I know I say so often how kind and basically wonderful the people I get to work for are that one may think I am either a total Pollyanna or a little insincere.  I mean what I say with all sincerity, and I believe that the right clients just have a way of finding me.  I am always grateful for this.  Working for couples like Season and Bill is what makes my job so extraordinary.

 Beauty was abundant at Queen’s Harbour during Season and Bill’s gazebo ceremony and dinner reception. It flew in the breeze with Season’s long veil as the bright sunlight illuminated the faces and flowers around the couple.  It hung on the words during their soulful ceremony and the knowing looks Season and Bill gave each other during the exchange. It flowed in the colors: black dresses and cream linens off-set by red and yellow flowers.

The couple extended their love toward their family and friends by making everyone feel so welcomed and important.  I find that the most down-to-earth couples like Season and Bill set the stage with their relaxed, in-the-moment attitude (or as my niece calls it, “just chillaxed”) for an amazing party where all ages and walks of life celebrate together.

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website:  www.photographybynikki.com

RENTAL PROPERTY in RIPTIDE SUBDIVISION

3373 NORTH PINTAIL DRIVE

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL  32250 APPROX SQFT:                    1650                                                  BEDROOMS:               3DESCRIPTION:           FANTASTIC BEACH HOME TO RENT!Ø Tile Floors in Kitchen and BathroomsØ Dental and chair rail moldingsØ Corian countertopsØ Private backyard setting Ø Culdesac lotØ Central cool and heatØ FireplaceØ Sprinkler systemØ 2 Car Garage w/opener and keyless entryØ Smoke detectors, ceiling fansØ Cable ready in all 3 bedrooms and great roomØ Vaulted ceilingsØ Approx. 1 mile from the beachØ Close to shopping and grocery stores RENT:                           $1450 MONTHLY  / 1 YEAR LEASE

The date was 7/7/07 at Regency Church of God. Amanda and Thomas tied the knot surrounded by hundreds of their loved ones and shades of the color purple.  I was really struck by the unconditional love that this couple shares.  As Amanda and her father met Thomas at the altar, a recording of Amanda’s father singing to his daughter was played.  Later Amanda’s brother sang during the ceremony, and then Amanda sang to Thomas.  It was wonderful to see this family share a talent for music and so much love.  Amanda has such a sweet and humble nature: she is so down-to-earth that when we were surprised by some sprinkles doing pre-ceremony posed pictures outside, she ran back to the church, laughing the whole way!  Amanda and Thomas recently decided to let me select their album pictures, and I have started on the edits while I wait on Mariana and Shawn’s initial set of prints to come back from the lab for my preview.  Thank you, Amanda and Thomas, for letting me share 7-7-07 with you!

During the holiday season, the common matters of the heart are ever-present and they are what binds us all together during good times and bad.

 In the packed surgery waiting room at the beaches hospital yesterday, I was struck by how similar it was to a wedding reception.  Laughter and tears were interchangeable in a way that anywhere else may seem inappropriate, the way we’re at once held captive to the moment and also in touch with yesterday and tomorrow, how simple pleasures, such as food and drink, seem such a deserved and necessary comfort, and the forced intimacy.  We’re all in it together after all.

 This Christmas was like the others in many ways. My husband gave his mother a nutcracker one Christmas as a child, which has evolved into a collection that fills an entire house with colors and memories of the year each was acquired. This year, he gave her a surfer snowman nutcracker, fitting since he surfed as a teen.

All the years carry tradition like a needle carries thread, all the memories woven together into a monumental quilt that we simply can’t look at without crying. We bring the family quilt out every year and add more memories, another patch, stitched with love and hope for the future. 

Each Christmas brings its own humor:  we had to laugh when Christmas morning our three year old assessed his gifts from Santa, and then proudly exclaimed which store he had seen me buy each item from. This year my brother and sister-in-law posed for a family portrait with the cardboard baby my parents bought them for Christmas (a little hint at the big gift my parents hope to receive next year!).  My dad wore a Hawaiian shirt of the Florida Gator variety on Christmas and gave all of us Gator sweats and orange and blue crocs.  I exclaimed, “Dad! I’m only wearing these when I come to your house” about the crocs, and he said so sincerely that I had to laugh, “Yes, Nikki, but look at that back strap: there’s a Gator on there.”  So much love in the form of thoughtfulness and generosity goes into our preparations for the holidays.

Each Christmas brings its own stresses:  this year, we have one boy who thinks power cords make the best teethers and that the Comcast box is a fine trampoline, and we have another boy who believes parking lots are super playgrounds and that his little brother is the best punching bag ever invented.

Each year has its own wonder:  the look on our son’s face when he was finally fully awake Christmas morning and realized that he had received the train set he had played with at the toy store all year long, his little fingers playing with every part of my mother’s Christmas village, the lights and colors reflected in his eyes, and our baby boy sitting in his aunt’s lap, playing the piano that his father had played as a child.

Each year has its own magic moments: they are precious, subtle, and fleeting. Yet they visit us every Christmas in different forms: maybe a new walker taking his first big steps on Christmas Eve as our baby did this year. It could be a child falling asleep in his great-grandmother’s arms, hurt feelings forgiven as we strive to see the good in others around us, and perhaps in ourselves, maybe just a twinkle in our hearts as we see the lights and hear the music that are unique to each Christmas.

Each year has its own sweetness and sorrow that adorn the tree with the memory of those we love and those we have lost.  This year, we lost Grandma, who loved Christmas so much. Every year, a special Christmas cake fresh from the bakery sat at the center of her table.  We lost Aunt Maime, who filled a room with so much spark and presence. And Spanky, my parents’ Yorkie, died shortly before Christmas. We remember them with love. 

I am forever touched by the innocence in my son’s voice when he asked me where Grandma was and the way in which he accepted my answer without question.  And how in the very next sentence, he looked at me in his brand new glasses and said, “Mama, I am so handsome.” 

Each year has its own worry and sadness that is not mentioned:  it sits in the corner all through the holidays like that tacky gift that we know we can’t even get away with regifting.  What can we say when we open the box? We act happy and try to distract everyone from the truth. The conversations in a packed surgery waiting room are a lot like that too.

at www.photographybynikki.com/wordpress

 Thank you to my ever so patient and talented web designer (and awesome wedding coordinator) Heather Trimboli of First Coast Weddings and Events for giving me a rockin’ new blog!

Fine and exquisite are words that come to mind when I remember Mariana and Shawn’s wedding.  I just started editing the wedding day images for the album of this couple with elegant taste.  The ceremony was a sunset mass at Immaculate Conception and Mariana wore a gorgeous dress with a taupe sash and cathedral length veil.  The reception entailed dinner and dancing at the River Club, overlooking the night lights of the Jacksonville city skyline.  It was definitely a night to remember with the finest of everything. Now, Mariana and Shawn have moved to San Francisco together and have a blog of their own to keep family and friends updated on their new life in California.  I’ll be excited to see what amazing things this awesome couple does together in the years to come! 

1.  Fave bands and/or music:  Keane, Radiohead, Coldplay

 2.  Fave show and/or movie:  Scrubs and Beetlejuice 

3.  Fave things:  folk art, such as Sticks, Story People, Beadworx, Shannon Mitchell designs (shannonmitchelldesigns@yahoo.com), TIVO, unique picture frames, mary jane crocs, and organics

4. What do you wish you had more time for?  reading, working out, SLEEPING!

5. Most unreal moment: Before the epidural had hit and before the doctor had even been notified to come to the hospital, when the very nervous nurse checked and said, “I see the head. He’s coming out right now.”

6.Who do you most admire right now?  My sister-in-law and brother-in-law–they have been through more than anyone else I know and are also some of the most fun and outwardly focused people I know.  They survived the unimaginable pain of losing a child Henry James and a few years later, they lost their home, vehicles, and belongings due to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I admire them for not only what they have survived but the fact that after all that, they live in the moment and value fun and people more than anything else.

7. Moment you wish you could relive again and again:  honeymoon in Paris & Geneva with lots of coffee, wine, and cheese, cafes, & walking with no destination

8. Your dream life:  lots of travel, lots of art, lots of happy time with my boys (all three of them), and always, always, lots of weddings

9.  Your own question:

10. Your own question:

WANTED:

Who are you mysterious couples?!?  CLUES:  Your wedding is planned for one of these dates:

March 7, 8, or 9th

March 14 or 16^th

March 28^th

April 4th^, 5th, or 6^th

^{April 12th} or 27^th

May 2^nd, 4^th, 9^th, 11^th, 16^th, 18^th, 23^rd, or 24th

 In addition, you have extremely good taste in photography;You appreciate kindness, creativity, and a mad sense of style;And you would like $300 credit toward your wedding day photography purchase.

Contact Photography by Nikki immediately to set up a complimentary consultation to reveal your secret identity.