a calm in the storm : Issue No. 8 "Love"

I was talking with a good friend the other day about our blog. She made a statement that really touched my heart. She said the stories of our couples really make you believe in love. I thought, that's interesting...being inspired to believe in love. You don't realize how often we work from a position of being disgruntled or one of opposition, instead of love. The statistics say that 50% of all marriages result in divorce. So we take that statistic and allow it to dictate our adversities as opposed to making your own statistic. What if we worked from a position of our own statistic. I have only been married once and plan to only be married once. If I approach my relationship with that statistic, who cares about the national statistic. Not to mention that if you do a little research you'll see their calculations are faulty and not truly representative anyway. All of our couples inspire us to be thankful for each other. We look forward to experiencing fun moments together and persevering through difficult times together. A couple of blogs ago we wrote a tribute to Kyle Simonson and Chelsea Belardo. . .they believe in Love. While Chelsea is learning to live each day without Kyle by her side, she still believes in Love. The Love of God. Work from a position of love today. Approach people with a smile on your face. I think we'd all be surprised how something so simple can change the outlook of our daily lives and our relationships. Start each day with the intention to live without regrets. You can't change what happened yesterday, but you can learn and allow it to influence tomorrow. Here's to believing in love again.

David & Erin: Falkner Winery, Temecula, CA

David and Erin are so much fun! We took an afternoon and hung out at Balboa Park in San Diego for their engagement pictures, finished with a fun dinner and then prepared for their wedding day to arrive. Getting to know these two was a blast. We learned they lived just a couple miles down from us when they came over for dinner for our consultation. We knew it was going to pan out into a friendship when we forgot they were over to review wedding packages. One thing we had in common from the get go was our love for our dogs. They have a beautiful black lab named River. She is so cute and really knew how to get our chocolate lab (who has since passed away) riled up and ready to rough house. Below are a few shots from their engagement session.


Erin was a great bride while she was getting ready. She was anxious and ready to get the day started. I could tell is was going to be a very fast paced and fun day!


On the other side of things, David was hanging with the guys at their house preparing to head over to the winery to start their day. Unfortunately, as David was getting his tux on, he realized his pocket square was missing, so Andrew hopped into the car, ran out to the mall, got his square and met the guys at the winery to start their pictures. They were a great group of guys.

Can't forget River Dog!
After arriving at the winery, Erin had a chance to see her dad for the first time since she had put on her wedding dress. Her dad rode down on his Harley from Northern California to give his daughter away. Both Erin's mom and dad were delightful people.


Erin and David's love for each other was apparent throughout the day. You could see this was passed on through loving families. The look on David's face as Erin comes down the aisle and Erin's reaction to walking toward him says it all. David's dad performed the ceremony adding that personal touch to it. You'll also see the excited flower girl and one of the most focused ring bearers. He was so adorable and so thrilled to be standing next to David.



A few of the details ...
Below are portraits of the bride and groom and their wedding party. They were a really fun bunch to be around. It's always good to see bridal parties who are all about the bride and groom. It's the true definition of a bridal party in our mind...and this group really supported Erin and David throughout the day.



As soon as David and Erin entered during their grand entrance, the reception was on its way. The food was wonderful, the decor simply beautiful and the people were ready to celebrate. Randall, the best man, had a speech that was heartfelt and entertaining. It summed up David and Erin beautifully. At the end of the night, Erin and David shared a moment together just before they headed out as husband and wife.

On our way home from their wedding day we were talking about how much fun everyone had, what a great job Falkner Winery did and how amazing Erin and David are as a couple. We were so thrilled to work with them and are even more thrilled to see them along their journey as husband and wife.
Erin and David, you two are incredible. You're hard working, fun, loyal and just good people. Thanks for allowing us the opportunity of capturing your wedding day and for your friendship. Here's to many more years of your happiness and fun!