Cal and Cassidy

My brother, Cal, and his then fiance Cassidy, asked if I would be willing to host a bridal shower for Cassidy, and I jumped at the opportunity. I love event planning, and I love Cassidy. It was a win-win. Someday, I will not feel a need to design my own invitation for things, but this was not one of those days. I love how the invites turned out, and I had them printed on this shimmery paper with a front and back design. Here's the back: 

I took one of their pictures and turned it into a silhouette. (Cal commented that his head looked funny. He's wearing a beanie in the original photo.) I asked Cassidy for a favorite Jane Austen-y quote, and she sent me this one from the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie.

The shower was held at my house on April 22. We had lunch. I knew that Cassidy isn't really into colors--she's kind of a black and white kind of girl, but I had heard that her bridesmaid's dresses were going to be blush, so I planned everything around blush and gold, forgetting that blush isn't so much a pink color as it is a skin tone. (Face palm. That's why there was so much pink, Cass!)

We had quite the spread, thanks to my sisters and Cassidy's cousin bringing some amazing desserts. 

 I love this girl so much:

 Aren't they so cute?

For favors, we passed out flowers in these little boxes. I really liked how they turned out. (Shout-out to my mom for helping me put them together!) 

My mom asked me to help her plan the rehearsal dinner that was set for May 11, and so I kind of took over. I used all the things from the shower, so more pink and white. We did a copy cat of a Cafe Rio taco/salad bar, and the food was way good (I can say that because I didn't cook any of it except the mini cheesecake desserts). We also had mini key-lime tarts. 

I got in trouble for "fancying it up", but I couldn't stand to not have something look nice for a wedding rehearsal dinner. It was worth it all when Cassidy's mom expressed how beautiful it all was. It's really a small thing to throw some linens on a table, but it makes such a big difference. Shout out to my uncle Jon and aunt Rebekah for hosting the dinner in their beautiful backyard. 

 The next morning was Cal's wedding, and it was so beautiful.

 Cal was kind enough to pose for me to help me build my portfolio (this was after already doing hours of shooting with the official photographer. Thanks Cal!)

 Rachel helped me test out lighting and the white balance so I could have it right for the ceremony.

 They had the grandparents and parents walk down "the aisle" ahead of them.

 The best part of the whole wedding was watching Cal. He was so so happy! I haven't seen him this happy in a long, long time.

 He was so happy, he kept wiping away tears.

 Rachel LOVED the whole thing. (I'm often amazed to watch Rachel and see my little girl self shining out of her eyes. She is so my daughter in so many ways, and this is one of them!)

 Cassidy's brother-in-law, Daniel, officiated the ceremony, and he did a great job. Although, he kept calling McCallan Mac instead of Cal, which was really weird for our side of the wedding. Maybe someday I'll get used to him going by that.

 A few behind the scenes shots while we waited for our official group shots.

 Can I just say a few things about Cassidy? She is so amazing. I once told my brother-in-law Pete that if he wanted me to like him, he needed to treat my sister well. (He does, by the way). My siblings mean so much to me, and the quickest way to make me not like you is to mistreat one of my brothers or sisters. Cal's first wife didn't treat him well, and that's an understatement. Cal has such a kind, loyal, and tender heart. He would do anything for someone that he loved. It basically broke him to finally call it on his first marriage. He was sad for a long time. Then Cassidy came into his life and lovingly put him back together. She is kind, loyal, and so so good for Cal. For years, I've felt like I'd lost my relationship with my brother, and in a large part, thanks to her, I'm getting him back. She has embraced all of us as her own, which is kind of a big deal because we're a grumpy, crazy lot. She loves to make others happy, and I'm so excited to finally count her as a sister.

 And she was gracious enough to let me snap more pictures of them, even though she already had a great photographer. Because even on her big day, she was willing to do something for me.

 The ceremony was simple and perfect. Afterwards, we had one of the most amazing luncheons ever--a fabulous crepe and omelet bar brunch! We ate,

they danced, 

 Rachel and Amber danced (while the string quartet catered to their taste for Disney Princess music),

 they ate their waffle cake,

 they did the other traditional things,

 Cal even danced with Rachel (but no one else other than Cassidy. I hope she realizes how lucky she was!)

 they posed for a few pictures with me 

And then we sent them on their way in a shower of potpourri.

Before we left, Daniel was kind enough to take a picture with Brian.

(Daniel is also known as Wayne Sermon, the guitarist for Imagine Dragons, in case you didn't know. He's a pretty cool guy. Really everyone in Cassidy's family is pretty cool. Hopefully, we'll get to hang with all of them again sometime.)

I love weddings, but this has to be one of my favorites. Two people who I love so much are finally married to each other. Here's wishing you both every happiness that is out there! Love you!!!

Soccer and Dance

For the Spring 2017 soccer, Lea decided to coach a team made up mostly of kids from her neighborhood and Skyler and asked if Rachel wanted to play. I hadn't thought that soccer would be a good fit for Rachel (and I still think that, even though she loves going to practices and games), but I wanted her to at least try it. Since Lea was coaching and I had a really crazy April and May, I offered to take Rachel's team pictures. So, one day after practice, I took all Rachel's team pictures. Such cute kids! I was pretty proud of how they turned out, especially since the lighting wasn't very good and I had this small patch of shade to work with. Michael was my lighting test subject:

 Rachel loved being on a team with Skyler and Lea.

Michael improves so much each year. He's starting to be really really fun to watch. 

 In the middle of the soccer season, Rachel had her dance recital. She was so excited, especially because she got to get all dressed up with make-up on--twice! Once for her dress rehearsal and once for her actual recital. The recital was called "Ariel's Adventures" and Rachel got to dance to "Under the Sea" from Disney's "The Little Mermaid."  

 It took forever to get this girl's makeup on. Such a wiggly, wiggly little person. I was a little sad to put makeup on her perfect face, but we were all amazed at how blue the make-up made her eyes look.

Rachel is a performer. She lights up on stage. (Now where does she get that from ;) ) At the dress rehearsal, she had such huge smiles and really got into her song. At her actual recital, when she came out onstage, I could tell that she was looking for us, but she never found us. She didn't have as much excitement because she didn't know where to throw her smile. 

 She loved getting a bouquet for her performance: 

  

Rachel's favorite part about playing soccer was acknowledging her devoted fans. She was a little intimidated by the ball, and she never seemed to catch on to what she was supposed to be doing. I kept thinking that she'd start complaining about not wanting to go to her games or practices, but she never did. The opposite was true, in fact. I think after being dragged to all of Michael's things that she loved having her turn. And she loved playing with Skyler. 

Michael, on the other hand, loves the game--but usually only once he's there playing. I think he's just such a home body that he doesn't ever want to leave and forgets that he loves playing soccer. 

It was crazy having two kids to run to practices and games. I suppose it is a preview to what the next decade and a half of my life is going to look like!