Photoshoot with Vivid Moments Photographers

Helloooo everyone!

Yes, I am still alive. I have been super busy though so obviously I have not been updating this blog. But... I have been saying for a long while now that I would post some pictures of a photoshoot I took with Mr. Potatohead back in December. Even though I'm four months late, I stand true to my word so finally, here are some pictures!

Mr. Potatohead and I had actually been trying to schedule and reschedule with our wedding photographers back in September/October, but every day that we picked was rainy and depressing. By the time November rolled around, I had already started my new job and Mr. Potatohead didn't have any vacation days left so we didn't even have a single free morning or afternoon together until the Christmas holiday. We rescheduled with our wedding photographers for a shoot in April (which we actually did a few weeks ago!!!) but we still wanted some nice pictures earlier to put up on our wedding website and use for our invites.

Our dear friend Ray, who has known us for over 7 years, is a talented professional photographer (at Vivid Moments Photographers) so we decided to ask whether he was available to help us with a photoshoot. Luckily, we were able to get together on the only Sunday when I didn't have to work - December 30th - right before the new year (and right after we had both gained ten pounds from all our Christmas family dinners. Perfect timing for a photoshoot!!! hahaha).  It was ridiculously cold that day but we sucked it up and went prancing around Minoru Park (yes... PRANCING...). Personally I am super awkward in photographs but honestly Ray made us feel really comfortable and helped us "pose" for certain shots. For a person who hates posing, I really think he was able to capture some really natural moments, and Mr. Potatohead and I basically just laughed our way through the whole shoot (while shivering like mad). Some of those "smiling" pictures you see might actually be "my teeth are chattering so much I think they're starting to fall out" shots. But really, it was great fun and we're so happy that Ray was the one to do it!

For our last few shots, Mr. Potatohead and I had the idea of hanging mason jars and tealights from a tree. We decided to take these shots in his backyard and not a public place just in case anything caught on fire (being charged for arson would not be ideal). The night before, we wrapped twine around 13 mason jars and made little "handles" and loops so that the jars could hang semi-safely. These jars are actually going to be part of our reception centrepieces so I suppose they're coming in handy all over the place. Maybe we'll even make homemade jam in the jars after the wedding hahaha (UNLIKELY).

Side Note #2: This is just a random tip for all you people getting married soon too, although you probably know this already because you're not a doofus like me: Unless you're very skilled and confident in the makeup department, don't try to do your own. HAHA. Before this photoshoot I was thinking of doing my own hair and makeup for the wedding day because I was afraid a makeup artist would put wayyyy too much stuff on my face. Well, I did my own hair and makeup for these pictures but I think doing so also made me realize that on the day of the wedding I will probably want to get someone to do it for me so it's one less thing to think about. I'm glad that these pictures turned out well and I look like I usually do (I didn't want to look foreign or have so much makeup on I looked UNRECOGNIZABLE haha). But I was actually kind of rushed when getting ready so after curling my hair, the only makeup I had time to put on for these photos was some eyeliner, eyeshadow, and mascara and I didn't end up wearing any skin makeup or anything else. So basically, I really didn't know what I was doing because I'm not good with makeup in the first place and from this experience I learned that I should probably leave that kind of stuff to professionals instead of trying to DIY everything myself. HAHA. Sometimes, you just... can't... and shouldn't.  I just imagined myself on the wedding day ATTEMPTING to do my own makeup and dropping red lipstick on my dress or something horribly clumsy like that.

Anyway, ENOUGH RAMBLING. Here are the pictures. The one with the "better together" logo on it was the one we ended up using for part of our invites. Enjoy! 

6 months to go... DUN DUN DUN!!!

A huge thanks goes to our dear friend Raymond (who is the talented photographer behind the lens of these photos... and a huge apology goes to him as well for ruining his usual pristine and professional photography style with our weird poses and my token burger quote)... thanks for still being our friend after this. HAHA. As I continually promise, a few more of these photos will be coming soon but for now, why don't you head over to Raymond's site at Vivid Moments Photographers for some amazing shots of other couples =D. 

By the way, in my opinion the best part of this photoshoot was finding those two branches lying on the ground and putting them on my head as deer antlers... and my fiance being okay with that. Although he did veto the idea of me crouching over like a grandma and using the branch as a cane. Oh well, a relationship is all about compromise, and saving each other's dignity once in awhile. =P

In other wedding related news, I've been busy trying to design our invites lately... and it's been tough! I've realized I'm very indecisive about this sort of thing because when it comes to my own art, I'm very critical about all the minor details and it's never quite up to my ridiculously confused and ambiguous standards. haha. I don't even know what I want. Currently, I'm trying to hand-draw a sketch for our invites and I'm finding it hard to infuse all the different elements we like - "woodsy with a vintage flair with some cute cartoons but still professional and simple-looking" - without giving into the fact that realistically a perfectly harmonious blend of said elements does not exist.  In the midst of all this confusion, my tendencies for artistic perfectionism are kicking in. haha. HELP. 

There have been small victories though - mainly, the mint-green website banner that I designed (above) with those quirky little birds. I'm also quite happy with that random font that I came up with for our names which was my take on "woodsy + cute". Anyway, if you have any ideas for wedding invites using kraft paper (you know, the woodsy brown paper that looks like glorified cardboard), send me some links! I'd really appreciate some design inspiration right now =D.

DIY sweater scarf & thrift-store treasures

I realize I haven't posted a DIY in a long time, so here's a quick and easy one. It doesn't even really require you to do anything. Hahaha. Those are the best kinds of projects, am I right?

Step 1: Go to the thrift store and find an OLD-MAN VEST in a pattern that you fancy.

Step 2: Throw the whole old-man vest over your neck and wear it as one of those circle scarves that still seem to be pretty popular this winter season (until people start shunning them a few seasons later, like UGGS). But when that happens, you can take it off your neck and start a new trend by wearing it like the old-man vest that it was always meant to be.

Optional (and recommended) Step: If you really don't care for the old-man sweater trend anyway and don't mind permanently ruining the vest, you can turn the thing inside out and hand-sew a line down each side of the vest to close the arm-holes and basically transform it into one long tube. This way, you can wear it as a circle scarf without people asking you why there are weird holes jutting out the sides. 

Speaking of thrift stores, I also have not blogged about my recent thrift finds in awhile. Well, actually I have not been shopping much lately (saving money for greater and more important things!) but here are a few items that I've accumulated over the past few months. 

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I found these gold & pearl earrings at a thrift store and even though I would totally just wear them like that, they are a bit heavy so I think I'm going to cut them and make a few separate pieces of jewelry instead. The gold chain necklace in the back was $1 and I like that I can wear it with both casual and formal outfits (versatility!).

 Sometimes, I also use jewelry for other purposes... haha...

 Another interesting piece I got was this white blouse that was only 50 cents. Although I will have to sew the sides to make it more slim fit, the collar of this blouse caught my eye and I could easily wear it under sweaters and cardigans. 

 The shirt below I actually got from Value Village awhile ago, but since I haven't worn it that many times I suppose it's still "new". I like the black and white chevron print and the material is super silky. I would probably pair this shirt with a cozy-grey cardigan, gold necklace + watch, a high-waisted large-floral print skirt, and bright teal shoes. Can you imagine that? Sounds random but I swear it would work. How would YOU style this shirt? 

I saved the cardigans for last because I always think they're the best finds and I definitely wear them the most often! I found this cute doily-looking scallop-edged grandma cardigan at Value Village and even though I have another similar cream-coloured cardigan, I justified my purchase because this one is 3/4 sleeves and the other is long-sleeve. Yes... help me validate my reasoning. haha... 

And finally, my favourite recent purchase: this was the only clothing item I bought in the month of December so I guess it was a Christmas present for myself. It was $5 and I found it at the Vancouver Salvation Army on Granville Street. I saw it and said, "this will make me look like GINGERBREAD!!!" and immediately pranced to the cashier. 

I actually decided to wear this sweater the very next week during an engagement photoshoot with Mr. Potatohead. As I said before, I will be posting those pictures soon... but for now, here's a preview:

Haha... that tagline was just to shock my parents. Hi Mom & Dad. =) But they probably didn't get shocked anyway since they're used to my jokes by now. 

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this random post! =)

-Laura

wedding post #4: engagement pictures

We're having our engagement pictures taken soon, and I'm a little nervous - I'm not super fond of being in front of the camera unless I'm taking silly pictures. But I shall have to "pose" and try to look normal for once! I am NOT going to do the "leg pop" though - it's just not me (leg pop = when the girl kicks one leg up into the air for some psuedo-romantic flair). Actually, one of the images I found below has a perfect example of this particular phenomenon. If I do end up doing that in my engagement pictures, I give you full permission to laugh and shake your head at me.

Well anyway, as we're on the topic of engagement pictures, yesterday Mr. Potatohead and I looked through our closets to see what we could wear for our photos. It's not like we ever try to match each other and our styles are completely different so actually, it was hard coming up with outfits + colours that would complement each other. We gave up on trying to follow our wedding colour scheme (coral + mint green) because although I love coral dresses, I don't have one and I would point and laugh if Mr. Potatohead wore either coral or mint green. That just wouldn't be him either.

Anyway, we've at least decided on one set of clothes that will work - something along the lines of red plaid and white lace. But we still want one more set so there's some variation. Any suggestions? Maybe we could dress up as OLD PEOPLE again, just like we did for Halloween one year, and take our engagement pictures pretending to be elderly? HAHA. What do YOU think about that? I'm only half joking you know... 

tree picture from here // balloons engagement shoot from here

By the way... I picked that photo with the BALLOONS for a reason. We both do love the movie UP...

;)