Art & Design of Kelli Murray

I can’t help but get excited to see all these new shiny garments in the marketplace now. Yeah, some of it is a bit over the top and potentially a candidate for  fashion experts “what not to wear” lists….but I say hey…it’s New Years Eve.  Shine on.

Cheers to a bright new year!

Runway collections by Balmain, Carlos Miele, and Oscar de la Renta / Sparkling mules by Miu Miu / Deco Clutch and Link Necklace by Anthropologie

I asked my good friend Russell Brownley if he we do me the honor of putting together a short video of Sam and I for our wedding day.  Instead of the traditional slideshow you often see at receptions, I wanted to create something a little different…. more of a video montage of past and present…. combining archival footage with Super 8 film.  I scrounged up some old home videos from Sam’s parents as well as my own, footage they had shot of us when we were kids, and converted them all onto DVD’s.  I spent far too many nights sitting on the couch with my family crying with laughter over these videos.  Ohhhh the memories!   I spent hours sifting through old photo boxes picking out my favorites from each “stage” of childhood.  And then i went through my own albums and pulled pictures from when Sam and I first started dating up until now.

I have always loved the old Super 8 style film, and lucky for me, Russell had just the right stuff to make it happen.  He took us out a few evenings after work and shot us at the beach and riding bikes around our neighborhood.  I handed off all the old DVD’s and pictures I had gathered to Russell, and he ran with it from there.  When I saw the video he had made for us for the first time, I nearly started crying.  It is exactly what I was hoping for.

Kelli and Sam. from Russell Brownley on Vimeo.

I wanted to share the incredible video Matthew Forrey put together for Sam and I on our wedding day.  He pieced together and edited the footage all in under two hours (during cocktail hour of the wedding) and we were able to share it with guests at the end of the night on a huge projector screen! It had the whole crowd in tears!  Every time I watch it, it brings me back to that very moment, and I re-live the joy of that day all over again.  Thank you Matt for creating such a timeless treasure.

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Kelli + Sam – Same Day Edit/Wedding Trailer from Matthew Forrey on Vimeo.

So the photo booth at the wedding was a big hit! We splurged a little on all the film for the polaroid camera…but it was well worth it!  I had a few friends help me get together all the props (thanks Dana and Suzy!)  We had fur coats and gloves, hats, pearls, vintage glasses, bow ties, mustaches and hand painted masks! (Those things weren’t easy!) Along the lace backdrop we hung vintage frames that people could use as props as well. It was fun to see everyone get into it.  Here are some of my favorite shots!

The deal is sealed.  I am now officially Kelli Larson! November 15th was an amazing day.  It is funny how people give you so much advice prior to your wedding day….like to eat enough beforehand because you won’t have a chance to take a bite of your meal….to make sure to stop and look around you every half hour and take in the beauty of the day….to be prepared for at least three things to go wrong during the night because it is bound to happen and to just laugh as they come…to relish in the moment because it will be over before you know it………well yes.  I realized everyone knew exactly what they were talking about!  I wish that day could have lasted all week.

From the very beginning of our engagement Sam and I talked about how we wanted our wedding to be one where every single person we ever loved and cared about could be with us to celebrate.  We wanted to have the biggest party of our lives….surrounded by all the people we loved.  Well it was that and more.

It hit me as I stood there on the alter, hand in hand with my “almost” husband, how incredibly blessed I am.  To look around and see the face of nearly every true friend I have ever had, to have the support of 7 of the most amazing women standing up beside me, to see family who had traveled from near and far to be with us, to have parents who have shown me nothing but love, and to look into the eyes of the man I knew would stand by me forever, in sickness and in health, til death do us part….(gulp).  It is a bit hard to explain in words the depth of love I felt that day, but it is something I will never forget.

I wanted to share a handful of my favorite pictures from the day. Shot by Erica. The wedding and reception were both held outside in the backyard of a friends house in El Cajon, CA. And although it was the middle of November, the sun decided to shine on us.

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