What did I Learn from Being a Bride?

October 25, 2020 Christina Scellato-Casanova

I learned a lot. So much so that I had to organize it all in a series of blog posts that break down all the things you might need to know. I hope that you find it helpful. Here are the general bullet-points and if you click on them, you might just find a whole blog post on the topic!

If you want to have the smoothest wedding planning journey, here’s…

How to Start Wedding Planning

How to Avoid Wedding Planning Anxiety

Wedding Planning Scellato Photography Northern California Stress Anxiety

The Websites that Made Wedding Planning Easier

The week before you wedding can get a little crazy. I am a pretty organized person and it still snuck up on me. So if you’d like my advice on…

How to Survive the Week Before Your Wedding

Don’t Forget to Pack These for Wedding Day

Being a photographer, I knew a lot about being behind the camera on a wedding day, but not so much about being in front of the camera on a wedding day. I learned…

Why it is so Important to Have an Engagement Session with Your Wedding Photographer

Mistakes you Shouldn’t Make Regarding Bride & Groom Portraits

Why it is Worth Every Penny to Hire a Professional Photographer

The Websites that Made Wedding Planning Easier

October 11, 2020 Christina Scellato-Casanova

Zola

This one was my favorite. They have a great wedding planning timeline. If you wonder how far out the average person schedules their dress fittings or when to get final headcounts, this app will be your best friend. It also made it easy to make a wedding website that was easy to navigate. The best part was that you could order invitations that perfectly matched the design of your wedding webpage! It felt so satisfying to have eucalyptus on our webpage, invitations and at our actual wedding.

You could even have guests RSVP through the wedding website, keeping your guest list all organized for you! And don’t worry, if they aren’t on the list, they can’t RSVP. You can even set up the website to be password protected and include the password on your wedding invitations if you are worried about security.

Target Registry

Who doesn’t love Target. Mindlessly wandering through its beautiful isles of home decor and losing track of time. Now imagine doing that with your loved one, imagining your dream home, and adding anything your heart desires on your registry. You can make this happen. You can download the Target Registry App on your phone, or stores have scanners/phones that you can use at the Customer Services desk.

I liked that your guests could view the items on your registry by price range. Some of my favorite things that we got off our registry can be found in this blog post.

Target Registry Wedding Planning Scellato Photography

The Knot

This app was helpful because it also had a good timeline list to follow. The main feature that it had that Zola did not was the ability to help you find some vendors in your area. You could specifically search through DJs and officiants and venues, etc.

Etsy

Oh, I love Etsy. There are just so many beautiful things here. You can find beautiful decor, jewelry, bridesmaid gifts, and veils. You might need to have a chaperone so you don’t have too much fun shopping in Etsy.

Disclaimer: Do not expect to have a Pinterest perfect wedding. Pinterest can give false expectations and lead to disappointment.

Now that I’ve put that out there I will tell you that Pinterest did help play a large part in my wedding planning. Starting with a mood board, I picked out colors and vibes that I wanted to incorporate into my wedding. I suggest you use it in this way instead of trying to make each picture match up perfectly in real life. It is helpful to create a board because you can make it private (to keep a secret from guests) but invite those that will help with planning or decorating so they can easily see your vision.

Pinterest Wedding Planning Wedding Photographer

20 Things You Should Try While You're Stuck at Home

July 12, 2020 Christina Scellato-Casanova

Paint a nature scene (or an abstract blob)

2. Draw a cartoon character from your childhood (or adulthood)

3. Write a poem

4. Write a short story about a person stuck inside their house

5. Bake your favorite dessert

6. Cook your favorite meal

7. Try a new recipe

8. Read a book you love

9. Find a new book to read

10. Water some plants

Northern California Photographer Succulent

11. Practice breathing exercises

12. Try some yoga (and no, you don’t have to be able to touch your toes!)

Northern California Photographer Yoga Artist Instructor Alive in the Fire

13. Write someone a letter

14. Clean out your email inbox and unsubscribe (at the bottom of most emails) from those you no longer want to receive

15. Plan out some life goals

16. Think about a time when you were at your happiest

17. Call a loved one

18. Check out these virtual museum tours

19. If you’re feeling the need to get outside, there are virtual hike tours of National Parks

20. Try on your entire closet (not all at once), and get rid of clothes that no longer fit

I hope that you try and enjoy some of these activities!

She Matters 2019: Day 2

February 28, 2019 Christina Scellato-Casanova

She Matters Yuba City Hope Point Nazarene Church Photography

After Day 1 of She Matters, it wasn’t hard to wake up early to come back! I made sure to enjoy some of the cute details and decorations of the event that might have been overlooked in the rush of the first day.

The meals of the event were provided by Clark Avenue Coffee, Sunflower Market, and Cool Hand Lukes.

After food, we made sure to start off the right way with some more worship!

Our second speaker of the event was Hannah Payne. She is a UCLA student that has been acting and modeling for the past 10 years and recently appeared in the Netflix original series, 13 Reasons Why.

She shared some hilarious stories about life to start off and then went on to share advice that has helped her to stay connected to God while attending a non-christian college.

Our next speaker was Ruthie Bolton, a 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist, a USA Basketball Female of the Year, the Sports Illustrated Best Woman Athlete by home state, and one of only 4 players to be named to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2011.

Ruthie credits to her successes to God. She believes that her purpose is to use her gifts to inspire others to do their best and be a light in the world.

“If I am only remembered for being a basketball player, I believe that I will have failed in my job on this planet,” - Ruthie Bolton

Our final speaker was Mayor Preet Didbal, mayor of Yuba City. She is the first Sikh woman to hold the highest elected office in an American city. She shared her amazing testimony, which moved numerous hearts.

We had so many great speakers and volunteers, but what truly made this event so special was each and every girl that attended. There are no words to describe seeing young women believe in themselves and support each other.

This event became so big that we had to keep adding tables and tables until the room was full! I hope that this movement only continues to grow because every young girl deserves to hear that she matters.

She Matters 2019: Day 1

February 27, 2019 Christina Scellato-Casanova

I was so blessed to be able to serve at this event this year. She Matters is a conference, held at Hope Point Nazarene Church in Yuba City, centered around discipleship of young women.

We are passionate about speaking worth, acceptance, and love into the lives of teenage girls.

As daughters of Christ, we are not alone! We are all created in the image of God. - Hannah Maddalena

My mother, Stephanie Scellato of Scellato Designs created the floral design pieces for this event.

I was so blessed to be a part of an event that had such a powerful and positive atmosphere that brought women together.

True sisterhood isn’t a clique, it’s a team.

We started the evening off with some wonderful worship led by Chanta Apodaca and Jessica Suarez.

Our first speaker was Tara Armstrong. She founded She Shifts Culture with the following tagline:

WE PRAY. WE EMPOWER. WE UNITE.

WE ASK, "WHAT CAN WE DO?", AND DO IT.

WE WALK IN LOVE, WE WALK IN AUTHORITY, WE WALK IN INFLUENCE.

WE LOOK WITHIN OURSELVES AND THEN BEYOND OURSELVES.

......AND SHIFT CULTURE.

Tara spoke about how we all have some little personal flaw that we don’t like about ourselves. She compared it to a little dot on a big white page and brought up how we fixate on the dot, and not everything else around it. We are our own worst critics, so she made each girl write down a lie that they believed about themselves.

She then asked if anyone would like to share theirs. In a giant room filled with young girls. It was intimidating.

But Mikayla, shown below, bravely volunteered to go first. If sharing a personal detail wasn’t intimidating enough, Tara requested that she stand on a chair so everyone could see her. She confessed the lie that she believed, that she was not pretty.

To combat this lie, Mikayla needed a truth to hold onto. To help her, the whole room erupted with female voices saying, “MIKAYLA YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! MIKAYLA YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! MIKAYLA YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!”

This was such a powerful moment, banishing this negative self talk and replacing it with God’s truth and love. After Mikayla, many other girls volunteered to share their lies with the group and Tara invited everyone to nail their lie to the cross.

A rush of young women came to the altars, they were all packed side-by-side, united. I’ve never seen the altars this full at a regular service. It reminded me of my mission trip to Brazil, where the the altars became so packed that the isles were filled with people!

The first day was obviously a big success and I was so excited to see what God would do the next day!