by Mandi | creative tips, quotes and toasts
Well, If you follow our blog, you know that I recently got married. I will go ahead and apologize for the amount I talk about my wedding on here, but if you have been through the process, you know what a special time it is. You also know all of the things you learn during the months of planning! I want to share with everyone what I learned along the way!
Today… I am going to talk about one of the things we did that I will cherish forever…. a professional wedding video.
I am telling you… this is so amazing to have! I have watched it about 10 times a day since they sent it to us!
1. WORDS. So many words are spoken during the day. Weather it is what you say while you are getting ready, your vows, what the preacher says, small whispers to each other, laughing, crying, etc. Photos will not capture that so be sure you get it on your video!
2. MUSIC. If you are like me you will take hours and hours to decide on the perfect songs! In my case, we had our fathers play a few songs together before the ceremony on guitar and mandolin. I LOVE that our video guys used that music as part of our background sound!
3. EMOTION. Photography, especially good photography, captures emotion of the day. With that said, it is that… a capture. A professional video will actually show clips of the emotion. Moments that you can watch over and over.
4. BLUR. People always told me. “try to remember everything, your wedding will be a blur”. I had no idea how true that would be. I never thought 10 hours could happen so quickly. It blew my mind as to how quickly the day flew by. My wedding video helped me see things I didn’t get to see. It helped bring back moments from my wonderful, amazing, beautiful, blur.
5. HIGH QUALITY. With technology today, everyone has a video, everyone has a camera. While this is true… it is not going to be the quality that a professional can provide you with! I’m telling you… get the high quality, the sound, the images. It is worth it!
I worked with the amazing husband and wife team at Whitewash Films. He does amazing work and she is just the sweetest to work with! Such a great combo. (Check out her day job at Inspire Wedding Magazine – so jealous!)
Here is my video!
Ryan + Mandi from Whitewash Films on Vimeo.
I can’t end this post without thinking my amazing photographer, Crystal Stokes. All of the photos used in this post are a thank you to her!
The amazing flowers are by Springvine Design, planning by Magnolia Events, and the wedding was at the beautiful Brawley House.
Be sure to follow Whitewash Films and all these other vendors to see their work!
by Mandi | personal, quotes and toasts
A little over a year ago, I wrote a post about my Granny and what a special lady she was to our family!
My family misses her every day, but we are blessed to still have my crazy, loving, one-of-a-kind Papaw around to keep us in check!
Today is his birthday and so I want to celebrate him! That man has tough hands from years of work, stories for days that he will tell you as he re-acts them out, and a heart bigger than I will ever have.
He is at the center of our family and still keeps us all in check. He has shown us how to be a part of our church and community. He supports all of us and is so proud of all of his grand children… don’t believe me.. just ask him! He will tell you!
He is still so active, going to the YMCA, having breakfast out with friends, going to local ball games, playing golf with old buddies and visiting old friends and family at their homes and nursing homes. He even got a new car recently that has “too much stuff” on it.. but he is learning and driving it around like the best of them!
He has a cell phone, which he will answer, but refuses to get a computer… sometimes I think that would be so nice… to remain disconnected!
I love this man, love his heart, , love his hugs where he squeezes and pinches my side, love his stores that he tells with so much excitement, love his face that has seen so much and continues to keep going!
He uses words that most don’t use anymore… Confound, Yonder, Down the Road a Piece, Kin-folk, etc…
Happy Birthday Papaw!
Love the face he gives me when I tell him to smile.
Lunch with Papaw
Old photo of “Super Dad!” Just ignore me in this one…#badhaircutinthe80s
Lunch at our favorite local spot
Love you, Lawrence Edward, Captain, Papaw
by heather | recipes
The summer is almost here and I have the perfect summer cocktail to quench your thirst. Just imagine yourself lounging by the pool with this…
Delicious, right? A mixture of strawberries, gin, lime and soda water poured over ice for a sweet, refreshing cocktail.
First, you need to make a strawberry syrup. To do this, bring 2 cups of chopped strawberries, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a boil. Smash the berries to break up and turn to medium/low temp and continue the boil for about 5 minutes.
Turn the burner off and let the mixture cool to room temperature before straining into another container.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container until you are ready to use in your drinks.
To make the drinks, add 2 tablespoons of strawberry mixture over ice, add 1 shot of gin, top off with soda water and a squeeze of lime. Stir and garnish with a lime. I used Beefeater – my gin preference.
Strawberry Gin Fizz
Strawberry Simple Syrup
- 2 cups strawberries (stems removed and cut into two)
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of water
Cocktail
- 2 tablespoons of strawberry simple syrup
- 1 shot of gin
- soda water (club soda)
- limes
Add all ingredients of the strawberry simple syrup in a small pot and bring to a boil. Smash the strawberries into mixture, turn to lower temp and continue the boil for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit until cooled at room temperature. Strain mixture through mesh colander into container and place into the refrigerator until ready to make cocktails.
To make the cocktails: add 2 tablespoons of strawberry mixture over ice, add 1 shot of gin, top off with soda water and a squeeze of lime. Stir and garnish with a lime.
CHEERS!
