the best of the best

we can't thank the people that helped with our wedding enough. like I said in the previous post we had an amazing crew.

fernando- who makes the best al pastor tacos hands down. he is available for parties and works out of a little convenience store in pasadena ca. (909) 873-0703, cell (626) 278-6327. 1135 n. summit ave. pasadena ca 91103. he was a lucky find.

the fry girls- our guests are still talking about the mini donuts we had as dessert. I only wish I had eaten more!!! thanks for all your deliciousness.

el gallo giro- best horchata in orange county. we bought a little too much...but thanks to rob and cori for picking it up.

summit catering- pam was a dream to work with and did a great job supplying us with salads, drinks and mac n cheese for the kiddos. also they worked hand in hand with the rentals which helped a lot!

signature party rentals- they delivered to the sand, were timely and had competitive rates.

jonathan canlas- photographed our wedding and took loads of stress off me. I know I will have fantastic wedding images and that was one of the most important things for us. jon, we love you man. thanks for being so easy to work with and for making all those" you're going to die when you see these" expressions.

leo patrone- photographer who rocked our our whole wedding day with a holga camera. Thank you so much for coming along and taking such amazingly artistic photographs. we love them!

jared purrington- our good friend and illustrator who created the masterpiece we used as our invitation. he creates some of our favorite art. thanks purr. bear hug.

penelope's- penny, made my amazing layered skirt that flounced around the wedding. she doesn't have a website yet, but is located in SLC and does beautiful work. 801-582-5010. 1670 e 1300 s, salt lake city ut 84105.

mom- for staying up till the wee hours of the night sewing so that I had a top to wear with my skirt. I was stressed and anxious and you were calm and agreeable. thanks for loving me and knowing how to sew. what will my daughters do?! I better take some classes.

oc wholesale flowers- this is a wholesale shop (you have to have a business license to purchase flowers through them), who made my flower dreams come true...for next to nothing!! thank you natalie for helping me pick put the perfect flowers. I wish I lived closer so I could buy bundles of fresh flowers weekly.

the beach house- this location is private and not available to rent, but I had to give a shout out to paul and missy for letting us use it. all we both ever wanted was a party on the beach, and because of you we got it.

there are loads of others to thank.....friends who helped with set up, lights, smore's, the fire, cleanup, music, salsa, parking, friends and family poster, showers, bachelor party, driving, our parents generosity...

oh, and we have to thank the weather. a sunny, warm day in the middle of a rain week?...amazing.

If anyone has any questions about any of the people we hired or wants more information please let us know. we highly recommend all of them.

leo's holga



we were spoiled rotten with some of the best of the best on our wedding day. in our opinion, best locations, best food, best guests and best photographers.

leo patrone came along with jon canlas and shot our whole wedding on his holga. how awesome is that? these are 3 of my favorites, but you can see more on his blog here.

leo we are obsessed with your images and with you. love a photographer with an accent.

can't wait to show off some of jon's photos....

back to reality

(ilha de boipeba)


we are back from our honeymoon to brazil..... sort of. I am in what I like to call "honeymoon hibernation". I can't seem to shake the need to sip cool drinks and laze about however I please.

we had a great time exploring brazil. I shot only and all film and I can't wait to share some of my favorites with you.....and I will... as soon as I take a nap and lay in the sun some more.

trader joes

at least three times a week I eat a whole cucumber with trader joe's hummus. it is the best hummus in the universe! is it the sesame oil that is the addictive substance? is it the combo of garlic to chic peas? sometimes I use my finger and just wipe the plastic container clean when I near the end. I have started buying at least 2 at a time because they only last a few days. thank you trader joes. thank you.

if you love trader joes (flaws and all) you will watch this clip and nod in understanding.

I want to go to there, RIGHT NOW!

happy birthday grant!

couldn't find an old photo of him blowing out candles, but since he loves costumes I was hoping this photo could inspire an outfit for tonight.

happy 31st to the coolest dude in my life!

he does read this blog (although he doesn't comment much...usually because I am looking over his shoulder bossing him around on the computer), so lets show him some birthday love on rachelthurston.blogspot.com! why are you glad grant was born?

and just for old times sake let's check out this gem of a blog. probably his best quote of all time and truer with each year that passes.

xxxxoooooxxxxooo.

tribe rokker porter


























born february 7th, 2009, 1:43 pm. at 6lbs he was so small he looked like all body and no legs! we weren't there until a few hours after the birth....and the natural light was gone (boo), but I still think we got some adorable photos despite the harsh overhead lighting. listen to me!! complaining about lighting! what is my problem?! A BABY WAS BORN! I think I was a bit of a holding hog, and grant was getting funny ideas about me being more ready for kids than I let on.....one big decision at a time please!

tribe we love you and already miss you! all day yesterday I would keep randomly asking grant, "where's the baby?"....and after he responding a million times, "I know, you miss him...he's in orange county"....he finally stopped responding, but I kept asking, "where's the baby?". I couldn't help myself. I love myself some newborn baby.

in memory


last night we heard the news that grant's brother in law died in motorcycle accident.

he leaves behind a beautiful wife and 6yr old son.

he was a man full of laughter and generosity.

this weekend we had a particularly interesting look at the fragile nature of life. on saturday, a new nephew was born and on sunday, mark passed away. both events make my mundane list of tasks today seem so unimportant....but my life as a whole much more meaningful.

our prayers and sincere support and love go to heather and jacob.

we love cameras.

ali was the cutest pregnant photographer, I have probably ever seen. she is the master mind behind the blog, "your heart out".

brion looks like a castaway in this photo. stranded on a deserted island with the most important necessity. (is that your camera or jons?) talented photographer and all around good guy. any single ladies want his number?

fancy cameras where everywhere during our workshop in laie, and the man working most of the magic was jon canlas. he is a wiz with film, a brilliant business man and another all around good guy (sorry ladies he is taken plus 4 1/2 kids). I am proud to announce our wedding photographer of choice, jon!! how lucky are we? grant is excited to meet you and I promise to keep goofy faces to a minimum.

check out his film is not dead workshop, july in san fransisco.

out front

one week last month I walked past my front door and saw this on my front lawn....and then I saw the gathering every day for about week at approx 1pm. um, weird! (photo doesn't really do the creepiness justice).

I'm back!

I didn't make a single post all last week!!! I am ashamed of myself. BUT I do have an excuse, planning a wedding.

Seriously, all I want is a really simple, low key wedding but even with simple, planning logistics takes time. please forgive. post march I should be back to normal with LOADS of new and improved stuff, like a website and blog overhaul, going "green" wedding photography and other budding ideas.

The new year has started off nicely but with most of my focus on march I haven't even had a chance to goal set...but not to worry I am not goal-less.

Until my wintery Utah photos from last week are developed I leave you with bright and beautiful Santa Barbara.












road trip

(photo taken from the back porch of my parents house)


we are off on our first road trip of 2009 to this beautiful place. wedding errands, family stuff and possibly sledding are all on the agenda. winter would not be right without some of my utah snow.