A Witte Wedding

It was an outdoor wedding in West Michigan. In late August.

Can we say risky?

Had Josh and I chosen an outdoor venue for our big day (we had an early June West Michigan wedding), we would have had folks fainting from heat stroke and a much-too-toasty, overly quick reception. And my hair would have worked its way out of numerous bobby pins and formed a terrible curly disaster by the time we wrapped up.

But this wedding? It was THE perfect outdoor wedding. Complete with blue skies and a cool breeze. No rain in sight. No smothering midwestern heat.

And a beautiful, very-much-in-love couple, Christina & Tom.

They danced to The Luckiest by Ben Folds. I love that song.

A handsome groom and his gorgeous, radiant bride. I couldn't stop snapping pictures of them.

And of course, I do love wedding decor. They went with elegant and simple, and pulled it off beautifully.

Cakes as centerpieces (each made by my Aunt Phyllis, Christina's mom).

Lights and lanterns and paper balls made a plain white tent look charming and festive.

Especially after dark.

Natasha, Christina's older sister and maid of honor, toasted the couple. Natasha lived in the basement apartment of my parents' house for the last 5 years and only JUST moved out this past summer. I loved having her down there because I could go down and visit her when I was in town visiting my parents. A couple of weeks ago she started a new job - in Guatemala. I miss her! But what an incredible adventure.

Actually, Christina lived down there, too, for a couple of years. Way fun.

This is my cousin Michelle and her husband Rowley. They're expecting a baby girl, too! Exactly 2 months after our Nugget is due to be born. So exciting.

I caught a few water-glass-clinking-kisses from my seat at our table with my zoom lens.

My cousin Kim thought I was shooting her.

See all of these blondies? Aren't they cute? They're all children of my Witte cousins. And there are more blondies in this generation, too, but many are still little buggers and were left home with babysitters. I wonder if we'll have one to add to the mix.

The little girls stayed on the dance floor all night. It was awesome.

A beautiful summer evening. A blissfully happy bride and groom. Great wedding.

Four Years Ago Today

... and an incredible four years it has been.

Scratching the Surface

You know how you always have a list of things you'd like to learn how to do? Skills you'd like to pick up someday?

Mine includes things like:

-Piano playing
-Knitting/sewing/quilting
-Upholstering
-Gravy making
-Photography
-Bloggy HTML
-Turkey carving
-Digital scrapbooking

You know, for when I have time.

But learning Photoshop has been on my list for a long, long time. I know many of you are old photoshopping pro's, so just bear with me and my beginner excitement.

I started reading The Pioneer Woman a few weeks ago, and ever since have been inspired to learn how to use the program. She consistently blogs about Photoshop, and her website includes step-by-step instructions for how to make things happen. Woo hoo! Just what I need. AND her website has free actions for downloading. I just learned what those are! And have totally enjoyed using them.

I'm currently working on a belated wedding gift for my cousin, Erin - her album. I'm doing it in a classic (and hopefully classy) scrapbook style but wanted to play around with some of her pictures before I had them printed out. Not that they need too much - Erin and Pablo were a beautiful couple and they had an incredible spot!

So, for your viewing pleasure:

Straight out of camera (SOOC):

And all done up:


I know, I know, it isn't anything earth-shattering. But a) I'm new at this and b) I don't want her wedding pictures to look too touched up anyway. I'm going for a natural look. And I'm totally pumped.

For the record, I used PW's "soft and faded" and "quick edge burn" actions, and then touched it up a bit to get rid of the shadow. It was totally easier than I thought it would be.

And now the issue becomes which to choose...

SOOC:

So do you go with a great B&W?

Or a vintage style?

Or more of a classic wedding take, bridal glow and all? (And, somehow, grass that got too close to neon green. So maybe not.)

Or perhaps something closer to the SOOC? The options are limitless, it seems.
After much deliberation, I think I'll go with this one:
What do you think? Vote, please!

Clearly, I've discovered that this is a ton of fun to mess around with! When will I ever bring myself to do laundry again?

It might not happen for awhile.

And fellow IU-er's? Go and download the Adobe suite for free (yes, free) while you still can. DO. IT. NOW.

More Wedding Pictures!

My super-talented mom figured out how to put these together - aren't they beautiful?

Erin has friends in East Grand Rapids that were kind enough to host the party at their place. An incredible spot for a wedding reception - gorgeous!

Tent/table/sound system/light set-up started on Friday.

Gisel, Pablo's sister, setting up a tent.

Ondersma sisters - Brooke, Lauren, Chrystin, Erin.

Getting the bride into the dress without ruining the hair is always an interesting endeavor!

Last minute beatification.

Holy cow! How is it that we're all grown up?

All 6 bridesmaids - Lauren, me, Chrystin, Gisel, Brooke, Martha




T

What a cake! I totally dig the cake-topper, too.




Sure-fire signs of a rockin' outdoor reception - muddy feet and a dirty hem!


Attempting to dance latin-style with my dad.

Dance Floor

I sadly can't post my own pictures of Erin's wedding yet since my camera cord has yet to arrive (silly me for ordering one on Ebay from a seller in Hong Kong)

BUT

Here is one I swiped from facebook of 5 of 6 bridesmaids and the bride herself on the dance floor...


Here we have Brooke (sister of the bride), Gisel (sister-in-law of the bride), Lauren (sister of the bride, who'd changed into something more comfortable), me (trying to get "get down" in a mermaid-style skirt that wouldn't budge), Chrystin (sister of the bride), and Erin!

My First Friend

Erin. We are cousins - our moms are sisters and our dads were actually best friends from high school. She was born four months before me and, along with her sister Chrystin we were pretty much inseperable growing up.

I spent a good chunk of time on Friday afternoon reminiscing about our (almost) 25 years of friendship so that I could prepare my matron of honor toast for her wedding the next day. The memories came flooding back to me...

-the time when we argued over an imaginary friend in the backseat of our aunt's car
-Erin's crankiness with me and Chyrstin for keeping her awake all night talking
-riding our bicycles to the candy store and figuring out the way to get the biggest bang out of $1
-the time she told our moms that I'd insulted her reading abilities - I was completely innocent, but was grounded nonetheless
-the time we picked every single tulip out of the front yard of my parents' house and used them to play "wedding" in the driveway
-taking driver's training together
-skinny dipping (and getting caught by strangers!) in rural Tennessee
-having an all-out kicking/scratching/hair-pulling cat fight on the streets of Disney World
-sharing clothes, secrets, and dating tips
-going to camp together, where she was so homesick that she slept in my sleeping bag with me for comfort
-borrowing Chrystin's car before either of us had our licenses
-I could go on and on (and on)

What an abundance of memories. Incredible. I was thrilled and honored to be her matron of honor yesterday.

Her wedding was beautiful and perfect and I'm so happy for her.

Dancing Queen - Ha!

My cousin passed along some additional pictures from Rebecca's wedding, and I couldn't resist posting them here! Clearly, we had a very good time! Plus, I loved the look of the paper lanterns and lights against the dark sky. Super cute!

Cutting a rug with my Dad

Me, cousin Christina, Mom, Dad - We think obviously think we're pretty cool.

Josh & me

With my pretty cousins Christina and Natasha

Erin's Shower

Last Thursday I had another excellent opportunity to celebrate with a different bride-to-be:

My Cousin Erin!

Brooke, Lauren, and I threw her a lingerie shower. A few of her friends joined us for a great time, complete with munchies, drinks, cake, ridiculous games, and lots of presents.

Here are some G-rated pictures of the party:

And to my mom and dad I'd just like to say thanks for letting me use your house for not one, but two lingerie showers in one week!

Congratulations to Mike and Rebecca!

My beautiful, sweet cousin Rebecca got married this past weekend! The entire day was perfect - a joy to be a part of for everyone who was there.

First was the wedding at, well, First. It was a great ceremony that went off without a hitch! Then off to a nearby ministry center for a dinner reception. Guests enjoyed appetizers, games, and adorable favors, and then a nice dinner! Josh and I took off early from that, however, to set up the next part of the celebration:

The backyard party!

Everything about Becca's wedding was wonderful, but I think the party was a highlight for the guests. My uncle and aunt had worked hard to build (yes, build!) a dance floor and cocktail tables, as well as string up lights, get food, and organize all kinds of other details. The entire "party team" did a great job. And the party was a complete and total success. A blast!

What more can you ask for? A happy couple? Check. Beautiful wedding? Check. Fun reception? Check. Rockin' party? Check.


I LOVED the flowers they chose! They looked gorgeous against the dark blue bridesmaids dresses.


The cute couple sneaking a quiet moment before the craziness began.

Elizabeth, the maid of honor, was super excited to sign the marriage license!

The newlyweds headed off to the reception!

All set up for the party to begin! A big thanks to Kathy and Grace, who worked hard to set everything up before the party and take care of all kinds of details during and after the party.

The first dance! They took a couple of lessons and did a fantastic job. Totally romantic!

As the sun started to fade, all the party lights stood out and illuminated the entire backyard. Beautiful! And then we all danced and chatted and ate food dipped in chocolate late into the night.

Rebecca and Mike ~ blessings to you as you start your life together! We're so happy for you. And enjoy Kauai!