novels a week or the fact that my house is a disaster zone? I think it all comes down to the fact that I need to stop thinking life is an either/or proposition. Anyone who has any advice gets a chocolate bar sent to them. I would send a cocktail, but that would be messy.