white noise

OhohOh (bouncebounceBOUNCE), our fab photographer, Jennifer Farris, has a sneak peek of our photos-to-come up on her blog. And look, they’re SO pretty! I can’t wait to see the rest.

Anyone who knows me well knows my aversion to cameras. They thieve the soul piece by piece, add extra pounds or third eyes and extra chins. In the presence of cameras my face slowly begins to melt, twisting and distorting into alien expressions of angst. By some magic in the blink of a shutter or the flash of a bulb, cameras NEVER fail to capture and freeze these expressions of horror for all time. It’s even worse when the person in possession of said camera sticks it in my face and screams, “SMILE!” insistently five or six times as I’m reeling backwards in an effort to escape. The result of such a traumatic episode is often a fabulous portrait of Jabba the Hutt, complete with strings of drool coursing along the folds of his chins.

I told Jon six months prior to the wedding that he needed to take pictures of me — many and often, and WAIT — tell me before you begin so I can eat 20 or 30 mg of generic Xanax in order to keep breathing once we start.

Yes, I’m that bad. But, I’m getting better. We live in a society where perfection equals beauty, and I am far from perfect. The difference between now and say, five years ago, though, is that I find myself surrounded more and more by people — like Jon — who are more interested in experiencing me for who I am, rather than in tearing me down. It’s rather new territory for me and I’ve discovered just how much trust is inherent to it. When Jon looks into my eyes and tells me I’m beautiful, I know he’s genuine, that there’s no ulterior motive, that he’s not just saying it because it’s part of the script.

Jennifer Farris convinced me of this, too. When she came into the room and introduced herself and Dawn (her stealthy sidekick) I detailed my shyness for her, explaining that she’d get better pictures if I didn’t have to pose or smile, or any number of awful things people-with-cameras make us do for that ultimate shot. She laughed and in a warm, sincere way said, “you know, the ladies who tell me they’re camera shy are ultimately the ones who end up giving me the best shots.”

Well, we won’t tell Jennifer it’s because of her amazing talent for making us look SO UN-like Jabba the Hutt and just keep that tidbit of info to ourselves. Seriously, though, she and Dawn did a fantastic job. Both of them had that in-the-thick-of-it sense of adventure of which Jennifer and I came out looking somewhat disheveled but Dawn managed to trek cross-country (okay, she DID get to drive the SUV down the road a ways) and still looked as regal and polished as the moment they’d first walked in.

Jennifer’s enthusiastic response to Jon and me made such a huge difference in how I responded to the camera. The process never felt invasive and was actually FUN (that has NOTHING to do with all the kissing!), and I suppose that’s the difference between the professional and the average Joe. More so, Jennifer’s enthusiasm — not only for us — but in her art (and ultimately, her job) never felt scripted.

In ALL the planning, seeking, hunting, etc. I did for this wedding, I discovered we got better results from the people who outwardly LOVE what they do. Melanie and Miranda from Tivon Salon (here in Blacksburg) are another example of this. So is Susan Vaught of Neighborhood Flower and Gift in Pembroke. I would esteem each of these people — not only as professionals, but as artists, too.

Tags: Wedding

Here are some wedding pictures posted by Paul’s friend and date, Sally. She’s the pretty lady with the big smile in the second picture and Paul (Jon’s long-time friend) is the handsome fella beside her.

I’m moving a wee bit slow this week. Getting Yana back to the airport in Charlotte, NC on Monday nearly did me in. Warren was up most of the previous night because we gave him Bill Bryson’s book, A Walk in the Woods, to read and he couldn’t put it down. So, I did most of the driving. I thought for sure Jon would be taking me to the ER before sun up, but managed to get myself through the worst of the pain. The new hubby hovered protectively and made sure I went to bed at a decent hour. I forbade any lectures, though; I knew what I was getting myself into and Yana is worth a little pain and suffering.

Jon and I took the recurve bow out yesterday for a test run. I’m happy to report that I can hit the broad side of a barn! Being left-handed and right-eye dominant means I have to shoot the bow right-handed. This will take some getting used to, but it doesn’t feel completely alien; I guess having to adapt to a right-handed world has its advantages after all. I did try to shoot with my dominant hand only to discover there’s just no way … I can’t sight with any accuracy at all.

Remember I said the bow is a significant gift to me? Well, here’s why: in our vows to each other, Jon and I repeated this line, “your dreams are now my dreams,” and he rarely misses an opportunity to show me he means what he said. A while ago, I think well before last Christmas now, I wondered aloud to him if my affinity for bows in computer video games would translate to reality. I loved my night elf hunter in WoW, I love using Wander’s bow in Shadow of the Colossus, and in Guild Wars, Asheron’s Call, or just about any other game I’ve played involving bows — it’s my weapon of choice.

If yesterday is any indication, then that affinity does indeed translate to reality. I wouldn’t have known this if Jon hadn’t taken a musing of my thoughts aloud and turned it into such a wonderful, thoughtful wedding gift. I can’t wait to get out there again. I thrill each time the arrow strikes the target, and delight in each little improvement that gets me a better shot. I went from slamming my eyes shut each time I released the arrow to being able to see the arrow fly. I neverneverEVER felt the same way with any firearm. I don’t like them at all, except — of course — for the purpose they serve. They’re big, clunky, loud and obnoxious (and I hope Drew is not watching this!).

Tags: Wedding

Just a brief note to say our wedding rocked. No, it didn’t just rock; it was the single most amazing experience of my life. My husband (dreamy sigh) is awesome. He bought me a recurve bow as a wedding gift and in exchange found himself the owner of a spiffy new protective camera bag. The bow is a significant gift and a story in of itself. I will return soon and explain why, but just a little later.

I can’t wait to share pictures and thoughts over the next few days. My best friend, Yana, and my newer friend, Annie, proved to be the greatest attendants a girl could ask for — they kept me focused, offered support whenever I fell down and went boom, and rode drag on all the little details I overlooked and forgot. If there were major problems with anything, I never knew. I haven’t the slightest idea who to thank for that, except everyone involved in making our wedding such a magical day.

My new mom-in-law was super. We tore a seam in my dress when we put it on and between her and Yana, I was never allowed to be concerned (riiiight). Gail had to cinch me into the dress and it seems from my last fitting in February to Saturday, I lost more weight, enough so that the laces were touching and Gail swore she could overlap the back. The tattered seam disappeared, never to be heard from again. Neither Gail nor Yana would take any guff from me. About-to-be-married women should be seen and not heard.

Annie saved me, though. She let me peek into the mirror when everyone else was out on errands.

The look on my father’s face (more than once) is branded into memory. He walked a few paces behind me as I made my way to Jon and he kept my dress straight for me. On the deck where we spoke our vows, Rev. Christine asked if he was going to kiss me. It took a few seconds to catch his attention, but again, the look on his face was priceless. When I looked back at Rev. Christine, she was teary-eyed too. She told me later, after the ceremony, that she saw the look in his eyes and it was one of the most touching moments she’d ever witnessed.

I have a picture of moms-with-cameras and Barbie, except for the slight list of her head and the oxygen tubes, doesn’t look like a woman who’s suffered from Cancer for 20+ years, or a woman who spent 9 days in the hospital just prior to her train trip out here. She had to sleep a lot (mostly because she wouldn’t get to bed at a decent hour!) but she made it through the ceremony and most of the dinner before we finally tucked her into bed for the night.

There’s just too much to tell inside one post and I intend to lay low to nurse the aching bod back to health over the next few days. Right now, I can’t turn my head left or right and my husband keeps hovering and trying to convince me to get to bed early tonight.

To be continued …

(d’oh, Jon beat me to it)

Tags: Personal, Wedding

.. and so enters Zombie Breece. People keep asking me how I stay so calm. Even my stylist commented on my composure. I promised her an MMFO (Massive Multiple Freak Out) next Saturday right before the wedding. It’s simple, though — right now, I just don’t have the focus or the energy.

I managed to get the basement floors cleared for the carpet cleaners. Jon has almost single-handedly rebuilt the half-bathroom in an effort to have more than 1 working toilet while we have boat loads of people in and out of our house for the next week or week.5. I hold things and fetch things and stand back to ooh and aah, but mostly I’ve been the supervisor and chief designer for the job. We do it in stages, only to discover with each stage that it’s really not all that tough. The toughest part is the fact that the two of us simply cannot fit into that teeny space at the same time. I keep watching this bathroom renovation and as it evolves, I find myself thinking, ‘oh shit, this looks so nice now we HAVE to do the rest of the house!’

And, it really does look nice.

Getting a whole new look here at Everwild, mainly because my last template was too old to support WP widgets, and I like widgets. The look of this may change again if the template I want actually starts working with the upcoming WordPress update. We shall see.