This is Mikes dad, Mike. He was the best man and gave the shortest, sweetest toast ever heard, he is fantastic!

There were baby swordfish swimming around in the water beneath the restaurant, so we all had to run over and take a peek.

Last year when we met Mike and Vicky, they smoked cuban cigars to commemorate their engagement and they made sure they brought some along to celebrate their wedding. My favorite picture is the last one, with Mikes mom, Dorothy. She had me take some pictures because smoking a cuban was on her “bucket list” but I don’t think she cared for it too much:) By the way, Dorothy, if you are reading this, I just love this watch, I wore it to the wedding I shot in Denver and haven’t taken it off since! Can’t wait for our party in Memphis!!

Vicky’s Aunt was the life of the party, she started a soul train line just like the one at the end of Hitch. It was awesome!

This is Vicky’s dad, Ted. I have never seen a father dote as much on his daugther, nor have I ever seen a father and daughter more alike. Ted, we loved meeting you, can’t wait to come hear you play in Ohio! Also, don’t forget, you promised to take us to the place with fries and gravy… Just sayin..

This very well may be my favorite dance picture of all time.

Vicky and Mike, we cannot express enough to you how thankful we are to know you, how excited we are for your new life together, and how happy we are to have you as friends. Thank you thank you for everything!!!

This was Mikes view, I just love his composition!!

Vicky’s maid of honor had this photo charm made for her to use on her bouquet to honor her mother, who passed five years ago, just after she met Mike.

Fun Fact about Vicky, she played the steel drums while she was in school. Have you ever met anyone who plays these things that grew up in the midwest? Me either.

Did I tell you that Mike is a Testicular Cancer survivor? They had all of their guests wear Livestrong bands to the ceremony.

To Be Continued..

(Mike took the following six or seven pictures. Ordinarily I would be seething with jealousy and not even post them, but they are just so delicious, and he did such an amazing job that he needs to be recognized. Besides, I can rest easy by reminding myself I taught him everything he knows:))

I love this girls eyes, they are just soft and kind one minute and sparking and laughing the next…

Let me tell you something about our trip, readers. It rained pretty much off and on, mostly on, every single day we were there. On the day before we were supposed to start shooting I was having a minor panic attack whilst in the middle of my spa mud wrap (just as amazing as it sounds, incidentally, I highly recommend it..) about how we were going to get any photos at all, when I had an epiphany. We could shoot it like they did that kiss scene from The Notebook. If Ryan whats his name and the girl from Mean Girls could make it look good, Mike and Vicky could definitely kill that shot! Luckily the clouds opened up and gave us the rain we needed and Vicky and Mike were such awesome sports to go out and make out in the deluge for a few pictures.. I just love these guys!!

This last shot was taken just ouside the Piton Lounge, where we all hung out every night. Somehow it quit raining long enough to go out and get the shot, and my Mike was kind enough to lug around an umbrella and stand so I could try a little off camera flash.

Although the day was soggy, sopping with rain, and not at all what they expected, it couldn’t have gone better.  Lyndsay with Whitney Oaks Golf Club in Rocklin did a fantastic job of rearranging the entire spectacle to be indoors, and the clouds parted just long enough for us to get some great photos out on the the golf course before coming in to party the night away.

Kim, it was such a great time. I loved every second of your wedding day. Who would have ever thought that when we met way back in the fourth grade that we would be traipsing through water logged greens searching for the one great shot of you and your husband? Truly, it was a pleasure. Tim, you look perfect, as usual!

By the way, I asked and yes, they will be naming their first child Jim or some other name that rhymes with Kim and Tim.
And one more thing, Katie, you killed it as the maid of honor, I mean seriously, I want to hire you!!!

Cracking an egg and finding a partially grown baby chick inside.

Never living within an hour of the ocean again.

Living within an hour of an ocean and dying in a tsunami.

Cardboard rubbing against other cardboard.

Peeing in the dark.

Getting someone’s dead skin cells under my finger nails if I scratch their back.  ( incidentally if you ask me to scratch your back the answer will invariably be no.)

Some vicious person finding out my deepest darkest fear and using it to torture secret information out of me..  (which is why I am not broadcasting my deepest fear out on the world wide web)

That scene in the movie Signs where an alien walks through the frame of a brazilian family’s  home video.

Locking my camera equipment in the car and showing up to a wedding with only a kodak disposable camera.

Ok, that last one partially already happened, although it worked itself out in the end, I can speak from experience when I say that the way to conquer your fears is not to face them head on, because that was an anxiety filled hour I will never ever forget.  Maybe the way to conquer your fears is to publicly list them in a blog?  I will let you know tomorrow, if I can manage to crack my eggs without first taking a deep breath and closing my eyes tight!  In the meantime, here are a few shots from the day I locked my camera and back up equipment in the car.  I fortunately had a very very kind friend who lived near by with a camera, lens and memory card that she drove over to me.

Molly Bice, you are the best for taking me with you.  And speaking of Molly Bice, remember that she has a benefit concert to raise money to buy headstones for families who have lost children?  Well, its coming up, see details here,  http://www.agoodgrief.com/  I think I am going to set up a photo booth in the lobby, and I heard that chikfila is one of the sponsors this year, which is great, remember when they used to only be in the mall and they would have a guy standing out front holding a tray of samples and you used to walk by half a dozen times as you snatched more then your fare share of nuggets? You should go to this concert, it is amazing.  

1.  Practiced high fashion high glamour poses specifically intended for sexy women. (I was watching Creative Live and wanted to try them out..)

2.  Stuck his hand inside a boot “to make sure no mice or snakes had crawled in and died before I put it on.”

3.  Skied the bunny slope for half hour while towing a 60 pound first grader up a rope tow, bought a chair lift pass, used the chair lift once, and promptly returned to the tow rope with the same 60 pounder because she was scared of the lift.

4.  Cleaned the entire house from top to bottom.

5.  Chased two little girls around with a “crazy chicken” because it made them laugh and wore them out for bedtime.

6.  Watched exactly 30 minutes of Once Upon a Time.

7.  Cut out and assembled a tree house made from  a cereal box, complete with swing set and slides.

8.  Performed funerals for Orbees that had passed on.  I believe there were seven.  So seven separate funerals.

9.  Edited two years of home videos so Mia could see what she looked like when she was a baby.

10.  Walked back and forth to the kitchen getting drinks of water for all three of his girls, me included, because we forgot to get them before we went to bed.

The list could go on, but I think that these few things will give you a snippet of what our very special DODO does every weekend without complaint.  Here are a few pics I snapped of the “ski trip” that I thought would be indicative of what a fantastic father we have on our hands.  Best.  DODO.  EVER.