Riane and Nic: The Wedding

For a moment, everything around me seemed to melt away. For a moment, it seemed as if all of the world was standing still...waiting for something. Taking a deep breath, I repositioned myself behind my camera and all the laughter and joy of the bridal party around me began to shift back into focus. It was then that I realized something, something I still, after so many weddings find so miraculous, so enchanting... There were two people in front of me; surrounded by their closest friends in the most beautiful warm sunlight with the musty Florida breeze easing through the trees around them, there were two people. And those two people, however different from one another, however often they laughed or cried, however often they said I love you, however often they argued about where to eat for dinner, those two people were standing before me completely intertwined. It was their wedding day and they were no longer the two individual people leading two individual lives. Together, they vowed to walk hand in hand throughout their life. Through sickness, through health, through arguments, through laughter, through love, through pain, through thousands and thousands of late nights talking about their past, their future, their hopes, their dreams, Riane and Nic were now forever one, hand in hand, walking throughout their new life together.

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie

Mullet, Tantrums, and Orphans

I'd like to preface this post with the following: The Mullet Festival is not a festival about the hairstyle...it's a festival about the fish. And while I live in a town that celebrates Mullet...I do not celebrate Mullet nor have I ever eaten Mullet and I recognize how weird and southern this festival sounds.

Every year around this time, the traffic gets crazy, the country music blares, and the smell of all things fried and bad for you fills the air and you know it's here: the Mullet Festival. Usually, I avoid the Mullet Festival like the plague...It's almost always super hot, you're pretty much guaranteed to spend $50 on foods that are gonna put you up and over close to 10,000 calories in an afternoon people and I'm not in the slightest a country music fan *gasp!* Yes I know, you can stop reading my blog now and dismiss me as crazy. But seriously, the extent of the country music I may listen to would be Taylor Swift and really, country? I highly doubt a country music fan counts her as country. So, this year, Andrew and I were pretty much okay with skipping the festival completely this year. Now a county fair, we'd totally hit that up. But the Mullet Festival, we're were kinda done with it.

"It's only for a few hours" my mom tried her best not to beg. And seriously internet, I wanted to throw a tantrum right there. I wanted to stomp my foot and pout and cry "I don't wanna" and then cross my arms across my chest. But, being that I'm not five anymore, that's not exactly an acceptable response. Instead, I agreed to, along with my mom, go. to. the. mullet. festival.

You see, my mom works with Heart of the Bride Ministries, an organization dedicated to helping the needs of orphans around the world. At the moment, they are currently focused in Haiti, Kenya, Ukraine, Zambia and Uganda. Part of how they raise support for the orphanages in those areas is through the sales of their Back to Africa handmade jewelry. The story of the jewelry can be found on the Back to Africa website because a short version just doesn't do the story justice. At the Mullet Festival, local businesses, farmers, and other vendors get to set up booths to sell whatever it is they sell or get the word out about their product. Seriously people, some of these booths are hysterical. So, despite how much I hate country music, I knew that if I compared it to supporting my mom for a few hours at the Back to Africa booth, I'd be there in a heart beat. Even if it meant listening to really bad music, get covered in dust and smoke, and eat way too many calories in one sitting, I'd be there.

The Mullet Festival ends today {alcohol free day if you're interested} so stop by the Back to Africa booth and tell them I sent you. Pick up a few beads and get to know a bit about the orphanages you're helping to support. And if you cant make it out there today, you can contact my mom {Amy} at Heart of the Bride and she'll give you directions to their store front in Niceville.

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie

Our Favorite Things: Chocolate Hot Cocoa

I'm allergic to nuts. I'm pretty sure if you've followed my blog for awhile, you might have picked up on this somewhere along the line. And if you know me really well, you probably know that I actually have had more allergic reactions than I like to let on. Because really, feeling like you're dying and being all itchy and swollen isn't fun for anyone. Especially at weddings. And yes, this has happened like three times. I used to think that I was fairly cautious about what I ate but since I didn't have a life threatening reaction, I didn't think too much of it.

However...lately I'm starting to see this happening more often and I'm reacting more and more severely. And the two Benedryls that I down whenever I eat something I shouldn't isn't really cutting it anymore. So now I'm much more cautious...not really for me but because I'm tired of seeing Andrew looking at me wondering if he's gonna have to throw me over his shoulder and race me off to the hospital at a moments notice. Really internet, seeing those green eyes look at you like that, totally makes you want to grovel, plead for forgiveness and melt into a puddle of mush.

So, now that it's fall and the weather is begging for warm beverages and movie nights curled up in blankets on the couch, I was bound and determined to find hot chocolate that I could drink . I'm usually shocked by the types of foods that coconut oil sneaks into {oddly, a nut allergy includes coconut oil...I thought coconut was a fruit - who knew!} and hot chocolate is one of them...that and the best gummy bears on the planet. Yesterday I went out in search of coconut oil free hot chocolate. And I found some!!!

Thank goodness for Harry and David's. Not only are they home of the best coffee on the planet, but they know can satisfy my need for hot chocolate! And note: it's not only hot cocoa, but it's dark chocolate hot cocoa. Hear that sound? That's the sound of angel's hallelujah choir.

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie

Abby and Chris : The Bump

We werent making any sense; it was so early that our usual coffee spot, Emerald Coast Coffee wasnt even open yet. So, as Megan and I drove to the mecca of the caffeine world, Starbucks! We were pretty quiet because it seemed without caffeine, every word that came out of our mouth was mumbling gibberish. Slowly, as I sipped my venti soy pumpkin spice latte with, wait for it, two extra shots, we made our way back to the world of the living. Why were we awake so early? You see, we were chasing after the beautiful morning light.

Usually, my clients arent open to sunrise shoots and normally, the sheer willpower it takes to get me out of bed in the morning doesnt usually happen until after that illusive light has come and gone. So when Abby and Chris were open to a morning shoot, I was giddy.

Abby and Chris came to us after their friends, Kim and Jordan booked us for their maternity session. Gotta love referals! Abby and Chris and their adorable little baby bump were perfect to work with. They posed, they played, they laughed, they were awake {hey, that's a big one at 7:30 in the morning for a photographer!} and we loved them for it.

With the cool morning air, the amazing early morning sunlight filtering through the trees, I shot and Megan watched, taking mental notes and pushing her lens and her camera. Abby, Chris, thank you so much for being willing to get out of bed early and have two caffeine filled girls play paparazzi with you and your bump. I cant wait to hear news of your little one!

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie