How the Knot was Tied

It's impossible to share over 300 photos and a weekend's worth of stories in one blog post. So here's the short version of Erin and Scott's wedding weekend.

Rehearsal Dinner



While Scott's dad was keeping the wine flowing in the front of the trolley on the ride to the rehearsal in downtown K.C., the flower girls were in the back of the trolley getting down to the music. Dinner took place afterwards at Nick & Jake's in Leawood. Several of us took the opportunity to toast the happy couple -- and I was thrilled that I didn't need my wing man (Craig) to finish mine for me.



Pretty in Pink ... Brown and White




With shoes as cute as these, can you really blame us girls for having a shoe fetish?



An hour before this photo was taken, Kailey, Megan, Erin and I were in the car singing Girl Scout camp songs. There's nothing like "the littlest worm" before show time.



Yep, this guy saves lives.



Let there be cake (even if it does have a power cat on it).



It's all fun and games until the photographer makes you go up on the roof when it's 30 degrees out.





Here, Erin plays it safe with not only one back-up garter, but two. When I got married, I wore mom's garter belt along with mine. Erin wanted to play along, too. Some call it tradition. Others might call it crazy.



Party Time

Like Craig said at the reception, "this is the happiest I've ever seen Erin."



There wasn't an actual dance at the wedding, but a few of the kids and I were inspired to bust a move to the string quartet.



Cheers to the happy couple!



Carrie

A :30 break from Dancing with the Stars

If I can call you Betty …

So this morning I came into work and had an e-mail from my buddy Al who was wanting to see if I could help him round up a few more members to his campaign aimed at stopping climate change. This was a bit strange, because just last night I was venting to Carrie about how I couldn't understand why some people are so resistant to accept global warming as a real, or at least possibly real, phenomenon. Is it political? Is it the inability to separate the message from the messenger? Is it an attempt to bury their head in the sand and hope that if they don't acknowledge it it will just go away? Or is it as my buddy Al put it, just "inconvenient?" My guess is that it's a little bit of all four. I just hope before long everyone can get past these issues and consider the possibilities and what they might mean to the life of someone they love.

Until then, go out and buy yourself some shorts.

And if you're interested, visit wecansolveit.org

Have a different view? Let me hear it … just be gentle with me.

Because, in a perfect world, I would be everyone's musical conscience

While I'm still knee deep in processing images from last weekend (I took a total of 325 shots, but have widdled them down to about 175 "keepers") I thought I'd do a series of posts about some of my favorite stuff on the ipod—tracks you can use to replace all of the crap you currently have on your personal listening device. (Curt, this would mean anything done by the Scissor Sisters.)

Today, I'm going to share a few of things from my playlist entitled "Musical Paxil"—one that contains two distinct genres, "things that will lower your pulse rate" (perfect for a stressful day at work) and "things that will make you want to cease having a pulse" (not recommended while standing on the edge of a cliff).

First the mellow.

1) Your Faithful Friend (Abra Moore) A big hug for your ears with lyrics like "it's all about faith, don't give up on me … I'm holding you safe under my wing." (I know that sounds like a bad Bette Midler song—is there such a thing as a good Bette Midler song?—but it's really great.)

2) Piggyback (Bob Schneider) While the song talks about losing a mother and having a father "who has a hook where his hand used to be" it's really a beautiful song.

3) Lodestar (Sarah Harmer) This song builds all of the way to the end and is just so soothing you feel like you're gently floating on the ocean.

4) Neverending Math Equation (Sun Kil Moon) A laid-back acoustic cover of a Modest Mouse song—you wouldn't think it would work, but it does.

5) In the Sun (Michael Stipe) Another incredible cover.

6) Feel Us Shaking (The Samples) A song about finding tranquility beneath the sea.

7) The Maker (Willie Nelson) Originally written by producer Daniel Lanois, this song legitimately seems otherworldly helped along by the fact that Emmylou Harris provides background vocals.

Now the mood altering.

1) What Sarah Said (Death Cab for Cutie) The lyrics are too heavy to even type, let's move on.

2) Here Comes the Flood (Peter Gabriel) Music as haunting as Peter's voice. Great lyrics and phrasing.

3) Not Dark Yet (Bob Dylan) "It's not dark yet … but it's getting there." A later-year track from Bob where the age in his voice adds texture to his incredible lyrics.

4) Keep Me In Your Heart (Warren Zevon) Hard to believe that this is the same guy who wrote "Werewolves of London."

5) Breathe Me (Sia) Cracking, whispering vocals accompanied by piano that, like the Sarah Harmer song, continues to build throughout.

6) Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own (U2) It probably helps that I know way too much about the back story of this song (It's basically about Bono losing his father) but it is also special because it's the strongest Bono's voice has seemed in years which is appropriate since his dad was a big opera fan.

7) One By One (Wilco & Billy Bragg) An incredible interpretation of unreleased Woody Guthrie lyrics. The whole "Mermaid Avenue" album is worth checking out.

That's it for now, I'll shoot for something a little more uplifting next time.

-Craig

Random thoughts from the Matron of Honor

Erin and Scott got married this past weekend and it couldn't have gone better. It's going to take a while to get all the photos ready to show, but here are some of the highlights from my perspective.

- Dancing with the flower girls on the trolley on the way to the rehearsal dinner. And dancing with them again at the reception...even though there was no dance. Those two girls know how to party.

- Seeing dad in a tux (for the first time in his life) walk his daughter down the aisle without missing a step and holding his composure until the very end.

- Wondering where Craig was during the entire rehearsal only to learn that he was trapped in the stairwell trying to find a way to the balcony for a photo opportunity.

- Adding a brother-in-law and niece to the family. And not just any brother-in-law: Scott has patience, a sense of adventure and an easy-going spirit. He balances Erin out well. And Kailey isn't just any niece: she embraced "Aunt Carrie" from the get-go and appears to think I'm half-way cool to hang around. We'll see how long that lasts.

- Agreeing with Craig when he said "this is the happiest I've ever seen Erin" during the reception and knowing he was right (even happier than the time she came home from the hospital 29-some years ago to meet her big sister).

*The image at the top is the front of the wedding invitation designed by Craig.

Congratulations, Dr. and Mrs. Rawson!

Carrie

Random thoughts from a wedding photographer

So the big wedding weekend is now at hand and while Carrie is out kicking off the festivities with a day of pampering I thought I'd use the down time to get in a quick post before my duties as official "party pic man" take full effect.

*First of all, let me just say how happy I am to be chosen as a supplemental photographer (meaning I'm not really responsible for anything important, I've just been told to take some "artsy" stuff). If it wasn't for this designation, I would likely be spending tomorrow as an usher, and honestly the only thing worse than that would be standing by that big feather pen at the guest book. Trust me, I've been an usher before and basically what it means is "you didn't quite make the cut to be in the actual wedding so, here, walk back and forth with some old ladies." It's a huge honor, made visible by the fact that you're the only one listed in the program that has worked up a sweat (and probably smells a little bit like mothballs).

*The other day on the way back from work I was behind an old beat up Altima with a big "Jesus loves you" bumper sticker plastered on the back. I didn't pay much attention to it until I saw it said something else under it, so I rolled up a little closer. It was then that I discovered that it actually read "Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks you're an asshole." I found this to be a much more touching sentiment.

*Oh, and while we're on the topic of religion, Carrie and I saw "U23D" a couple of weeks ago and it was incredible. It's probably not for everyone, since it's basically just a full concert shot in 3D but it definitely captured the mood of attending a U2 show and was enough to hold me over until the next tour. Until then, we have the Police and Elvis Costello coming up in a month or so with a little Sheryl Crow sprinkled in between.

Alright, that's enough for now, I've got to go read Carrie's toast for tonight in case emotions get the best of her and I'm forced to take over (she's not comfortable with me ad libbing on her behalf).

Craig

One bad ass, muscle-bound, bundle of wheat.

Today we shot some footage for a new TV spot intended to highlight all of the various forms of research conducted regularly at Wichita State—research that each year means hundreds of jobs to the city of Wichita and tens of millions of dollars in revenue (in fact, WSU is #3 in aerospace engineering grants, ahead of universities like MIT … just in case you were curious). Any way, one of the highlights of the day was a shot we did inside the wind tunnel of the National Institute for Aviation Research. What made it so great was that the people down at Big Dog Motorcycles were kind enough to lend us a bike for WU to ride/sit on.

Honestly, I couldn't believe it, all I had to do was make one call and from there it was "what do you want, and when do you need it?" Amazing. I couldn't thank them enough. Actually everyone I have hit up for this campaign has been great, last week we even shot with the mayor during the City Council's weekly meeting.

But today my inner wannabe bad ass was brought to the surface because this bike was just so damn cool. In fact, after the shoot, when they fired it up to get it back on the truck, I ripped the sleeves off my shirt and shanked a guy in the gut … while humming Steppenwolf.

Seriously, if you ever find yourself in the market, I highly recommend picking one up (www.bdm.com)

Craig

Ready or not, here she comes

Twelve more days and this bride-to-be is coming down the aisle. The last time I checked in to wedding central, Erin still had that carefree attitude that she's showing here at her first wedding shower in Wichita last month. In fact, I was told, "If it's not done at this point, at least I tried." Which reminds me, she sure did try and break a couple of those bows.

Carrie