Stefanie and Tayler's groomals

So Stefanie is totally on the same wavelength as me.  I think we're kindred spirits.  How do I know this?  Because when I say something like, "Hey, lets go shoot your bridals in a cemetery!" She doesn't say "You want to shoot my bridals WHERE?!?" Instead, she says, "Let's do it!"  Now that's my kind of girl! :)  I don't think she'll be regretting her decision to go along with my crazy ideas, because as it turns out, cemeteries at sunset are beautiful.  Throw in a gorgeous bride and her handsome groom...well.  You  can see the results for yourself. :)

Ahhhh....what a moment!

I love the moody drama of the fog...

If this session doesn't put you in the mood for fall, I don't know what will.
But then, I love fall. :)

PS...Besides being beautiful, Stefanie is also an amazing girl and she and Tayler have an incredible story! Check out her blog here.

Inspire Me Monday(ish)--Meg and Dia

Okay so it might be 2 am Tuesday morning, but I happen to come from the school of thought that it isn't the next day until you've gone to sleep and woken up.  So it is still Monday, and therefore I am not late with my Inspire Me Monday post!

In my last weeks post about the Hunger Games, I realized there were several artists I put in my playlist that keep me inspired on a daily basis.  One of those artists is Meg and Dia.  I stumbled onto them probably 3 or 4 years ago when I was flipping through the stations in my car and landed on a song that totally caught my attention.  It was impossible not to listen--the lyrics were both eloquent and, well...kind of disturbing! It was a song called "Monster" and it was playing on some sort of Indie music spotlight on Weber State's radio station 88.1.  The only other info I got from the DJ was that the only place you could find their CD was Best Buy.  So, I went to Best Buy and bought it.  I loveloveloved it.

So, as it happens, Meg and Dia are two sisters from our very own Utah.  They were originally from Draper (as far as I know).

I think what I love most about these guys is that it takes several listens to "get" their songs.  They are very poetic.  I've heard them talk about how much they love literature, and how that spills into their songwriting.  Not to mention that they know how to write a killer hook.

So I recently bought their second CD, Here Here and Here, and have been listening to the title track on repeat for days.

 My other faves are Nineteen Stars (from last weeks playlist) Monster, Setting up Sunday, and Soldier, to name a few.

Here's the music video for Monster (hmmm...gets me excited for Halloween)



And another that I like, Roses....here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Brk3TycwXE

Britney and Devin got hitched today!

And here's a quick shot from right after there ceremony...I think its really "them"...sunny and vibrant and happy!

Next up: the reception!

Autumn

I guess this is like a second sneak peek for Stefanie and Tayler.  Sorta.  The fact of the matter is that I just finished editing these tonight and I'm too tired to do a full blog post (wedding tomorrow anyways, gotta go to bed!!) but I couldn't resist posting at least one.
This feels like fall when I look at it...
It feels like chilly crisp air, apple cider, rustling leaves as they drift across the road.  I love it.

More to come very soon.  I promise.

The Hodson Kids...sneak peek!

I got to spend the evening with this little stud and his two gorgeous big sisters...

Oh yeah.  These kids got some great genes!!

Inspire Me Monday--The Hunger Games Series & my HG playlist

Three weeks ago, I asked my sisters for a book to read on my flight from Salt Lake to New Jersey.  They recommended a book called The Hunger Games.  I was reluctant at first.  I had heard about it and heard that it was good, but I knew that it was about some kind of last-survivor-standing battle-to-the-death sort of plot and I usually don't care much for that kind of storyline.  Bloodsport...it just ain't my thing. lol.  The second thing that kind of held me back was that it was written in present tense, a method that usually drives me crazy. But, since I had nothing else to do on my almost 4 hour flight and no extra time to go find something else to read, I took it, and read the first page as the plane was taking off.
I was pretty much done by the time the plane landed.  I devoured that thing.  Sad to say, I spent a sizable portion of my time in NY and NJ looking for a bookstore for the sequel.  (No luck!  Apparently Manhattan only specializes in eclectic little bookstores with smarty-pants titles about politics and existentialism!)  My last hope was the airport bookstores at JFK--and I scored every place that looked like it had books in stock--and though the first book was everywhere there the second book was nowhere to be found.  I had to watch reruns of 30rock and Parks and Recreation on the way home...which normally would have been fine, except for that I had to jealously watch my hubby as he read the first book this time.
Lets just say, our plane hadn't been landed on SLC soil for long before I had the second book in hand.
Thank goodness for Barnes and Nobles in easy-to-find places.
After reading the sequel, Catching Fire, I couldn't believe my luck to find out that the third book, Mockingjay, was to come out on August 24th.
Well, friends, August 24th will be here tomorrow, and I will be up first thing in the morning to collect my copy of Mockingjay.  And I will probably have it read before my hubby comes home from work at 3:30.

I would give you all the themes of the books and break down for you why I liked it, but I've written too many essays on literature in my life, and I don't want to sully my enjoyment of it with homeworkishness.  (And with that word, my entire education has been rendered null.)

For those of you who have read it and know what I'm talking about, let me tell you now:
I am so Team Peeta.

For those of you who haven't read it...
do.

Here are a few of the songs on my personal HG playlist.  If any of ya'all reading this have a song you want to add, leave a comment!  I need some good music for Mockingjay tomorrow. :)
*quick disclaimer....don't pay much attention to the videos.  Its all about the song!*

1. Breaking Benjamin  "Breath"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ3qJmgktS0
2. Fuel "Hemorrhage"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbHfgXJKn1Y
3. FeFe Dobson "The Revolution Song"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBJkVt6aB6w
4. Meg and Dia "Nineteen Stars"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTXTe-SHExY    Sorry about the anime video, its the only vid I could find that had this version of the song...there is newer version out there that is slightly different...this is the best one.
5. Within Temptation "Stand my Ground"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nmq1h5cQdk&feature=av2n
6. Snow Patrol "Set Fire to the Third Bar"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=084l5-SA_nU
7. Story of the Year "Until the Day I Die."  (Keaton's Pick)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9WKZpC9UbU
8. Saliva "Bleed for Me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0zK-jZNvhE
9. Red Jumpsuit Apparatus "Your Guardian Angel"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJbrc8nnQCo&feature=related
10.  Missy Higgins "Any Day Now"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyff73qJwbQ
12. Natalie Imbruglia "Smoke"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzbjYNUak4I&feature=av2n
13. 30 Seconds to Mars "This is War"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMAVLXk9QWA


And here's a pretty good fake Hunger Games trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2szX6ClpNrA&feature=related

Jamie and David's wedding

I loved working with Jamie and David...they are so low-key and easy going, it just makes my job so easy it could almost be called relaxing. (Almost. Well, as much as any wedding could be relaxing! lol)  So glad I got to meet and work with you both! :)

And did I mention that they got married at the same place they got engaged? Right here on this very bench!