I knew from the beginning that Heather and Kirk’s wedding was going to be fun and different. The way Heather described the event at our first meeting sounded amazing and full of family and friends. Every detail was interconnected with someone they know and love. While the weather was not cooperative this past Saturday, the event was just as blessed and beautiful as I had thought it would be.

We started out early….the salon was overflowing with talk of pre and post wedding events. Other clients at Serendipity Salon in Bangor were chiming in with their well wishes, and past wedding and marriage experience and advice, and the Heather’s bridesmaids attended to little details to make the day go smoothly for her.

I had been hearing about the shoes all morning. Like any girl, I love shoes {ok…i love them ridiculously too much…the smell, the look, the feel of a new pair of shoes…you get it…i love them}. Well, they did not disappoint. Blog readers, I think you will feel the same. LOOK at these shoes!

Of course…galloshes were more appropriate foot wear. So…she brought those too. Even those were fabulous.

the rings…

The arrangements were…without a doubt, stunning and unique.

The kids thought up this pose all by themselves! They just loved the camera…so of course, I wanted to take them home.

Heather’s brother actually sums it all up. Here he is seeing her for the first time in with her dress on, and she is stunning.

I think when the dress goes on, it just gets more real…

This ceremony, without a doubt, was the most beautiful of all I have attended. They wrote their own vows, and their wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The whole thing was personal and heartfelt, and most importantly, true to themselves. Oh, and that arbor that you see in the photos….Kirk BUILT it. He is, apparently, good at everything…people mentioned that a lot throughout the day.

One good thing about a tropical storm on a wedding day…you get to use umbrellas and they make a great prop!

{heather.and.kirk}

The reception was so incredible. When I first met Heather and Kirk , one of the reasons I fell in love with them was their mutual love for animals. Their golden retriever Bailey is a frequent subject of conversation and a big part of their life. They decided to donate all of the money from their dollar dance to the Bangor Humane Society. Each person paid for a dance with the bride and groom and people were lined up to give.

some people decided to dance solo…others were just there for the games…

Bouquet toss….

and finally…{my fav}

probably my favorite one….ever.

My last senior session could not have ended with a nicer girl. It was a perfect night, after being fooled by the ‘hurricane’ that never showed up this past weekend.  I have been so lucky with all of my girls this year…they are all incredible people, and simply beautiful inside and out.

daily mantra: energy and persistence conquer all things {Benjamin.Franklin}

dear Mikki and Katie…

summer is fading and this morning i can almost taste the crisp nip of early fall air. soon we will replace our summer dresses and shorts with long pants, socks, and confining shoes. cookouts will move inside, and we will put away your little pool for the summer, and swimsuits will be retired to the bottom of your dresser drawers; both will be too small next year when we try to slide into them again.

the metamorphosis of the seasons always makes me think about change. not only change in people, but changes in life. when i was growing up my dad {grandpa} always used to tell me that a “zebra can never change his stripes”.  being the consummate optimist and otherwise argumentative preteen, i of course, thought he was full of it. but, he’s right in a way. there are some things in your past you will never being able to escape….good and bad, these are the experiences that will create who you are and as much as you try to hide these scars or badges of personal life history, they will show themselves at the most unexpected times. you can reinvent yourself in a million ways and sideways, but your stripes will come through eventually for everyone, but most importantly, for you…to see.  and i guess what i am getting to {i think i do actually have a point in this crack of dawn rambling} is that when those little paint drips of your past come through, deal with them, clean them up, and embrace them. because even the personal secrets…the times of failure and survival of self disasters, need to be part of your whole, unhidden soul.

all my love darlings,

mommy

ps. daily mantra: the past is not a package one can lay away…{emily.dickinson}

daily mantra: colour is my my day long obsession, joy and torment. {monet}

daily mantra: education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school…{albert.einstein}

school starts in 8 days, 12 hours, and 35 seconds.

confession:

this is the first year i have looked forward to the first day of school for Mikki.

this week i have broken up fights between her and her sister so fierce that i thought cages might be an acceptable {and blissful} solution. i have answered endless questions regarding life, death, chickens, the Chinese Yen, the little mermaid, the little princess {aka shirley temple}, coffee, world peace, why water is the color it is, why sand sticks to the bottom of your foot, dental tools, divorce, fuzzy slippers, fuzzy caterpillars, why she can’t wear fuzzy caterpillars like she can fuzzy slippers, why school buses are yellow and not her favorite color, why i ask for 5 minutes of personal time in the morning, and why katie isn’t a boy.

this summer has been in one word….exhausting, and i am holding on to my seat excited for the first day of school. if i could wait out for the bus now, i would. her shiny new school shoes are on their way via the miracle of of the vast abyss known fondly as the interweb, juice boxes are piled high in collection form in the fridge, and her first day outfit is layed out in all its glory.

is there an ounce of mommy regret in my above statements….hmmm…maybe a little bit. because this year, she is another step closer to being too old to ask me those annoying questions.

actually, yes…there is already regret…

what if she is too grown up to ask me no questions at all!!!!

{okay…i’m balling now…great}

school starts in 8 days 11 hours, 40 minutes, and 12 seconds…