(little intro addendum before I get into it…) it happened.  Again.  I can hardly believe it.  In just over a year of living here, we’ve now had four couples break up on the sidewalk under our window sill.  I don’t know why this is happening, but I’m going to assume it has less to do with some kind of bad luck we may be spraying onto pedestrians from our window, and more to do, possibly, with the safety our block offers people who might feel a need to go insane and run around and yell and scream and cry and collapse and run around and yell again.  We have a pretty safe block, car-wise.  But anyway, it breaks my heart when couples come to verbal fisticuffs, it really does.  But one request of the next couple who decides to have it out on our avenue… can you please NOT do it between 12 and 3am?  The yelling, you guys.  I mean.  It’s like– do you HAVE to yell at one another, and for a full two hours?  Especially when it’s this?–

“NO don’t tell me I’m a f**king child and that I should go home!!  I’ll be 18 in TWO DAYS!!!!  Don’t tell me I’m a f**king CHILD!!!!”

That quote from the girlfriend outside would be hilarious if it wasn’t so darn stupid and sad.  Also, I yell for one minute and I completely lose my voice; I don’t get how you keep going, but I do know enough to know that yelling is the last thing that’s going to help your relationship.  Sigh.  Whatever, I’m just super tired from not sleeping last night as a result.  Plus, I’m one of those people who feels other people’s energies, so I’m flatlining a little today.  It is what it is I guess.  Aright sorries, back to your regularly scheduled blogramming….

Hey guyyyyys :)  Wussup, how’s it hangin.  Having a good day?  I hope so, I truly do.

Ok now that I’ve buttered you up… I’ve been thinking recently that I could use some new songs in my line up– I’m wondering if you might have any suggestions for artists, songs or albums that you think I should give a try?  (Even if you think I might have heard them already ’cause who knows.  I could be like, Adele who?)  So hit me with your best shots, thanks.  So that I can NOT go and obtain them illegally.  (In all seriousness though I really do pay top dollar for every song I download, partially because I have a relative in the music business tryina make a dolla, but more partially because I honestly have NFI how to get it any other way than through iTunes.

Aright, so.  As you probably know, it’s Wednesday afternoon.  And the mood, I think it feels pretty right… for an outdoor pillow fight <== RHYMING WIN.  Do you agree?  So I would like to proceed with hitting you with my best shot, to repay the favor.  So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, a romantic outdoor pillow fight in bed.  NO NO NO, not like that.

I’m assuming you were thinking girl-on-girl seksuelle pillow fighting action with tube socks and lip gloss**.  Which means I generally err on the side of believing all of you are deeply perverted, clearly.  Or I’m deeply perverted, and I’m just projecting it onto and shaming you for what is in fact my own major malfunction.  NONE OF THAT MATTERS, what I’ve got here is a thousand times better than anything you (I) could possibly be imagining.

Oh, and by the way, Feather & Twine Photography‘s  Kelsey Newkham is the responsible party for sending over this shoot and I believe my precise reaction to it was: *JAW DROPS* * pushes jaw up with finger to close mouth*

Sooooo, yeah.  They’re that awesome.  They’re better than anything I’ve seen today and I see a lotta great s**t.  I mean, I DO have a Pinterest account, so you understand, that that’s saying something.

Here’s a little backstory, and some helpful insight into how they put together this shoot!  All from Kelsey herself…

Caryn & Bryan are a kind and incredibly adventurous couple. They live in Austin and love hiking (Bryan actually proposed to Caryn on a hiking excursion)! Bryan is a videographer and Caryn is a photographer, so when they met they joined forces for Love Caryn Photography. With all of that adventuring, they also love to spend all day in bed watching movies and relaxing, which was perfect for their styled engagement session!! In addition to all of that cuteness, Bryan calls Caryn “his bird” and Caryn calls Bryan “her bear”, so they brought their favorite bird and bear themed coffee table books from their home so we could add it in to the shoot. As the photographer, I was inspired to keep the session light and airy, as well as full of laughter and romance. We pulled the bed in the middle of the field to create a whimsical stage. Caryn and Bryan also LOVE vintage washes so the whole session has a streamlined edit that is light and pastel. Their wedding colors are blush and champagne, mixed with pastels, so we kept the colors soft and added classic novels (since they also plan to incorporate vintage books at the wedding)! Caryn and Bryan will be tying the knot in March at a Mayfield Park in Austin, TX.

I had the idea of putting the bed in the middle of a field with feathers for over a year, but didn’t ever have the resources available to me, so I just decided to go for it! Luckily, my cousin donated an old bed she had (which was the only thing missing), I used bedding from my house and bought some feathers to throw around! We kept the shoot light and fun, we brought music and let Caryn and Bryan pretty much go crazy hitting each other with the pillows! While shooting, I had my assistant throw feathers at them off in the corner to show the movement of the wind. They really like Tilt Shift photography, so I shot with a 45mm tilt shift (and threw in some film frames) which gave everything the blurry, whimsical feel that I wanted. I wanted the vibe to be really relaxed and carefree with a lot of movement, because that’s the feeling I got from Caryn and Bryan’s relationship!

So…

1) Do you love?  And…

2) … might you have any song suggestions for me?  I would be oh so grateful!  I’ve been absorbing an IV drip of Rihanna, John Mayer and Jason Mraz recently and I don’t want anything to lose its value to me.  I tend to listen to songs on repeat.  Like, 4 times in a row if I’m really liking it.  This always screws me in the end because I end up positively hating the song within a week.  But I seem to have zero ability to delay satisfaction.  IT IS TERRIBLAY.

P.S. – you guys.  YOU GUYS.  This shoot is seriously my fave of the month.  How FAB is this???  I no joke want to run into Central Park with a futon mattress, grab some geese and start wailing on Honey with them in a flurry of goose slaps and uppercuts and the like and so on.

P.P.S. – I would never start pummeling Honey with the living body of a goose, you know me better than that.  So NO letters.  (I love saying that; makes me feel like Oprah.)

xoxo  - Alison

Photography: Feather & Twine Photography / Submitted via: Two Bright Lights

**FOOTNOTE: this girl is super rocking this pillow fight better than I ever could.  Because give me ripped-open feather stuffed pillows and lip gloss and I’ll give you allergy eyes and a mouth full of feathers every time.  (… I promise you, it isn’t as sexy as you’re imagining it.  Yes that’s right, it’s even less sexy than “not at all sexy.”)

P.P.P.S. – yes I know that P.S.’s go AFTER you sign off.  But I walk my own path ARIGHT?  Aright.  Also, love you :)

Happy Friday afternoon, you guys.  First off, an update!  We went to a couple more shows as part of bridal market, and it’s official: we’re closing out this bridal market with a BANG.  I can’t wait for you to see our pictures from these shows!  You’re going to vomit over how beautiful they are.  You won’t be able to keep your food down.  I’m not being hyperbolic; I literally told someone I want to come to back to try some of them on for my own wedding.  Scout’s honor.  Next week!!!!

For fun, here’s a little sneak peek if you weren’t following my tweets last night…

We’ll have runway and backstage sweetness to share with you soon!

Ok, NOW!  On to the main event… I must say you guys, these two are just DARLING.  They’re the sweetest couple ever, and they stayed true to a concept that they personally loved.  At first they were embarrassed to be the only two around not wearing 2012 duds, but once they got comfortable – and with the help of the sensational Ivan Apfel of Ivan Apfel Photography, these two rocked it out, and had some serious fun.  And you guys, just wait until you see Katie’s style.  Ivan tells me she was born in the wrong era, and I have to agree.

Here’s the rundown from the beautiful bride, Katie:

We were really happy with the carnival idea because it allowed us to keep things playful, but still have that vintage flare. I thought it’d be embarrassing to shoot in a crowded place, but in some ways it loosened us up. The best part was when Ryan and I kissed on the chairlift only to be followed by a loud “EW!” by a nearby kid. Where else can you get that comedic relief?

I found the dress on Etsy.com from a vendor who sells vintage dresses from the 1960′s (it definitely beat the price of a Betsy Johnson dress). I wasn’t completely authentic though–the pearls and the shoes were my grandmother’s…from the 1980′s. My “1960′s” sunglasses were also from Etsy, and are actually from the 90′s (that explained the $10 price tag). If you’re going to go vintage, remember that those items already have wear and tear. Right before the shoot, I made a gaping hole in my dress that I had to cover with a bow, and the rubber tips of my heels were worn down to the nails by the end of the day. No need to freak out, though. The end result are awesome photos.

Also, Bump-It’s totally work. If you can’t find anyone to do your hair (like me), they make it really easy to recreate the 1960′s bouffant look.

And here’ s a bit from Ivan, their fab photographer (and all around great guy):

Every now and then you get one of those sessions you are really excited about. This was one of them. I met Katie and Ryan about 18 months ago when I shot the wedding of friends of her families. So I was really excited when she called me eight months later about shooting she and Ryan’s wedding. We had met a couple of times to discuss their engagement sessions (that’s right, plural). Katie is a huge fan of anything early ’60′s. So much so that their wedding will have a definite ’60′s edge to it from the cake to the guest gifts. They really wanted to choose locations for their sessions that would fit with this subtle theme. Right off the bat I was like, “County Fair”. Normally this might be an issue seeing that the Dade County Fair is not till the middle of March and a little warm. And the Broward County Fair is not till November which is well after the wedding. Well, good news, The South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach just happened to be in the middle of January which is the perfect shooting weather.

Originally I expected to have security and vendors give us a hard time and Katie expected to feel embarrassed in her ’60′s dress. But we were both pleasantly surprised when security never said a word and the game and ride vendors were eager to help out. As for Katie and her dress? It was a hit. The older women looked at her with a smile of nostalgia, the younger women came up and told her how much they loved her dress and the little girls said she looked like a princess. And Ryan? As any good fiancé would, he just went with the flow and enjoyed himself.

BONUS TIME!  They did another shoot, too.  And it’s a whole different concept.  :)

How cute is she!!!!

So, tell me…

1) How sweet are these two?

2) Would YOU feel comfortable doing a shoot in a very public place?

3) What do you think of themed shoots?  Would you want to do one yourself?

xoxo!  - Alison

Friday’s Inspirational Quote of the Day

And now… I’m starting something new for Fridays… I’m calling it Friday’s Inspirational Quote of the Day.  I know; I may have gotten too creative with the titling.  Anyway, here goes — the inaugural quote, via Pinterest, which helps to remind us that anything is possible… well, within reason, but still :)

Ivan Apfel Photography is a member of Vendor Love.  Explore more of his work here, in our guide.

Happy Thursday, party people.  Ok everybody, real quick: put your hands in the air if you’re engaged to be married, were engaged at one time and have since gotten married, plan on someday getting engaged, or at least know a best friend, acquaintance or frenemy who knows someone who knows the guy at the bike shop whose friend from college just proposed to his girlfriend.

K, I totally saw the vast majority of you put your hands up just now.  AWESOME!  You’re gonna like this post, I can feel it.  Oh and hopefully you like the chance to win a $1000 Amazon.com gift card, too?  YEAH?  Ok, this is going very well.

Now you guys, I truly love hearing couples’ engagement stories.  You could go on forever about how you met your sweetheart and got engaged and I would probably start trying to escape only after like, the *third* hour of you talking about it.  That’s REAL INTEREST!  And I love them all; the simple ones, the long-planned ones, the so-quick-they-seem-spontaneous ones, and even televised ones on occasion.  Somehow, they all manage to be so unique from each other.  Each one is one of a kind, and that’s what makes it so special, isn’t it?  Oh, and there’s the two-people-committing-to-a-life-together part, too.  That is also special. ;)

But here’s where it gets weird; people tend to have an *interesting* reaction to engagements that they perceive as having gone on too long, no matter the reasons or choices going on in that couple’s personal relationship.  Society has made it a touchy subject, but the truth is, it happens more often than we think.  Honey and I have actually been engaged for a while, I don’t think I’ve mentioned that – and I find that I keep trying to get my butt in gear to get the planning going, since we both know roughly what we want in our nuptials, but then not surprisingly, life and work TOTALLY get in the way.  It’s a vicious cycle of having no time!  But the thing is, I know we’re not alone.  You know what else I know?  I know that it’s always a good idea to see other people experiencing something similar, especially when it’s in movie-form!  Which is why, when Universal Pictures contacted me about their new comedy The Five-Year Engagement, which hits theaters on April 27, I was like LET’S DO THIS.

You guys, I am seriously overflowing with excitement and toddler-like patience to see this movie already, I must tell you.  April 27 can’t come soon enough.  Did you know the director and writer/star of the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall + the producer of Bridesmaids = WHO/WHAT’S BEHIND THIS MOVIE?  So seriously, is it my birthday?  Because that’s essentially what I’ve wished for, for the past couple of birthdays, in addition to more french bulldogs and pajama jeans.  Y’see, it’s not every day a movie like this comes out, that’s so guaranteed actually to be funny.  For one, we’ve got the comedy stylings of one Jason Segel, then we’ve got the hot’n'funny Emily Blunt, we’ve got an engagement that defies the space-time continuum in its persistence (I don’t even know what that means), we’ve got something mutually pleasing for you and your behbeh to do on date night, AND we’ve got a $1000 Amazon.com gift card OH RIGHT THE GIFT CARD I ALMOST FORGOT!!!!  Just kidding.  It is impossible to forget a prize this furiously amazing…

The Five-Year Engagement Save the Date Sweepstakes 

So, to celebrate the release of The Five-Year Engagement, Universal Pictures has joined with just over a handful of wedding bloggers to give away a crrraaaazy amount of $$$$ in the form of that Amazon gift card.  I know, niiiiiiiiiiice.

Here’s the lowdown on how to enter the giveaway!

The journey between popping the question and tying the knot doesn’t always go as planned, and Tom and Violet are no exception to the rule.  They’ve sent out 10 Save the Dates over the past 5 years – 10!! – here’s hoping that #10 is the last one!  To enter their Save the Date sweepstakes, make sure you head over to their Facebook page and visit each of my fellow bridal blogs featured on that page.  Each of our blog posts highlight one of the adorable Save the Dates Tom and Violet sent out between 2008 and 2012.  Simply collect any 4 dates (as shown on the Save the Dates on this and any other participating blogs identified below) and enter those dates into the sweepstakes page for a chance to win that $1000 Amazon.com gift card!  No seriously, it’s that easy.

FYI, The Knotty Bride’s bringing up the caboose on this sweepstakes.  Below you’ll find all the blogs who shared various other Save the Dates earlier in the week before we kicked out the final one here on TKB!

Wedding Chicks / Brooklyn Bride / Borrowed & Bleu / Green Wedding Shoes / Offbeat Bride / Once Wed / The Brides Cafe / The Broke-Ass Bride / Rock n Roll Bride

Ok friendlies, best wishes that it’s one of you who wins that amazing prize!  And then you can make it rain allll over Amazon.com.  And then after you win, we can all go see the movie when it comes out April 27 and just gossip the crap out of it for tickles and giggles afterwards!  That actually sounds like a GREAT IDEA.  But anyway…

On another note, if you’re down with sharing it, I’m curious to know… what’s your engagement story?  Remember, I love hearing about all of them, from the outrageous and well-planned, to the short and sweet.  I’d really love to hear your stories, especially after I kinda awkwardly came clean about the fact that Honey and I have been engaged for like, EVER.  Kinda embarrassing, in a way.  Bleh.

xoxo!  - Alison

Happy Thursday evening, lovers!  Welcome to your second post of the day.  Wowza, really doubling it up lately, eh?  Guess there’s just a LOT going on these days.  I’ve gotta say, I’m very pleased to share with you this sort of two-for-one delight we’ve got going on below.  To celebrate the launch of Serendipity Studios‘ lovlingly revamped website, plus the anniversary of their truly lovely Miami studio, Candice Cossel of Serendipity Studios is holding a pretty unbelievable contest all of a sudden and I’d say it’s nothing less than the cat’s pajamas.  Apparently that’s a good thing.  Anyway when she told me about it my face just blew right off of my face.  That’s twice in one week now.  I’m holding off on a doctor’s appointment to test out the durability/elasticity of my connective tissues because I just don’t even wanna KNOW at this point.  The prognosis is undoubtedly bad, so in this instance, ignorance is bliss.  Except my face keeps falling off.  NOT BLISS.

Now.  The two things I’m going to ninja star attack your mind with are 1) giveaway amazeballs and, 2) a shoot captured by Candice, author of the following quote of truth and righteousness…

“Engagement sessions are all about who you are as a couple.  Never feel tied into a trend or what’s popular.  Really think about your relationship and who you are and design something that means something for you.  It will make all the difference.”

That’s a smart photographer.  I dunno… but you might wanna hire her or something for your wedding.  Only smart cookies say that kind of stuff if you ask me.

PART I :: GIVEAWAY OF HAPPY WONDERFULLNESS AND WAY TOO MUCH FOR FREE

Here’s a very long snippet from their giveaway post; GO TO THERE FOR FULL GIVEAWAY DEETS:

Are you Engaged and plan to get married?   In 2012?  And want REALLY AMAZING FANTASTIC AWESOME wedding photography?  This is your lucky day!!!

The Prize:

• exclusive wedding photography by Candice Cossel
• assistant photographer
• full wedding story coverage (up to 10 hours)
• $1500 album credit (equal to a 20pg premier album)
• online ordering gallery
• complimentary engagement session
• ($4000 value)

How to enter:

• Please send a photo of the two of you together, your wedding date, wedding venue, and a short story telling us about you, why you want to work with Serendipity Studios and why you should win to photo@serendipitystudios.com.  You will receive a confirmation of your entry within 48 hours.  Finalists will be announced on March 2nd.

PART II :: Babak + Sheena = Engaged!

Ok so hey, guess what?  I know you’ve probably been fooled by people like me into thinking you HAVE to hold gold-dipped pears in the palms of your hands in order for your shoot to qualify as a legit engagement session these days… LOL.  No, but here’s the truth of the matter: engagement sessions used to be very simple, with the love of a couple the central focus of the shoot, and not the pretty little details.  Let’s get back to basics, today, shall we?

First, I’ll have you know that I happen to be a big fan of all the pretty little details, so don’t be confused.  However, I’m biased… I’m a wedding blogger, y’all.  But I know you and I BOTH wanna see eye-candy; it’s only natural.  It’s fun to look at, DOY.  However, the details are hardly a necessary part of effectively knocking it out of the park for you and your beloved.  And so I’m always psyched when I get a shoot like this one Candice sent me.  Because I get to show the world that shoots are always going to be more about a couple and their love – and in this case, their intense fashion sense – than about chalkboards and glitter.

OMG.

… I know you just gasped when I said *glitter.*  I know.  Because I did, too.  I did NOT mean it.  Can I take it back? the glitter thing?  I will always advocate the use of glitter in your shoots.  I rescind my glitter statement wholly.

But ANYWAY, the point is it’s not important.  Even glitter.

Here’s what IS:

^ thoughtful shots that tell a story of courtship ^

hilarious shots that work off of what’s available to you in your chosen setting…

^ of course, there’s always time for cuddles in my book…

AND there’s always time for killer color combos.  Or, as the Kardashians would call it, killer ko– actually who gives a s**t what the Kardashians think.  Sheena I’m loving your style, here.  That red skirt + gold bangle combo is just breathtaking…

… maaaaahhhhble caaaaahhhhlluuummms…

… totally rule.

Now, here’s a little rundown from that gorgeous lady up there, Sheena:

Although we are planning for a Miami wedding, my fiancé and I wanted the opportunity to have photographs that reflect our style in California, where we currently reside.  We were fortunate to have our wedding photographer, Candice Cossel, of Serendipity Photography, in town for our engagement photo shoot.

Babak and I met while in dental school in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl; as study partners, we spent much of our time together in the library.  To capture the essence of how we fell in love, we wanted to include a library scene in our shoot. We decided to forgo the usual scrubs, for a touch of elegance and class that resembled our personal style. The Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel was a perfect location to embody the concept of our shoot; it is a beautiful, stylish hotel that represented exactly what we envisioned for our engagement session.  Upon arrival, we were greeted with their signature Bellini, which set the tone for our weekend getaway from San Diego.  Our room had a plush white leather seating area, crisp white bedding and bold headboard that added to the classic Hollywood elegance that we desired to portray. The balcony overlooked the streets of Beverly Hills, which were bustling with nightlight.  This was a perfect representation of everything we love.

We both have a passion for modern style, that is simple and clean.  Along with the Mr. C hotel, we chose the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, to reflect our artistic edge. The sea of over 200 restored cast-iron lamp posts provided a dramatic addition to our otherwise classic shoot. The “Urban Light” display is stunning in person, and inventive in photographs.   

The scenery, wardrobe selection, hair styling by DryBar in West Hollywood, and outstanding photographer made for a beautiful collection of photographs that set the stage to showcase our flair for fashion and adoration for one another. 

And now here are some words from Candice on the shoot:

So, one of the really unique things we do for our clients is travel for engagement sessions.  It’s been a really fun experience and we get to photograph our clients in their world.

For Babak & Sheena it was all about getting out of their scrubs (they are both dentists) and back to the real world that includes fashion, style, art, and books.  We had a couple of goals with this session.  First we wanted it to be much more editorial in style.  What you may not know is that Bobby is AMAZING at styling.  He was the catalyst behind all 3 of the outfits they both wore.  As I have a husband that hates setting foot in the mall I found this so very cool.  One of the places they told me they loved was the outside of the los county museum of art.  So we planned to start our session there.  From there we moved to the library of the very cool Mr. C hotel.  As Babak & Sheena met in the library we really wanted to create a story with this.

Engagement sessions are all about who you are as a couple.  Never feel tied into a trend or what’s popular.  Really think about your relationship and who you are and design something that means something for you.  It will make all the difference.

Clothing Details!!!

SHEENA: Both casual outfits were from Zara!!  The dress is Nicole Miller.  Shoes: Steve Madden.  

BABAK: The khakis are Brooks Brothers and the bow tie is Urban Outfitters.

SO, what do YOU think of a stripped down shoot that focuses less on the extra little details and more on the love?  I’m a fan of all shoots, ‘course, YOU KNOW THAT, but I think it’s kinda really important to see something that we rarely see these days…

And don’t forget to click here to enter the giveaway if you’re getting married! :)

xoxo!  - Alison

Serendipity Studios is a member of Vendor Love.  Click here to view this listing, or explore the guide.

Previous Serendipity Studios features on The Knotty Bride:

• Half Moon Bay, CA Part 1
• Half Moon Bay, CA Part 2
• Rustic Glam Farm Wedding
• A Rustic Wedding Trend I Heart
• Twilight Garden Wedding
• Boudoir Giveaway (now closed to entries)
• Pink Party Inspiration