Scott Caligure

So, better late than never? Gradation was, of course, a whirlwind.  I should have known.   The friday before was a gallery exhibit of our thesis work. Afterward we went out for a late dinner. Then we all woke early and trekked to the Salk. Because of things beyond our control, neither my mom or my dad were able to come to the gradation.  Pretty crazy, but I was surrounded by many well loved non parental friends and family type.

 

me or ben?

bff's

This girl on the left? I have known her longest of all.  She was planning on coming down from Portland for the graduation weekend, but waited too long, and plane tickets got too expensive. 

Imagine my surprise when I am standing outside the packed gallery at my school, talking to the door guy [student volunteer] when I see her shining face hanging out of a beat up old volvo wagon not ten feet from me.  I looked and though, "oh, there's scarlett" then "no, scarlett is in portland" and so on and so forth until I thought, during the subsequent squealing and shreiking coming from both sides "what?!? did she hitchhike a ride down with some crazy hippie?" [she didn't...] turns out after our last phone convo she was especially bummed not to make it down.  we were both going so some pretty hard stuff, and she figured we needed this especially for it, so she surprised me! It was just too much.  [The one on the right, she is the equally devoted local bff]

Scott Caligure

My [partial] entourage.

Scott Caligure

Don't worry. Parents were represented. Ben Left's mom & my dad's girl.  [Think they planned their matching colors?]

Scott Caligure

Me & my sweetie.  [ps bangs+grad cap+ humidity=bad news]

Scott Caligure

headband in action.

Scott Caligure

sweetie snapping pics.

Me

the second friend who came all the way from Portland!

Ben Left

Sister, bored as per usual.  [really, can't blame her]

Scott Caligure

Scott Caligure

And of course, the architecture.  

Next, the party.

Remember that wedding I went to last fall? In Joshua Tree? With the special owl story? Thought so. Well, the bride and groom (or, husband and wife) were kind enough to let me post a little bit about it here.

Ben and I feel so lucky to have Britt & Scott as friends, they are an insanely inspiring and loving couple, who light up our lives not only by their presence, but by their never ending creative contribution. Britt's botanical designs are slowly taking over our house (yay! more!), and Scott is a rad photographer, who was kind enough to take pictures at my graduation. We knew their wedding was going to be epic.



Here are some words from Britt;

advice: keep it simple and meaningful. practice learning how to be fully present and in the moment long before the wedding so you can be sure to take in as much as possible. it wizzes by at breakneck speed! have someone video as much of it as possible for those who can't make it and of course, your own future tear-spillings. awwww.


my own memories: group meditation & energy work the morning of, deep & beautiful breathing during the ceremony, my hubs break dancing with my nephews, endless laughter, being amazed my heart didn't burst from so much love, our feather blessing, realizing we'd never have all these people together in one place again, the owl imprint, the magic of the desert enveloping us and never letting go.




what i learned: enjoy the process. every crazy second of it, even the stressful planning. also, even though you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD (like trying to create your own bouquet at 2am the night before). delegate delegate! responsibility cards are a must...especially for the morning of. consider hiring a day-of-coordinator no matter how tight your budget. you are worth it!




what made it special: our community: the center of our union. acknowledging and celebrating the heart tribe. forcing people out to the high desert and watching them connect with the magic around them. a gift for all.



-The wedding was held at one of my favorite places on Earth, Jim Austin's Rimrock Ranch in Pioneertown, California.
-Christopher Wilson was behind the lens. *
-Francine Ribeau kept everyone sane as day of coordinator (first hand, I came to her with a few near crisisisisis that day and she was always cool as a cucumber).
-Set designed collaboratively between Tend (aka the bride, she was not joking about 2am arrangements) and Bells & Whistles.

And countless other friends & family members came together to make everything happen. From the videographer, the bartender, the hairstylist, the officiant, the paper goods (yours truly!), to the tunes being spun (Scott- the groom- is also a dj, and his many DJ friends took turns behind the table. It was good, people) to the entire stock of beer & wine being home made…. the list goes on & on. A community indeed!

This is also a perfect time to mention that Britt has finally started a blog! tending to it (notes from a garden hoe) here you can moniter all her advantures in modern botanical design, which are many. And she has been doing a ton of weddings lately. (Lucky. Lucky. Lucky brides and grooms.) Check it out! (Scott is also finally starting a photography blog, but it isn't ready yet, s0 I can't link to it yet. Pout.)

Congratulations again you two!

*all images courtesy of Christopher Wilson (Thank you!) except #1 (Scott Neubacher Caligure) and #3, 7-9, 12 (Me!)

K. So. You know how, like us, our friends Britt & Scott were wed in the desert. And, like us, they LOVE owls. Well, like us, the last day of their wedding weekend they had a special (lucky) owl presence.....

"On our last day, this appeared on the Hatch House window. Consensus has it that this western screech owl headed for the glass in the middle of the night but managed to put the brakes on last minute. dust later blew onto the feather oils, leaving a perfect feather-for-feather imprint complete with intricate facial details. A blessing." {Britt & Scott}

I had heard the story, but I just now saw the accompanying images. F!!!!


A blessing, indeed. And I couldn't think of two more deserving people! ♥

Images by the oh so talented groom-photographer-dj-birdwather-sharp shooter-astonomer-music maker- Scott Caligure

Photo by Scott Caligure

Well. I did it. It's done. I did a whole bunch of other things, too. And now am looking forward to a summer full of even fun-er things, and some projects up my sleeve that I have been scheming about and I look forward to sharing when the time is right.

For now though, Ben Left and I are checking out for a week. 4 nights camping near Yosemite, 2 nights in the bay area to visit our new baby niece. Er, we might also be seeing Wilco while we are there. Oops.

See you very soon!