VideoMonday: The Sardine Run

In today's VideoMonday installment, I have a nature video that I think its pretty remarkable. It shows dolphins, sharks, whales, and birds all working together in collaboration to hunt giant schools of sardines. I love how the music creates such intensity, and I enjoy how the shot of the dolphins at 30 seconds looks like an army heading into battle. And what about that whale? Ten thousand sardines in one swoop! When I actually take the time to slow down and watch nature videos, I find that they are immensely fascinating and I'm always in awe of creation.



And I have another short random video for you too. If you're ever going to eat a banana again, you must watch this video. I can't believe I've lived my whole life without knowing about this little trick!

Nic & Cam: My Behind-the-Scenes Video!

Previously in this series- Nic & Cam: The Photos Part III

Oh boy folks I'm so excited about this post! Today I unveil to you the video I made of Nicole and Cameron's wedding weekend. Since I was a matron of honor and therefore unable to be the official videographer, I ended up just carrying my little 5D around and taking informal photos and videos of the events. At times it was a bit distracting for me, but I felt that it would be worth it and I think I was right. What we have here is a simple documentary edit (no slow-mo or effects or anything) that I think gives a really authentic look into the weekend.

In it you'll see:

The Bachelorette Party: Beware because there is much silliness here. Nicole and her best friend Krista (aka Berta- they both call each other Roberta for some unknown reason) like to be pretty extreme with the silliness. I love it! You'll also hear the phrase, "Repeat! This is not how I normally act!" To find out where this came from, check this out. (Sorry Nicole, I just had to.)

The Ladies Brunch: Our lovely grandma and cousin put together a yummy brunch for us, and this is where you'll see Nicole give us our hand-woven bridesmaid gifts. We're so glad to have some great video and pictures of us with our grandmas.

The Rehearsal: Only one shot of this. I was too busy catching up!

The Wedding Day: I basically follow Nicole around from the first thing in the morning all the way to boogying on the dance floor. Nicole was such a great subject- oozing excitement and inviting me in to parake of all her emotions. No ceremony footage here because both Brent and I wanted to really enter into the solemnity of the occasion.

Nicole's Wedding Weekend: Behind the Scenes from Vanessa McKellar Productions.com on Vimeo.

A few shots in there are Brent's. We like this pic Casey took of us enjoying Nicole's crazy antics.

I wish we could do it all over again, it was so much fun!

Design Your Own Fabric at Spoonflower

I just came across this web site and knew I had to share it with you all. Since Brent and I just purchased our first home, I'm always looking for new, unique, affordable ways to decorate. When I saw Spoonflower I got so excited! It's a web site where you can design your own fabric and then have it printed! How cool is that?

My kitchen and living room have a sort of vintage/bird/woodland theme, and I think it would be so neat to design a pattern with those elements and then make pillows, a piano seat cover, etc. from the fabric. I'm also going to be making a headboard for our master bedroom and the possibilities for that are endless!

These are a few designs from the site:






There is no set-up fee and no minimum, and a yard of quilting-weight fabric costs $18. Not super cheap but if you're doing a smallish project I think it's totally worth it. And do I even need to mention all the myriad applications this web site has for your wedding?

Here's what I could have done for ours: taken the flower image from my custom invitation, scanned it, made a fabric out of it, and used it as table runners for the reception. I also would have covered my guest book with it, and made a kneeling pillow out of it for communion. I would have created another complementary but more masculine upholstery weight fabric and had the groomsmen ties made out of it (I actually did this with a store-bought fabric.) Oooh, I really wish this had been around two years ago!!

Any other ideas for how to use a custom-designed fabric?

Nic and Cam: The Photos Part llI

Here's the final installment of Nicole and Cameron' pictures. As you can see the dance floor was packed all night, and since there were some gymnasts in the crowd (Cameron included) we had some pretty exciting entertainment (pommel horse anyone?) I especially love the last shot of the two of them in front of the Houston skyline. That was at the end of the night, even though they still had a lot to look forward to!



So if this handful of photos has whet your appetite for more, you must head over to Casey's blog and watch the slideshow he made using these photos plus more. Thanks again Casey for a wonderful job!


And if all these photos whetted your appetite for some video, you're in for a treat! Coming soon is a behind-the-scenes video I made for Nicole that documents the whole wedding weekend. And still to come after that, I have another special video starring two other members of my family. Stay tuned folks!

Nic and Cam: The Photos Part ll

Here are some pics from Nicole and Cameron's ceremony by Casey. Look how happy they are! And look how emotional Nicole is as she's walking down the aisle. (It was indeed a very sweet moment and of course I will be blogging about it all.)

Coming up: the reception!

Nic and Cam: The Photos Part I

Previously in this series- Nic & Cam: Hair and Make-up

Check out these beautiful photos from my sister's wedding. Casey Benson did a great job. Aren't they awesome?


These are from the first part of the day. Shortly I will be posting the ceremony and then the reception pics for your enjoyment. Then I'll tell you how you can see even more amazing photos from the big day.

Our Wedding: The Chapel

Previously in this series- Our Wedding: The Inspiration

Now that Brent and I knew how we wanted our wedding to be, we had to decide on our locations. For a while I had been pretty sure I wanted to have the reception in the backyard of my parent's ranch house in Central Texas. I had some very nice memories there, and the space was quite conducive to partying. It has a gravel "dance floor" area surrounded by a low stone wall, a large comfy porch with seating, and oak trees covering it all. It's nothing too fancy, but I thought it was perfect.

The hard part was finding a place to have the ceremony. We drove around and found a tiny white clapboard church called Bethel Chapel that was about a mile down the road from the ranch house. My mom tracked down a local who could unlock it for us, and when we stepped inside, it was a marvelous moment. I was just as scared as I was excited, I think. The interior was charming and rustic and simple, just what I wanted. It was also a wreck. There were holes in the floor, animal droppings, wasps nests, junk, and a thick pile of dust on every surface. Check out these pics!

Pretty scary huh? We left the chapel to talk it over, and I was pretty keen on the place. My mom, however, put in a good effort trying to talk me out of it. She had some compelling arguments. So we went back to the area weeks later and spent an entire day driving to every church within one hour of the ranch house. But nothing sparked my imagination like Bethel Chapel. So I made my decision and stayed resolute, and my mom knew that it was a done deal.

We were told we could use the space for free, and were given a key to keep until after the wedding. Brent and I and our close friends spent one weekend with some tools and elbow grease and got the place into a presentable state. It was so fun at the end of the weekend to sit there in the chapel on a pew with Brent and picture ourselves in several months saying our vows in the same spot. It was all very magical. I especially love that the chapel has so much history. In fact, the itinerant preacher for Bethel Chapel preached to Robert E. Lee's troops when they were stationed in nearby Mason. Cool huh?

But wait, there is a moral to this story, and it is this: when it comes to planning your wedding, feel free to think outside the box. Use your imagination. Even if it doesn't make perfect sense, or it's not practical, or it takes a lot of work, if you want it, go for it!

A few pics from the wedding day, by Casey.