best lines from their vows,
well.... best lines from ANYONE'S VOWS:
brian to alicyn, I love you more than robots.
alicyn to brian, I really do love you more than bacon.
that's love, baby.
and they didn't talk about their vows beforehand.
meant to be.
their wedds was on the queen mary,
art deco to the max,
we love that.
and how much do we love the robot, gear theme??


alicyn and brian mullins,
meant to be.


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teri says:

beautiful photographs!!

(05.11.10 @ 07:31 PM)
erin says:

Love it! Such a beautiful wedding!

(05.11.10 @ 10:28 PM)
Szymon fotograf says:

their feelings are great

(05.12.10 @ 04:23 AM)
Katie Neal Photo says:

LOVE em! You did such a fantastic job my friend. I think I wanna tag along to any of your weddings. They always look so fun!

(05.12.10 @ 02:37 PM)
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Monday, May 10, 2010
i love when people are homey.
when you feel comfortable and at home and not uptight around them.
weddings are hard to make feel homey, while still maintaining interesting style,
but claire and jared did it. 
their day was homey yet it spoke.
they made everything, no seriously, everything.
they collected the moss that went in the terrariums that were their centerpieces.
claire made her dress.
but somehow the details didn't outshine the people.
the people were shining stars and i lost track of time during the portraits.
i could have been there all day.
i love that feeling.
i hate feeling rushed,
or worse...... pressured.
this felt free and fun and full of life.
love that.

now, when things make me extremely happy i usually need a bit of downtime to let my frazzled brain settle, to let the waters calm, to get my thoughts in place.  plus, i have perfectionistic tendencies underneath my whimsical artist nature, which causes awesome weddings like claire and jared's to sit on my hard-drive for months before being posted.

well, the waters have calmed so LOOK AT THIS!!!



their wedding was featured on style me pretty which i'm stoked about! here's the post, with a few more photos and a description of the day by claire.

i also made a slideshow in case you need more!

deets,
ceremony: St Barnabas Orthodox Church
reception: The Newland Barn, Huntington Beach
cake: Choux Box Pastries
invitations: Moats and Boats Design Studio
DJ: Gary Allen
every detail you see: handmade by claire :) :) :) she is a whiz.
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Lehua says:

LOOOOOVE the one through the glass of Claire getting ready :)

(05.10.10 @ 02:54 PM)
Michelle says:

Wow, she looks gorgeous, especially in her handmade dress. Beautiful. You really captured the elegance of that couple and timelessness of the wedding. Great job!

(05.10.10 @ 03:23 PM)
jen@greenweddingshoes says:

what a fun wedding! love the photos of the bridal party.

(05.10.10 @ 05:17 PM)
jill says:

such a beautiful wedding. you captured their personalities so well. the shot of her through the window = stellar.

(05.10.10 @ 09:41 PM)
Szymon fotograf says:

great set - very inspiring

(05.11.10 @ 03:02 AM)
Katy says:

I'm SO lucky to have you! These are gorrrrgeous!!!

One of my favorite details of this wedding is the program ------ I LOVE the font(s) she used on the very simple cream color. Inspiring.

(05.11.10 @ 08:09 AM)
j says:

lovely, lovely! especially the head shot of the beautiful, haunting bride.

(05.20.10 @ 05:33 AM)
Hannah @ Modern Bouquet says:

Shannon- ever since we worked together at Jane & Alex's wedding last year, I've been compelled to visit your blog. I love seeing the world through your eyes. It's refreshing. Thank you.

ps- that picture above with the dog walking by the bride and bridesmaids- genius!!!!

(05.25.10 @ 09:20 PM)
Bronwen says:

Wow!

(06.10.10 @ 04:51 PM)
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Friday, May 7, 2010
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this is my brother, ryan,,,,,,,,,
it kind of felt like we were kids again as i watched him play with rocks.
except this time i didn't go off and do my own thing:
i sat down in the rocks with him instead of thinking i was too good for playing.
the things that happen as the oldest child.
he's only a year younger than me,
and sometimes i'm jealous of his ability to just play.
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Marilyn Paul says:

Ryan, that is such a CANADIAN project to do! Start doing them in California and see if you are understood! hehe......gr ma

(05.07.10 @ 07:39 PM)
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Thursday, May 6, 2010
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each of these photos was taken with an internal yes happening in me.
nature photos overwhelm me because nature is so big.
..... this made being in banff a bit tough.
PHOTO OF A MOUNTAIN.
it just strikes me as too much.  TMI.
that's just me though.
i tend to see and notice the small, specific, very very minute parts of life.

and as i photograph things i'm always aware of questions like:
why am i taking this photo,
what are my eyes seeing right now,
what is my heart caring about right now,
why do i care,
..... do i care??

each person experiences the world uniquely, and its hard for me when photos have no voice. if it looks like stock photography why did you take it? so you could be a good stock photographer? so... you took a pretty picture of a mountain.  why?  yeah, i'm intense about this.

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Ro says:

I super like the top two side by side. The ultra pure of nature next to the ultra glam. nice

(05.06.10 @ 03:29 PM)
Julie Hibbard says:

Absolutely gorgeous...especially the baby ketchup bottle one!!
Can't wait for you to take my picture!
what should I wear??

(05.06.10 @ 09:24 PM)
Hollie says:

i love the archway one, esp. the sprig of yellow in the bottom right corner... brings a bit of reality to a nature shot.

(05.07.10 @ 06:36 AM)
blythe says:

these are beautiful, shannon. absolutely yesssss.

(05.09.10 @ 12:19 PM)
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Wednesday, May 5, 2010
today my grandma is 75,
and my sister is 17.

we were at my grandma's birthday dinner and my dad asked how she's stayed so spunky and healthy.  i look for beauty & live in the moment.  that's what she said.  she is the person who sends me photos of cats because they're funny, gives my brothers hilarious dollar store toys for christmas, wears three kinds of leopard at the same time because she likes it, wants her life to be not-normal, and in the past month has started to paint.  inspiring!!
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and then there's my sis: the girl who effortlessly lives in her own skin and somehow seems to be bypassing the awkward stage of being a teenager,,, the girl whose writing on her blog seems like its from a 25 year old, the girl who looks opposite from me but gets my exact same scores on personality tests :) the girl who is somehow excelling in honors classes, comedy sportz, yearbook, singing at church, directing and editing a film, and still goes to bed at 9:30pm for her beauty rest.  my kind of girl.  love you heathie.
IMG_0206.jpg

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Mandy says:

Hooray for Trabuco Comedy Soortz !!

(05.05.10 @ 05:26 PM)
shannon leith says:

Mandy!!!!! hi!

(05.05.10 @ 07:03 PM)
heather says:

ah! shan! this got me really sentimental. thank you so so much, this was the nicest thing i've ever read. seriously. and grandma's part made me equally sentimental.

GOODNESS. i'm sill kind of reeling. thank you! i want to print this out and hang it on my wall forever.

(05.05.10 @ 11:14 PM)
Mariss says:

What a great family you have! Both your sister and Gram sound wonderful! Happy birthday to both!

(05.06.10 @ 01:04 PM)
marilyn paul says:

Well, Shannon, I - toooo - want to thank you for your kind words. I appreciate your outlook on life. It's refreshing! You march at the beat of your own drum and why not! Love you and love your pictures, too. GR MA

(05.06.10 @ 01:07 PM)
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mini family trip to banff!
canada!

by mini i mean two things:
only half the family,
and just a few days of random fun.
my parents were there to speak at a marriage conference (hello 30 year anniversary!),
and my brother and i got to go along to do some photo and video for them.
highlight of the trip: going horseback riding through the mountains in banff. 
epic, energizing, take your breath away, hilarious fun.

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brother ryan! the adventure-lover
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hi horse! love your hair,
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favorite part! going through rivers.  felt like magic.
0005_h.jpg 
taken while in the water, so glad i brought my cam!
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i like when the so-called main part of the photo is blocked.
i like obstructions.
i like dealing with reality as it is, not as i want it to be,
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couldn't help it. had to hug the horse. maybe i missed cosmo.
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a few more non-horse photos to come tomorrow. :)
peace to you.
shannon
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blythe says:

love this. glad you had a good trip. refresher.
love that shadow pic! and the horse's hair!!

(05.04.10 @ 02:03 PM)
Katie Neal Photo says:

Loveee them!!! Ry and I may be going to Banff on a babymoon someday...meaning before we have kids. :) Was it just gorgeous?! Sure looks like it!

(05.04.10 @ 04:53 PM)
Hollie says:

wow. pictures of shan on a horse = perfect. maybe you were made for more of nature than you thought :)

(05.04.10 @ 11:43 PM)
MaeMae says:

look at you not just loving birds but horses too.

(05.04.10 @ 11:44 PM)
jennifer young says:

oh my! what a super fun getaway shannon!
j.

(05.05.10 @ 12:31 AM)
laurennicolelove.com says:

aw. love these photos. and your parents are greg and shelley leith?!

(05.05.10 @ 07:17 AM)
Michelle says:

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!! Your photos are so amazing. They really capture the beauty and serenity of nature. I CAN'T WAIT to see more. :)

(05.05.10 @ 11:34 AM)
shannon leith says:

you guys are so nice :) :) hol, yup! one with nature. i'm transforming. :)

(05.05.10 @ 02:45 PM)
Lindsey Swedzinski says:

love these photos! the ones with the horses going through the river reminds me of dances with wolves. or any indian movie for that matter. they always seem to be riding their horses through water.

(05.09.10 @ 01:36 AM)
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Friday, April 30, 2010
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- the way he looks when he eats. he relaxes and enjoys, worlds cutest thing.
- his feather ruffles.............. they melt me.
- his post shower look. melt me again. little wet birdie.


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