Update! The Baby is Here!

He's here!!!   Mattingly Steven Phillips

We proudly welcome our 7th grandchild :)

xoxo
proud grandparents

christine and steve

he's SOOOOOOOO beautiful!!

October 15, 2011  Houston, Texas  with daddy (our son!) and his camera

.

Has it been a month ALREADY?

OHMY!!! We just realized that we haven't been back to our blog in a little over a month.  Many weddings, many dogs rescued and today we await the birth of our seventh grandchild!  Our oldest Ben and his wife Leah are having a baby today-- looks like it will be a Texas baby boy.  He will carry the middle name of Steven like his grandfather! 

Seven plus one lucky pups found homes after we rescued them from a high kill shelter in San Bernardino!  Our 501c3 non profit dog rescue "luckypupdogrescue.com" is in full swing!  Our lucky pups are belle, skip, stella,bogart,elvis, buster, claribel and zoey!  Each of these dogs were rescued on their very last day at the shelter.

And we celebrated with seven plus seven plus seven, PLUS seven couples on their wedding days, with their elopements on the beach in Coronado. September turned out to be a very busy time for elopements.  We are running a little bit behind delivering all of the photos, but they are going out each day, we promise.

birds eye view of an elope to san diego elopement !

Here's a nice note we received from Megan and Matt about how much they enjoyed their day: 

Matt and I would like to thank you for our amazing, stress free wedding! You both were so kind and wonderful, and you really helped to make our day absolutely wonderful. We are very excited to see the pictures and the wedding book! Thank you both.... we had the perfect wedding day!

Thanks!
Megan and Matt Cooper :)

*And from Casey and Mark

 Dear Christine and Steve,
We just received the pictures and we absolutely love them. We had such a wonderful day and are so incredibly pleased with the way the photos and everything turned out. Thank you so much!

Casey and Mark

*And from Danaia and Arnold!

Hi Christine and Steve
Thank you so much for the wonderful experience-- our wedding was a dream come true. You & Steve are a awesome team.Thanks for fairytale wedding XOXO Arnold & Danaia Bueno












 

Labor Day Weekend, Seven Lucky Couples decided to Elope To San Diego!

Happy, fun, busy weekend, we don't have photos of all of the couples who eloped with us this weekend, but here are a few of the highlights! The weather was gorgeous, and today it's raining.  

robin and scott from arizona

We always say it's best to rain during the week, if it must rain!  Know that we have a "rain" plan if happens, you can see it here on our faq page of our website.

We traveled over to PB (Pacific Beach) for a ceremony this week, and one of our ceremonies was a 25 year anniversary celebration.  We really enjoyed the variety this week.

trisha and greg 25 years!!  congrats :)

 

shyvonne and kevin from michigan said " i do" in pink

kristin and russell from texas

Thank you Preston!! He delivered Gramma and Grampa safely back to the hotel after the ceremony

Three is NEVER a crowd!

Lookie how cute this is!  Mandy and Ty on their wedding day on the most beautiful California beach ever--- Coronado Beach and having an easy, no stress  San Diego Elope with us! 


Remember even if you don't have any guests, or just a small guest :)  I'm more than happy to be your witness and sign your license when I'm also photographing your ceremony.

DoG DaY AfTeRnOoN! Coronado Dog Beach Elopements, We LOVE 'em!

 

















It's true!!   Our very favorite weddings happen on Dog Beach on Coronado Island, there's just something about a bride is so happy and carefree she can be "in the moment" with dogs running amok, fur a flyin', dogs barking, sand everywhere.....it's so refreshing!  Congrats to Suzanne and Joel for making OUR day.

Suzanne and Joel traveled from Arizona to have a fun, relaxed elopement with us on the beach with their dog Jake and Max came along to play as well. Joel's parents brought Max along for an adventure. 

You can find out more about our pet friendly weddings right here on our link to our pet page on our website. We'd love to be part of your celebration.


woof, woof.

xoxo
christine and steve
ElopeSanDiego.com

Elope To San Diego! It's a Pink-a-Licious Monday Wedding!

We love PINK! It's no secret.....When you Elope to San Diego with us, it's the time  you can have your own style!  No worries about what anyone thinks.

xoxo
christine and steve

congrats lorrie and michael 

We Take A Moment to Honor Those Who Were Aboard Devastating Helicoper Crash in Afghanistan.

Steve and I take a moment to honor the 38 men that were killed August 6th when their Chinook helicopter was shot down earlier this week.

Thirty US troops and 8 Afghans gave the utmost gift, their lives. Among  those who gave their lives were many Navy Seals from Seal Team 6. We honor each and every member of the group who were aboard and honorably gave the ultimate sacrifice.  We also know also that one dog  and his trainer, John Douangdara  were aboard.  We have listed as many of the men as we were able to locate. 


•Sisterhood of SEAL Wives Rush to Aid of Widows, story here
•Support The Navy Seal Foundation here
•Navy Seal Foundation FB page here


Spencer Duncan, 21 Olathe, KS

Robert Reeves, 32 Shreveport, LA

 Matt Mills, 36 Austin, TX

Jonas Kelsall, 33 Shreveport, LA

Jason Workman, 32 Blanding, Utah

Brian Bill, 31 Stamford, CT

Alexander Bennett, 23 Tacoma, WA  Story here

Aaron Vaughn, 30 Fairfax, Virginia

John Brown, 25, Siloam Springs, Arkansas

Jon Tumilson, 35 Rockford, Iowa

Kevin Houston 36, Barnstable, Mass

Bryan Nichols 31, Kansas City

John Douangdara, 26 Sioux City, Nebraska

Tommy Ratzlaff, 34,  Green Forest, Arkansas

Dan Zerbe, 28 Red Lion, Penn

Matt Mason, 37 Kearney, MO

Kraig Vickers, 36 Norfolk, VA  Story here

Darrik Benson 28, Angwin, CA

Patrick Hamburger, Lincoln, Neb

Chris Campbell, Jacksonville, NC

Michael Strange, Mayfair, PA

Jesse Pittman, 28 Willits, CA  Story here

Dennis did an awesome job on our family pics!! Thank you

Thank you Dennis Mock for the great family pics!

He would love to do that for you too!

Miss Peaches on the left, Pascal, Daphne and Riley.. our pack.

Wednesday Weddings.... We love 'em!

Congrats to Yvonne and Billy who traveled from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Elope To San Diego!  

We've done a zillion weddings, but none compared to this one :)

We loved it.... no whimpering about getting some sand and water on the dress today. 

Fun image we took this afternoon.  I say, "we" because photography is a collaborative effort, and today Yvonne and Billy really helped me create a beautiful image of the two of them... ala  "Here to Eternity" style .. oh, I've just dated myself...


We wish you two all the happiness in the world.


xoxo
christine and steve
www.aceremonytoremember.net



 

steve, christine yvonne and billy :)  july 13, 2011 coronado beach
eloped to san diego today

WeDdiNg Gowns made of WHAT????

Toilet paper weddings gowns-- for the story click here: toilet paper wedding gowns???
are you kidding me?    I don't think they'll fly on the beach .....

Christine and Steve Speak to the Board of Supervisors Regarding Devore Animal Shelter

It's no secret that Steve and I are huge animal lovers, we are  the only wedding/elopement service around in Southern California that actually specializes in Pet Friendly Weddings.  We work with a lot of very, very lucky dogs and we LOVE it!

But there are some very unlucky dogs just down the road a bit in San Bernardino County, trapped in a shelter called Devore.  We have personally rescued about 20 dogs since we found out about this place last fall.  Sadly, this shelter continues to kill 2/3 of the dogs and cats that enter the shelter, they have refused to allow volunteers in the shelter.  They have refused to create a viable adoption program.  Odd because, county shelters all over California have literally thousands of volunteers, they LOVE FREE HELP!! Yet the head of Animal Control, Brian Cronin says
it's just too "grim" to have volunteers who love animals work there.
(is he serious?) 

PLEASE take a moment to read this article  about Devore Shelter that was published on Tuesday immediately after our presentation, you will see what we are up against.  Devore actually admits to killing about 2/3 of the animals that enter their shelter and feel it's okay because that's what other shelters do. In a race to the bottom, they have only saved about eight thousand animals out of the THIRTY THOUSAND animals they took in last year. This is happening because they simply don't care enough to do the things they need to do to help find animals homes and get them adopted. Did I mention they refuse to allow volunteers in the shelter? Why yes, I think I did.  Dogs and cats are simply killed after 4 days. They sit in a shelter located in the middle of no where, with no chance of even being seen and await their fate.

Devore Shelter in San Bernardino County has a 30 million dollar budget and only 90 kennels, it is the LARGEST county in the country.  Something is seriously wrong.  It's a place that works very poorly with rescues and often accidentally kill dogs and cats that have homes waiting for them due to "clerical errors". We are working hard to expose and improve conditions for the dogs. 

this darling dog was euthanized in Feb due to clerical error at devore shelter
and is not an isolated case by any means

If you agree, we welcome your support!   

Here are some ideas of things you could do-- to help us work towards solving this problem: 

Write a letter to the editor of the "Sun" after you read the story they printed above.

The Sun welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and include an address and phone number. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and grammar. Letters should be e-mailed to voice@inlandnewspapers.com.

Call and/or Email the Animal Control Chief Officer BRIAN CRONIN:

brian cronin animal control

email: bcronin@dph.sbcounty.gov,

his phone number: 909.387.9152

EMAIL the Board of Supervisors who are responsible for what goes on in their district:

Josie Gonzales SupervisorGonzales@sbcounty.gov,

Greg.Devereaux@cao.sbcounty.gov

Follow our journey on FB

http://www.facebook.com/#!/FriendsofDevoreShelterDogs

You can make a donation on our website, to help pay for fostering dogs, preparing our 501c 3, rescuing dogs that go into fosters, helping other people who are adopting and fostering, we receive pleas for $ to help with spay/neuters

Visit Our Website:  www.FriendsOfDevoreShelterDogs.com

ADOPT YOUR NEXT DOG FROM A SHELTER! 

Devore's available dogs are located here on their website.  

http://www.sbcounty.gov/acc/frameset_adoptable.html

Please excuse the crappy photos, we offered to buy them a camera and take photos but they refused our donation. Did I mention they don't want any volunteers snooping around the place.

Spay and neuter your pets

FOSTER A DOG that is waiting to be adopted, we can help find one for you! (we have 3 right now at our house)

ATTEND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETINGS IF YOU LIVE IN SAN BERNARDINO, or ANYWHERE in Southern California, we drive from San Diego.   You can speak for 3 minutes at the meetings.  They are held at 385 N Arrowhead San Bernardino 1st floor 909 387 2020.
Tuesday at 9:30 check in, upcoming dates in 2011:
July 12, July 26, August 9, August 23, Sept 13, Sept 27, October 4, October 18

HELP US WITH OUR ADOPTION EVENTS ON SUNDAY AFTERNOONS IN NORTH PARK at our local vets office  1-4 held twice month.  Starting in August.

If you care about helping some really wonderful homeless dogs and cats, there is something that everyone can to do help with-even you.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts! 

xoxo 

christine and steve

YouTube made by our friends! YouTube about Devore! Made by our supporters
Lou Wegner, Malese Jow, Davin Fox. thank you guys :)