roll that camera

all i can say is we love our videographers! it wasn't until one of our friends had an amazing videographer at their wedding, that we thought we should get one too! after researching a dozen of really good ones (and also really bad ones) we stumbled upon ours due to their cute name.

LUNCH PAIL PICTURES They are amazing! it is a husband and wife team who work full time for another videography company and started their own videography company on the side. after a starbucks double date and good conversation, we decided that they would be perfect couple to capture our big day!

we have watched their videos on their page probably 1,000 times and can not wait to have ours on their website also!

venue visit

we went to our venue about a week ago...and fell in love with it all over! here are some pictures we took...

the same direction that we want our ceremony set up

side of the barn

love the "martha stewart" feel of the whole place! 

area of our candy bar?

boy's bathroom

inside of the barn

cocktail hour

cocktails and s'mores!

i didn't take too many pictures...but this is good because it won't give it all away before the big day!

a few high school and college friends have been getting married over the past few weekends and everytime i stock their wedding pictures on facebook i get more and more excited for our wedding!!!

today i was also blessed and honored to be asked to be jack lane's bridesmaid! we have been friends since i was in 9th and she was 10th grade back at good ol'woodcrest! even though we may not see/talk to each other all the time, we are always able to pick up where we last stopped. i am sooooooooo excited to be a bridesmaid and can not wait for all the fun!

friends since our "locker room" talk!

photos.photos.photos

she really likes colors

well matt and i found our photographer! Her name is Carissa Woo and we love her work! my good friend Katrina met Carissa at a bridal show and gave me her card. her card is adorable! it really won me over! and her prices are awesome!!! with her packages they include an engagement session and also 2 photographers at the wedding! (if you haven't looked for photographers before this is a big deal!)

we are very excited and so happy we found her! check out her blog/website. also check out her get to know her video (she also went to UCR where matt also attended...small world!)

if you are looking for a photographer for your wedding or family pictures, Carissa is AWESOME! shoot her an email!

make sure you look for her at the wedding

ideas, tastings, and wedding planners...O MY!

My desk either consists of wedding stuff or homework...depending on the hour of the day

  A few weeks ago my mum, sis and i went to a bridal expo at the sheraton. here we met someone who is going to make our wedding seem like a piece of cake!

  kelly, a wedding coordinator from Country Garden Caterers here in orange county was sent from above! literally! (that morning at church i had prayed that i would find someone who could help me throughout the who wedding shin-dig.) at the start of our engagement i wanted to do everything myself, because i did not want the typical "cookie-cutter" type of wedding with the typical "chicken and vegetable" dinner and so on...i felt that if i used a wedding planner i would get exactly that! but NOPE! not with kelly! from the beginning we just "clicked" (as my mummy said) and she seemed to know exactly what i wanted!

  right after our first meeting at the expo, kelly sent me an email giving me ideas she had for the wedding...AMAZING! she knew exactly what i was going for! we set up a tasting to try her caterer's cuisine and boy was it yummy! we previously wanted Buca di Beppo to provide the food, but after trying her italian food it was a home run out of the park!

  on thursday matt, mrs. shondeff, my mum and i went for the tasting at the Country Garden's catering hall in old town santa ana. kelly had set up a table for us...IT WAS BEAUTIFUL and exactly what i visioned plus more! over dinner we talked about plans for tables, food, drinks, service and budget.

  i don't want to give too many details (a few: olives, burlap and long tables) away about our wedding...but just stay tuned to see all the wonderful ideas that kelly has in store :)

u.p.d.a.t.e

love him

wow! well it has been a while...almost 5 months! whoops sorry but i guess that is how life goes ;)

well there has been a lot of new adventures over the past few months...

- i began pursuing my graduate degree in coaching and administration from concordia university in irvine. yes, i said coaching and administration! who would have thought that you can get your master's in coaching?!?! but i guess you can! i am in my last week of my first semester and i have really enjoyed my classes! this program is perfect for me!

- matt graduated in may with his master's in public policy...we now call him master matt :) ha

- after working part time as a pe coach and a behavior interventionist for a year, i was offered a full time position (with benefits!) with the YMCA as a lead teacher. for about a week i was a little bit of an emotional wreck...i didn't want to leave all "my kids" but knew that this would be a great opportunity for my future. after a lot of thinking and consulting from family and friends i decided to take the "Y" job...and it has been almost a month since i started....and i love it! i am working with children during their summer program where everyday there is something to do! mondays are kona ice day, tuesdays are lunch day (either pizza, hot dogs, pasta), wednesdays are walking field trip day (dq, ihop), thursdays are water day (slip and slide) and fridays are bus field trip day (medieval times, knott's). yes i know...you are a little bit jealous ;)

vintage ymca

- we decided on a date! may 26th 2012 is the big day! though it is still pretty far away we have begun planning! today my mum, sis (aka moh) and i went to a bridal expo (i have found out that i do not need to worry, i have a lot figured out compared to other brides). matt and i have also started a wedding website and received our "save the dates!"

well there probably are more updates that i am missing but it is getting late and i have an 8 hour work day tomorrow ;) keep you posted and thanks for reading

happy birthday little sister

little sister,

i love you and you are my best friend.

your big sister

we love our tea parties

my little sister turns 20 today!!! wow! she has seriously grown into a wonderful, godly, loving, understanding, smart and beautiful woman! she is my best friend and my maid of honor! i love my sister soooo much and have been soooo blessed to have her in my life! happy birthday little sister!

easter pictures

 "A sister is a gift from God, sent from above to make life worthwhile here below."

christmas pictures

"No one knows better than a sister how we grew up, and who our friends, teachers and favorite toys were. No one knows better than she..."

more christmas pictures

"I smile because you are my sister, I laugh because there is nothing you can do about it!"

“I always like to win. But I'm the big sister. I want to make sure she has everything, even if I don't have anything. It's hard. I love her too much. That's what counts" - Venus Williams

grand canyon

"If your sister is in a tearing hurry to go out and cannot catch your eye, she's wearing your best sweater."

"There can be no situation in life in which the conversation of my dear sister will not administer some comfort to me."

wine tasting (don't worry, lauren was the DD)

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."  ~Author unknown, attributed to a 4-year-old named Lauren 

"To have a loving relationship with a sister is not simply to have a buddy or a confident; it is to have a soul mate for life."

swimming with dolphins in cancun

 "How do people make it through life without a sister?"  ~Sara Corpening

christmas 2010

There is no better friend than a sister.  And there is no better sister than you.

l.a. adventure

our group at the "hollywood" sign

living in the la area and going to pepperdine, i and many of friends have always wanted to try different places throughout la...and with the help of our tour guide (RYAN), and a "top 100 things to do in la" list, we were able to have a fun-filled saturday walking, eating and hanging with good company around la.

home of the maple bacon donut

OUR JOURNEY:

1. nickel diner: home of the famous 'maple bacon donut' some of you might say "yummy" others like me might say "ewwww..." but for all you like me give it a chance...it was soooo good! (i think i was the one that liked it the most!) cost: $2.25 + tip

2.  angel's flight and "500 days of summer" bench: a nice little walk to the famous bench and a very nice area to sit and take pictures. also we were able to walk down the stair of angel's flight (the shortest railway in the world) cost: free

the "500 days of summer" bench

3. grand central market: i have been here a few times and i have never been disappointed with the food. so many different types of food from chinese to mexican to el salvadoran...this time we had mexican food...i had some yummy tacos. cost: $2.50 (meat + 4 tortillas = 4 yummy tacos!)

the girls

4. griffith observatory park hike: the home of the hollywood sign hike...after all that food we were able to burn some of it off and gain an appetite. cost: free (we drove here and hiked up the path)

5. la metro: after a quick wardrobe change we headed to the la subway...definitely not like the ny subway but still something to visit/use while you are in la cost: $6.00 for all day use of the subway and buses throughout la

hiking

6. the MOCA: we took the subway down to the museum of contemporary art. a great place to see art that everyone wonders "how the heck do they consider this art?" haha cost: $5.00 with student ID

the moca

7. the dublin: we needed a little snack before dinner and also a great place for everyone to get a beer...they had over 50 beers on tap and all were $3.00 and we all shared some yummy onion rings!

cost: about $1.00 for splitting some rings (i am not a beer drinker, but the others who drank some said they had some yummy beers)

some of the pepperdine crew

8. wurstkuche: yummy grilled sausages and fries and different types of beers! i had the veggie-apple-potato-sage sausage and some wonderful fries with bleu cheese-walnut-bacon dipping sauce.  the atmosphere is so hip and a great place to hang with friends. cost: $6.00 for the sausage and $5.00 for a large fry to share

home of 'exotic grilled sausages'

9. mikawaya mochi ice cream: a little ice cream and mochi shop in little tokyo...i think i have found my new obsession! cost: $3.00 ($1.00 per mochi...you can't just have one!)

the boys

10. shatto 39 lanes: we ended the night at a bowling ally. cost: about $9.00 (for 1 game and shoes)

as you can see it was a very inexpensive day with lots of fun activities and amazing company...if you and some of your friends ever have a free day you should defiantly have an "la adventure" 

irish day!

happy st. patrick's day!!!

one of my family's favorite holidays! growing up with a name like "shannon shea," st. patrick's day is another major holiday in my home!  

some things i assumed growing up irish:

- not wearing green on march 17th is a sin

- every house eats corned beef and cabbage for st. patty's day

- st. patrick's day is like thanksgiving...there are always leftovers for the days to come...corned beef sandwich, hash browns and corned beef, stew, etc.

- it is normal to have a kitchen with 4+ crock-pots cooking corned beef and cabbage

- everyone loves potatoes!

"For each petal on the shamrock

This brings a wish your way -

Good health, good luck, and happiness

For today and every day"

 May the Irish hills caress you.

May her lakes and rivers bless you.

May the luck of the Irish enfold you.

May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

~Irish Blessing

zella love

around christmas time my mum and i were shopping at nordstroms. we were just browsing around when a sales lady said "have you tried these?" pointing to some yoga pant/leggings. i told her that i had saw them in their recent catalog, but hadn't purchased them...she told me that she was wearing a pair and that the other sales lady was also...hmmm...she said i should try them on...i did and LOVED them!!! mum decided to get me a pair to put under the tree :)

i truly "live-in" these

since christmas i have worn these soooo many times! i love them soooo much! seriously i wear these all the time and found/bought some other ones (capri and yoga) from the rack for a great price (i wear these to work)! 

but then the greatest thing happened today...we were at nordie's (wearing my zellas) and i decided just to look at the zellas...and then...ta da...they were on sale!!!!! sad thing was that they didn't have my size...but they are going to find them and ship them to me :) (hopefully i can wait!)

but seriously these are the best leggings ever! they don't fade, they are sooo comfy, you can dress them up or work out in them, they are not at all see through (like many types of leggings)

have a great evening! i know i will since i am wearing my zellas (haha i know i am lame!)

to give up...or not to give up? that is the question...

happy fat tuesday! hopefully you have eaten all your favorite foods and are stuffed cause you know what tomorrow is......ASH WEDNESDAY and the beginning of LENT! and you know that during lent it is "suggested" to give something that you love dearly up! if you didn't succeed in your new year's resolution this is your second chance! haha but not really! ;)

growing up we were told to give up something like candy, soda (actually did this one year and i am still not drinking soda...or as much as i use to), ice cream, chips, etc. i remember hearing people say "i am going to give up swearing!" and i thought "well duh! you shouldn't just give it up for lent but FOREVER!"

i think many of us may have the whole 'giving up thing wrong.' i remember when i was around 16 that my priest gave a homily/sermon on the season of lent...he spoke saying that you can either give up something or do something...all that mattered was that your goal was to get closer to God...wow this made me so happy...now instead of giving up soda or yogurt or something, i could do something instead...i tried reading a chapter of the bible everyday during lent...well i did that...then i believe the next year i did that too...then later on in my college years i brought in matt and our relationship and we both began reading together, then last year we did a devotion everyday together...

the past few days (i should start thinking about this maybe in january) i have been trying to think of something i could do this year...well the bible study we are in requires us to read 2 chapters of the bible everyday so that is already covered...maybe a devotion with matt? well we already do that...hmmm....i am still trying to think and i can't figure out anything...

well maybe this year is the year i give up something...i thought maybe yogurt! hmmm that seems really really hard...but isn't that what it is suppose to be? HARD? so that we can get closer to God during this season...

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster." -Joel 2:12-13

say 'yes' to the dress: bridesmaid edition

a while ago i was looking through a PEOPLE magazine where they had some highlights of some famous person's wedding (don't ask me who? cause i totally forgot...ha), where the bridesmaids (there were a lot of them with a broad range of ages/body types) all wore different black dresses. 

i thought this was a perfect idea for my wedding/bridesmaids. we all know what entails with the dreaded bridesmaid's dresses: too expensive for one time use, not very flattering on everyones body types, the color is a tough color to wear again, and so on and so on...i love the idea of every girl being able to show their own personality and also feel beautiful/comfortable in the dress of their choosing.

friday after work i had a miss call and a text message from my aunt and cousin...they found the perfect bridesmaid's dress for jenna! jenna brought over the dress on saturday and we both played dress up like we did when we were little, but now i was in my wedding dress and she was in her little black bridesmaid dress! i absolutely loved the dress! she got hers from white house/black market. here are a few pictures:

my beautiful bridesmaid/cousin

my favorite part of the dress: the ruffles

simple yet elegant backside

i am hoping to have a girls day outing to either nordies, white house/black market, jcrew and/or banana republic to find the rest of the dresses with my bridesmaids...any other good stores to find some cute "little black dresses"?

engagement party

our engagement party was beyond amazing! we had a fiesta theme at my aunt and uncle's house, with yummy food, great atmosphere and wonderful family and friends! thanks to all who came...matt and i are very blessed to have you all in our lives!

here are a few pictures from the party and quotes from cards we received:

"engagement...a beautiful announcement by two happy people...it brings romance to the present and promise for the future...it brings the joy of love into two lives forever."

"on your engagement. roses are red...violets are blue...just want you to know...i'm so happy for YOU!"

"wishing you every happiness at this wonderful and exciting time in your life, and for all the days and years to come."

"now forever...some things are just meant to be."

"may your engagement be a time of beautiful dreams - may your marriage be a lifetime of beautiful dreams come true."

"and so begins the beautiful journey"

"celebrating your love, sharing the anticipation and wishing your every happiness!"

"wishing you a lifetime of love with the love of your life."

"two hearts, two lives, one love to join them."

"getting married means sharing your toys...and sharing your joys"

"very best wishes on the wonderful news of your engagement!"

"for this special moment, we wish you beautiful memories"

the wonderful party planners!!! my wonderful aunt sharon and BUD (aka best uncle dennis) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU xoxox