Renaissance Faire Magic

The harvest moon is out, the air is getting cooler, and the sun is shining it's love all around...it's that time of year, and we are thinking about going to the Maryland Renaissance Festival....Yes this was going to be that day. Such a beautiful morning! We knew the rest of the day would be perfect! Off we went with the family to enjoy the woods of The Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville.

Get out ye garb and head south! Fall brings us back to this Royal family tradition. I can still remember my son around five years old dressed in his silver plastic Armour getting words of wisdom about chivalry by a friendly Knight. The attitude here is kind and authentic.

This Realm is filled with royalty, knights, peasants, wenches, musicians, fools, fairies, pirates and a multitude of characters you will not see anywhere else. Revel Grove is truly a wonderful village filled with laughter and inspiration. As the entrance gate reads, "Prepare Thyself For Merriment!"

This was our Little Fairie's first trip to Faire! Binx enjoyed herself and all the friendly people she met along the way. So much color and activity to see in all directions! This place is so full of creativity! The shops, the signage, the costumed folk and the entertainment that pass you by in these beautiful woods always makes you smile.

There are great shows on a variety of stages during the entire day. We personally love sword swallower Johnny Fox. "Potatoes have eyes!" Food? Oh the food is always a delight! Mmmmm cheese and broccoli soup in a delicious soft bread bowl followed by warm chocolate chip cookies. Yum! And this year as soon as we entered the grounds, a nice young man gave us 4 drink tokens to enjoy. Since the King was treating us all to this day, it was instant good karma for him.

We drank in the Royal Bee Sting, a drink made of mead and cider ale. Shopping is always fun since it's items you only find during the Renn Faire. This year it was new goblets and a tapestry made in Belgium. Of course there is magic in the woods too! A multitude of wizards are walking about these woods. Though a few may look frozen in place, never underestimate a wizards power!

It was a relaxed day just doing whatever happened at that moment. No rush to do or be anywhere. Enjoying the family. Watching the baby's reactions to the new world around her was enough. The simple joys....holding a curious baby, or holding a sleeping baby. Being with people you love and seeing them happy and smiling.

That is what it is all about...a collection of little moments.....making a big day. Seeing the wonder and awe in a child's twinkling eyes and remembering to have that playful attitude about the world yourself. The cannon and bells ring, the sun sets on the sword, and we walk out into the harvest moon sky refreshed and giggling like children.

Let Your Inner Fairy Shine!

Recently I was working on editing the photos I took for a friends wedding. The day of the wedding we were unable to shoot the wedding party in the beautiful wooded glade of the venue. Rain made the ground too soft. So I had the idea of placing some of the wedding portraits on outdoor backgrounds I had already shot at other locations just for fun. Knowing the bride since she was a little girl, I knew how much she loved the idea of a fairy fantasy wedding. Guys do not go for such an idea in reality. I decided to work at making that Fairy dream become virtual reality for our bride. After all she is one of us!

As I went through my photos I was elated to find a photograph of her bridesmaids catching the dress as she moved. Then I added the sparkling gossamer Fairy wings and an ethereal pool of water I had previously shot at a botanical garden. Together this created an enchanted photo reminiscent of a classic Fairy painting! Of course having such a gorgeous bride really helps to make this photo so beautiful! A truly wonderful Fairy Queen!....Oh yes.... she loved it!

I just got married! I want some wings too! Oh boy now I've started it! Just had to create fantasy wings on my own wedding photos. I call these shimmering translucent beauties my Sun Wings! This is fun!!!!

During the Ceremony the King and Queen are surrounded by the spiritual light of the Fairy Realm. A light filled spiritual moment in time. Surely a Crystal Vision has come true in this photo creation!

We are blessed by the Spirit and the Fae on our Day of Love!

A Fairy Queen Bride has all manner of wings at her desire. These are the magical full moon wings filled with sparkling amethyst star light!
 

A wee pixie flew in for the party! She knew where the fun was happening on that awesome night! Such magic at your fingertips!!!

Oooooo Angelic wings! This photo already had a glow coming from the window that was blowing out the details, so it seemed like a great match for some wings of light! As you can see by these examples there are many styles of fantasy wings! Sparkling wings, dragonfly wings, butterfly wings, angel wings maybe even bat wings! Ewwww

These photos of light filled Fairy and Angel wings have really created quite a sensation! 

"Let Your Inner Fairy Shine!"

My wedding photos were taken by Robert Smith Photography.

My friends wedding photos were taken by me Crystal Visions Art.

Free Photoshop Brushes by Obsidian Dawn

The King Speaks

In December 2007, when I proposed to Crystal, it was a huge moment of happiness and joy between us. Even though we already knew that we were truly soul mates, it was still very powerful to make it official that we would indeed get married.

Now, a year and a half later, we got married, and had that same feeling of being filled to overflowing with blessings and joy. The wedding was simply an outward expression of the commitment we had already made. It was so meaningful to do it in the presence of our family and friends!

The preparations for the wedding and reception were fueled by Crystal’s artistic genius. She has truly brilliant insight into how to design and create things and environments that are beautiful, warm, peaceful, imaginative and playful. Just like her!

There was an aesthetic thread throughout all the items purchased, all the designs conceived and produced. It is a style that she has always had, and it is something I have resonated with from the first day we met. What she creates just feels right to me. I always trust her judgment completely, and support her efforts to the end. All who came to the wedding saw the results. Our house, driveway and garage were transformed. The decorations were gorgeous. It was a stunning setup, yet not stuffy or formal. The atmosphere was fun and relaxed, which was what we were aiming for.

All the guests got into the spirit very easily, meeting, interacting, and having a great time. That’s just the kind of friends and family we have, and we are so grateful for them all.

Crystal also had a vision for herself, and when she came out of the house and walked down to join me for the ceremony, she literally radiated. She was the embodiment of spiritual joy, romance, fantasy and classic beauty. At the heart of it all was that wonderful smile that captured my heart on first sight. I, along with all our guests, felt the deep love and happiness that lives within that smile.

Even though I get to see that beauty every day, this moment was so special, and I was so filled with emotion, I was literally choked up and could barely speak. I have never had an experience like that, where the emotions of love and joy literally took my breath away.

Our ceremony was put together from spiritual sources that were deeply meaningful to us. This was between us and God; we were not going to be worried about what anyone thought about our unconventional readings. Fortunately we found a minister, Rev. Toni Fish, who was not just willing to work with us, but was in fact perfectly in tune with what we were trying to do. She totally got it and loved it, and supported and encouraged us.

Toni was relaxed, funny, and to top it off, she’s a Lord Of The Rings fan! She delivered the readings with tremendous feeling. We were grateful to discover that our ceremony held a lot of meaning for many of our guests, who told us how much they appreciated it and agreed with the thoughts expressed.

Just before the ceremony, I was talking to Crystal’s son Sean, and he asked me how I felt. My answer was the same as it has been from the beginning. With Crystal, I always feel two things – first, amazement and elation at how beautiful our relationship is, and second, a calm and relaxed sense of rightness. How exciting to find someone who I resonate with on every possible level! And at the same time, ahh, what a relief to have set aside all doubt and worry. We revel in the joy of sharing all the moments of our life together, going forth with a unified sense of purpose, interest, passion and fun. We also encourage a peaceful feeling in each other by loving each other completely, and by accepting each other exactly as we are.

I believe there is no greater way to learn spiritual truths than in relationships, and Crystal and I have done our homework. We were ready to find our true soul mates, and that is exactly what happened. We are willing and able to look past egos and see the Spirit that has always been there, to recognize it and say “yes!” That is why I will love her forever; I believe I always have!

Wedding Photos By Robert Smith Photography
Editing by Crystal Visions Art
Rev. Toni Fish Frederick Unity Church

The Wedding Of The Century

A Dream in the Dream. All the Vision, and All the Love, created a glorious day! Hearts shined and everyone felt the warmth of the Light. How beautiful and how Holy were the souls of All who attended to extend their Love to Our Day! A true Lovefest was had by All! Days of rain broke into pure perfection of sky. God is in the details… and on our day we had every desire. Heaven blue skies, puffy white clouds, gentle sun and no wind. The day ended with a sunset to rival all others.


The evening was filled with sweet country air and music. This is how we wanted it for our guests... a very pleasant day and evening in which to enjoy each other as well as the music and vision of our lives. Friends and family are the reason why we had our backyard celebration. We wanted to share the hope and joy of our love with the people in our lives. And in addition send that Light into the Universe expanded by the Spirit vibration of those in attendance! So cool! We wished we could have invited everyone we knew to share the experience! Unfortunately our little back yard could only hold a limited amount of guests. We know everyone was there in Spirit!

We have received so much positive feedback about our wedding that it made all the effort to create such a day worthwhile indeed. We truly realized our main goal of sharing the warmth of love and friendship we feel. Everyone has commented on how much they enjoyed meeting and spending time with the other guests! So awesome! This has been the most wonderful compliment about Our Wedding of all. The really nice people who were our guests at the wedding celebration...enjoying all the other really nice people. We have fantastic peeps in our life! Thank you for all your love and support! I plan on doing a series of Blogs about our Royal Wedding and honeymoon adventures. A cool surprise is that The King will also be doing guest blogging about Our Wedding as well in this series. For any Brides to be out there I intend to do a how - to series on some of the wedding décor I created that was beautiful and cost effective. Currently I am working on gathering the photos together of our incredible Wedding day and Honeymoon! Oh my goodness the Royal Honeymoon was filled with the kindness of strangers at every turn. How wonderful it will be to talk about all those good people too!

The reason why this Wedding Ceremony and Celebration dream and story exists to be told …is…. the love Ben and I share is one of giving to each other without measure. It is like a quote I heard recently. "What if the Sun that shines it's Light onto the Earth said to the Earth..."You owe me!" That is how many relationships are in this life…they want a price to be paid for what should be given naturally. As we know the Sun shines and asks for nothing in return. It just shines. To find a Love relationship with a fellow soul that shines is a blessing. True spiritual Love knows no boundaries and just exists to give. It is a gift everyday to experience Spiritual Love with Ben. It just IS…and I am grateful.

"The word down here
On the streets tonight
Is the truest music You've heard
So take your share
Of the gifts that are there
They all belong to you
And come what may
At the break of each day
We all begin anew once more
We all begin anew"

Moody Blues/Justin Hayward

The King and Queen's Royal Wedding was a day of Miracles and Love

Wedding Photos by Robert Smith Photography