Written by candace on May 17, 2013 | 2 Comments

How To Keep Newness In A Relationship

I don’t know about you, but sometimes our date nights can be so predictable.

When life gets busy and we’re exhausted, we end up doing the usual dinner and a movie. There’s nothing wrong with that and it’s still one of our favorite things to do together, but keeping things fresh and new can really make a difference to a relationship that is anything but. Though the location and experience isn’t the most important aspect of a date night, doing something the other person enjoys can help express your love and care for them without you having to say a word.

When Vitaliy and I were dating, we were constantly doing fun and spontaneous things together. To be quite honest, I didn’t care what we were doing as long as I was next to him. But after 6 years of marriage, things are different. That curiosity and excitement, the newness of the relationship, has worn off. It used to worry me and I’d wonder if I was falling out of love with Vitaliy. Thankfully, I’ve learned that love is a choice and that curiosity and excitement comes with consistently getting to know the other person.

What a person liked a year ago may not be what they like today. Their likes may have changed or they may have new passions now. In order to add some newness to our date nights and to continue getting to know each other, Vitaliy and I sat down and each made a list of date night ideas we’d personally like. Now, when we’re too tired to think of something more original than dinner and a movie, we can pull out our lists and grab an idea and run with it.

Living near the San Francisco airport with amazing views of the bay, one of the items on Vitaliy’s list was to go watch the airplanes one evening. The weather has finally been warm enough so we set out to enjoy one of Vitaily’s date night ideas of choice. We quickly learned that this was not an original idea as the area was filled with other couples. We just happened to be the only couple under the age of 50. But if I’m still happy sitting next to Vitaliy watching airplanes 20 years from now, then I will know that I’ve accomplished something worthwhile in my life.

watching-airplanes

Chime in or Share

Written by candace on May 15, 2013 | 3 Comments

Dan+Sarah
A Photo Date

For as far back as I have memories of my cousin Dan, I have memories of Sarah.

Dan and Sarah met in the halls of Hazelwood Central High School the week before school started. While most kids were dreading the first day of school, these two were full of anticipation. They couldn’t wait for the chance to see each other again. They hung out at soccer games, chatted during class, and by homecoming they were officially an item. This is when Dan became forever Dan + Sarah in my memories.

Though Dan and Sarah met at such a young age, their love is anything but young. Making it through high school with your relationship in tact is an accomplishment in itself. But these two stay committed to each other through college, graduate school, seasons of long distance, and have even managed to find time to start a business together. Sarah is an architect by day and blogger by night. Her blog Sarah The Architect is one of my new favs! Dan is a contract creative, a creative mind for hire as he describes it. They combined their creativity and talents to launch Artifox this past year. You can see their first design here: The Lithe Desk.

During their last trip to San Francisco, we photographed a photo date to celebrate their love. As I looked through the images to prepare this post, I couldn’t believe how much they genuinely reflected Dan + Sarah. From the architecture and design elements, to their smiles and small gestures.

Dan and Sarah, two of the most creative people we know! We love you and are so thankful to have had this fun trip together with you both. We can’t wait for our next trip home to continue making memories with you. Thank you for giving us the opportunity of celebrating your love through photos. Hope you enjoy! We love you both!

Chime in or Share

Written by candace on May 13, 2013 | 2 Comments

Exuberant Floral Art Natasha Lisitsa

To say that Natasha Lisitsa is a florist does not seem like the correct title to convey what she does. Floral designer is better, but still seems to fall short.

Natasha Lisitsa, of Waterlily Pond, is a floral and event designer based out of San Francisco, but I believe she deserves the title of artist. The floral arrangements she designs deserve a place in museums, alongside statues and other works of art. This is likely why she has created unbelievable pieces for the deYoung Museum and St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco. My favorite being the Out of Water piece which was suspended above the baptismal font of the cathedral. Her work is creative and beautiful, daunting and overwhelming. You leave inspired to dig deeper into your own depths of creativity.

We weren’t surprised at all to find out that Natasha had her own book coming out entitled Exuberant Floral Art. But we were pleasantly surprised to hear that she had chosen one of Vitaliy’s images to include in it. The book is filled with color, imagination, and beauty – all the things that represent Natasha’s artistry. You’ll get glimpses of the thought process and design behind her work. If you love flowers, art and/or design, then you’ll enjoy the Exuberant Floral Art.

As wedding photographers, what we find most exciting is that brides all over get to enjoy the beauty of Natasha’s artistry on their wedding day. She casts vision and designs weddings as unique and beautiful as each bride she works for. Vitaliy had the pleasure of second shooting this wedding of Natasha’s alongside the talented Teresa Halton Photography.

We are honored to be a part of Natasha’s exciting book launch and we look forward to our next opportunity of working with her again.

floral-designs-by-natasha-lisitsa

Chime in or Share