Well, today is Tuesday which means it’s date night for us. I gotta keep this short! So…the winner of the $15 Starbucks gift card is Liz Kausteklis. It’s fun having a fellow photographer be a winner. Go check out her blog here. Congratulations Liz! And thanks again everyone for all your sweet comments. We love hearing from you!

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Even though it was a great idea and a good argument, the winning image by number of votes was Option One: Best Replica. It seems the majority loved how similar the two were. It is pretty neat to see the similarities between the generations. One of my favorite comments from the contest was from Joanna who said, “I vote for #1 because they look so shock­ingly sim­i­lar! Go genes go!” Vitaliy and I are still cracking up at the thought of her cheering on genes.

And since I love saving the best for last. No really, I love saving the best for last. You can ask Vitaliy, I have a whole routine about how amazing the last bite on my plate has to be. He thinks it’s absolutely ridiculous. I find it to be absolutely crucial! Back to my point — it’s time to announce the winner of the Starbucks gift card.

In a random drawing, the winner is AMANDA MUELLER!!! She said, “The first pic­ture, being so close to the orig­i­nal and the sweet face. It’s great.” Thanks so much, Amanda, for coming to hang out with us and sharing your opinion. We loved hearing from you.

Thank you all again for participating and for sharing so much love with baby Charlotte and her family. I bet they have absolutely adored reading all of your kind words. I look forward to the next contest. Have a great weekend!

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Dave and I have been together for three and a half years, so when he asked me to marry him on December 18, 2009, there was no hesitation in my mind to say, “YES!” (although I was choked up crying and couldn’t verbalize it right away!)  The setting was perfect: romantic, simple, and so “us.”

We were snowshoeing around Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park in the late afternoon, with no particular destination in mind.  Eventually we came to a beautiful overlook of the snow-covered Yosemite Valley.  While I was looking out at the view, Dave, still wearing snowshoes in 2 feet of fresh powder, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  He placed a beautiful family heirloom – his great grandmother’s engagement ring – on my finger.  Completely surprised and shocked, I nodded “yes” since I was crying and couldn’t speak yet.  Apparently nodding was not good enough for him.  He asked again, obviously wanting a verbal answer!  It was all perfect.

Unbeknownst to me, Dave had also packed two glasses and a small bottle of champagne.  We celebrated with a toast on the mountain top.  Then, with the sun setting in front of us we hiked down the mountain back to the car.

The attached picture was taken at Badger Pass, Yosemite California, while we had our champagne toast.  Dave had promised my sister-in-law that he would have a camera and would record the actual moment that he proposed.  Fortunately for me this picture was taken a few minutes after, so I had a little time to compose myself (although not really).

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Stephanie and Dave’s story resonated with me for two reasons. The first item that caught my eye was that Dave gave Stephanie his great-grandmother’s engagement ring. I absolutely love the idea of an heirloom wedding ring which is why I was given my grandmother’s engagement ring and then her wedding ring when we married. Nice job, Dave! The second item that just cracked me up when I read it was, “Apparently nodding was not good enough for him. He asked again, obviously wanting a verbal answer!” The reason this is so funny to me is because when Vitaliy proposed to me, I answered him “yes” but in Ukrainian. He looked at me confused and asked me a second time. I answered him again in his language thinking that it would be so sweet for him. He still looked confused and hesitated, so I exclaimed, “Yes! Yes! I will be your wife!” Finally, he smiled and put the ring on. Later on that evening, I asked him if I was saying the word incorrectly in Ukrainian and he just didn’t understand me. He answered me, “No, you said it perfectly. But marriage is a major commitment so I wanted to hear you say it in your own language so you knew for sure what you were saying yes to.” Still cracks me up today.

Stephanie and Dave, we really enjoyed reading your story. We can’t wait to meet you and photograph the two of you! Congratulations and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love,
Vitaliy and Candace

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Giveaway Details:

Who: Nominate yourself or a friend.
What: Email engagement story and a picture of the two of you.
Where: Winner must be located near San Francisco Bay Area or Sacramento Area.
When: Nominations must be in by January 28 at 11:59PST. That gives you two weeks!
Why: To celebrate love and make someone’s Valentine’s Day very exciting!

***UPDATE: Deadline extended until January 31st at 11:59PST.***

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I thought this picture was perfect for this post. This is a sneak peek from a wedding we photographed last year with Teresa Halton. We’ve got so many amazing weddings to post that we shot with Teresa in 2009. Can’t wait to share them all with you!

“Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS.”

I have a special place in my heart for orphans. My husband and his two sisters were orphaned 4 years ago when they lost both of their parents in a car accident. My sister-in-law Leska was only 14 years old and I have personally seen the affects that children go through when they lose both of their parents. When a child’s entire security is found in their parents and then that security is ripped away, pain and fear come like a flood. I don’t wish this on my dear sister and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone else in this world. In my sister’s case, it was an accident and completely unpreventable. But in the situations where children are being orphaned by AIDS, it is preventable. You and I can make a difference. I know it seems impossible or too large for us to make any difference. But be faithful to do what you can and let God use it in mighty ways.

One of the easiest and fastest things you can do to help is share this post. Share it on your Facebook, email it to friends, or talk about it on your own blog. And then leave me a comment below and answer this question, “Did you know that today was World AIDS Day?” We are going to make a donation to Compassion’s AIDS Initiative fund based on the feedback we get from you. If we get 30 comments, we will donate $50 bucks. If we get 40 comments, we will donate $60 bucks. If we get 50 comments, we will donate $70 bucks. You determine how much we give. One comment per person. Comments must be in by 11:59pm PST today. Will you spread the love today?

I won’t keep you waiting any longer. Here are the Giveaways and their winners. Each winner was randomly chosen.

Vanilla Moon: How do you like to cel­e­brate big accom­plish­ments?
Winner: Allison H
Winnings: $20 Gift Certificate to Vanilla Moon
Her answer: It used to be a yummy Carvel cake, but don’t think they have those stores out here. And get­ting one at the super­mar­ket, just isn’t the same. As a new wife to be (Sunday), I am hop­ing to be able to always make a home­made treat/cake for my hus­band for each anniver­sary, birth­day, etc. Per­haps for extra brownie points, I will be mak­ing ice­ cream every week in our new Kitchen Aid ice­ cream maker. Greg can’t wait.

Banana Republic: What is your favorite brand and why?
Winner: Sergio
Winnings: $40 Gift Certificate to Banana Republic
His answer: I love Eden Foods. First of all they are one of the first com­pa­nies to pro­mote organic foods. Then they left the organic move­ment because big com­pa­nies started join­ing in and mak­ing organic stan­dards soft. Their prod­ucts are hon­est, they don’t cheat at all by putting in junk that saves them money (or makes them more money). They are a fam­ily owned com­pany, and the fam­ily does not have to answer to greedy share­hold­ers who just care about prof­its, so they treat their employ­ees well (most Eden employ­ees make a car­reer of work­ing there) and pay their sup­pli­ers (mostly farm­ers) well. Fin­ally, they use Macs.

Compassion: Who or what do you advo­cate for and why?
Winner: Rebekah
Winnings: $100 donated to Compassion on behalf of Rebekah
Her answer: I have ded­i­cated my life to min­is­ter­ing to peo­ple who need Jesus! It’s been an adven­ture and there are so many ways to serve, but the bot­tom line is that I will go any­where or do any­thing God calls me to do from serv­ing dis­ad­van­taged youth in San Fran­cisco, to serv­ing peo­ple suf­fer­ing from the effects of HIV in Africa, now even min­is­ter­ing to col­lege stu­dents at the U of A. The best part about my lat­est endeavor is that I can con­tinue to serve refugees, the home­less and many oth­ers with the help of the col­lege stu­dents. It’s my dream job!

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Unfortunately, we didn’t meet our goal of 62 comments on Compassion Challenge. You can do better next time! However, we are still going to give $100 to Compassion simply because Jesus continually blesses us. If you are reading this post and are one of those people who look at the world and think that only bad things happen. Please take 10 minutes out of your day and read the comments section of the Compassion Giveaway Challenge. It will not only inspire you, but remind you that there are people in this world working hard to make it a better place. Thank you for everyone who participated in these giveaways. They won’t be the last! Happy Friday Everyone!

~Candace

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And since posts are always funner (yes, funner!) with pictures here are some photos from the Murphy’s Grape Stomping Fest we went to this month. This year we were just spectators, but next year, we won’t be watching — we’ll be stomping! These are some of our fabulous friends that make our life so much sweeter.

And the barrels await. So clean and calm, but its about to get very loud and very dirty up in here!

Barrels + Grapes = Craziness! Well, there really needs to be a human being in that equation, but there’s something about those barrels and grapes that cause crazy things to happen.

And the competition begins. This is going to be my hiney next year. Maybe we won’t be posting pictures next year?

I agree with the person taking video of the crowd. They are as entertaining as the grape stompers themselves.

It’s dirty business, folks. Dirty business.

A good friend of mine, Jennifer, is a perfect example of this. She has become a fanatic for Compassion International. Her love and desire to bring children out of poverty has given her purpose and influence in her life. She has taken this passion and her word of mouth to really make a difference in another human being’s life. She is truly an example and an inspiration of how powerful our recommendations can be.

In order to honor my friend’s dedication to changing lives as well as promote another brand who is in the business of saving lives — I have a challenge for you. This is the last giveaway for our week of celebration so let’s make it a good one. Prokopets Studio is going to donate $50 to Compassion on behalf of the winner of this giveaway. All you have to do is tell me in the comments section who or what do you advocate for and why. But here is the challenge! Our most commented on post was the first post I ever wrote American Girl Meets a Ukrainian Boy. This post received 31 comments. If you guys can double that amount of comments for this post, we are gonna double the amount that we donate to Compassion International. So here is an opportunity for you to use your word of mouth to make a difference in another person’s life. Go spread the word!

Entries must be in by 11:59pm PST on Thurs­day, Octo­ber 15. Win­ners will be announced on Friday.

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We listened to Jennifer and this is our precious Sandra that we sponsor through Compassion. The coolest thing is that we get to not only provide for her financially, but also build a relationship with her by writing letters back and forth with her. I can’t wait to see how Jesus will use these things in her life.

Not only am I inspired by their branding, marketing and customer service, Vitaliy and I also get inspiration for our photography from their ad campaigns. Below you’ll see the ad from 2008 that inspired the following shot we photographed for an engagement session this past year. We get a lot of inspiration from fashion editorials. But enough of this, let’s get to how this benefits you.

To continue celebrating the big launch of our site and blog and to thank you guys for being so fabulous, we’re giving away a $40 gift certificate to Banana Republic. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me what is your favorite brand and why. And if you share this post on Face­book, email it to friends, blog about it, or stand on the cor­ner and shout it out — tell me about it with your answer to the ques­tion and I’ll drop your name in the hat twice for being so nice. Entries must be in by 11:59pm PST on Thurs­day, Octo­ber 15. Win­ners will be announced on Friday.

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But today, we’re here to treat you! We want to thank you for being so great. Thank you for all of your visits, your comments, and your sweet feedback. Thank you for telling your friends about us. Thank you for making what we do absolutely enjoyable. To say thank you and to start off our week of celebration, we are going to give away one $20 Gift Certificate to the amazing Vanilla Moon Bakery in San Carlos, CA. As Vitaliy and I worked on creating our brand, we really started looking at what brands we liked and why. The minute we walked into Vanilla Moon, I was smitten! I loved the simplicity of their logo as well as the decor within the bakery. I love how small the bakery is; it makes it feel so personal. One of my favorite things was their packaging. Again, very simple but so nice with their cute stickers that they attach. And most of all — I love their product. I went on a search to find a cupcake place that I loved and Vanilla Moon is the only one that has past the test so far. Brides, wouldn’t you just love to see a tower of these on your wedding day? I so wish I would have done cupcakes for my wedding — they are so much fun!

Giveaway details: All you have to do is leave a comment telling me how you like to celebrate big accomplishments. And if you share this post on Facebook, email it to friends, blog about it, or stand on the corner and shout it out — tell me about it with your answer to the question and I’ll drop your name in the hat twice for being so nice. This is a local bakery so if you live outside of the San Francisco Bay Area, don’t be disappointed. This is our first giveaway of three this week.

Entries must be in by 11:59pm PST on Thursday, October 15. Winners will be announced on Friday.

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If you are staring at your screen wanting to eat it, don’t be alarmed. This is totally normal.

My other purpose in the post was to give to someone. Vitaliy and I have been so blessed in our life that it only inspires us to want to give to others too. And that is exactly what we’re going to do. So without making you wait any longer (some of you have been so impatient!), the winner of the Family Session Giveaway is The Segerblom Family!

Here is the story that their dear friend Jennifer sent me.

Dear Adrienne, Scott, Dominic and Max — Vitaily and I are really looking forward to meeting you all. Though we cannot change your situation, we hope to give you a very fun experience and document the love your family shares. We are thrilled to feature your story in hopes that it too would inspire others. It has truly inspired us! We’ll be in touch soon!

Jennifer, to thank you for taking the time out to nominate your friends, you win a $20 gift card to Vanilla Moon! Vanilla Moon is so yummy it will surely need to be featured on the blog soon.