Thursday, September 29, 2011













Luke and Kelly's Wedding
Dos Pueblos Ranch, Gaviota Coast

So I recently had the pleasure of playing for a wedding of some long-time King Bee fans...Kelly and Luke. It was probably one of the most gorgeous wedding venues I've seen in the many years of playing with King Bee. Both Kelly and Luke lended a sweetness to the celebration that was definitely unforgettable.

Even though I was "off the clock" as a photographer I couldn't help myself (for more details read below). As the sun goes down, the place turns into a wonderland like something from "Sleepy Hollow." The only lighting comes from hundreds of votive candles, giant chandeliers made from driftwood, and sparkling white lights....it's truly a magical place at night.

The whole event was a true team effort. Tricia Fountaine Design was in charge of decorating for the event.
The bride and groom (Kelly and Luke) contributed hand-made gorgeous centerpieces made of manzanita branches and wire-wrapped glass lanterns. By candlelight, we all dined on a divine filet mignon and salmon dinner served by Country Catering based in Goleta. Their official photographer was Emily Hart-Roberts (who will be posting official pics in the near future) and their event planning was spearheaded by Danielle Laudon.

The reception was an absolute blast and I wish I could have had someone photograph "King Bee" as well but I can only do one thing at a time. Just try to sing, play cowbell, and photograph at the same time and you'll see what I mean. ;)

I'm grateful to Luke and Kelly for having included us in on such a fantastic celebration
and show of love, creativity, and magic!

*Oh yes, and they had a vintage cupcake trailer....I mean, come on! Who doesn't LOVE CUPCAKES?! Cupcakes by "Enjoy Cupcakes" which is based in Los Olivos.

Enjoy the slideshow and feel free to leave your comments below~



Monday, September 12, 2011












Goddess Pregnancy Photos

by rsthurston photography

*Feel free to leave comments below the slideshow~

September 20th, 2011

"To be pregnant is to be vitally alive, thoroughly woman, and undoubtedly inhabited."

Anne Buchanan & Debra Klingsporn

It's crazy to think that not only are some of my oldest and dearest Santa Barbara girlfriends now married and with kids but a few of them are on their second and third little ones. It's a beautiful thing to watch a fellow woman grow from who she was as a single entity to growing into a wife and mother. My dear friend (who wishes to remain unnamed but is pleased to share these artful images with others) has been in my life since the first year I moved to Santa Barbara. I was fresh off the river from years of living in a tent...my Chevy Blazer packed to the gills with most of my living possessions.

She had just moved here from Oregon and was beginning an equally exciting adventure and chapter in her life.Those were the days when we didn't know the difference from the Eastside and the Westside or the Riviera from the Mesa. We were just happy to have a roof over our heads and a little piece of green out our backdoors. I lived off of plastic plates and ate on a coffee table stitched together from plywood and bricks for the first year. My girlfriend "G" and I paddled outrigger together, partied with sailors, went to music festivals, and lived the free-spirited lifestyle of 20-something women unfettered by commitment, mortgages, or a biological clock.

In short, them were some fun days...



I look now at how much our lives have changed. I definitely couldn't fit all that I own into an SUV anymore and I'm a lot pickier about the plates I eat off of and the neighborhood I live in. She's married now to a sweet engineer with a Midwestern raising and taste for travel and good art. They're on their third child now but seem to maintain a closeness with each other as if they were just entering their first year of marriage together.

While we both acknowledge the incredible times we had here during the "good ole days," I doubt either one of us would trade where we're at now. I've discovered a serenity and blissfulness here in Santa Barbara that I never knew when I was moving every three months and living out of tupperware.


And my girlfriend has grown into this amazing, radiant, calm, and collected wise, sexy wife and mother. To see the woman who I once danced on bartops with and lost at a music festival in the High Sierras becoming this pregnant goddess is truly an unimaginable transition yet it just feels right. Girlfriends like her are blazing the way for me in the next chapter of my life...

We're blessed to be the women that we are. And as the old saying goes...."You can never step in the same river twice." But why should we? It's a magnificent, heart-wrenching, and beautiful journey this life of ours....and I wouldn't trade any of it.

The adventure of motherhood awaits....

We had fantastic timing, by the way, with this shoot. "G" gave birth only a week after these photos were taken....her precious little one was born on a Sunday morning...hence the title of the soundtrack I chose by Maroon 5 which I thought fit the mood purrfectly....Enjoy!


Wednesday, September 07, 2011

October 7th, 2011
Sycamore Cove Wedding on the Beach

Cory and Chris