an extraordinary season

i love being engaged.  don't get me wrong... just like every engaged couple, we have had our stressful moments. but even with those few bumps in the road, i love being engaged.  i love waking up in the morning and realizing i am one day closer to marrying my best friend.  i love being filled with great anticipation, and eagerly awaiting the day i will make a life long commitment to the love of my life. i love dreaming with jamie about what our life is going to be like.  i love crafting what our home is going to feel like. i love talking about the wedding and considering every detail, and tweaking it until it feels just right.  mostly, however, i love growing closer in friendship and commitment to each other.... planning our marriage... learning how to communicate... learning how to be selfless... learning what it really means to love someone.

despite my eagerness to just be married, i find this to be an extraordinary season, so I have chosen to savor these final months of engagement.

michele m waite, who will also be shooting our wedding,  captured these images for us. jamie baked the tarts and pie, i assembled the cake (and made the skirt she's wearing) and then together, we styled this shoot.  i hope you enjoy this glimpse into our lives.

laina and ray

this weekend will mark the 1 year anniversary for laina and ray.  laina was a client who became a friend who then became my matchmaker and introduced me to my fiance.  i owed laina for that introduction (and i had a new girlfriend to impress)  so i made it my mission to make laina's wedding even greater than she was expecting it to be.  i surprised her with a full dessert buffet, created favors, shipped over lollipops from her favorite new york candy store and added italian globe lighting in addition to other enhancements to the design.

laina was such an incredible client, and an even greater friend.  

happy anniversary laina and ray- i wish you many more years of joy. jamie and i are looking forward to seeing you at our wedding in october!

ghkim photography took these great photos, and michelle with married with michelle coordinated the wedding

check out the full gallery on the smd Facebook page 

remember to check out the full gallery here

for jamie . . .

from the time i was a little kid, i always had a dream in my heart to find a girl to love and treasure, and someday marry. i thought for sure i had found this girl when i was in kindergarten and elaine moved to town . . . but the next year, the stress of first grade killed that relationship.  

although all my childhood crushes ended in heartaches, my dream to find a girl to love still burned in my heart.  

i grew up, graduated from college, started a successful business and everything seemed to be perfect in my life. great house, loyal friends, amazing clients, a sporty car, and overall, so much to be thankful for.

yet, my heart yearned to meet someone to share everything with . . . someone to grow old with . . . someone to adore. 

I am not one to give up on dreams, yet when i turned 30, i figured i needed to face the reality that i was probably never going to find someone to love. i gave up on the idea that there was someone out there who could be classy and elegant, yet still approachable and not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty.  i didn't think i could find someone that could be silly and let me be a dork, yet at times would still be able to hold a deep and intellectual conversation.  i wanted a girl who loved God and loved people. i wanted someone who would challenge me and tell me when i was wrong.  i wanted someone to dream big with. i had big hopes of finding someone who could take my breath away and give me butterflies in my stomach. i wanted someone to serve and love . . . but in all reality, i had fully given up hope. 

you see, i wanted it all, and was not willing to compromise my standards.  i started to believe that such a person couldn't possibly exist, because my standards were too high.  i didn't think someone could have it all.  i thought i was hoping for what was only found in the movies. 

but then i met you . . .

and in you, i found someone that had everything i had hoped for, and so much more. i found someone who amazed me. i found a girl who made me excited to wake up in the morning, and made me want to become a better man.  i discovered what it really meant to love someone, and be loved in return. and, for the first time in my life, i encountered a true desire to spend the rest of my life with someone. 

and then i became the luckiest boy in the world when you agreed to become my wife.

 

and i have never been happier.

jamie, you blow me away, and i still am in awe every time i think about you. you have captivated my heart and filled me with a joy that words can not express. i know there will be mountains to climb and oceans to swim through, but there is no one else i would rather have by my side to experience life with.  i can't wait to marry you and experience it all . . . the good, the bad, the joys, the hurts, the victories and the burdens.  we are better together, and stronger as a team.  i am so lucky that i get to spend the rest of my life learning more about you, serving you and loving you. my cup overflows.

  

thanksgiving

i confess. too often i find myself day dreaming about the things i do not have, coveting the possessions, talents, opportunities and lifestyles of those that seem to be better off.  too quickly i become envious, forgetting all of the incredible blessings that fill my life on a daily basis.  truth be told, God has richly and generously filled my life with more than i could have ever asked, and i have so much to be thankful for.  it shames me to think how i could possibly want for any additional thing, when i live such an abundant life filled with unimaginable treasures . . .

such as a business i never planned on having, but has provided me an outlet to use my passions, talents and gifts to serve people . . .

a mother who provided me with opportunities and possibilities paid for with her selfless, unending sacrifices . . .

my best friend, ryan, who although living in england, communicates with me daily to encourage me and support me through life . . .

a group of young guys that not only work with me, but make me laugh incredibly hard and keep me young and experiencing new things i would never do otherwise, like skydiving and snow boarding . . .

unexpected new friendships that have already impacted my life greatly and that i feel deeply connected to. . .

and Jamie, the most patient, loving, supportive, encouraging, kind, compassionate, fun and amazingly beautiful girlfriend a guy could ask for, and who came packaged with the most incredible family ever . . . wow . . . i am such a lucky guy . . .

strong community, good health, wonderful clients, a job i get excited about doing, a beautiful studio, a warm house, plenty of food to eat and laughter to share. . . so much to celebrate and be thankful for.  and although i at times quickly forget, when i come to my senses and realize that the blessings in my life are extravagant, the abundance lavished upon me overwhelms me to a point where my response can be none other than that of appreciation and thanksgiving. 

as jamie and i spent our first thanksgiving together, we wanted the celebration we hosted for our families to reflect the extravagant blessings our lives are filled with.  i loved putting thanksgiving together this year and working alongside jamie to create a special dinner for our families.  these images will give you a little glimpse into our holiday. 

i always love compiling all of the different elements, layers and textures that i am going to implement, and then taking those elements to craft a beautiful table. 

vintage mercury glass, potted sage, fall foliage, tarnished silver platers, babies breath, various candles and loads of pears. a few of the ingredients for our thanksgiving table. 

and although it snowed heavily the morning of thanksgiving, and we almost had to postpone our celebration, our families decided to make the trek up to bellingham and so dinner preparation continued as planned.

we hosted the dinner at my design studio.  i live just a minute away, and so we were able to conveniently cook the dinner at my house yet eat at the studio.

here are a few before and after pictures for you.

the dining table . . .

the buffet table . . .

and of course, the turkey. . .

i love using my space for all kinds of parties and events. although it is my place of work, i try to make it warm and inviting for anyone that comes in the door.  

we served a very traditional thanksgiving meal . . . you can never go wrong with the basics.

jamie made these gorgeous pies. they were as delicious as they were beautiful.

my best friend spent his first thanksgiving away from family this year, as he and his wife are in england. he sent me a note that day that said, "You can have the greatest spread and the greatest food but if you're not surrounded by those you love, it's just not the same."  i am so fortunate that i was not only able to spend the day growing closer to jamie as we cooked for our families, but that we then got to sit with the people we love the most, and share our lives and hearts of gratitude with them.

the food has now been eaten, the table torn apart, the china cleaned and the stemware returned to their rack. although thanksgiving may officially be over, we are still filled with joy considering the wealth of blessings that shape our lives, and choose to continue living with a thankful heart. we hope you will join us in this sentiment as you enter into this holiday season.