Well, this one wasn't really a holiday party, it was a French-themed ( I wore my beret ;-) 12th birthday celebration that happened to be during the holidays. December birthdays shouldn't be minimized, and this one wasn't!
Julia's group of friends got full-color-with-theme caricatures, and then I did a group one for her. Thanks for having me!!
We had a sunset wedding ceremony in November, in Valley of Fire State Park---which is about an hour northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. Joining us was a small group of friends and family. It was absolutely beyond beautiful.
After the ceremony, we had our wedding dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, which is directly across from the fountains at the Bellagio; we had a lovely view of them!
Then we had a cozy reception in our hotel suite, which overlooked the famous Las Vegas Strip, and which is where the caricatures came in...
Four dear friends gifted us with various art forms:
My matron of honor, Celestia Ward, not only baked and decorated that fabulous cake, (it was a scrumptious vegan pineapple-upside-down cake, with bordeaux-maraschino-cherry layers) but she sculpted the witty little cake topper of us as well!!!! I can't thank her enough for all she did in helping us pull off our wedding.
Another dear, dear friend and Master Caricaturist, Jan Opdebeeck, painted this fantastic digital caricature of us, which he sent to Celestia, who printed and framed it. The calligraphy on the mat was done by another delightful friend, Jeff Redford....I was so floored by all this! Then I cried!!!! (with happiness, that is!!! ;-)
Sooooooo us. Thank you, thank you, thank you, dear Jan and Jeff!!
We had all our guests sign it (and now it hangs in our bedroom.)
Celestia started it off the signatures, as was fitting, because she coordinated it.
Here's Marlo and her husband Nick doing the honors, in her dress and his tie adorned with Emily-and-John-faces (!!!!!!!) that Marlo made just for our wedding!
Marlo was responsible for making me look the best I've ever looked in my life...she did my wedding makeup. (My hair was done by a gal in Shag Me Salon, home of great retro hairstyles. Dress was from Trashy Diva and my freshwater pearl jewelry was handcrafted by another artisan I've met through my work, Johnis at Lucky Find OCNJ).
I have such amazingly skilled friends. Just amazing. :-)
Our wedding favors for our guests were more little pieces of art. Celestia hooked me up with a local artisan, Beth Bishop, who handcrafts all sorts of interesting pottery. I bought sake cups for everyone, since we planned for a sake toast instead of champagne. Then I folded up little gift bags (thank you, Pinterest!) tied with a tag featuring my pencil drawing of the bride and groom's eyes. ;-)
The last thing we did on our wedding day (it was almost midnight by then) was walk from Mandalay Bay to the Las Vegas sign for the obligatory photo. In sneakers, I might add!
Our honeymoon was a quick jaunt through some perfectly astounding natural wonders: Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and finally, the Grand Canyon. Couldn't take too much time, because our whole wedding and honeymoon trip had to fit in with my gig calendar!!!
Yes, it was cold.
A long time coming, but this new husband and wife are very happy. :-)
These are photos of caricatures where I snuck a photo of the artwork on my drawing table, but not the subjects....
and this one, shown at the drawing stage and the airbrushed finish, was for a lady whose nickname was Lady Bee.
I DID get the subjects in these photos...all four faces were so much fun to do! I guess my preference is for a blue-purple background...it really sets off skin tones nicely.
Some collages of airbrushed caricatures (all made using the Diptic app on my iPhone, then shared on Instagram) from this year's jaunt to the State Fair ofTexas!
Julia's group of friends got full-color-with-theme caricatures, and then I did a group one for her. Thanks for having me!! 
Sooooooo us. Thank you, thank you, thank you, dear Jan and Jeff!!
Celestia started it off the signatures, as was fitting, because she coordinated it.
Yes, it was cold.
A long time coming, but this new husband and wife are very happy. :-)
