marigrace and jim.

In the expanse of days that I ignored y’all over here on my blog, I got a few things done. One of those things was a set of wedding pictures that fills me with joy every time I think about it. It’s not because they’re my best work ever–my exposure could still use some work, and of course there are a few I wasn’t thrilled with–it’s because it was such a beautiful experience to spend the hours surrounding her wedding with Marigrace.

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I hopped on a plane early one morning and flew down to Georgia, camera in hand. The Atlanta airport is basically a small city itself, so by the time I navigated my way out of the terminal, picked up my rental car, and wended my way to northeast Georgia and to Marigrace’s house, I was ready to be bouyed up by all the love emanating from Marigrace and her family. They certainly didn’t disappoint!

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How did I end up with a friend way down south? Marigrace and I were both students at Salzburg College in Austria, and we forged a strong friendship amidst the culture shock and among the mountains. Marigrace made quite a few appearances on the blog while I was abroad, but you can read a specific post here.

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Marigrace has about a million siblings, and all of them were in the wedding, which was right at her family’s home. Everything was adorable. The details all whispered “Marigrace and Jim are getting married!” Marigrace is an artist, so each beautiful touch just enhanced the love that emanated from Marigrace, Jim, and their gathered families.

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So yeah, just a couple of people in the wedding party, and each one so special to Marigrace and Jim. What a lucky couple! I know I keep talking about love here, but literally every person in or attending the wedding was there because Marigrace or Jim had touched their lives in some way.

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Marigrace was stunning. The morning was a little stressful, as the wedding was outside and the best way to describe the weather at 8am was “flood-level deluge,” but the clouds cleared and the day went off without a hitch.

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The anticipation was palpable as the parents, bridesmaids, flower girls and ring bearer made their way down the aisle. Everyone always says to watch the groom, not the bride, as she walks down the aisle, and this wedding definitely wasn’t an exception.

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Marigrace arrived, they committed their lives to God and each other, and it was time to fly through a few portraits and head over to the reception!

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We celebrated Marigrace and Jim as they danced the traditional dances, and then set to on the baked potatoes and root beer floats. It was a little chilly, so the party didn’t last over long. This ended up being a good thing for Mg and Jim, because they could make their getaway and start their new life together earlier!

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Congratulations Marigrace and Jim! I love seeing glimpses of your new life together through the magic of the internet.

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Marigrace is a photographer with a blog too! Check her out here.

killing it softly.

HEY FRAANDS.

Here I am! Two posts in a row! I’m not making any promises, but my fingers are feeling up to the typing task at the moment, and I’m hoping they’ll stay that way for a while.

One thing I’ve been realizing is that big things and interesting experiences are exciting and fun to write about, but it’s the many little things that make life what it is, and those are valuable too. I don’t have to write about traveling to Rome or graduating from college to make blogging interesting (for me and for you). Lord knows I can wax eloquent about insignificant things like, oh, how excited I am to have bought a food processor, so I should also be able to talk about the small stuff that makes me… me.

For instance, WHY THE HECK IS THE BASIL I BOUGHT LAST WEEK DYING? I WATER IT.

Seriously. Can anyone help a sister out? I feel like I should have a green thumb, being all artsy and flower-loving, but they. all. die. I’m a plant killer. Can you enlighten me with ways to save my poor little basil plant from my incompetence? Did I water it too much? It’s just wilting away, spending its last days taking all the crazy in from the kitchen counter and wishing that another human had taken it home from Wegmans. Here it had all these dreams of becoming pesto or crowning a margherita pizza, and I’ve dashed them all with my inability to nurture anything green. I’ve also got an orchid somewhere that has one vaguely green leaf and a dead stalk, if anyone else is up for a challenge.

Alright, ladies and gentlemen (and children of all ages). As much as I’d like to curl up somewhere with The Chamber of Secrets and some butterbeer in celebration of Harry’s birthday today after finishing this post, I’ve got some senior pictures to edit, syllabus to write, and emails to answer before my head hits the pillow soon.

I’ve missed you guys!