What better way to showcase the captivating female form then surrounded by mother earth herself!  Venturing into a true rustic setting, Tamara & Lisa Hodack wanted to highlight all the earthy goodness that they could muster all the while showing off Tamara’s oh so fabulous body!  Not to go there buuuuut, dammmmmn girl that booty!  In all seriousness though, I love everything from the setting, the fringe goddess wrap, to the way the light playful wraps around Tamara in each set.  What a fabulously yummy & wonderfully earthy boudoir session!

A Note from Lisa Hodack Photography:

“Being an earthy girl myself, I’ve always wanted to photograph an outdoor boudoir session. Tamara and I collaborated our ideas and she turned out to be the most perfect girl for the shoot! She is the owner of an eco-friendly business called Juja&Stone, who makes all natural beauty products, handmade custom bags from recycled materials, and more. I wanted this session to capture a perfect mix between Tamara’s natural beauty and style as well as the gorgeous light and backgrounds our earth has to offer. The end result turned out better than I could have imagined!”

The more intimate and the more personal the better!  That was the motto Hayley Burney & Seth Butler kept in mind when creating their gorgeous wedding day all on  their own {along with help from family and friends of course!}  Hand selected unique furniture served in lieu of boring tables, personally drawn Save The Dates were used as well as a special note to greet guests upon their arrival,  even the wedding bouquets were even hand wrapped!  Each element had their stamp of personal touch to it making everything that much more special!  Hayley’s mother tirelessly altered, again by hand, a dress from J.Crew to tailor make the gown to her dreams.{Way to go mom!!}  Guests were treated to homemade banana nut and red velvet cakes, along with hot cocoa cups with marshmallows of course, each topped off with striped straws and message.  The entire affair is a wonderfully gorgeous refined fete with such a wonderful level of detail & style!

Novella of the Bride…

Since we both like attending weddings that have a lot of details that reflect the couples’ personalities and style, we wanted our wedding to be like that. We didn’t want it to look “store bought”, so we did a lot of things ourselves like designing and making our save the dates, our programs, and painting some of our furniture to use for the guestbook and program tables.  My grandmother’s milk glass collection was used in all the flower arrangements and centerpieces. My amazing mother worked tirelessly up until a few hours before the wedding (!) modifying a dress I had bought on sale from J. Crew to my design.

I have two favorite moments. The first was the moment, in the middle of the ceremony, that my sister/maid of honor realized she had forgotten Seth’s ring upstairs! She instead handed me her wedding band, which wouldn’t fit past Seth’s knuckle. The second was at the end of the night when everyone was singing “Purple Rain” at the top of their lungs. As we were dancing, our family and friends unexpectedly made a circle around us and bum-rushed us at the end of the song. It was a really fun and unforgettable moment.

All of our vendors including the staff at the Caldwell House, Don’s Custom Catering, Aaron Lane Entertainment, and of course Mark Eric Photography were absolutely incredible!

Vendor Love

Venue: Caldwell House | Dress: J.Crew | Caterer: Don’s Custom Catering | Music: Aaron Lane Entertainment | Photographer: Mark Eric Weddings

The drama that surrounds a wedding, big or small, is not always for everyone.  Sometimes the very core of a wedding, the ceremony and declaration of love, is all that truly matters to a couple.  Such is the case for Erika Wynn & Chris Leeder, who decided that while on their vacation to San Francisco {by way of Traverse City, Michigan} to capitalize on their gorgeous surroundings and elope!  Armed with some truly spectacular vintage finds from a local shop back in Michigan {I.Love.This.Dress!!!}, Erika & Chris reached out to bay area officiants,  Lyssabeth’s Wedding Officiants to get them on their way.  Utilizing a pagoda in the Golden Gate Park, our couple sweetly said ‘I do’ while being photo bombed by a run away cat…. on a harness!  Rest easy friends, the feline guest was returned to his owner, well Meo Baaklini Photography snapped away capturing not only the love but all the funny little details the day held, kitty included!  This elopement is wonderful as can be and I utterly adore the expression on the officiants face while Chris is putting the ring on Erika’s hand!  Talk about someone who likes what they do!!!  From the last minute passionate decision to elope to the their obviously stylish threads, this elopement is ripe with golden love! {Yeah I went there!}

Vendor Love

Venue: Golden Gate Park | Floral Designer: Church St. Flowers | Officiant: Lyssabeth’s Wedding Officiants | Photographer: Meo Baaklini Photography

I hate to use words like adorable, cute, and sweet to describe this shoot as they seem so unfortunately trite & trust me that that is that last thing I am thinking of when it comes to this completely fantastic couple’s session!  Lorel & Sean met one another while studying acting at Vancouver Film School.  What was a quick best friend relationship ultimately jumped to the next level when Sean realized he wanted something bigger & even better with Lorel!  Once these best friends realized they were well more then friends, the fireworks really started!  When I heard their story & saw this amazing session, I knew they would be perfect for a blind feature!

*Note from Emmy Lou Virginia on how the design for the shoot came out: “Because the movies and acting are such an intrinsic part of their love story, we came up with the concept of doing an outdoors movie-themed shoot. We headed to Stanley Park, used blankets as stage curtains (remembering how it was to be kids, putting on a show for our parents in the living room) and brought along Hawkins cheesies and popcorn and 5-cent candies, since all of those things are integral elements of their relationship. And then I started taking photos, and wow – did these film school students put on a show! They are just naturally the sweetest, most in-love couple – and they are incredibly fun to photograph!”

What was the moment you realized you loved Lorel {Sean}?

Lorel: “I have always loved sean even when we were friends, but the moment I realized I was “IN LOVE” with him was when we were tandem biking in stanley park he just made me laugh soooo incredibly hard and took my hand when I was scared and when my Iphone broke I was not even upset because I broke it in the most adventurous way. Sean always tries to do what is best for both of us, and takes care of me and my feelings, he makes my life a bit easier and I try to do the same for him. Love is grand!”

Sean: “The moment I realized I love Lorel, came out by accident, haha… My memory is a bit foggy, but I remember saying “I love you” by accident during a conversation we had. Then she said she loved me too. I guess this awesome friendship we have is full of exciting surprises that catch me off guard in beautiful ways:) The soul knows when it’s in love and it just took one moment of me not fully realizing that the words “I love you” were coming out of my mouth to know that I really do love her.”

For a while you and Sean were just friends, what was your initial reaction when he finally told you he had deeper feelings for you?

Lorel: “When we were just friends life was pretty good, I always felt comfortable and really easy with Sean, when he told me he had deeper feelings it clicked inside of my heart that maybe I did too, I mean why not marry or date your best friend?”

We hear you & Lorel were Bff’s until one day you realized you wanted more! What was it like to gear up the courage to tell her?

Sean: “Hmm, good question, I remember the thought of us being more than friends was really awkward at the time, haha. I didn’t realize how much feelings I had for her until 5 minutes before I told her I liked her more than a friend. It completely caught me off guard. It was a burst of energy and suddenly I realized: “I think I’m falling for her… What? Whoa! Ok, I’m going to see if she feels the same way” and she did We are still best friends up till this day!”

We hear you guys have a deep love of all things acting, if your favorite movie was to be remade, with you in  it, what movie would it be & which character would you play?

Sean: “My favorite movie is The Matrix, awesome movie, really good writing and original story. I’m not sure I would be the best fit to play Neo, but it would be sweet! Because you get to be “the one”… Who doesn’t want to be “the one”? Everyone wants to be “the one” and get to learn martial arts to fight crazy strong agents. I just think it would be an amazing movie to be a part of.”

We hear you guys have a deep love of all things acting, if your favorite movie was to be remade, with you in  it, what movie would it be & which character would you play?

Lorel: “My favorite movie happens to be Breakfast at Tiffanys , and naturally I would be Holly Golightly. If I think of the story line it is much like Sean and my relationship, her and Fred were friends from the beginning even having sleep overs with long conversations but they dated other people while this was going on, then one day when Holly loses her Cat , Fred helps her find it and they have a romantic kiss in the rain. Yes we were friends and yes I have two cats, maybe our romantic kiss was not in the rain but it was romantic and very exciting kissing my friend Sean.”

What is your favorite feature, physical or personality trait, about Lorel {Sean} that you love the best & why?

Lorel: “My favourite part about sean is his quirky goofy side, he always is in the mood to have fun, and knows me inside and out. We pretend to be little kids all the time and play games and tickle each other, I know it is quite dorky but I just love that  he is himself with me, and we always surprise each other so that is fun. As well his eyes and scrunchyness to them just draw me in, I could look in them all day. I am blessed to be his ”

Sean: “The thing I love most about Lorel is her loyalty, encouraging nature, and unending support. She has shared herself with me, encouraging me to live a more purposeful life for the things that really matter, such as faith, family, and friendship. It is such a blessing to have a woman like her in this day and age. She always makes my day by the goofy things she says and heartfelt at the same time. Lorel is such a light and always looks for ways to show me that she loves me. These amazing inner attributes are complimented by her amazing smile and striking red hair. I love her long red hair, and her smile and laugh make me laugh and smile, she is beautiful.

The outdoor stage setup for the shoot is totally fun, how did you feel when you saw the set up & knew it was time to play?

Lorel: “Haha the outdoor set up was something we all collaborated with and brought stuff to help build the stage. It is always like being a child when I am with Sean he brings creativity and my imagination out. As well the photographer is a great friend and she is always fun to shoot with , so we know its time to wear our little kid clothes and bright colors when we are with her. We had tones of fun and it was really quite natural, we are big goof balls if you hand’t noticed.”

When you think back to the shoot, what was your favorite moment and why?

Lorel: “The shoot altogether was awesome, even despite being cold in my little yellow dress. But my favourite part was throwing pop corn and eating the cheeses, I missed every time trying to get the pop corn in my mouth , even though I had a big target. As well running through a forest is always fun and of course playing dress up ”

Sean: “Favorite moment of the shoot would be running with Lorel through the woods. That’s our life, running through this beautiful life and meeting different obstacles and adventures along the way. Haha, cheesy, I know, but true ”

How would you describe both of your personal styles?

Sean: “Personal styles? Hmm, that’s tough to say, because I feel like we are all over the map at times, but if I had to say I would think I’m pretty laid back and easy going about things. I love growing as an individual and getting into deep conversation and connection with people. I also am a dreamer, I want to live in Europe some day, and be a travel videographer or something, haha! I’m an actor, video-editor, videographer, and delve into designer, animation, and art. My work is never the same, my life is so different from one week to the next and it’s a blast! Lorel is very ambitious with her own business taking care of children and working full time as a nanny. She is hardworking, family oriented, adventurous, and plans for lots of traveling. She is a bit old fashioned, fifties housewife style, hehe, I’d say she loves planning for her (our) future. Someday taking our (future) children to Disney Land and going on awesome red converse road trips, we love red converse shoes. She is super friendly and cares about people, loves children, smiling, and also loves spontaneous dates, tickle fights, guitar playing and random skipping down the street. Its safe to say we both love to play in this world and she is the perfect partner to do that with ”

 *All Photographs by Emmy Lou Virginia

When a wedding is a group effort, it truly is that much more special to the couple.  Such is the case for Tanya Gutierrez Vazquez & Eli Vazquez, whose family members & friends all came together to make their wedding day as customized & true to who they are as a couple as could be.  Having a natural vintage hipster vibe, our gorgeous couple embraced this very feel from everything from their choices in fashion, transportation, to the lovely Hoosier Grove Barn where our couple was married.  Both sides of the families helped, making the dinner & desserts, while friends pitched in with the music.  Tanya & Eli’s local pastor officiated the wedding, while friends & family gifted Tanya with various brooches which she combined into her hand made brooch bouquet.  Our sweet couple let who they are lead them & did not deviate, leading to a gorgeous wedding day celebrating exactly who they are as a couple!

What Storyboard Likes…

The Emotions- The emotions are an unsung hero in this wedding feature.  The love & joy that Tanya & Eli hold  for one another is so evident it practically jumps off the page at you!  We love the multiple pictures where Eli looks as if he could not wait one more second to kiss his sweet bride, while she has that certain gleam in her eye when almost bashfully at times looking back at Eli.  Their emotions are a standout start to me & I love how much I as the viewer get caught up in it!

The Groomsmen- Whether these guys are naturally hams {we’re prone to think so!} or just doing an ace job of playing the part, these boys came to play when it came to picture  time!  We love a good bridal party who isn’t afraid to really make the portrait session something memorable, taking the opportunity to hoist up the groom on their shoulders, hold our groom back wide eyed, even jump a bit for joy.  We give big props to the boys, you brought it!

The Fashion- From start to finish our vintage hipster couple covered all the bases & we couldn’t be bigger fans of the outcome!  We love everything about gorgeous Tanya’s fashion choices from her pill box hat birdcage veil, to the the perfectly fitted lace dress.  We must say though, our favorite touch just might be the bracelet heavy arm party she’s rocking, though the ”Toms” altered owl shoes are pretty hot!  Eli’s simple easy going suspender chino look is an old school classic & we love that the groomsmen paired perfectly, while the bridesmaids were dressed in easy breezy mix matched summer yellows.  Each area of fashion was allowed to be unique, while smartly chosen themes tied it all together.  We looooove it!

Vendor Love

Venue: Hoosier Grove Barn
Photographer: Estanislao Photography