A few months back we decided to have a contest for a Free photo session!

Sofia of Awespiring Wedding Design (who does a fab job!!) won!
We both were ridiculously busy over the summer and were finally able to get our schedules to match up!

Paulo and Sofia are naturals in front of the camera- they are such a beautiful couple and they
totally adore one another.
They both are so light hearted and fun to be around- and I must say, Paulo, in his grey suit— daanng!!

There will be a beautiful slideshow of these two lovebirds this coming tuesday! But for now….

During a movie, If I plug my ears, he knows that I am scared.
I think its strange he flosses his teeth every night- I assume that is the toothbrushes job.
If he runs his hand through his hair that means either he is deep in concentration or could also mean he is frusterated.
When I am stressed he knows to buy me nothing but Lindt Chocolate and  a Massage.
I lose my phone on a daily basis and he always know where to find it- I didn’t realize I put anything on top of the fridge.
I know he likes his books flush with the edge of the bookshelf.
He knows that his 2 minute shoulder massage (while I am working at my desk) means the world to me.
He know that I feel fancy saying “Lime Cordial” (‘Mr Burgess, I would love it if you would bring this Little ol’ lady some Lime Cordial with fizzy soda”- just as an example!)
I know that he secretly loves Dating in the Dark just as much as me!!

We love eachother for all these quirks and weirdnesses- because that is what makes us who we are.

Seeing Beth and Russell together reminded me of all the above things.  Their love is so pure and so honest. They love every little bit about one another.
They are perfect together. Absolutely perfect.
There is no doubt in my mind that they are going to grow old together whilst holding hands still madly in love.

Beth and Russell got married in the Cardston Alberta Temple and had a very intimate family dinner at the Cobblestone Restaurant.
We seized the oppratunity to take photos infront of and around the temple as it is so majestic and beautiful. We then ended the day in
Waterton National Park with the gorgeous mountains and glowy light!
Mucho Love,
Kari

Here is a little secret:

Anytime Radelle and I drive together whether we are going to go shopping together, drive to a shoot, or a girls roadtrip,
or for breakfast- there is one thing we always do.
I am not sure how it even started. We were probably just trying to pass time on our drives together.
Or maybe we genuinly thought we would be able to master it in one drive. fools.
It has been many years and we still have not been able to master it. We try and try and try again, but to know avail.
We both sing, and we like to think we have ‘ok’ voices BUT the minute we try to harmonize, oh dang. The dogs start barking. Rockwell (radelles son)
in the backseat starts yelling “NO NO NO NO!”.

We burst into laughter everytime because we know how bad we sound, but still after many years we havent been able to sing ‘proper’ harmony.
“You are my Sunshine” and “Amazing Grace” are some of our favorites.

We take this very seriously. We clear our throats and warm up our vocal chords— me.me.me.la.la.la.
(i’m sure we look like a bunch of  crazies to other people driving by)

I blame it on being homeschooled. I am sure mom instilled this in us when we were little- there she was driving whilst conducting and
all of us (3 sisters) trying our very best to sing like angels.  That was our music class. In the car.

I am being so serious when I say that instead of turning on the radio or playing the Ipod or popping in a CD… We sing. With ‘Harmony’.
(again, I blame these actions on mom. She wouldn’t even let us listen to Power 92 growing up- afterall, you never know when Barbie Girl would come on).

I wanted to share a few more images from Cherisa & Jordan’s amazing wedding day.
They were married in an intimate ceremony in the Cardston LDS temple , with photos in Waterton near the prince of wales

& Cameron lake. The amazing day filled with love, was followed with an amazing family luncheon at the charming Cobblestone Manor,

and an amazing party full of speeches, Jordan singing to Cherisa and a fun filled dance at the lynx ridge golf course.

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I simply & totally adore this image of the dress. The light was just gorgeous.

Cherisa & Jordan had their marriage sealed in the Cardston, Alberta temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The temple is an amazing backdrop for photos. So magestic!

We traveled to waterton & spent some time doing some lovely wedding images with just the two of them. We started out by the Prince of Wales hotel….which Cherisa’s grandfather actually helped build. How darling is that?

Cherisa, you are so totally radiant. Jordan is SO lucky to have you!

The drama & joy in this photo makes my heart sing. I just adore this image. It is everything that I love.

Joy, drama & natural light.

This image is another favorite image of mine. I adore the passion in it.

This wedding image was taken in Waterton right beside the Prince of Wales hotel.

Cherisa loves Jordan.

Something about this image of Jordan showcasing their rings, is so gentle & yet strong to me.This tender darling moment was captured up by Cameron Lake. I adore the feeling in it.

Cherisa is seriously the cutest girl ever.Now for a few of my signature stylized images

Flower Girls Dresses: Bella Babies

Photographer: Radelle- Eternal Reflections Photography

Luncheon: The Cobblestone Manor (mansion)

Reception: Lynx Ridge Golf Course

Gown: Ethos Bridal Calgary

DJ: Dan Glenn

Caterer: Golf Course

Veil: ebay

They have the most beautiful story.

They were neighborhood kids. They only lived a few blocks away.
The moment she saw him walking down the sidewalk she walked up to him and asked: “Will you be my friend?”
In Jr. High she would carry a photo of him in her pocket, and huddle around the lockers showing her  friends that and telling them that  this is the guy she would LOVE to marry.
She had  a not-so-secret crush on him for years. You know, the cute adorable, jr.high crush.

He’s Ukranian. She’s Italian.
They mesh together perfectly.
The moment Jesse saw her walk down the aisle. He didn’t blink.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
And Theresa couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. The moment she had wanted ever since jr. high had come true.

We did formals in Fort Edmonton Park which was fab!! Theresa rocked out the photo session and Jesse couldn’t have had more swag

The reception was in the BEAUTIFUL Polish Veterans Hall which had an amazing dance floor and stunning Chandeliers!

Theresa and Jesses day couldn’t have been more perfect.

Mucho Love,
Kari

{Vendors}

:: Hair- Belle Gente Hair Studio
:: Makeup- Bride
:: Flowers- Growers Direct by Angela
:: Transportation- Esquire Limos (driver- Owen- Fantastic!!)
:: Ceremony Venue- St. Dominic Church
:: Reception Venue- Polish Veterans Hall
:: Dj- A.J Group Live dance and DJ services

Ashley and James have such an precious quiet love.  If you watch them, you will see glances, smiles, squeezing of the hand, and maybe a wink or two.
They are adorable! I loved every moment spent with them!  We spent most of our time at the Timber Ranch Trading Company because everywhere you
looked was stunning!

Mucho Love,
Kari

Vendors:
Flowers- Studio Bloom by Rosella
Hair- Stephanie Mills with So Chic Salon and Spa
Makeup- Lesley Johnson, Makeup Artist
Caterer- Elizabethan Catering Services Ltd.
Ceremony Location: Timber Ranch Trading Company- This PLACE was utterly fabulous!! It is a definite must see when choosing a ceremony location!
Reception: Muir Lake Hall

I was in line at my all time favorite tea shops- yes, Starbucks (i know, i know- but their Herbal London Fog is to DIE FOR, well that sounded a little extreme,
ok, I would wait in line for it even if there was still 8 people ahead of me.), anyways, I heard this little boy talking to his little sister…
about things they were afraid of. And well, that got me thinking….

Things I am afraid of:

::: Heights- anything higher than 5 feet off the ground makes me slightly nervous and my fear just escalates from there to a point where
I almost feel a  little dizzy and my stomache starts to turn.  However I am really good when it comes to flying in a plane, or when
I am harnessed (rock climbing), or jumping on a trampoline.
::: Anything creepy crawly unless it is in its proper surroundings- nature, and still even then…
::: I am afraid that I will start taking life too seriously.
::: that I saw yellow leaves forming on trees on tonights walk with Mr. Burgess.
:::  That my feet will never have a pedicure this summer. just the thought makes me shiver.
::: that all SIX of my alarms won’t go off on a Saturday morning (to shoot a wedding).
::: that Oodle Noodle will go out of business because it is the bee’s knees.
::: That Matt’s piggybank (from his teen years), which is a spikey haired angry lookin’ gangsta’ , will fall off the bookshelf and break…. not.
::: The dark night. Like my mum always said, nothing good happens after dark.
::: That Mr. Burgess will get his hands on my Highschool play DVD- where I played a spoon. yes, a spoon. like the kind of spoon you eat cereal with.
::: Deep water- If I can’t touch, I am very hesitant to swim… and if I finally get brave and get coaxed into it I will ONLY do it if there is  a wall or
ground a few meters away…
::: The weigh scale. scccarrryy.

Mucho Love,
Kari

This past weekend I had a wedding in Banff. It was a lovely wedding & it will be featured here on the blog very soon.

BUT I wanted to take a moment to share a few things about my sister krystal. She came with me to Banff,

and we made a bit of a girls trip out of it. I have SO much fun with Krystal, and because she spends so much

time traveling back to Africa (where she lived all of last year, and the next 3 years starting 2012) where her

hubby is getting his PhD; I really miss her. So I was thrilled when I knew we were going to make a mini-sister-getaway to Banff.

The only thing missing, was our other sister Kari. (she was in Edmonton shooting a wedding).

A few quick things about Krystal :

She is the smartest sister. She works as an accountant & wherever she moves, she has people literally

begging her to work for them. This is no surprise as she used to read in bed with a flashlight & a dictionary. To, you know,

look up the words she didn’t understand.

She is incredibly kind hearted & loves children. She is so very good with my son & it means the world to me.

She is very adventurous. Her & her husband have been on so many adventures it is just crazy! I admire her

free spirit! I mean, how many 20somethings do you know that have rode an ostrich & quadded the worlds largest sand dunes.

Im just sayin’.

She is clearly VERY beautiful.

Her sense of humor is subtle but very very funny.

She is a fierce competitor in canasta

__________________________

Below is a rather embarrassing collage of a girls trip that her & I took to B.C about 5 years ago.

Let’s just say, we wore spandex that we painted words on. We hired & plane to “show us around”. We bought

weird glasses & would startle the cars of people who drove by us with our “good looks”, etc.

I just really really love her.

People have said “you two are identical!’, “are you twins?”, “you even act the exact same!’, “wow… so clearly, you are sisters”.

You see, I don’t think we look alike at all- yes we do have a few similar features (especially when Radelle was brunette), but my goodness…
anywhere we go, we always get the reactions listed above!

It finally dawned on me one afternoon when we were spending the day with the family playing the game ‘Things”.
Radelle and I, on more than one occasion wrote the EXACT same answer. The EXACT SAME! It was wierd, like, realllly weird.

From that moment on I think we both observed and actually took note on similar we are!

* Our sense of humour is the same- we laugh over almost anything…yes, even perverted jokes.
* We love the same food- spaghetti and parm, roast and the mini potatoes…
* We even love to drink a Red Bull before weddings- although we try to cut back, because they are very unhealthy…well, we try.
* We have similar mannerisms- we talk with our hands, if we don’t understand something or don’t like something- its very much seen on our facial expression.
* We love hollywood gossip…. but umm, who doesn’t?
*  We love chick flicks…* Even the our husbands have similar temperments… which makes us similar because we married similar men. Right? Case closed!
* We love little boutiques or mom and pop cafes where everything is homemade!
* We have even shown up to events where VERY similar outfits (color and all!).
* If we had to treat ourselves to one thing, it would hands down be a massage.
* AND when we play Telepaths and are partners… we usually, ALMOST ALWAYS win
* We LOVE to go to events where you get all glam, but we also love the jeans and t-shirt BBQ’s!
* If a Lindor was presented to each of us… pretty sure we put it on our dashboard just for a few minutes (with the sun shining, or put on the heat), so it gets a little bit melted, and then devour!
(believe me, if you have not tried this… do it!)
*POP=NO, Water=YES.
*We like to think we’re pretty funny… I am sure there are people out there that would agree, and possibly (but very unlikely LOL) disagree.
* We both are clutzy. Whether its hitting my head on my car door, or Radelle tripping up a curb. Usually we just pretend like nothing happened,
and just keep walking- depending on the severity, of course.
* I think we’re nearly at the point where we can look at eachother and know what going through their mind… its a sisterly gift.

Need I say more? because there is oh so much more!

It is quite unbelievable how similar we are, but hey, we are sisters. It runs in the blood. But more than that- we are best friends.

Look at that air, helloo, that is pretty impressive for a girl who can’t even reach her toes while standing and without bending the knees- not  flexible. at all.

Radelle wanted to promise everyone of our brides, that we will not, never, ever pose you as such (see below. if you dare).

Crystal and Wes actually got married last February in Vegas! However, they wanted to hold a beautiful celebration of their love for friends and family!
When Crystal returned home from Vegas she started planning a beautiful intimate reception.
One of Crystals favorite colors is red (she’s just like me!) and so using  orgeous and timeless red roses for punches of color around the reception building.
Her bouquet actually looked very similar to mine for my wedding day- so in other terms… I loved it.
It was classic. simple. elegant.

Crystal and Wes have been by eachothers side for many years, and from the way they hold eachothers hands with that firm but delicate grip,
you know they will always stand by one another.