Written by Candace on January 31, 2014 | 2 Comments

Justin & Jennifer
Wedding at
Westin St. Francis

Jennifer knocked on the door and walked straight into Justin’s life.

She had accompanied her best friend on a trip to New York City and Justin just so happened to be the roommate of the friend they were visiting. And it also just so happened that the two were a perfect pair. The end of the trip was only the beginning for Justin and Jennifer. They weren’t going to let the distance between New York and California keep them apart. In fact, it only brought them closer and made their love run deeper.

Justin and Jennifer were married at the Westin St. Francis at Union Square. It was a black tie wedding with an old San Francisco vibe, just the way they envisioned it. With their closest friends and family by their side, the two promised forever. Cheers and celebration followed the magical first kiss. And that was it, their forever had already begun as husband and wife.

Justin and Jennifer, your wedding day was full of excitement and beauty. Thank you for inviting us to play the special role as your wedding photographers. It was a pleasure to be a part of so many special memories – especially those incredible toasts from your family and friends. Vitaliy and I wish you a marriage filled with love and laughter! Congratulations!

You can also view our favorite memories from their day here – JUSTIN AND JENNIFER: THE HIGHLIGHTS.

We’d like to thank the wonderful team of vendors that helped make this day so perfect.

Venue: Westin St. Francis at Union Square

Coordinator: Lauren Schardt

DJ: DJ’s and MC’s

Florist: San Mateo Florist

Cake: Pretty Please Bakeshop

Dress: Anna Maier

Shoes: Christian Louboutin

Paper Goods: Signatures by Sarah

Officiant: Pastor Steve Schibsted

Photographers: Pictilio

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Written by Candace on January 29, 2014 | 5 Comments

Date Idea: Maintenance Nights

What a way to start off the new year! I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our Make Marriage Happen series with you so far. Thank you for all the encouraging feedback!

Today is our last post for January’s #beintentional challenge. And it only seemed right to save the very best for last. For this month, our hope was to encourage you to be intentional in your relationship or marriage. Don’t just hope that things will change or get better, you have to take steps, baby steps, towards making your marriage everything you want it to be. If you walk away with anything, walk away and apply what I’m going to share with you today.

For Vitaliy and I, having an unhappy marriage is not an option so we have to find ways to make it work. When you conquer one area in your relationship, don’t worry, another one will pop up that needs your attention. That’s just the way marriage is – bringing together two imperfect people will leave you with these kinds of results. This is how we do it in our relationship – maintenance nights.

Date nights can turn into maintenance nights. Sometimes you’ve had a hard week and the two of you just need a break from life, to go out, have some fun, laugh, kiss, in order to remind yourselves that you’re in this thing called life together. Other times you are each other’s reason for a bad week and in this case your date night likely needs to be turned into a maintenance night. You need to check in, have honest conversation, potentially cry, possibly forgive, get back on the same page, kiss, and go back out and conquer life…together. And to be honest, some of the best date nights include a little bit of fun and a little bit of honest communication, so it doesn’t have to be an either or situation.

In case communication is something you struggle with in your relationship, here are some questions to help you get started. Feel free to write one or two down and bring along for your next date night. Ask with vulnerability. Listen with love. And speak with respect. My hope and prayer is that this idea will change your relationship one step, one conversation, at a time.

And in case money is your reason for putting off date night, here’s one of our best date nights ever and it was under $3. It included laughter, tears, and a lot of honest communication.

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Written by Candace on January 27, 2014 | 3 Comments

The Gift of
Being Present

This past weekend I participated in my first social-media-free-weekend.

No Facebook, no Instagram, and I only used Pinterest to look up recipes I planned on cooking that day. As a reminder and in case of temptation, I created a folder on my iPhone and called it “distractions”. I then moved the apps into that folder. I also removed email from my phone too. This, I think, I will keep removed going forward as there really is no reason for me to check email on my phone. Because I don’t respond to emails over the phone, it’s simply a distraction.

To be quite honest, I was shocked at the effect these small changes had on me. I felt entirely present in each moment and my mind felt so clear. On top of that, I finally got around to doing so many things that I’ve been wanting to do. I’m not really convinced that I had so much more time because I wasn’t on my phone. Though I’m sure it played a part. But what I think I learned most from the exercise was how much being on my phone distracts and clutters my mind. It removes me from the moment I’m actually in, and depending on what I see or read, when I come back into the moment my mind and mood can continue thinking about or being affected by what I saw or read. Without the constant distractions, I was able to just look in front of myself and see how much there was to enjoy in my day.

So, what did I get to fully enjoy? Well, there were many little things throughout the weekend, but the highlight was sitting with Vitaliy at a cafe on Saturday. We began choosing pictures from last year in order to create a 2013 Family Album. We sipped a hot cup of coffee together and enjoyed belly aching laughter as we relived so many incredible moments. It made me so thankful. God is good.

This is a picture we came across from a trip we took in June. It’s a picture of my favorite street in Ukraine. I had walked this same street 8 years ago at the start of the darkest time of my life. I remember being so afraid and so sad. Vitaliy and I ate dinner at a restaurant on this street a few days before I had to return to the US. I had no idea when I’d see Vitaliy again. He was still waiting for the documentation for him and his younger sister Leska to come to the states. I had to leave him behind when I felt like he needed me the most. A time when I needed him the most.

We went back to this street last June and I remembered all those painful memories. But I stood amazed and overjoyed at God’s faithfulness. He walked us through the darkness (me kicking, screaming and crying) and brought us out into the light. What beauty.

Thoughts about Ukraine are running high these days with all the turmoil going on there. Our emotions are running high too, as a result. Please keep Ukraine in your prayers.

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