Milton + Leah | First Kiss

I love prose.

When Milton read this poem that he wrote to his wife Leah during their reception, I was wiping away my tears in between photographs. I write poetry myself-- I have ever since I can remember-- and I know sometimes how painstaking it is to communicate what you are feeling.

This poem was so perfect.

Now you'll see why Leah wasn't the only one wiping away tears..

"Our first kiss:
Pressed between a refrigerator and your body,
I never felt so comfortable.
Fingertips gliding across our jaw-lines
Eyes closed, tilting heads
A knock on the door that came too quickly.
This time around, my wise, bruised lips didn’t want to rush
but your lips
won over
me
playing hard to get.
Great first kiss.
Our final first kiss.

My
Last
First
Kiss.

First kisses are one of my favorite moments of life:
The build-up in those seconds before the lips touch.
Heart pounding into the ribcage,
Trying to catch up to the mind’s thoughts
“Should I wait? Or do it now? Is it too soon?”
Then all those thoughts get swallowed with the last, big, courageous gulp
to clear the mind for the climax.
The curiosity in the eyes that create smiles
before giving in to the playful temptation.
The peaceful silence between the last spoken word
and the gasps for air after the lips part.
The way the shy lips slowly scoot towards each other
before they dance.

Nothing is like a first kiss.
They will be missed.

Since our spontaneous first kiss,
We’ve had many new kisses
Each came with their own color and flavor:

The kiss when I first knew I loved you-
On the hot, people-filled dance floor
Slow, long look into the eyes before my hands touched your cheeks
Erasure’s “Little Respect”. Sweaty. Salty. Lovely.

The make-up kiss
after our first argument-
Cold air. Blinking yellow lights. Horns honking. Warm lips.

The thankful kiss
after you opened my first Christmas present to you-
Rushing into my lips. Unexpected. Blue lights. Peppermint hot chocolate.

The sympathetic kiss
when you cared for me when I had pneumonia-
Cold lips on warm forehead. Shaking. Coughing. Smiling.

The surprised kiss
when I asked you to marry me-
Taste of raindrops and sugary hot chocolate. A spiral of greens, reds, and blues.

Your sorry kisses that would make me forget any mistake
and your forgiving kisses that made me understand
it was okay to have faults because you’re not going to leave-
Eyes red. Puffy skin. Taste of tears.

And, of course, the sloppy, passionate, relentless, never-seems-to-end kisses
every time I look at you and suddenly realize, as if I’ve forgotten, why I love you.

As I write this now, I wonder what colors and taste will come when we have
our kiss
as husband and wife.
Leah, even though I will never have another first kiss,
I look forward to all the new kisses we will have in our future,
I love you.
You were my last First Kiss,
I hope you will be my last Last Kiss."

Milton, Thank you so much for letting me repost this.

What an incredible poem and what a love!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I wanted to start the year off by posting a few photos of the things {around our house}
I love the most.
This pretty face is Eliot Jane, affectionately nicknamed Elle.
100% golden retriever. 100% baby.


And here are a few of my succulent plants. Thank God they are hearty little suckers cause they've been neglected, left out in 20 degree weather, unwatered for weeks and finally I've decided to bring them in {in our new home} and call them "my house plants".
My success with these has encouraged me to take on more "house plants".
One of Johnny's anniversary gifts to me this year was a rose bush. It's bea-u-tiful!

John and I celebrated our 5-yr meeting anniversary last night...
by staying at home, drinking a little vino and having a nice quaint dinner.
That made the run at 8:30AM on Town Lake this morning possible {to start the new year off right :} and the puppy... pooped.

I love her big ol' paws. John thinks the hairs that grow between her toes is cute. Thus it remains uncut.

Many of you know we've taught Eliot to do pointless tricks, including "go around" and "play dead" and the most recent
"be a bear".
This is her, live. She half growls/half snarls through her nose. It's pretty funny!



To all of our brides, blog-stalkers, families and friends, thank you for making 2009 a success! We appreciate each of you and looking forward to getting to know you over the next year!!

Much Love,

Johnny, Carli and Elle

Operation Hope

The message is clear.
The pull at my heart the same today as the first day I started my business:
give hope.

Each of us are blessed with talents, with gifts that we have been given and we are in charge of how we use them. Do we hoard them? Do we cower because we allow our fear to overtake us? Because there is unknown; we feel inadequate.

Or do we follow, listen to our hearts. The world was created for you, didn't you know?

You have the potential to positively affect every person you meet...

Andy + Alanna | Sneak Peek!

I have been in the jewel business for some time.
Alanna's father said, looking into Andy's eyes across the room.

And you, Andy, are about to take one of my most precious jewels...

Andy and Alanna took John and I with them to their Houston wedding at Ashton Gardens this past Monday. What an elegant evening and tear-jerking speeches! It was our first time to photograph at Ashton Gardens and our last wedding of the year.

They were referrals from Sandra and Nelson from close to a year ago. Andy went to school and worked with Sandra back in the day and it's really been a pleasure getting to know these two over several shoots!

Can't wait for you to see all of them!!!
Thank you so much, Alanna and Andy for driving us out there with you and letting us be a part of your lives! ((hugs))

Hotchkiss Family | Family Portraits 2009

Tiffany and Jeff | 1 Yr Anniversary

I always say "I like to spoil my brides" and I do.
One of the many perks of being an {inkedFingers} bride is being entitled to a FREE 1 Yr Anniversary shoot.
Because we value marriage and what it means, what it represents... if you can get past the year one point then we'll celebrate with you! We photographed your engagement and saw the love between you two starting to blossom... We were blessed enough to be at the big day and witness as two lives became one... We'd be honored to be a part of your one-year anniversary!

So what's the catch? We shoot you for free. We give you the 8x10 for free.
You, Lovely, pick out the greeting cards you want to purchase or the linen-finished print or gallery wrap, dvd of images or book marks.

And there's nothing like hanging out with an old friend.

Here's Tiffany and Jeff. Johnny and I had the privilege of photographing their engagements at Town Lake and their wedding last November out at the Inn at Wild Rose Hall. Here they are now, cute as ever and as relaxed in front of the camera as ever! I love it!!!

I know, I'm a month late. But Jeff and Tiffany, thank you for letting John and I be a part of your lives! It is a real pleasure. Congrats on your new house, new puppy and a year as husband and wife! You have so much to be thankful for!!! ((hugs!))

Happy One Year Anniversary!

Grant and Kenzie | The Proposal

The morning of the day that Grant asked Kenzie to marry him, it snowed.

The snow fell like someone shaking sprinkles on a cupcake, all in a flurry.

The morning of the day Grant asked Kenzie to be his wife, a man stood on a street corner, holding a sign proclaiming himself a single father to two daughters.
He stood in the falling snow.
As the light turned green, I took his photograph and wondered if he remembered the day he asked his wife to marry him...

The day passed slowly and as the light began to fall, the snow stopped and the sun shed light on the hotel where Grant would ask Kenzie
to marry him...

Grant's mom and dad and Kenzie's mom and dad knew of the ensuing events and hid while Grant and Kenzie ate a delightful dinner.
Then he pulled her outside, sat her down and asked her if she remembered the earrings she had been wanting?

But instead, brought out this...

And she said this...

When they walked back into the restaurant, this was waiting for them...

And this...

For the rest of my life I will live,
knowing I was on the same street,
at the same time that Grant asked Kenzie to spend the rest of her life with him.

And
she said yes.

**A Very Big Thank You goes out to Grant's sister, Ashley and her fiance for planning everything out meticulously months in advance, for coordinating times and setting up locations and for meeting me prior! You did a heck of a job and deserve *the best sister* award by far!**

Congrats Grant and Kenzie!!! What fun it will be to plan both of your weddings! ;)

How Brizy is Keepin Austin Gorgeous

This is my first post from our new home in Buda, TX. Woohoo!

Brizy [pronounced Breezy ;)] is a wonderful woman who owns Keep Austin Gorgeous, an airbrush makeup and hair-stylin salon in north Austin.

I had the immense pleasure of shooting her and the salon a few days back and can't wait to post more!

How did I get hooked up with Brizy? My favorite air-brushin gal, Kelli Toal, has moved to Keep Austin Gorgeous! Having just got my hair cut by Brizy last week and hanging out at the salon a couple of times, it's obvious Brizy is passionate about what she does and has such a positive spirit. She specializes in air brush makeup and updos for brides and it's evident she LOVES her brides! Since you know how much I love MY brides, it's a great match. ;)

Looking forward to working with you gals more in the near future and posting some more incredible pics of the salon! When you call Brizy or Kelli for an appointment, remember to mention Carli sent you!

www.keepaustingorgeous.com
(Brizy is updating the site very very soon! Stay tuned!)

Have a wonderful week Lovelies!