Monthly Archives: August 2014

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{Happy Birthday} Celebrating Shiv, Part One

The celebrations for Shiv’s 2nd birthday were so great that I hardly know where to begin!

I do know where to begin, actually: the mundan ceremony.

Don’t know what a mundan ceremony is? That’s okay. Neither did I before I was invited to photograph Shiv’s. Shiv’s parents, Nishta and Jill, were kind of enough to send the invited guests a little card with an explanation of what the ceremony involves and what it signifies. Here’s what it said:

“The mundan is an ancient Hindu sacrament marking a child’s first haircut. During the ceremony, the child’s head is shaved to bestow a long life and a prosperous future. As with all Hindu rites, a sacred fire, or havan, is built to invoke the presence and blessing of the divine.

Our family view Shiv’s mundan ceremony as an opportunity to honor the Indian heritage that constitutes part of his multifaceted identity. We also hope this occasion will be a way to bring together many different parts of Shiv’s extended family, to celebrate with you and thank each of you for your love, support, and guidance in our lives.”

The home where Shiv’s mundan took place was GORGEOUS

Meet Shiv – the man of the hour! With his Nani (Nistha’s mother)

Shiv with his mothers, Jill and Nistha (his Gigi and his Mama)Aunt “Coco” (Courtney) with Shiv, Gigi, and Mama
Shiv, clutching his mama’s sari – the sari Nishta’s mom had worn at Nishta’s mundan as a child!Sweetest face!It is traditional to remove your shoes when entering an Indian home

The priest, preparing for the ceremony
Shiv, having a look at the set-up for this very special ceremonyTime for Uncle Sacha to have the honor of performing the haircut. The priest hands over the scissors.
Snipping locks from Shiv’s hair

Only a little of Shiv’s hair was cut in the room where the ceremony took place, as he was taken into the bathroom to properly finish the haircut  with clippers. Then he was bathed, as another step of the ceremony dictated. Since electric clippers would be a new experience for Shiv, his mothers wisely had his beloved Uncle Sacha come over and buzz his own hair with the clippers a few days before the mundan, so Shiv would hopefully be more at ease with having his hair shaved.

Shiv looks at the tufts of his hair as they fall to the counter. This was his first haircut, after all.Shiv didn’t even flinch when Uncle Sacha began buzzing his hair. He was very well behaved!GiGi and Mama lovingly hold Shiv during this processAll those little curls!Guests were serenadedA little boy  with a fresh haircut and freshly bathed had a change of clothes and returns for the rest of the ceremonyGuests participate in the blessing of ShivA reading by Shiv’s Uncle Dave. He read from R.M. Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet”
Aunt Coco read a poem by Rumi
Kate led those in attendance in call-and-response blessings for Shiv

Some of the items used in the mundanCenterpiece on one of the tables where the guests had lunch after the ceremonythe littlest mundan ceremony guest (and such a cutie!)

Guests, enjoying some good Indian food and wonderful fellowship after the mundanShiv and the other young men, playing around the back yard after lunch

Coming up next: Part Two of Shiv’s birthday weekend festivities!

{Instant Party} Happy Birthday Shiv!

I’ve got a huge amount of photos on their way, after I covered three birthday events for one special little boy last month. In the meantime, I can share the instant photos I took at those events. Rather than my usual combination of Polaroid cameras and Impossible Project films, I opted for my Fuji Instax 200 and Instax wide film for Shiv’s parties. There was a mundan ceremony Saturday morning, a BBQ Saturday night, and a brunch Sunday morning.  It was so fun being there for all of it! Here is a sampling of instant photos from those celebrations.

The man of the hour, Shiv, is the little one dressed in white there on the right

Shiv: future baby Gap model

Fuji Instax 200 • Fuji Instax Wide film

These photos barely scratch the surface of all the photos I have to share with you from Shiv’s birthday festivities. More to come, very soon!

{Just Married} Kat + Thomas, Part B

Picking up where Part A left off!

Kat and Thomas’s reception was held at Felicia Suzanne’s, located in downtown Memphis.

First things first: This is the wedding reception for the (IMHO) Queen of local desserts and her Eat Local Memphis husband – the food was going to be GOOD. Want to see the desserts table? All desserts from Muddy’s, of course! Gentle reader, I sampled these desserts so I could report back on their deliciousness – just for you. Everything was delectable!

rhubarb lemon bundt cake

tower of mini lemon and vanilla cupcakes

mini Pucker Up (lemon) cake as the “wedding cake” – glitter heart!

yummy cherry heart cookies

♥baby strawberry balsamic pies♥

Chocolate chess pie

lemon thyme butter cookies

Charming hand-written signs by the bride herself

thumbprint cookies

peach pie

Even the little ones had pretty little drinks to sip on!

Wedding cake!

You can take the girl out of the bakery, but you can’t take the bakery out of the girl – Kat, slicing up desserts for wedding guests

Some of the beautiful floral arrangements at the reception

And now, there shall be dancing! First dance as a married couple, father-daughter dance, mother-son dance, free for all, line dancing. ALL THE DANCING!


*dance break for a little peppermint ice cream*

♥ Heart sunglasses kicked the fun factor up another notch ♥

Lil Oscar had to take a disco nap

I thought the yellow rain boots were such an iconic part of Kat’s wedding weekend attire, that ending on a shot of her boots filled with giant pink flowers was quite appropriate

I really hope that these photos were able to convey how much happiness – and, well, FUN, was felt and had by all who were a part of Kat and Thomas’s wedding celebration. And that all the rain that came down that weekend truly does indicate the amount of luck Kat and Thomas will have during their married life. (Because that “luck” came down by the buckets!)

♥♥♥

{Just Married} Kat + Thomas, Part A

Everyone kept saying that rain on your wedding day is good luck for the marriage – and, in Kat and Thomas’s case, that must mean they will have the luckiest marriage of them all! The rain that day can accurately be described as a “gully washer.” But that didn’t stop joy and fun from filling Kat and Thomas’s wedding day.

Oh, my bride that day arrived in yellow rain boots, with her “eat cake for breakfast” tote. I like where this is going.

And a pink wedding dress? Yep. Kat was 100% “herself” as a bride!

Kat and her sweet mom, Jan. Love this mother of the bride!

Kat, helping attach her soon-to-be husband’s boutonniere

Thomas’s brother Andrew and his wife Allie, trying to get his boutonniere pinned on

The wedding took place as part of the normal Sunday morning service at St. John’s

Thomas’s mom, Nancy, having her corsage tied on

Chatting with the nieces and nephews before the service

We were able to get some “formal’ portrait groupings before the service.

Thomas, Nancy, and his brother Andrew

Groom and mother of the groom

Tommy and Thomas, father and son

Kat with her bridesmaids, Lessie and Whitney

😀

Bride and father of the bride

Happy, happy couple

L♥VE

Thomas’s sister Ginny helps wrangle the kids to have their photos taken with their aunt and uncle

So. Cute.

And this is probably why one of their nephews had asked his mom the night before if Kat and Thomas are adults! “Oh. I didn’t know that” was his response when his mother said that Kat and Thomas are, in fact, adults. They have as much fun as the kids do!

Nieces and nephews, all gussied up

Mother of the bride and bride

Much love

Jan, Kat, and Aunt Bev

Kat and her grandfather. How precious is this??

These three Gordons…

Kip, Kat, and Preston (her “big, little bros”)

Gordon siblings and spouses: Tina, Kip, Thomas, Kat, Preston, Elizabeth – all the Gordon siblings have gotten married in under two years’ time!

Tommy, Thomas, and Page

Jim, Nancy, Thomas, and Petra

Wake, Kat, and Lia

Thomas’s side of the family – siblings, spouses, and kids

People begin gathering for the church service/wedding ceremony

A few moments from the ceremony

As I mentioned in the blog containing the Polaroids from Kat and Thomas’s wedding, there were two receptions. The first was a champagne reception at the church, which was an opportunity for the newly married couple to mingle with the wedding guests.

Right then. That’s Part A done. Part B to follow soon!

(There was too much awesomeness for just one blog post!)