We had the honor and pleasure to provide professional photographic event coverage to a nonprofit organization called Teaching Peace at their 3rd annual peace benefit dinner Pasta, Peace and Pizzazz! held at Pinocchios in Longmont, Colorado.
The oral tradition of the Iroquois tells of a Peacemaker who warned the people that as long as there was violence, there would be fear that would diminish everyone’s sense of safety and peace of mind. There must be a unified effort by humans for peace to prevail. Through logic, reasoning, and spiritual means, the Peacemaker inspired the warriors to bury their weapons and adopt a Path of Peace. The Great Tree of Peace was planted on top of this site to mark a new beginning. The Peacemaker proclaimed that the branches of the white pine would spread out to shelter all who commit themselves to Peace.
Teaching Peace honors this teaching through their mission: "To cultivate a safe and caring community, reduce crime and bring together those involved in crime or conflict to be heard, creating justice for all." In collaboration wtih Longmont Community Justice Partnership, they offer simple solutions to complex problems to bring civility to schools, make our world safer, experience satisfying resolutions to personal conflicts, resolve work place conflicts, experience accountability with compassion, and discover the power of your own story.
It was an inspirational night to hear first-hand stories from actual participants from their circles of what really goes into one of these restorative justice processes and how enormous the impact can be. Deb Witzel and Beverly Title are amazing women as well as the rest of the staff and board of directors of Teaching Peace. Visit their website for more information at www.teachingpeace.org
"I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding." -John Donahue
Love, like friendship is not something that you seek, but something that you give.
Life is about choice. You get to choose how you respond to what happens.
"It's not so important where we stand, but the direction in which we are moving." -Goethe
People don't remember what you did, or what you said, but how you made them feel.
It could not have been a more beautiful day for the wedding of Kyle Erickson and Jennifer Bateman on Friday, October 16, 2009 at Elings Park in Santa Barbara, California. It could have been cooler, as temperatures were in the 90s, but at least it wasn't pouring rain like it was earlier that week. Despite the heat, their wedding day was picture-perfect and I want to personally thank all the event vendors who made it all come together. My good friend, Stephanie Hogue, was the professional photographer who captured the day and I just enjoyed myself so the few images posted here are with my happy snap camera. I can't wait to see all the wedding images from Stephanie Hogue Photography! (www.hoguephoto.com)
Jennifer found her couture wedding dress by Edgardo Bonilla at the bridal salon Beautiful owned by seamtress extraordinaire Mercedes Trump. I was fortunate to be with Jen when she first tried it on, it was so beautiful on her and everything she had wanted her dress to be. Mercedes did an awesome job with adding the lace sleeves and altering the dress to be a perfect fit for Jen. It was truly one of the most exquisite wedding dresses I have seen and in 34 years of photographing weddings, I have seen A LOT of wedding dresses! Jen was a beautiful princess bride!
We hosted the rehearsal dinner at our favorite Santa Barbara establishment, Opal Restaurant (www.opalrestaurantandbar.com). Richard Yates and his staff took great care of us. Everything was fantastic from the appetizers, the selection of entrees and the dessert accompanied by a fabulous selection of wines. The atmosphere of Opal is so warm and friendly. We enjoy it so much that Matt and I returned there again on Saturday to have dinner with friends before we left town.
The absolute best florist in town, Kaleidoscope Flowers, (www.kaleidoscopeflowers.com) designed all the floral arrangements and personal flowers and as always they were lovely. Thank you Michael and the crew at the shop! Your personal care and service were greatly appreciated!
The wedding ceremony was officiated by Jill Stein. Jill was our wedding coordinator over 10 years ago and now she is an awesome officiant. She is a calming presence at weddings and I love the way she personalizes the vows for each couple. I really liked the part of the ceremony while they were holding hands and have included the words below to share with everyone.
These are the hands of your best friend, beautiful and strong. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. They will reach out in the dark, while you are sleeping, to calm you during a bad dream. They will love you, cherish you, and with the slightest touch, comfort you like no other’s touch can. These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children, tuck them into bed, guide them as they grow, and these are the hands that will cling to you for strength when it is time to let your children go out on their own. And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.
The beautiful wedding cake was made by Katie Scott of Montecito Confections (www.montecitoconfections.com) and it was absolutely delicious. I had to have both the white layer of cake and the chocolate, it was so good.
Clark Staub from Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos (www.fulloflifefoods.com) provided a wonderful menu to please the palette. The buffet included a Los Alamos Market Salad, Goleta Mussels with Spicy Rouille, Bacon-Wrapped Dates, Oven-Roasted Grapes with Fennel and a variety of Flatbread including Cheese & Herb, Pepperoni & Peppers, Central Coast Sausage and Kalamata Olive & Feta. I especially enjoyed the mussels! The fantastic selection of wines was provided by VanceErickson, a boutique wine broker for Southern California and the Central Coast and the emerging wine business of the groom Kyle Erickson and his business partner Ted Vance.
DJ Nahchey a fast-rising star in the Hollywood club scene (www.nahchey.com) kept the music playing and the people dancing throughout the evening.
Kyle and Jennifer are enjoying a two week honeymoon on a Mediterrean cruise exploring Spain, France and Italy. Now that is a honeymoon!
Jennifer & Kyle exchange their wedding vows...
The first kiss is a magical moment...
Could this couple be any happier as they are pronounced husband and wife!
My good friend and fabulous photographer, Stephanie Hogue.
The Bride & Groom cut their wedding cake.
Thanks to our nice neighbor, Terry, for taking good care of our kitties while we were in Santa Barbara.
where the heart is...and even though I am going back to Santa Barbara tomorrow to visit with dear friends and celebrate the wedding of Kyle and Jennifer, there is no doubt our hearts are in our new home in Longmont, Colorado! I know it's only been six months since we moved here but we have fully embraced the lifestyle of enjoying the great outdoors and all this state has to offer. We plan on many wonderful adventures ahead.
Looks like I will miss the first snow of the season as I fly west to the warmth of the coast, as the forecast here is temps in the 30s and a bit of snow. Darm I was looking forward to tossing Bella & Bogey in the white stuff and see what they think about it! The mountains are already covered with it and it looks so beautiful—it takes my breath away...You just never tire of looking at the Rocky Mountains, what a spectacular panoramic view every day!
So with that said it will be interesting to see how I reflect about Santa Barbara after living there for 25 years and believing it would be the place I would live all my life and die there. There is no doubt it is considered a seaside paradise, especially the weather. The question we often get when we say we moved from there is why? with a quizzical expression on their face. Why would you do that? The simple answer is "it was time for a change" but the real answer is because the Universe knew what was best for us and where we should be!
Our house is a very very fine house with two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard, now everything is easy cause of you and our...
Bella & Bogey
Autumn Leaves
Sometimes in the winds of change, we find our true direction...
We have certainly been delighted with our new adventure. It has been awhile since my last post in June but Matt and I had the best summer ever exploring Colorado and enjoyed over 100 miles of hiking trails in the mountains and at least 350 miles of cycling on beautiful country roads but I didn't take the time to sit in front of my computer and blog about. Once Matt arrived from California in mid-June and since we were both "unemployed" for the summer, we made it a point to be active on a regular basis. In two months we hiked numerous trails in Rocky Mountain National Park and Indian Peaks Wilderness from 4 to 10 miles and up to elevations of 13,223 feet. We explored Cub Lake, Bear, Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lake, Murray Lake in Summit County near Breckenridge, The Loch and Mills Lake, Blue Lake (my favorite happy place so far), Pawnee Pass and the Continental Divide, Dorothy Lake and Araphoe Pass, Timberline Falls, Lake of Glass and Sky Pond, Lake Isabella and Mount Audubon, our highest point so far.
We greatly enjoyed the pleasure of the company of our friends, Stephanie & Jim for the July 4th weekend and Carol later in the month. We went to two Rockies baseball games, Breckenridge, Sculpture in the Park in Loveland and a Jackson Browne conert at Red Rocks. I played golf in a Rally for the Cure tournament and our foursome came in third. I took a Full Moonwriting workshop with Dee and met a wonderful new friend, Michele. I volunteered for the Venus de Miles bike ride and plan to ride in the event next year. We discovered a favorite restaurant in Longmont called Terroir. I have met new friends: Sandi, Billi, Darla, Elise, Michele and Terry and they all have a wonderful energy. I joined the Longmont Newcomers Club and have volunteered to be the editor of their monthly newsletter next year.
Matt loves his new job at Altona Middle School as a counselor. Right place at the right time. Bonus is he will assist with Silver Creek high school baseball coaching in the spring, a dream come true for him or as Matt states, he died and went to heaven! As for me, I am temporarily self-unemployed but patience and persistent will produce prosperity in the new year! It's all good and everything is working out perfectly!
Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park
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Blue Columbine, the Colorado state flower.
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Blue Lake in Indian Peaks Wilderness, my favorite hike so far.
Nymph Lake reflection in RMNP
A most wonderous wild flower, Little Pink Elephants
Two more Nymph Lake reflections.
Wind on Dorothy Lake, where we hiked for my birthday. I love the contrast of these two lake reflections from the serenity of the lily pads above to the movement of the wind ripples below.
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