Just a quick note to say that two of my favorite wedding pals will be on the move in the next few months!

Gina Zeidler, who took our engagement photos and has taken about 8 billion other beautiful photos, is hitting San Francisco, Aspen, Georgia, North Carolina, San Antonio, and Charleston in the next four months. You can see her full travel schedule here and contact her for more info. If she’s going to be in your neck of the woods, that would be a GREAT opportunity to schedule an engagement, family, Christmas card, or portrait session! We love Gina!!

John & Emily : wedding highlights from Inkspot Crow Films on Vimeo.

Also, my peeps Inkspot Crow are taking their show on the road next summer! To help entice New Englanders to book them for wedding films (AS IF anyone needed extra encouragement), they are waiving all travel fees for Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut! We’ve already discussed at length the awesome-ness that is ICF, so perhaps this is just the incentive you need to bite the bullet and get in touch with them. In the meantime, please enjoy our wedding highlights film once again. Can’t get enough of that thing — I watch it about once a week.

I have a favorite pair of shoes. They’re from Target, and I’ve had them for about seven years now. They’re a shade in between black and brown that goes with everything, they have low heels so they’re comfortable to walk in, and they have a pointed toe that looks polished but doesn’t pinch. Perfection! Except for the fact that the heels have been completely ground down over the years, leaving only the head of a nail poking out. I’ve tried to replace them with a similar pair several times, but never found a fit or look I loved.

Eventually, it occurred to me that I might be able to have the heels replaced. I wasn’t even sure if cobblers still existed (turns out they do), and I thought that even if they did, they’d probably think I was crazy for wanting to fix a beat up pair of Target shoes, but I figured it was worth a shot. A quick search on Yelp turned up a highly-rated shop (H&H in Cameron Village, for my local peeps). I explained to the man behind the counter what I wanted, and he promised they’d be ready in three days. And they were! I picked them up the next week, and for $11.30, I had a greatly improved pair of heels. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still seven-year-old shoes, but I’m no longer embarrassed when I flash the soles, and I don’t go clickety clack whenever I walk.

Fixing something I already own and love instead of spending time and money searching for something I might love less? That’s a major win in my book. Have y’all ever visited a cobbler? Do you have a seven-year-old pair of shoes you adore?

P.S. The next shoe adventure in store? I really want to dye my white wedding shoes black, but am clueless on where to start.

Hello, friends! John and I had a weekend filled with some of our favorite things — friends, family, and weddings! One of our dearest friends — we went to both high school and college with her — got married on Saturday, and John and I were honored to read at the ceremony. It was a quick trip (we flew up Saturday morning and back last night), but we still managed to have breakfast with friends and lunch with our parents in between wedding festivities.

Instagram from Bryce Covey, the photographer!

John and I have always known how lucky we are to have such a close group of friends from high school, but goodness, this weekend really hammered that home. Things have changed — five of our original eleven are now married, one is engaged, and two more are on that path — but it’s amazing how much has stayed the same, including our ability to laugh over the most ridiculous things. We’re scattered across six states, with two on the West Coast, so its a huge blessing whenever we can all get together, and even more so how easily we fall back in step with each other when we do.

The wedding ceremony was my favorite kind — carefully considered, meaningful, serious, and joyful — and as I said, we were honored to play a role. My favorite part, though, was the congregational affirmation:

We have witnessed the marriage of Jackie and George. They have made their vows in our presence and asked for our support in their life together. We also have the honor of affirming our commitment to them. I invite you to uphold Jackie and George in their promises by responding to the following questions:

If so, answer, WE WILL.

I was struck once again by the power of a marriage ceremony — what it means for the two people being joined together, but also by the commitment it requires of everyone who participates as a witness. Maybe it’s because we’re just a week out from our own first anniversary, but I was really touched by the depth of that promise. What a beautiful and joyful way of linking so many lives together!

Also from Bryce

Are you still close with your friends from high school? If you’re married, did you include a congregational affirmation in your ceremony? I’d love to hear!!