Picotte Photography Contest Finalists!
We had so many beautiful, adorable, clever and sweet entries for the free photography contest with Suthi Picotte…. narrowing it down to just 5 was really challenging! While we wish we could put all of the entries to vote, (and in no particular order) these are the five couples we’d like to introduce! (you can click on the images to enlarge)
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First up, we have….
Shannon + Marcos
August 13, 2011 – Denver, CO
This is how it happened… The story of how he asked–and I said YES.
Marcos believes in me- he allows me to just be me-When I’m with him I feel like I am at my best. Marcos excites and inspires me to reach for more and to give and share more. He is kind and funny and still so interesting to me everyday. I love him more everyday– with all of my heart.
Please join us in Denver Colorado for our August 13TH, 2011 wedding! We will pay for travel expenses and all the margaritas you like! The opportunity to work with you and capture this huge life moment for us would be a blessing!
***I attached a photo of me and Marcos on the political campaign where we met working for a cause we believed in! dang- I love him so much!
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Next up, we have…
Faryl + Nick
July 24, 2010 – Upstate, NY
The two of us are both from, and currently live in, New York City. We have been together for almost 8 years and a little over a year and a half ago we bought a small old farm Upstate, which is where the wedding will be. ALL of our money went to buying that land and the two of us are more than intimidated by the idea of having a wedding and being able to afford it. Photography, is to us, one of the most important elements to a wedding. We love each other like crazy people, but other than loving each other we love photographs of each other. So this is pretty major.
Here’s our save-the-date video!
I AM CRAZY ABOUT MY H.T.B. (Husband to be!). He makes living so fun and when we get stressed about the wedding we just talk about BEING married, and try not to think about GETTING married. It works every time.
AAAAAAAAAHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.!
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Next up is….
Ally + Mike
4.16.2011 – Brooklyn, NY
My amazing wedding buddy Naz told me about this contest (we’re both in the midst of planning our weddings), and since I, too, am a broke-ass bride in need of a photographer, I had to throw my ticket into the ring–and the best way to do that is to tell you the story of how I got engaged. It happened this past Valentine’s Day/President’s Day weekend. But it was no simple go-out-to-a-fancy-restaurant-and-put-a-ring-in-the-champagne proposal. This one involved a White Castle. And a prank. And a fake wedding.
Yes, I think I may be the first bride in history who had a wedding first, THEN got engaged.
Let me explain: on Valentine’s Day, certain White Castles around the country do a special “Celebrate Your Love (of the Crave)” celebration, with candles, a maitre d’, printed menus, and yes, even the need to make a reservation. So, my group of friends decided it’d be fun and funny to stage a fake proposal at the White Castle, just for the sake of a few laughs and to test out our guerilla acting skills.
As we’re planning this, my friend Shaun suggests to (my now fiance) Mike that Mike should ACTUALLY propose to me after we’ve performed our little sketch in the White Castle. Yes, Shaun wants Mike to propose to me in the White Castle parking lot, under the glaring lights and in the presence of the dumpsters. Needless to say, Mike thinks this is an awful idea.
However, Shaun is persistent (and annoying) enough that Mike gets fed up–so much so that he now wants to play a prank on Shaun. The prank: Mike pretends to propose to me in the White Castle parking lot, and I turn him down. Horribly. I start to cry and drive off without him, leaving Mike to turn haplessly to Shaun and say, “Shaun, this is all your fault!”
Well, this plan goes off without a hitch. In fact, it goes so well that Naz (my wedding buddy!) thinks we should take it one step further. So we do: we call up Shaun the next day to tell him that we’ve worked out all our problems–so well, actually, that now we want to get married. Right now. At City Hall. But, we tell Shaun, since City Hall is closed, we want to have a mini wedding ceremony at our house to celebrate with friends.
And yet again, the prank goes off exactly as planned, and Shaun falls for every bit of it. He organizes an amazing wedding ceremony at our house, complete with flowers, music–the works. Little does he know this is all a prank on him. However, little do I know that the prank is soon to be turned around on me: because after the big reveal to Shaun (which we slyly worked into our “fake” vows), Mike turns to me with a box of cupcakes from my favorite bakery and says, “Let’s get this party started right!” And what do I find in the box of cupcakes? A REAL engagement ring. Of course, I say yes–after making sure it wasn’t another prank, of course.
So that is my story. Long and epic? Yes. But surely something to remember.
[The full story in video form can be found on my wedding blog}
July 30, 2011 – Portland, OR
Please accept my humble entry for the Suthi Picotte photography contest! It’s a little ditty I refer to as “Boomdeyada,” for reasons that become obvious. I apologize for the random file server delivery, but the video was too big to send through regular email. My name is Liz, and my fiance is Ross. We’ll be getting married near Portland, Oregon on July 30, 2011. If we’re lucky enough to win, we would of course be happy to pay Suthi’s travel expenses.
And last but not least…
Ila + Hiroki
June 6, 2010 – Costa Mesa, CA
Please find the attached file, which will be my submission. I have also attached a photo of myself and my fiance.
Aren’t they all just the cutest? It’s too hard to choose, so we’re leaving it up to you! You have one week to vote on which couple you’d like to see win the free wedding photography package valued at $4,000, courtesy of Picotte Photography! You can vote more than once, but only once a day so…
Click here to vote for your favorite lovable couple! . .
One Entry Per Person Per Day. Voting closes Monday, May 17th at 5pm pdt
[...] Check them out and vote for your favorite!!!! [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by BrokeAssBride / Dana, BrokeAssBride / Dana, BrokeAssBride / Dana, BrokeAssBride / Dana, Hunter Stiebel and others. Hunter Stiebel said: 5 Finalists but there can be only 1 winner! YOUR VOTES DECIDE http://bit.ly/dzlZ0v [...]
[...] can do so by clicking HERE once a day until Monday, May 17. As Mike said to some of our friends, if we don’t have to pay [...]
How do I vote for Mike and Ally?
There is a link above but here it is again…http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.aspx?id=6af72eb… />Thanks!
Ally and Mike also have cute videos! You can see the entire epic proposal in video form here:http://whitecastleandcupcakes.wordpress.com/2010/…
- The Persistent (and Annoying) Shaun
this is sooo cute! love the "ross wyman" song and the white castle storry. the second couple already seems to have a good photographer, though.
Thanks for the comment! But just because the 2nd couple had an engagement shoot doesn't mean they have a wedding photographer
that's why they entered, just like everyone else. Have a great day!Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
Ally and Mike – You are adorable!!! You are soooooo lucky to have found eachother!!!!
Michele
ALLY & MIKE! SO AWESOME!
Ross and Liz are my choice as winners….how creative!
So who won???
Aww thanks! That picture actually wasn’t taken by a photographer AT ALL! We used the self timer on our camera and put it on top of a bicycle chained to a street lamp. The chair we’re sitting on was in the garbage. ALSO – that pic was taken years before we were engaged! THANKS!!!
I think Mike & Ally story is the best!! It could be a modern day love skit!! very original
I vote for Mike & ally
Mike and Ally have my vote.