Photography...

Well, as you may or may not know, depnding on how long you have known me, I am a PhotoFanatic! I am the one in the friends group that always has the camera pointed in every direction at every event! I recently had the honor of photographing each team at the RelayForLife event in my hometown. I also take pictures of my tow daughters and all of my friends children on a regular basis! I am in the process of trying to get a professional portfolio together and am spending all my "free" time gathering input for my portfolio. Recently I was asked if I have a website, (which I do have but it is nowhere near guest ready) I am going to use this blog as my starter, and will later transfer the info to the website. Please feel free to contact me directly at simply4shanna@yahoo.com. Thank you for browsing and I would absolutely LOVE to hear any comments you have on my work!

Yesterday

Yesterday I had my 30th birthday party! WOW! That pretty much sums it up. All of my family and friends were here (minus a few VIP's that couldnt make it regarding various circumstances!) The party was a grand affair, complete with GREAT food, Karaoke, Beer Pong and just plain fun! I enjoyed sitting with each member of the party albeit briefly since there were so many people to thank for coming... I was prepared for that. Sometimes I get disappointed that I don't get to just sit back and relax but then they were all here to see me and I felt like it was only appropriate to mingle with all. My dad cooked ribs for me on the biggest BBQ I have ever seen, we parked it int he neighbors drievway and he sat outside in 100 degree weather bbqing some great ribs and chicken! Who could ask for a better dad? Then also he brought me a Karaoke set up and it turned out to be a great hit! People love to sing, and those who didnt apparently enjoyed at least watching. It was so much fun and a great way to start a new decade of my life. We stayed up until 3 am playing beer pong, guitar hero and hanign with the friends that dared to stay so late... then to top off an already great day Luca let me sleep ALL day on Sunday! I woke up around 8 or 9 and he brought me breakfast in bed! along with my long awaited birthday card from him! It was such a sweet card, with a promise of love being the ultimate gift. Thanks everyone for a great birthday celebration!!

Memories of loved ones past...

Luca and I have been through some extremely hard times. Several of which include the passing of loved ones. We want to remember Sabrina, Joey, Troyce and Grandma Ola. They would have been at our wedding without a doubt and would have been in it in a major way. Each of them played a major role in our lives. We miss them deeply.

The days before the wedding...

The final days before the wedding...

Eight of us went to Disneyland for my Bachelorette PArty. It was a great and fabulous last hurrah with my girlfriends. We got tons of attention in matching attire and loved evry second of it! Heather had bought me the Mouse ears with veil on an earlier trip to D~land during the year and we bought matching sparkly shirts too! It was grand! the aura of the whole weekend was FUNFUNFUN! Getting that many girls together might cause problems for some people but with my girls drama is to be avoided at all costs. Sure there were some rants but nothing that coudl have ruined my day! (even though it came close)...

After a super fun - albeit exhausting - weekend we headed back to Oakdale to prepare for the final week! My sister came home from LA with us which was a lifesaver! She helped me get everything done and I know that without her in the last few days there would have been a lot of things that just got forgotten about. she made lists and checked them twice! Isnt' that nice?

Tuesday before the wedding we had rehearsal. It was supposed to be at 5:30 but apprently I todl the paster 6 so he was there at 6. It was a little embarrasing for me I felt soooooooooooo bad! but he was there and we got started. Luca got a little frustrated at this point because he says there was a lot of unorganized people all wanting to be the wedding coordinator. We had 2 ladies from the church, our planner, and a family friend, not to mention all my girls! Whew! How we made it through that night I will never know! LOL. Anyhow after rehearsal we went to Heather and Mike's hosue. Maria made spaghetti and sausgae and we had salad and bread. It was DELICIOUS! I had been over to her house earlier in the day and we set out everything I bought for the dinner. I supplied all the paper products and Luca's momma and Luca brought all the food and drinks. We had a housefull but we all fit! It was wonderful. The guys played games and then we did our speech thanking everyone and handed out our thank you gifts. I gave the girls matching necklaces and earrings to wear in the wedding and we gave the guys golf bag pen holders with golf club pens! They are so cute!! We gave the little kids fun gifts of toys and things. The gift we gave to our little girl was a swarvoski bead necklace in hot pink and black! It is so adorable! I love it so much!!! She loves it too. She says "you went to Edwards?" like the Jared commercial. Its so funny.

On the Friday before the wedding my dad had asked me to go to coffee with some friends of his. I am NOT a morning person so this was a difficult task to agree to but when I tried to bomb out on him he sounded disappointed so the "daddy's little girl" in me sucked it up got up early and headed off to the Queen Bean with dad. Kenzie woke up too and wanted to come! It was crazy! We left the house at 6:30am. Joey Jones, Bill Jones and a few others were there. We ordered coffee and sat around talking to them for a while. It was so fun. There is something about planning a wedding and being able to say "I am getting married tomorrow" that is just too fun! They wanted to hear the details and when people talk about a wedding mostly you get smiles and congratulations! This group was just perfect to start my morning off. Next we went to eat breakfast at The Meditteranean which is like a Greek restaurant or soemthing but the food was traditional breakfast and was so wonderful! My momma ended up meeting us there after some coaxing but I am so glad she came. I think she is too!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I am so crazy!

30 Days til W~Day

Ok so tonight we met with the Monsignor Grueber at St. Mary's. We had to meet with him and each of our mothers. We had to make sure they approved of our upcoming marriage! Thankfully but not so surprisingly they both said yes! It was fun! Now we are scheduled to meet with our minister Rick on Monday to go over the ceremony. It is so exciting! The day is fast approaching and I think that most everything is done. The wedding site, reception site, the dress, the shoes, the veil, Kenzie's dress and shoes, the reception food, music, photos, video, flowers, centerpieces, cake, invitations, bridal shower, plans for the Bach Bash! It's amazing how the past few months have flown by. Its been so busy! It's been soooooooooooooooooo wonderful!

The Florist

Yippee! I booked our Florist! We are going with Modesto Exotic Flowers. I swear I have walked into probably 10 florists over the past year and every time I get freaked out. I dont know what it is but the vibe and the feel has just never been quite right. When I walked into Modesto Exotic Flowers I felt an overwhelming sense of calm. It was all very appealing to me. I loved it. They had a large section of bridal examples and lots of plants and stuff. I met with the man at the store and he asked if I had been looking at other florists, I was honest, as usual, and said yes. He said "ok then you know what the prices are lets see if we can work something out to what you like". He was a middle eastern man mid life and he was super nice. We sat at the little 2 top table and reviewed my needs. Leading the way he went on to ask what I wanted in the bouquets, for the guys and for the alter. It actually went pretty fast. He knows his stuff. I was very confident in him though, not nervous. When he showed me the price I was blown away. He beat EVERY single florist I had talked to. Once we went over the cost BUT BEFORE I said yes, he said "ok so congratulations you have flowers!" and went to shake my hand. I booked him then and there! I feel so much more comfortable going with a reputable florist that has a whole shop at his beck and call in case he needs anything last minute. On my way out he shook my hand again and then gave me a hug! He said "you dont have to worry anymore. You are in good hands, I will make it beautiful." I smiled with a confidence that I know could only come from a Heaven sent feeling.