[2009.07.27] Monday Night Recap
- July 27, 2009 -
- [Texas Hold 'Em] I used to be a big Hold ‘Em person in college, and still occasionally watch the tournaments on ESPN every now and then. It seems to be a new craze among my friends recently, though, so I’ve played a few times again which has re-sparked the interest. Because of this, I jumped on the Hold ‘Em facebook app, which hasn’t been treating me too well. I don’t play too often, but the first day I quickly jumped to the 100k group, and quickly lost it afterward. So the good news is I have a PRO title…the bad news is I currently have under 15k.
- [Purity Code] If you’ve been my facebook friend for awhile, you probably noticed my profile pic at some point was this:
We’ve been holding a series for the high school/college kids at my church called the “Purity Code”, based around creating biblical relationships and fostering personal and relational purity of the body/mind/heart/eyes/etc. It’s been a very great series, and we had the wrap-up this past friday, where I spoke! I basically covered topics about how you know when you’re ready to be in a relationship, and characteristics to look for when choosing a mate. Attending the CFC Dating/Courtship series for 5 years sure helped me out there :) It might seem surprising (or might not), but this was the first serious ‘public speaking’ opportunity I’ve had (outside of sharing my testimony). Though the feedback I’ve received was positive (I think people are just being encouraging, which is great! :)), I’m still not sure whether I’ll chase more speaking opportunities. Only time will tell, we’ll see what happens!
- [Last Shoot] I posted earlier today a teaser from my Saturday e-session with Rolly and Ben. This was the last official shoot I’ve had scheduled before my upcoming wedding, which is a bit bittersweet. Definitely going to miss shooting but I love having the time as there is so much to do before the wedding! I’ll still be culling/editing for another week or so trying to get some sessions complete before I take a bit of a leave for my wedding, so still keep an eye out for that. It’ll be over before you know it!
- [Jen + Jon] Though Saturday was my last ‘official’ shoot pre-wedding, I got to second shoot with my friend Kenny Nakai on Sunday for the wedding of Jen and Jon. There will be much more to see from this wedding on his blog later, but here’s a quick tease from what I saw:
- [The Ugly Truth] Today was a ‘date’ day for my fiancee and I, as it’s the day before her BAR exam. (CRAZY FACT: The BAR exam is 2 days long, from 8-5 both days with a 1-hour lunch. Who does that!??!) My goal was to keep her semi-sane today as well as get her to relax, so we did dinner and a movie. We watched “The Ugly Truth”, which had its moments of humor, but I was unimpressed. I’ve seen better, and I think it was hyped up too much for me.
- [Cubbies] WOO HOO! Since the all-star break, my cubbies have slowly started making their move, and now sit atop the NL Central in first place! Believe It! And an extra joy is they just won in 13 innings today 5-1 by an Alfonso Soriano GRAND SLAM! (and yes, I did wait until the end of the game to post this just to include it)
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Rolly + Ben : e-session {teaser 2}
- July 27, 2009 -
On Saturday, we had the second part to Rolly and Ben’s e-session. I’m so excited to show you guys all of them, but for now…
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Raina + Libu : proposal {Evanston, IL}
- July 25, 2009 -
Shortly after Michelle and Suresh’s wedding, their family had a bit more excitement as Suresh’s younger sister Raina got proposed to! I had been speaking with Libu for a short while planning out the details, and the best option was the weekend of Raina twin sister’s engagement (you’ll remember Shaina from her proposal as well. Do you think they look alike?) , as Libu would be in town for that. He told her that they were going to be looking for e-session locations for later in the fall. Little did she know that I was being a ninja hiding out behind the trees and bushes :)
Libu’s brother was with me scouting the place before we got started, and wanted to get some personal photos taken as well, so I obliged :)
Now on to what you really wanted to see!
I think she said yes!
Right after we did a little mini-session for them. Why? Because we could.
Then it was time for the family and friends to congratulate the newly engaged couple and hear the good news! Raina could not stop smiling :)
If their bridal party is as fun and willing to do anything as these friends were, we’re definitely going to be having some fun times at the wedding. :) These guys kept ASKING for more pictures- gotta love that!
Congratulations again, and thank you guys for letting me play a role in such a precious moment in your lives. I’m looking forward to working with you more as we get closer to the wedding- it’s just the beginning!
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Modern ProposalsMichelle + Suresh : wedding {Oak Brook, IL}
- July 21, 2009 -
Last fall I had the pleasure of shooting Michelle and Suresh’s formal engagement, and I was definitely excited to shoot their wedding recently. These two had such a great attitude from start to finish that made for an amazing wedding day. My friend, Steve Thomas, helped cover this event with me as well.
I started the day with Michelle getting ready…
While Steve was with Suresh for the morning. During the traditional Indian Christian ceremonies, the groom ties the minnu (threads from the mathrakodi/sari given to the bride) around the bride’s neck. It can be a very stressful time as there’s a specific way to tie it and such, so Suresh get’s his practice in on one of his groomsmen.
Before the ceremony, the bridal parties held a short prayer in their separate rooms.
I love this shot of Michelle’s dad getting ready to give his daughter away
Christ Church of Oak Brook is absolutely gorgeous! (I’m a little biased, as my wedding will be here next month :))
After the ceremony, we quickly headed out to the nearby Morton Arboretum for some quick portraits. Here’s a grab that Steve got of me setting up the bridal party.
The bridal party entrances were just the beginning of the party- this guy knows how to get down!
To limit the amount of ‘glass clinking’ going on, the MCs set up a challenge for anyone who wanted to see Michelle and Suresh kiss: Hula Hoop! The length of time the guest could keep it going would be length of the kiss. They didn’t realize these junior bridesmaids were pros! They had to force them to stop after 20ish seconds.
They also had a wedding slideshow documenting their lives, which brought many laughs throughout
Then came the dances!
Michelle and Suresh, you guys were a blast to work with! I’m looking forward to the post-wedding portraits once you guys get settled (and I get through my own wedding) :)
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Modern Weddings[2009.07.20] Monday Night Recap
- July 20, 2009 -
- [Cubbies] After destroying the Nationals to start the second half of the season (woo hoo!) we got a quick dose of reality getting hurt bad by the Phillies today. I’m looking on the bright side though – we’re #2 in the Central and ready to make our move! Let’s Go Cubs!
- [To Catch A Predator] Have you guys seen these shows on Nightline? On MSNBC they’ve been showing these series from the Nigerian scam artists to men soliciting minors via internet chat rooms. And though its disgusting to see these stories, at the same time I keep getting entertained watching these men wait in a living room expecting to see a 14 year old girl walk out, and then Chris Hansen comes through and just starts talking to them. And they all sit there and have a pretty lengthy conversation too!
- [25] It happened. This past friday I reached the ripe old age of 25. It’s crazy! I mean, everyone thought I was old before, but now I’m actually 25. And in less than a month I’ll be known as a husband! What is this world coming to!? Thanks again for all the phone calls/voicemails/text/email/facebook/twitter messages- I definitely felt the love!
- [Birthday Dinner] Even though my fiancee is taking the BAR exam in a week and a half (keep up the prayers!) she still made time to take me out to dinner on Saturday evening. It was a great time for both of us to take a break from the madness of everything, and just relax and enjoy a meal and dessert. We won’t have too many moments like this before the wedding, so we’re definitely soaking it up.
- [Birthdays/Anniversaries] In addition to my birthday a few days back, my family has quite a few celebrations going on in the month of July. My parents’ wedding anniversary and my sister’s wedding anniversary was on July 14th, her in-laws anniversary on the 15th, my brother-in-law’s birthday on the 22nd, my other sister’s anniversary on July 26th, and her birthday on the 30th. That’s part of the reason why we scheduled my wedding for August :) To celebrate, the extended fam went out to Buca di Beppo for some good Italian dining. As an added bonus, my niece made me a birthday book! After reading it there, she also suggested I read it before I go to sleep. And read it to other people too. Consider this you being read to :)
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: [MNR], announcement[2009.07.13] Monday Night Recap
- July 13, 2009 -
- [ManTrip] Earlier today, I posted about ManTrip *beta* so you’ll probably want to check that out. There are pretty pictures in that one, too :)
- [Nintendo] As a midday break last week, I broke out the old Nintendo system I had- yep, the classic version. I played the original Super Mario Bros., too, and had a blast! The one downside was that I know all the cheats and stuff, so it literally took me less than 15 minutes to finish the game. Seriously, though, they don’t make games like this anymore. These youngn’s with the PS3s and Wii’s have no clue what true gaming is.
- [Mario Kart] My sophomore year of college, I spent a lot time playing Mario Kart for N64 (and was pretty good, if I do say so myself). It’s been awhile though, and this past weekend I was at a friend’s place after ManTrip and played the Wii version- I wasn’t as good. But it was still as entertaining as before.
- [Home Run Derby] We’ve reached the halfway point in the MLB season, which means its time for the All Star Game and the Home Run Derby. I was watching the first round of the derby today, and I don’t know whether it was because of the participants or location, but it definitely did not have a great “All Star” feel to it. Nothing spectacular, which left me a bit disappointed. (congrats to Prince Fielder, by the fielder).
- [Furniture Delivery] About a month away from the wedding, and there’s still so much to do! We’re starting the ‘settling’ process in our new place now, and are getting the first shipment of furniture delivered between 11 and 2 tomorrow. Woo hoo! Luckily, I have plenty of cleaning to do there so I don’t mind having to wait a 3 hour time frame. But seriously? I would much rather use a service that quoted me a 1-hour time frame and might be off by a half hour or so. But I think I might be asking too much. (This also is my dislike for UPS and FedEx…give me a delivery time!) My office is currently a blank canvas, too, so if you have any suggestions on how to set it up, I’m all ears.
- [BAR Exam] As most of you know, my fiancee is studying for the BAR exam, which she is taking in about 2 weeks (yep, 2 weeks before the wedding- she’s crazy!) She’s reaching the home stretch and has been doing an amazing job studying and staying focused – much better than I would do, that’s for sure. If any of you are the praying type, be sure to throw up a few for her. (At least pray for her sanity up through the wedding :))
- [A Picture] Right…a picture. You didn’t have enough from the ManTrip post? Fine- here’s one that didn’t make the cut from the trip post. (It’s me…proof that I was there)
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
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ManTrip *beta*
- July 13, 2009 -
On Twitter, i dubbed it at ManTrip 1.0 when we started the journey, but quickly realized that it wasn’t ready for official release, so it’s been downgraded to beta this time :)
A handful of my buddies decided that we needed a time away from everything and just chill, so after a handful of e-mails going back and forth (which exploded to almost 100 in the thread on the final day) we set out for a 1-day camping trip. Mind you none of us have ever gone camping really, so there would definitely be a learning curve on our trip. 7 of us packed up in an minivan and headed up near the Illinois-Wisconsin border this past weekend for some good times and a much needed break to get re-energized for the 2nd half of the year.
As soon as we got to our location, we quickly rented a few boats and tried our hand at rowing and fishing. The fish weren’t biting (and the rows were having some issues rowing at times), but definitely a blast getting out on the water. It was a beautiful day which made it all the more relaxing of a time, just chilling on the waters.
We headed back to dry land and began to set up tents. This tent claimed to fit 2-3 people…but they don’t know us. Indians can stuff 15 people in a Honda Civic. We definitely will fit at least 7 in this tent. (We did have another tent- though we could fit, we still wanted to sleep comfortably :)).
This guy camping next to us had two tents of his own. Slightly larger. For less people. And he put them up faster then we did. By himself. So what? We’re not embarrassed. Please. We wanted to take a long time to set up the tents…it was a bonding experience.
It was a semi-rough night trying to sleep, but we all got up a little before 5am for some sunrise fishing down on the pier. I’m normally not up by 5am, but it can’t be a beautiful thing. Again, out in the middle of nature with only the sounds of birds chirping and the sun beginning to rise- it’s a very calming feeling. This time, one of our guys actually caught a fish (the picture doesn’t do justice how big it was…it was HUGE!), but we decided to throw it back. And that was all she wrote for fishing.
All in all, ManTrip *beta* was a success. A great learning experience, but a better escape with the guys. I’m ready to get into the home stretch of wedding planning, There’s been talk about doing another one in the future – a more prepared version of camping was an option, or possibly a ski trip. (FACT: Indians don’t ski. I don’t know what these guys are thinking with that one) We’ll see how it all plays out. You got any ideas of where we should go/what we should do next? Maybe by then we’ll be ready to declare it ManTrip 1.0.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
[2009.07.06] Monday Night Recap
- July 6, 2009 -
- [Wedding RSVPs] Wedding planning is definitely in full swing (obviously), and the deadline for our ‘friends and family’ to respond is July 9th. Here are some stats for you guys: including our relatives in India, our invited guest list is 1095 people, with 446 invitations sent out. We currently received 184 rsvp’s, meaning there are still a little over 200 invitations still left to be sent back to us within the next 3 days (supposedly). Any guesses on how many people we’ll actually need to call in a week to see if they’re coming?
- [Furniture] When I was an undergrad at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, all the apartments came fully furnished. That was the life. It was a bit of shock for me to get used to the idea of getting our own place, and THEN having to furnish it as well. But I digress. This past weekend, the fiancee and I went furniture shopping, and ended up at the RoomPlace. I know there’s commission on these sales for them, but seriously, they are vultures! The first time we went, the salesperson literally stood 15 feet away from us at all times just watching us, and every 5-10 minutes would come in and give us some info about furniture options. Personally, I like to have a little time to think about things, so this definitely was not conducive for me. We left their empty handed, but filled with ideas. We went to another store location the next day, where after a bit of time, we finalized the purchases for our bedroom, dining room, and living room. Everything went smoothly up until the time the salesman added $1,000 worth of warranties mattress pads. We then spent another 45 minutes convincing them to take it off- definitely not a way I would want to spend 45 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. In the end though, we ordered our furniture, and are making strides to starting our lives together post-marriage.
- [Fireworks] Here’s a sad fact: I was born and raised in the Chicagoland area, am going to be 25 years old soon, and have never been to the Taste of Chicago nor the Naperville Ribfest. This year was no different. HOWEVER, after the furniture shopping on Saturday, my fiancee and I went to a local firework show, which is still quite entertaining. It amazes me to see hundreds of people just standing around staring at sparks flying in the sky- and I have to admit I too was doing the same thing. I’m still not sure if I truly celebrated the independence of this nation or if I celebrated loud explosions and bright lights.
- [MSL] This Sunday was the start of the 3rd season of the Men’s Summer Basketball League that my home church hosts, and the first one I didn’t participate in. With the busy-ness of shoots and wedding prep, I wasn’t able to commit to the 4 weekends this year, but I heard it was a great turnout with great games. (Interesting note: It took only 5 days for us to reach maximum capacity for the league this year! We definitely need to find some funds to get a bigger gym in order to get more people involved) If you guys are in the area on Sundays in July, definitely come check out the competition!
- [Birthdays] In my group of college friends, it somehow has worked out that majority of us share a birthday-ish with another member of the group, so we generally do dual-celebrations throughout the year. July is my month, with my friend’s birthday on the 13th and mine on the 17th. We went out and got chinese food at Mee Mah’s in Chicago, and then just hung out and caught up on what’s going on in everyone’s life. Since we only are able to get together every other month or so, we normally end off with each person just updating on their lives- great way to reconnect with everyone. It’s crazy that the next time we meet up like this, I’ll be married!
- [Cubbies] Where the heck has the baseball season gone?! I’ve barely watched any games this year, and it’s almost the all-star break. But lately, my Cubbies have been turning things around, finally getting some production from D.Lee, and Ramirez just got off the DL. That’s all great news, and I’m looking forward to the second half of the season.
- [A Picture?] Obviously, you guys really only care about the images here, so it’d be rude of me not to post anything with this post. Here’s a few that I don’t think you’ve seen before. Last year in preparation for my sister’s wedding, we had to clean out our basement where I stumbled upon quite a few treasures (some of which are still down in storage)- the evolution of land lines, an old record player, numerous bibles, my old sports card collections, and even newspapers I collected. Enjoy!
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natemathai | filed under: [MNR]Rolly + Ben : E-Session {teaser}
- July 6, 2009 -
Here’s a quick tease from the mini-session I had this past weekend with Rolly and Ben out in Evanston, Illinois-
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
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