JAMI + GREG (A DESTINATION WEDDING IN MARCO ISLAND, FLORIDA)

 photo FL_blog-54_zps18b20b45.jpg

Hello from Minneapolis! I've been feeling pretty under the weather this weekend and it's expected to reach −15 tonight so the weather is already quite "under" to begin with. While I do genuinely like winter, the wedding I'm blogging today is intentionally warm and beachy. You're welcome. ;) Back in July, Jami and Greg flew me down to Marco Island, Florida to photograph their beautiful destination wedding. Jami (a native of Nebraska) and I had been email buddies for years before their wedding. She was (and still is!) a sweet encourager or my work and was always trying to find an excuse to hire me to photograph her family. Well, last summer proved to be the perfect opportunity when Greg asked her to be his wife. Their ceremony was all of 5 minutes on the beach opposite the Hilton where we stayed. On top of that, I was one of only seven people in attendance, including the officiant! It was a wonderfully beautiful, intimate, and low-key experience. I'm used to functioning as a fly on the wall during weddings, so this was not only a growing experience for me professionally, but a relaxing, rejuvenating experience for me personally. Jami + Greg, thank you for everything! Your wedding was definitely one of the highlights of my 2013 wedding season.

 photo FL_blog-4_zpsbcb1f838.jpg

 photo FL_blog-1_zpsb6532203.jpg

 photo FL_blog-3_zpsce3f2f0a.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-9_zpsebb215de.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-10_zps4083dcec.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-6_zpse7935fef.jpg

 photo FL_blog-7_zps2c0c5109.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-8_zps35955b33.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-11_zps29a7d18f.jpg

 photo FL_blog-12_zps7fcd6cbc.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-13_zps1d4f9628.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-14_zps66ea1705.jpg

 photo FL_blog-16_zpsfa8f30eb.jpg

 photo FL_blog-17_zpsa7046b5f.jpg

 photo FL_blog-18_zps66062b5b.jpg

 photo FL_blog-19_zpsa4ad0ae0.jpg

 photo FL_blog-21_zps87be7409.jpg

 photo FL_blog-22_zps13473f26.jpg

 photo FL_blog-20_zps90d6daf5.jpg

 photo FL_blog-23_zpse322cda4.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-24_zpscab672c2.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-25_zps1d68c3d6.jpg

 photo FL_blog-26_zps1a95b4d1.jpg

 photo FL_blog-28_zps34d4c18b.jpg

 photo FL_blog-27_zpsb3501290.jpg

 photo FL_blog-30_zpsc2d78fb0.jpg

 photo FL_blog-31_zps93f426b2.jpg

 photo FL_blog-29_zps4a24bf00.jpg

 photo FL_blog-33_zpsdc195c39.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-34_zps5b71220f.jpg

 photo FL_blog-35_zpsaaadf10c.jpg

 photo FL_blog-36_zps0f195e8e.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-37_zpsce786f62.jpg

 photo FL_blog-32_zps83d5b7b2.jpg

 photo FL_blog-52_zpsf13cd442.jpg

 photo FL_blog-39_zps375258e6.jpg

 photo FL_blog-38_zpsa8ae2dd7.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-40_zps8aa85b67.jpg

 photo FL_blog-41_zps570db853.jpg

 photo FL_blog-42_zps74edb3cb.jpg

 photo FL_blog-45_zps54bbb6d0.jpg

 photo FL_blog-43_zps73970c26.jpg

 photo FL_blog-44_zps90609cdc.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-46_zpscd907baf.jpg

 photo FL_blog-53_zpsfc0316bc.jpg

 photo FL_blog-48_zps8e669712.jpg

 photo FL_blog-49_zpsb97ae6f3.jpg 

 photo FL_blog-51_zpsfc37a79b.jpg

San Diego

Aha! So I'm finally posting about my trip out here. As you all know, I primarily flew out for the wedding, but seeing that the week following the wedding was spring break from school I decided to stay out here. I'm in Arizona right now staying with my dear friend Andrea but before I post about that I need to cover my time in the great California!

But before I begin, since a couple of you said you missed my music player I've brought it back :) It doesn't automatically play and it's at the bottom of my blog now, but I plan on keeping it updated.

Ok, so while I was in California I stayed with the White family. Their daughter Chelsea and I grew up together and were very close in Middle-School to early High school before they moved out to San Diego. I had kept up with Chelsea, but never seen her CA house or the rest of her family since the move!
So, needless to say it was such a happy moment when I pulled up to their house and Java the dog came bounding down the driveway and I saw everybody again. AH it was a great moment. They are the best hosts ever. Mrs. White is an amazing cook and I really enjoyed my 2 days staying there. :) And ahem, this is the view from their front porch.

Yeah, I don't think I'd ever get tired of that living there! Wow. In fact, all of San Diego is just beautiful.




After church on Sunday, Chelsea and I along with some East coast friends still in town from the wedding went to the beach. The water was freeeeezing, but we enjoyed walking the beach and sittin' in the sun.





Self-timer, baby! Haha I looked like such a fool. But thankfully it only took me two tries.

JD & I....and the sign that kept us all amused the entire time.

Chels!


I saw my dream car.

After the beach we went to Lou's Record and Pannikin. I fell in love with the record store.


Dear Beth.



Oook and on the way home = one of my California highlights. We were listening to My Girls by Animal Collective (hit up my playlist if you want to hear it!) and all of a sudden Chelsea pulls off the road and pulls right up to this cliff. We cranked the volume up and danced for five minutes. It was so fun.




Back at the Whites the boys played some music and we watched the sunset.



And that concludes day one in California! Up next is Biola University, a photo shoot with Chelsea, and brunch with Laura, my new best friend. :)