interrupt regular scheduled programming...

to bring you this special photo contest
for a chance to win
DESTINATION WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
by

kristen steele is giving you a lucky chance to win:
full coverage on wedding day,
a Portrait session at your wedding location the day before or day after,
rights to all images on DVD,
online slideshow,
online ordering and viewing gallery
and a 10×10 20 page flush mount album!

what do you have to do to win?
well head on over
HERE
to find out.

p.s. kristen is considering 500 miles outside of Nashville a destination wedding.
so what are you waiting for? get on it.

check out what rad work kristen steele has been up to as well on her website and blog.

all i want is...

...love eternally
with your heart facing me.

---

so yes,
my blog is all about weddings, and everything involved.
my hope is that i inspire not only brides for their weddings,
but vendors as well with ideas for their clients.
but while newly engaged couples get wrapped up with the wedding planning,
they tend to forget what else there is to look forward to after their special day.
what really is the real reason why their wedding is taking place.

marriage.

and as fate would have it, making things happen brought to light an amazing being.
lauren kelly of lauren kelly events.

and as a result...

What exactly is Love, Milk and Honey?

Love, Milk and Honey is a multi-faceted online community that strives to inspire and encourage couples as they walk through marriage.

What's the story behind it and why did you want to start Love, Milk and Honey?

Although I have been in the wedding industry for 4 years now I have never felt centered in my company. I knew love was what drew me to the industry but I couldn’t help but feel that it was the exact thing getting lost in the shuffle. Love, Milk & Honey was born out of a desire to put the focus back on the marriage.

What do you hope to accomplish with Love, Milk and Honey? Or what do you hope readers get out of this site?

Couples journeying into this particular life change are all too often ill equipped to merge their lives in the way a marriage requires. This BlogSite will help ease that transition and give couples a resource to learn from, a community to gain encouragement from and a place to connect with each other on a deeper level. This will not only appeal to newlyweds but couples from all stages of marriage that need guidance throughout their journey. For me, it is a place to be transparent and honest with others with the hope to connect and create a community with people all over.

Why would you recommend newly engaged couples to read it, even if it's geared towards newlyweds?

No matter what stage of marriage you are in, I feel that you can always benefit from guidance. Challenges are bound to surface and, to me, it is much easier to overcome those obstacles if you surround yourself with others that are like-minded in their commitment to marriage and are willing to challenge you to press on and grow. That is exactly what Love, Milk and Honey can do for each reader as they become intentional with their place in the community.

lauren kelly herself.

What has been the best thing ever since starting Love, Milk and Honey for you?

Love, Milk and Honey has truly caused me to look at my life in a new light. Every day has become an opportunity for me to learn, grow, observe and share. It has made me so aware of my surroundings and the way I choose to embrace them. Such a blessing to gain a new perspective from time to time.

so without further ado,

head on over!

photo credit: collin hughes

thank you lauren for taking the time to answer my questions!
but more so, thank you for creating such a wonderful site where there is so much one can learn!

let it shine on you...

feel like the world is passing you by
never done all the things you would need to try
stuck in one place, got a pain in your face from all your stressin’ out

you ask yourself there’s got to be more than what i’m living for
you ask yourself there’s got to be something else, something more

---

bear with me here. this is a rather unusual post for my blog since it's my first real personal one. but this is me speaking to you.

first, again, i have to thank all of those who commented on my haiti fundraiser/campaign. YOU helped me raise a grand total of $750. i sent off the checks on tuesday and i felt so very blessed that i was able to do that. it might result in a slight missing-in-action phase from me with the social activities, but it's money i believe that will be well spent and i hope enriches someone else's life even if it's in the most minor/minute way. i urge everyone else to do a little something. please don't just sit there.

i am blessed. blessed that i was able to do that, but more importantly, blessed to be surrounded by many who believe in me. it may be people who i love dearly like family or even people who have become fast friends through this wedding world OR people who come together through one movement started by two people who truly believe in making things happen.

this past monday, i was blessed to share an experience. at first, i have to say i felt utterly intimidated. i was surrounded by photographers, event planners- people who seemed as though they were there already. as a wedding blogger, what was my purpose of being there?

throughout the day, Lara Casey and Jeff Holt made us lay it out on the table. and i mean lay it all out there. they made us go right deep into the inner core of ourselves and re-examine every aspect of our lives. from realizing our daily distractions to thinking about our life's purpose, we each went to a place where our bellies began to bubble with anticipation, joy, and excitement with the realization that we could make things happen. it was a long, intense day, so for those that are going, be prepared- this is not for the weak. but know this, you will leave fired up. guaranteed. you'll leave feeling like you just ran a marathon, but you totally could run another. you'll leave hungry for more for yourself (well, literally hungry in the case of the Los Angeles group).

Lara and Jeff helped us realize where we ought to be going. i'd like to thank them both for believing in me. and their energy- ack. i die. literally.
it sounds as though i may be talking crazy, but making things happen has literally woken me up and i'm even more stoked for what's coming for me this year. Lara and Jeff armed us with the tools. it's now up to us what we do with them and how we do it.

so taking what i've learned from making things happen:

i'm ready to fall, and i'll fall often.
i'm ready to take a leap of faith and face those risks head on.
i will say no to complacency, but yes to consistency.
i won't try to stand out from the crowd, but avoid the crowds altogether.
my ideas won't be big, but they will be mine.
i will choose to be remarkable.
more doing, less planning, more dreaming, even if it means sleeping less.

i hope that this will pour out of me, for me, through Ever Ours in 2010. there are many things that are coming this way for my blog and for myself as well. can't wait to share because things are happening and i'm super excited for them all.

thank you so much again to the los angeles group, to Jose Villa, and especially to Lara Casey and Jeff Holt. can't wait to hear and share what happens for all those involved with the making things happen movement. i'm thankful to not only have found a fantastic support group who i know can't wait to pay it forward with all that they've learned, but who are so fired up and will make things happen.

and since i don't have a cool video blog to show you my crazy enthusiasm for making things happen, check out here, here, here, and here.

but i shall leave you with this. i was going to do barbara streisand (inside joke) but this rendition (glee fans go there).
but i felt that this one below was more appropriate and it's one of my favorite songs ever. listen and pay attention to the lyrics.

well, let the sun shine on your face

and don't let your life go to waste
now is the time, got to make up your mind
let it shine on you.