Thanksgiving came and went this year in a blink of an eye. Between weddings, family shoots and family time, I wonder if anyone else besides me felt that it just didn’t quite feel like the holidays arrived – and before I knew it we were in the weekend after Thanksgiving… thats a strange sensation.
The night before Thanksgiving I lay awake, wondering how different next Thanksgiving is going to be with Kara and Liliana here. I not-so-quickly- jerked myself back to reality and refocused on this year – this Thanksgiving – this day with family, that I would never be able to get back. While I treasured every kick and roll I felt from Liliana throughout the day, I secretly made it my mission to smother Kara with more kisses and hugs than she ever received in her life…and Nick too, for that matter!
I sat to write this post, featuring a few of our pre-Thanksgiving day photos from the amazing Diana Stoffel, and felt overwhelmingly thankful and grateful for my family. The list became too long to even begin as thoughts raced through my mind of how blessed I am. How blessed I am to have a husband who doesn’t just care for me, but cares about me. How thankful I am to have a husband that works twenty-four hours a day (literally at the fire station) to provide for his family. How fortunate I am to have a husband that loves me, cherishes me, challenges me and encourages me. How blessed I am to have him…never pulling from in front or pushing from behind, but holding…steadfastly…from my side. There isn’t this list of things he does or says, qualities he has, characteristics he possess, that I can create to say what I am thankful for…because I that implies that there could be a list of things that I am not thankful for; pieces of him that I would say, “Thanks but no thanks.” …and the simple truth is that there just isn’t a “Thanks but no thanks” list. He is my list. He IS everything I am thankful for.
Hmmmm… that made me think…
Kara? Surprisingly she fell into the same boat. I could ramble on for days about how much I love her personality, how I cherish every witty and hysterical things she says, how I am amazed at how she learns and picks up on hundreds of new things a week… I could create a list like that that is never ending. But the truth of the matter is that she, too, is exactly what I am thankful for. She is everything I am thankful for. And Liliana? Oh man. Every kick and turn brings a smile to my heart and I feel like I could burst into tears at any given second thinking about how incredibly blessed we are to have her almost here. Thankful? Words fall short of describing! She is everything I am thankful for.
I could continue with parents and siblings, grandparents and extended family – and the whole time I am thinking about how thankful I am for crazy family and my crazy life…I stop and realize that the One who we are all truly thankful for is God. Thankful that He knew us before we were born, laid out perfect and amazing plans for our lives, cherishes every freckle on our face, and loves us so much that He gave us His son. For Him, I am so, so thankful. For His love and grace, for His mercy and kindness. For His design and plan, for me and my family, and for creating for me a husband and daughters that ARE everything I could ever be thankful for.
Blessed… Fortunate… Lucky… whatever it is that you want to call it – its all because He first loved me… and I am truly Thankful.
  
Tags: bridal party, burlap, diy, elegant, grey, love, malibu, pepperdine university, pink, shabby chic, vintage glam, wedding, wedding flowers
We don’t usually post blogs of sneak peaks. We may post one our two on Facebook, as teasers, but we make our brides wait…usually in anticipation… for their post to show up on the blog. It’s fun for us…torture for our brides. Alas, being the rule breaker that I am (hey, I am the one who set them in the first place!) I wanted to post a peak for Jason & Mallory.
Even though I credit pregnancy hormones for most of my tear-filled moments, there was much more at play here than hormones. When we met with Mallory she warned us that she, along with others in her family, are criers… So am I, so I fit right in. [nick on the other hand, he boldly crosses his arms and declares he won't shed a tear...humpf!] We have talked before about how I cry at weddings, during almost every first dance, without-a-doubt during the toasts and if the grooms starts to tear up – oh forget it!
Never… n-e-v-e-r, have I cried because a bride looked so radiant when she was crying. I took one look at Mallory, with joyous tear filled eyes, and I suddenly found it hard to catch my breath. She.looked.beautiful. Tears of joy suit her… perfectly! As I settled in behind my camera I thought to myself, “Now this is why I take pictures of weddings. There is the love and joy and beauty that draws me back behind the lens.”
Mallory – your wedding was perfect.
          
In a way, photographing weddings has ruined me. I’m snobby when I plan an event now. “No, no, no, we cannot just use plasticware.” “White folding chairs???” I remarked to my mom with a groan. “Yes, Elizabeth, it’s a three-year-old’s birthday!” Darn.
Snobby, indeed.
When Nick and I got married, we were 19, one year out of high school, determined that we knew exactly what we wanted, and by golly we were gonna have it. Sadly, I had no idea how to plan a wedding, and with my do-it-alone attitude I settled for many of things that I shamefully hang my head at now. Two years into our business and we said – “Ummm….we want a do over!” Nick included, it wasn’t just me! The more weddings we shot, the more I longed for our first dance to have been under gigantic crystal chandeliers illuminated by candle light. On our third Christmas as a married couple, Nick re-purposed **can you even do that???** and told me to plan the wedding of my dreams, and we will do a vow renewal on our 5 year anniversary.
After starting to plan, we quickly realized that both of our dreams were now spoiled with all the weddings we had shot, and it would take years to create a budget large enough to satisfy our hungering…. So now we have said 10 years (which is only 3 years away – don’t ask how the budget is coming, I’ll start to cry).
Why the long back story, Liz, get to the pictures!!!?! Okay, okay. Here is what happened. I walked into the Grand Tradition on Adam and Alyssa’s wedding day and gasped. Like gasping to catch my breath after running a marathon. It was stunning. No… it was EXTRAVAGANT. It was everything I had ever dreamed a wedding should be. Throughout the day you could catch a glance at me tearing up as I wandered around photographing details. And no, it was NOT pregnancy hormones. I was so in love with every single aspect of the wedding, I could hardly contain myself!
Each moment was more emotional. Seeing the reception hall, Alyssa getting in her dress, the horse drawn carriage, Adam quietly wiping a tear as Alyssa walked towards him… I don’t know enough superlatives to describe the incredibleness. I can tell you, my dearest Alyssa, that in three more years, when we have our vow renewal ceremony, don’t be surprised if you feel de javu when you show up. I am still….weeks later…swooning over your wedding.
                  
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by Nick Corona
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