I should have posted this earlier, but Heather and I celebrated our one year anniversary back in July. We were brainstorming what would be a cool way to celebrate our wedding vows and we decided to invite a few of our friends down to the Comal River and spend the day river tubing. Our neighbor Robert and his boyfriend Andy came, and so did our good friend Beto and his girlfriend Vanessa.
It was a great time! There are a couple white water areas, including a big concrete chute that you go down which was really fun, in fact we came back to it and went down without our tubes like a big water slide.
I brought my Super 8mm camera and filmed some of the more relaxing portions of the river. As soon as I get it developed and digitized I will post it.
Until here are some cool pictures from Roberts waterproof throw-away camera.

Heather and I chillin

Me with my Super 8mm

Me, Heather, Robert and Andy

Beto and Vanessa

I was doing some blog surfing this morning and found this great article on 7 “Before the Wedding” Steps that Initiate a Successful Marriage. It is, for the most part, a very logical look at the “when”, “how” and even the “why” of getting married. But I think that people in love are hardly ever logical when thinking about their love or commitment to each other.

One thing that most people will agree on is that they really only want to get married once, and it would be a huge blow to you and your future mate to need counseling shortly after your wedding. I personally believe that outside counseling should not be necessary for a successful marriage.

As long as you stay honest with each other, as the blog suggests, you and your partner will develop a stronger marriage.

And after you go through the list make sure you call me to photograph that upcoming wedding!!!

Knowing all to well about the difficulties of dealing with debt, from Heather’s and my own experiences, I figured I would share some advice for those that are newly married or are planning a wedding soon.

Our debt load isn’t a tremendous amount, compared to some. We have about $15,000 in credit card debt and 2 years and 3 years left on our car payments. (I’m not including our home mortgage).

But if you think about the amount that goes to paying the bills every month it is downright sickening and depressing. Considering the monthly payments suck so much out of our wealth building. So I’ve been pretty proactive lately on looking at ways to get out of debt faster. And I’ve been doing a lot of personal finance reading this past month and have a few resources to share with y’all:

Get Rich Slowly: Great website resource for turning your salary into a fortune over the years. It’s the true antithesis of the Get Rich Quick Scheme that everyone and their Mother is touting these days on the internet and infomercials. Sound advice.

The Total Money Makeover: By Dave Ramsay. An intense and no holds bar look at your finances and how to get out of debt. This book will change the way you look at and value your money. A great introduction to the Debt Snowball Effect.

The Only Investment Guide You Will Ever Need: A book by Andrew Tobias that discusses the best ways to invest your money. And to start off he discusses ways to invest that you might not think about but actually make a lot of sense, such as purchasing as much non-perishable foods as you can.

The important steps are as J.D. at Get Rich Slowly puts it on the How To Eliminate Debt post:

1. Stop acquiring new debt.
2. Establish an emergency fund.
3. Implement a debt snowball.

It’s also paramount to remember, after paying for that amazing wedding, that you do have more than you think. And with level headedness, a little sacrifice and a good debt snowball plan you will get out of debt, free and clear in no time at all. And remember not to let the stress affect your new marriage.

I just came across this great article on environmentally friendly and Green wedding dresses over at Treehugger.com. The article talks about Tara Lynn, a dress designer from Vermont, that designs very lovely dresses out of green products such as silk, cotton, bamboo and hemp!

Looking at the dresses, they are very beautiful. But I’ve also heard a rumor that bamboo in clothing is very hard to get into a soft wearable clothing product and the energy and methods in which to do so are actually contradictory to the green movement. I haven’t verified this, but knowing bamboo, I would not be surprised.

I am pretty excited about the other products though, silk and hemp would make such a lovely great feeling dress!

Treehugger has a great archive of how to “Green” your wedding. Feel free to look around the site for extra ideas for your upcoming wedding.

One of the reasons I moved to digital so long ago was the environmental aspects of doing so. The environment has always been an inspiration for my photography and have been a huge proponent of organizations like Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, and other pro environment organizations. I think we should all do what we can. And if that means buying a Hemp Dress, and it inspires you… Then go for it!

After starting my business here in Austin, my goal has been to become one of the top ten wedding photographers in Austin. I believe that the photographic vision and talent that I have along with the energy and passion would accelerate my status right to the clouds.
It came as a surprise as I was doing my monthly search engine status that I found that I was, according to Google, one of the top ten wedding photographers in Austin!

What’s next? Well, Maybe top five… There are definitely some strong photographers here in Austin, and I’m delighted to be mentioned in the top ten group. I think I will sit down a year from now to re-evaluate my position in the pantheon of wedding photographers here in our beautiful Hill Country and see where I am then.