Southern Weddings

(Image credits, clockwise from top left: Andrea Wyner, France Ruffenach, Moya Minns, Philip Galanes, Jasmine Star, Max Wanger, Deborah McLean, Tec Petaja, flickr)

Emily: Let’s start in the top left corner.  I want to continue to make my abode feel less and less like an apartment and more and more like a peaceful, happy, rejuvenating home.  The image below that represents love to me.  It’s such an important part of what my work and my life are about, and I want to make sure love remains at the center of my work and the center of my life — love for God, for my family, for my friends, for life itself, as cheesy as that sounds.  It’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it?  The image next to it represents a rich inner life to me.  Since middle school, one thing that’s really defined me is the fact that I’m a poet.  My senior thesis was a 100+ page collection of poetry.  Since graduating I haven’t spent much time developing that part of me, and I miss it.  I vow to be intentional about doing something about that in 2010.  The next two images (bottom right and the one above it) represent joy and weddings to me.  I’ve always found joy in weddings, and want to make sure it stays that way even though weddings are now my profession.  The top right image represents personal growth to me.  For a while now I’ve said I want to learn how to do calligraphy, but I haven’t done anything about it.  That’s going to change this year.  And lastly, I want to make sure I bring a little happy into every day, either in my own life or the lives of those around me.  Ice cream is a good representation of that, don’t you think? P.S. If this is way too wishy-washy for you, check out my 101 in 1001 progress!  My 1001 days end on September 24, 2010.

(Image credits, clockwise from top left: 1. flickr, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9: Laurie Frankel, 4. Rebecca Thuss, 8 & 10: Google Image)

Katharine:  This year, I am making a few promises to myself; some big + and some not so big, but all integral to making me happier, healthier and awesomer (yes, I did just coin “awesomer”) in 2010.   Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Not to sound like a broken record of the Surgeon General’s warnings, but I’m actually kind of amazed at how much better I feel when I work out.  No, seriously: ever since I started sneaking into Lara’s gym after work, I’ve been walking on cloud nine.   For the past 3 weeks, I’ve dutifully hit the gym every night from 6 – 7 p.m., and I promise to make this a “must” in 2010.  Since I am someone who absolutely needs 8 (okay, 10) hours of sleep every night, I promise to follow my vigorous cardio sessions with good old-fashioned sleep.  Hanging around Emily has made me a bit more esoteric, and there’s something about that lone parasol that seems effortlessly graceful to me.  In 2010, I hope to be more graceful and centered in my daily life, a la Emily Ayer.  I also want to be more crafty and creative (see spool of yarn below), but that’s a bear I’m not sure I can tackle alone.  (Hey, Em, I’m looking at you, babe!)  And while I definitely can’t promise to cut out candy in the new year, I may consider being more adventurous with my sugar selections.   Like the girl desperately – and futilely – trying to push an oversized horse into an undersized stall, I’m going to try to let myself off the hook a little in 2010: I’ll push when I can and give up when I have to… and I’ll be okay with that.  As for my shoes (and my clothes in general), I need to start wearing them.  No, I don’t come to work nakey, but I am guilty of showing up in my sweats and PJs more often than not.  So I’m giving Whitney, our fashion guru, permission to make me wear real clothes, even if it kills me.  (You wouldn’t know it, since they rarely make an appearance, but I have a fabulous shoe collection.)  Above all, I hope my new year is filled with more books and more love, namely in the form of the playful fighting of the Ninja Bears.  (P.S. I am the small crafty one and Kyle is my partner in crime.)  I’ll see you in 2010!

(Image credits, clockwise from top left: flikr, Dewey Nicks, Aran Goya, Dewey Nicks, flikr, can’t remember, W Maldives, W Maldives, Schumacher, Schumaker)

Lara: This year I want to experience the world with greater awareness- taking in all the colors, tastes, smells, sunsets, and people as much as possible on my many travels ahead. As you can see in the pictures I gravitated to, I want romance, adventure, travel, surprise, color, and clarity.  I’m deeming this the year I find my voice.  I vow to invest in people who will not necessarily give back to me, but give to others.  I want to start a domino effect of positivity in everything I do.  This year, I want to continue to be closer to Emily, Katharine and Whitney and to do whatever it takes to help them grow and foster growth for us as a team.  I want to hire a full-time assistant to do the tasks that keep me from doing what I love and excel at.  I want to be more creative- paint, sing, dance and write from my heart.  I want to laugh with my friends, plant my roots in a church, and read the Bible from cover to cover by December 31st, 2010. I plan to wake up earlier, workout more, get stronger and learn how to breathe more during the work day. I will find us a new, bigger office as a start.  I’m very excited to announce we’re in the process of building a brand new Southern Weddings blogsite in 2010.  It’s going to be chock-full of revolutionary new technology and features that I just can’t wait to release!  I want to sleep more and read more books at night.  Most of all, I want to love my husband and family more deeply and invest as much energy into them as I have into my work. This year, I plan to take risks and take more than one day off… with no iPhone.  2010 is the year that I make purposeful, God-filled steps. Wishing everyone a very joyful 2010 and congrats to all of our new readers who just got engaged over the holidays!

Happy 2010 y’all!  What are you most looking forward to?

Written with love by Lara Casey