We just finished Ben & Cecilia's album design! Yay! These two were married Saturday at their home in Paradise Valley and the day was absolutely lovely.
Ben & Cecilia ordered my newest luxury Queensberry Duo Album. It is 18x10 inches in size and horizontal in format. This album fuses traditional matted and flush-mount digital images. The white pages are beautifully textured white mat within which images are pagemounted but you also have the option to include images that span flush to the edges of the page. Click here to see images of my sample to get a visual of how gorgeous their album will be when it is finished.
Ben and Cecilia originally met years ago when they were both married. Their lives went separate ways and they lost touch. But as fate would have it, after a decade passed, their paths crossed again. This time, neither were married and Ben didn't hesitate to ask Cecilia out. They've been by each other's side ever since.
These two are a match for one another in so many ways. Both are exceedingly accomplished in business. Cecilia is originally from Portugal and knows seven languages. Ben has three children and eight grandchildren who all adore her and have welcomed her into their family with open arms. They both love traveling and staying fit and they joke about how they're "not too shabby for elderly folks." Haha! They adore one another and just glow when the other is around. I'm so happy that they've found one another and I was so blessed to be able to be a part of their wedding day.
These two were married on Saturday and Cecilia started off the day getting ready at the Montelucia. Her Liancarlo gown was a jaw-dropper:
Stunning:
See what I mean about how adorable they are together? This is a moment I LOVE from their first look:
More stunningness:
The couple took a vintage Rolls Royce to their nearby Paradise Valley home where the ceremony and reception was held.
I love this private moment I caught as the two relaxed before their ceremony:
A sweet moment with Cecilia and two of her new granddaughters:
The reception set-up was yet another gorgeous jaw-dropper. Could anyone ask for a more beautiful setting?
I think this the prettiest cake I've ever seen in real life:
I caught the granddaughters hanging out here during cocktail hour:
Before asking them to smile for the above photo, I caught this. Can't decide which one I love more.
Ben & Cecilia's family put together a very sweet video of each of them talking about the couple along with photos from their lives. They were so touched:
And the evening ended with a fun sparkler send-off!
Gave blood and even though the phlebotomist dug around in my left arm for awhile trying to find my veins that like to hide, I was determined. The only thing worse that getting stuck twice is making an appointment, driving all that way, going through the never-ending verbal questionnaire for the umpteenth time and having it all be for nothing. Thankfully my right arm cooperated.
Highlight of the week: Got to see the all-girls choir from my alma mater APU perform on their tour near my house. I was in this choir my freshman/sophomore year and then in the University Choir & Orchestra for my last two years. We recorded CDs each year, sang year-round at churches and toured after the end of each spring semester. On one of those tours, I drove a Penske truck through middle Kansas and nearly got run off the road by an oncoming semi. SO many great memories. Seeing the choir was amazing but also made me realize most of the girls were in diapers when I was in their shoes. Seriously can't believe it's been 15 years!
Yes, I did this:
1 -- Got up at 5am and had a fight with my smoke detector a la Phoebe on FRIENDS. Getting it to stop beeping wasn't so much the issue as figuring out where the beeping was coming from.
2 -- Stumbled through a dust storm that hit Dixie and I half-way through our walk. Dust storms are pleasant really, except for the part where dust lodges in your eyeballs.
Got a text from my sweet friend Camille that her plane was delayed on a layover in Phoenix and dropped everything to run over and pick her up for dinner. Love it when the unexpected turns into such a sweet, fun memory.
Shooting this sweet couple's wedding tomorrow and can't wait to try out these Canon 600EX-RTs that B&H lent me. No pocket wizards required! Radio transmission is built in! I have played with them a little and have a feeling I will end up keeping them. Review to come next week!
Feeling Blessed: I can't imagine facing the trials and sadness this world brings without the peace, joy and hope Christ offers. So blessed that I don't have to.
I stumbled upon a new feature in my Google Analytics recently -- real-time beta. Have you guys seen this!? It's amazing. If you have Google Analytics set up on your site, you should be able to use it and see who is on your site at that moment in time, where they are from, which page they are currently on, which website referred them and which key-word they typed into Google to find you. SO much useful real-time data!
I'm still playing with this and trying to figure out how it can be useful -- other than just being fascinating and a fun time-waster (it's so fun to see the number go up and the little dots appear) -- but one thing I've found helpful so far is how it can be used to gauge the response of social media campaigns. When I post an update on Twitter or Facebook, I'll click over to my Google Analytics Real-time to see what the response is. The above screen shot was taken after I posted simultaneously to Twitter and my business Facebook page. Even though I have nearly an equal number of followers for both, I always see a much faster and larger-scale response from Facebook.
Another time, B&H Photo (one of my workshop sponsors) tweeted about the Annapolis workshop in June. They have 67,000+ followers so I was pretty stoked at the time. I looked at the real-time analytics for my workshop site, and only 1 person clicked over from Twitter around the time the tweet went out. That just goes to show that quantity of followers doesn't always translate to a real response. There is SO much information assaulting us through social media these days, that sometimes, it can just end up being a lot of noise that people tune out.
If you have Google Analytics set up for your site and want to access real-time, click on the "home" tab and you should see it in the left-hand navigation.
For the last four days I've been watching my parents' dog Lacy (left) while they are out of town. As all of you who have been reading this blog for any amount of time know, I'm a HUGE dog lover. But my watching Lacy is more of a testament to my love for my parents than my love for her.
Dixie and Lacy are both miniature schnauzers, but other than that, and the fact that they both love walks, they are about as different as two dogs can be. Lacy is a spazz; Dixie is a snuggler. Lacy is ultra-dominant; Dixie is submissive. Lacy inhales her food in one bite; Dixie grazes here and there.
Ever since I've had Dixie, I've debated as to whether or not I should get a second dog. On one hand, I think she would like a buddy to play with; on the other, I wonder if she would be happy sharing me. I've always wished that I could know what she would say if I asked her. I think I got my answer this weekend.
During Lacy's visit I was convinced of two things:
1. I need to brush Dixie's teeth DAILY. She's only 5 and I've done a good job so far -- she is so clean and sweet-smelling. Lacy is 9 or 10 and you can smell her coming. I feel bad showing favoritism, but that mug and that breath is one combo only a mother could love.
2. Dixie wants to be an only-dog. It was beyond obvious at different points throughout the last few days that she was shooting out this message through her eyes: "Mom, I want to be the only dog you love."
So that's that. I'm a one-dog-woman. And completely smitten with my sweet girl.
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