Royal Wedding Vows a la Vow Muse

Now that the hoopla and hub-bub has dwindled, the Muses started thinking about the royal wedding last month. We bet that Prince William and Kate Middleton were likely restricted in what they could say and how they could say it (they did get married in the most famous church of Western times after all) and we thought well holy wedding blues, how dull. So in true Muse form, we've crafted sentimental vows that fit the young couple's genuine and passionate feelings for one another. Enjoy the latest installment of celebrity vows for Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Kate Middleton and Prince Wills

Wills to Kate

Dearest Kate: I am indeed a lucky man to have found a woman as strong, as intense, as gregarious, and as embracing as you. Your very nature is both calming and vivacious, a balance that propels our relationship forward while always keeping us grounded within each other. When I am with you, I find the freedom to be exactly myself, and I find the desire to serve and protect you. You embody all that I believe in not just in England, but in the world, and when I'm cheering it's not just for the UK, but for us. All that is good shines outwardly through you, and I eagerly anticipate supporting you as you shine all the days of our lives together. Plus, you make me laugh. And you laugh with me. You understand my being in an unmatched way. I love you, Kate, and always will. 

Kate to Wills

Wills: Dear me, how do I even begin to top that? (Oh you know this, like our many other endeavors, will later be scrutinized over our breakfast tea as to who  "won." I love our silly competitions, by the way – they keep me on my toes.) Everything you just said mirrors what I would say. Which is why I love you, why I was drawn to you, and why I can no longer look at myself without seeing you. Each day with you I become more and more certain that I could never be without you, that not having you next to me would make my world incomplete. You are everything I am and more. You are fierce, compassionate, and you get what you want in the most gentle way possible. Will, I am thrilled to be yours, and to experience a love that will last forever with you. 

Sources here and here. 

Vow Muse is Judging a Vow Writing Contest!!

A couple months ago, we found Art Vows on Twitter. They create a work of art from your vows to be displayed and enjoyed in your home in celebration of the commitment you made on your wedding day. It's a beautiful idea and Vow Muse had to try to get in on the action!

Because if Art Vows makes the vows look beautiful, shouldn't Vow Muse make them sound beautiful? That's another topic altogether, but in the meantime, Art Vows has been kind enough to ask us to judge their exciting vow writing contest!

Running from April 27 through July 6, 2011, nearlyweds from all around the country can submit their vows for a chance to win a free Art Vow or a $1000 grand prize to be spent, undoubtedly, adding the finishing touches to their wedding. And Vow Muse will be the judges since we're the vow experts!

We're really excited to read some heartfelt vows and we look forward to the difficult decision of choosing weekly winners. A warm "thank you" goes out to Michael from Art Vows for inviting us to help in this fun project!

See contest details at wildfireapp.com, or find out more information about Art Vows on their website.

Wedding Faire Follow Up

Last weekend's bridal faire at The Ranch at Little Hills was really fun; Alicia and I had a great day meeting brides/grooms and their families, handing out Vow Muse information, and generally enjoying the sunshine of the beautiful day.

The Muses at their decorated table.

We made friends with some other nice vendors, and we hope that some of this year's couples at The Ranch give us a ring to help them give someone else one. That was an awesome double word meaning, booya.

The signature VM typewriter.

The Ranch seems to be a really great venue, with expansive grounds and a beautiful forest setting. It only just started hosting weddings last year and is growing exponentially in popularity already. The ranch books at a reasonable price, so we're not terribly surprised to see that couples are clamoring to reserve their special day here!

Here are a few pics of the San Ramon venue during the bridal faire:

The ceremony area.

Some other vendor booths for the bridal faire.

The reception area with built-in giant white tent.

Wedding Faire!

This Saturday Vow Muse will be a featured vendor at the Wedding Faire at The Ranch at Little Hills!! A small but excited group of nearlyweds is expected to turn out on this wonderful weekend to tour the venue, taste sumptuous samples, and discover the vendors that often help with events and weddings held at The Ranch.

We're really excited to set up shop and strut our stuff to this Summer's brides and grooms; this will be our first wedding faire feature as vendors! We love to talk all about the services we offer and how exactly we work with clients to craft the perfect wedding vows, ceremonies, and speeches to make their wedding run as smooth as silk. And, we've been known to occasionally write the impromptu haiku as well...

Invitations a la Vow Muse for this weekend's Bridal Faire!

We're really glad that the invitations we made for this event a few months ago were a success in reaching their destination and look forward to meeting the staff at The Ranch and all the upcoming brides and grooms!

Podcast on Hindsight Bride

Every week we try very hard to reach out to at least a few special vendors, bloggers or websites that we think have great content that mesh with our message and our business model. We approach these fine folks and request to be guest bloggers or to be the subject of an interview or giveaway on their site. Last week I contacted Christie from HindsightBride.com to see if she was interested in posting about us on her blog, and she responded with an unexpected counter request.

Christie is working hard to pick up the slack in the wedding podcast market and has begun a series of planning-related audio interviews with select wedding vendors and brides/grooms. She thought Vow Muse would make a great topic for a podcast (we agree!) and kindly invited us to participate in a Skype interview this weekend.

I have to say that I was a bit nervous as I'm more comfortable expounding the virtues of Vow Muse via written means, but I think the interview was pretty solid. I can get a bit verbose, but Christie had a lot of fun and interesting questions lined up, she kept the tone casual and conversational, and we totally hit it off chatting before and after the interview.

It was super fun to talk shop with another person in the industry; I really look forward to seeing our podcast up on her site! Thanks so much, Christie!!! :)

Vow Muse in the Press!

Since we've been getting so much press lately with all our guest features on blogs, our name in print, and other deals we're running, we've decided to add a "Press" page to our website! This page now shows all the places we've been featured on this wide web; it's super exciting to watch the list grow!

The latest addition to the Vow Muse website!

 We're always looking for new blogs and sites to be featured on and love reaching out on Twitter, Facebook and by email to spread the word about the unique services Vow Muse offers. If you'd like to feature the muses, email us anytime at muse {at} vowmuse.com!!

Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth Wedding Vows via Vow Muse

Continuing with our Celebrity Wedding Vow Series whereby we, the Muses, write up our best guess as to what we think these soon-to-be-wed celeb couples may say to each other at the altar, we now feature sweet Reese Witherspoon and her new beau Jim Toth in all their vowing glory!

Jim and Reese from gossip.whyfame.com

Jim to Reese

Reese, I'm the luckiest man in the world. I know it's beyond cliche to say that, but hear me out: I'm marrying not just a beautiful woman, but a beautiful family that moves like the inner workings of a clock: intricately, delicately, sometimes breaking down but always picking up the solid ticking again. I love you, I love your children, and I want the best for all of us. I think this is worth mentioning: you are incredible. I've seen you dazzle a room full of strangers in a foreign country who have no idea who you are, but they're drawn to your warmth and smile; your words always bringing more and more people to talk. I've see you gracefully slip out of bafflingly complicated situations. And yes, you're one hell of an actress, too. Daring, bold, gorgeous. Let's stay up late talking about politics, get up early and make oatmeal for the kids, and shower each other with friendship, support, and most of all love.

Reese to Jim

It's peculiar how life works, isn't it? More curious still is how love works. Jim, we've both done a lot of living in our lives, achieved quite a bit, and experienced even more. I never would have been ready for you if we met sooner, so I'm glad we met later. You defy every expectation I have for a companion and partner—you don't cater to me, but you don't try to keep me in a tiny box, either. We balance each other like a perfectly matched yin and yang, and I look forward to building off of this balance even in unbalanced times. With my feet firmly on this Earth, and my heart circling the universe and back, I say sincerely on this day: I love you. 

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Info on Jim Toth found here, and Reese found here.

Invitations by Vow Muse!

Amy Lateur from The Ranch at Little Hills is organizing a wedding fair in April, and Vow Muse is on the vendor list!! A few weeks ago Amy came to us with a proposition: she needed invitations for the event, and she needed them soon. Though we primarily tend to contribute the written embellishments to such things, we were certainly up to the challenge of flexing our creative muscles and pumping out some top notch, classy invites for this wonderful event.

The full package!

Guidelines: The event is a Springtime event, the color theme is purple, and Amy prefers to go "classy" as opposed to "cute". With these parameters in mind, we set off to our beloved Paper Source for the perfect ingredients.

Once home with the paper and supplies, we had our way with the text. The blurb that Amy provided read:

"Our annual bridal faire is a way for you to experience The Ranch at Little Hills in full swing. We will exhibit our food and beverage menu to help make your menu decisions easier. Our preferred vendors will be there to assist you with any additional planning needs. We hope to see you there!"

And with Amy's permission, we snazzed it up to read: 

 "Come experience The Ranch at Little Hills in full swing! Join us for sumptuous samples of our food and beverages to help you navigate the menu choices for your special day. Our preferred vendors will be there with bells on to answer questions and assist you with all your planning needs."

And with that (and meticulous review of font choices), we created the invitations you see here! We sincerely hope that Amy and the couples receiving the invitations enjoyed them and we look forward to participating in the wedding faire in April!

P.S. If you have an invitation project that you think we'd be perfect for, contact us for a quote!

Vow Muse on WeddObsessed!

In our continued effort to spread the word around like wedding cake, Vow Muse has another guest feature going! This time we're working with Jaime from WeddObsessed who posted a sweet article about us and our services! We definitely included a giveaway with the post -- $100 off any VM service to one lucky reader!

I suppose we'd better use a period instead of an exclamation point for one of these sentences. There, that's better. It's just so hard to contain our excitement with punctuation! Back to the contest -- readers can enter via commenting on the blog post or on Twitter or Facebook; we look forward to handing out a coupon for almost half off our services!

WeddObsessed is a great blog for everything wedding, written by a totally obsessed lady (in a good way) who's been planning her special day since she was just a little girl. Stop by anytime for wedding tips, coverage of real weddings and inspiration galore. Thanks again Jaime!!

Today's Bride San Francisco Bay Area Magazine 2011

"On your big day, it's all about you" — so says the latest cover of Today's Bride SF, and of course the Muses agree! Your wedding should be pleasingly perfect in every way because that's just how you are. And heyo, Vow Muse is here to help your day be all about you, whether it be your wedding day, or any other occasion that requires word-action.

But we bring up Today's Bride SF for a super exciting reason! Thanks to Mary at Very Merry Events, Vow Muse got to showcase our writing talents in collaboration with a vendor photo shoot, that wound up donning the print and on-line version of the publication! The Muses were tap-dancingly delighted to find ourselves in the good company of Silva Stills and Cinema, Hartmann Studios, CornerStone Sonoma, Floral Design Studios, Mindy LaClair and Got Light? months ago, and it appears San Francisco felt the same way. From a photo shoot to a blog, and now to a magazine, we're more excited than college students at Girl Scout-cookie-time about this little photo shoot that could. To see our name in conjunction with all the news that's fit to print—literally!—check out pages 211 & 214!

Read all about it here:  

Today's Bride San Francisco Bay Area Magazine 2011
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The Groom Says: Putting Your Muse(s) to Work

Holy Batman! Vow Muse is delighted to be featured on The Groom Says this morning. We met Brian via Twitter (gotta love that little bird) and he asked us if we'd like to be featured on his blog. Um, does French toast love maple syrup? He wanted to test our skills, and sent a set of speech scenarios that would require some grace under fire our way. Want to read more about dilapidated mailboxes, snake bites, fire, and how it all relates to wedding toasts? Check out Brian's blog, and while you're there, learn how the Muses have helped him recover from the toast that should have been put back in the toaster, and his not too cinnamon sweet write-up of Vow Muse's talents:

The Groom Says: Putting Your Muse(s) to Work: "In the fall of 2002, I gave a rather horrific Best Man toast at my older brother's wedding in Miami Beach. I perhaps remember it as a much b..."

Sharapova and Vujacic Wedding Vows a la Vow Muse!

Here we go again - sports stars finding love! When Vow Muse heard about tennis sensation Maria Sharapova finding her self engaged to LA Lakers basketball hotpants Sasha Vujacic, not only did our pulse quicken, but we thought about what these two healthy hearts would say to each other on their wedding day. The inspiration for these vows came from Sharapova and Vujacic's mutual interest in not only giving back to their local community, but giving back to the global community as well. Oh, and like Jodie Lynn Boduch, we too think it would be exciting if Maria were to hyphenate her name...

Sports Stars and Do-Gooders? Consider the Muses Inspired!

Sasha Vujacic to Maria Sharapova:

Maria,

For you, I vow to build with my own two hands a steam-room in our house so your muscles and mind can relax after practice. For me, I vow to build upon myself day after day to be the man you see in your dreams. For us, I vow to build a lifetime in which we enrich ourselves by giving back to others, in which holding hands is never a chore, and in which we continually find happiness together within each other. My Masha, I’m yours forever.

Maria Sharapova to Sasha Vujacic:

My Sasha,

I wouldn’t say just that I vow to be true for better or worse—I’d also say I’m certain there is no goodness in the world that burns like yours, and there’s nothing you can do to make me think otherwise. I wouldn’t say just that you’re amazingly talented—I’d also say that your determination to succeed in all things using what life has given you shows me what a strong husband you’ll be to me.  I wouldn’t say just that I’m in love with you—I’d also say I’m enraptured with your spirit, your soul, and your being.  My Machine, I’m yours forever.

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Bio info on Sharapova here and Vujacic here.

Lily Allen and Sam Cooper's Wedding Vows a la Vow Muse!

What up, Lily Allen? Apparently, Miss Allen is ready to become a Mrs., and will be tying the knot with Mr. Sam Cooper in the not to distant future (and hopefully making them both smile for a lifetime). The Muses took to their keyboards in a collaborative effort to pen Lily and Sam's vows, which is definitely making this set some of our favorites to date! Celebrity wedding vows for Lily Allen and Sam Cooper, right after this picture of the newly engaged kittens:

Builder Sam and Singer Lily—Imagine the words they will choose!

Lily to Sam:

Hey Sammy boy
Whatcha thinking over there?
Can’t believe I’ve got this ring
Bought this dress and did my hair

I see you smiling
Next to your tuxedo-ed bros
Can you believe this is happening?
I’m tingling from head to toes

You love my songs
My awesome shoes, my face, my dirt
I love that you’re a real person
Swinging a hammer, taking off your shirt

I need a man in the real world
Who doesn’t mind my crazy nan
A guy without all the answers
Who will laugh and joke with my band

I never thought this day would come
But it’s here now and it kicks ass
I want to spend my life with you
Holding hands, lying in the grass

I love you, Sam
I vow to never stray
We’re gonna be the raddest couple
Every year, every week, every day


Sam to Lily:

My Lilybee: before I knew you, I was but foundation waiting to be built upon, to reach my full potential. I knew I had the power to support, to give, to love, but I hadn't found the right materials with which to create. And then, there was you. No, scratch that. There is you. You are more sturdy than steel, more beautiful than the finest redwood. You're definitely smarter than stucco, and you're more complex than electricity. You crack me up every damn day; you've built me up in a way I never knew possible. You are a collection of the perfect materials for me, and I look forward to being your rock-solid foundation for the rest of our lives.

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Lily Allen info from here.

No Sam Cooper info available.

Photo used under Creative Commons license.

Vow Muse on Tumblr

www.vowmuse.tumblr.com

Um, did we mention that we're totally taking over the internet? Ok, well, we're trying. We've made a Tumblr blog to showcase our haiku! Check out http://vowmuse.tumblr.com/ for all the latest topical and completely-out-of-left-field haiku from the fabulous writing duo that is Vow Muse.

Wedding Vows for Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris With the Touch of a Vow Muse!

Come on, what is not to love about Hugh Hefner? Okay, we retract that statement, as someone probably could come up with quite a bit not to love about him... for example, have you seen how slight the guy is? He's definitely nowhere near teddy bear status. But despite his slightness, the Muses heard about his recent engagement, and we couldn't resist trying to imagine what the eternal playboy and his new sweetie would be proclaiming to each other. Without further ado, wedding vows for Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris:

Hugh Hef and Crystal Harris getting their lovebug action on!

Hugh to Crystal:

Sparkling Crystal: it's no secret that little in my life is a secret. You know my past like the back of your hand, and not only do you love me in spite of it, you love me for it. I never have to apologize to you for being myself, and you know you never have to apologize to me for everything you are and everything you will become. You've seen me at my worst, and at an ever changing best. With this ceremony, I vow to be the best damn man, husband, and lover you'll ever know.
 
Crystal to Hugh:

Hugh: Your support for me has been unconditional since the day we met, and I strive to offer you the same security of love that you show me daily. You have taught me what it means to love without boundaries, to truly understand another person, and to live a life without any sense of fear or regret. When I am with you, I am me. I vow to sing to you when you're least expecting it, make you laugh every single day, and show you a love worthy of the love you show me.

--
All sources thanks to Hugh Wiki and Crystal Wiki

Part 2: Swisher Vows Revision

Last week, the Muses brought you a version of potential wedding vows for Nick Swisher and JoAnna Garcia. After some consideration, we thought we'd rewrite Mr. Swisher's vows to snuggly fit his personality, and demonstrate what Vow Muse is all about. Writing is a fluid process that is open to give and take, and when we write for you, we want our writing to sound like you. Thus we bring you Nick Swisher's vows, take two:

Felt like his first set was too banal? Well, a little more humor awaits!

Revised! From Nick to JoAnna:

JoAnna, I was certain I wanted a future with you from before we even made it to first base. I couldn't begin to dream of heading to the outfield without knowing you're in the stands or curled up in front of your radio listening to the game. Whether I'm running towards a fly ball or circling the field praying it's not a pop fly, I feel an invisible cord between our hearts, pulling at me until we are together again. I'll spare my family the details of rounding first, second and third base with you, but let's just say no matter where we are, I feel like we're at home plate. I am never less than you, nor more than you; you're never less than me, and you are never more than me. I couldn't dream up a better partner in life, and yes, in the dugout, too.

More Haiku a la Vow Muse

Yelp has now kindly invited us to two of their events to charm and entertain their guests with our quick and witty haiku creations. We posted about the latest event recently, but never got around to actually sharing some of the night's inspiring haiku. The time has come; here's the latest from the Vow Muse haiku think tank:

Topic: Vampires, by Alicia
Bella's newest love
The vampire squid from hell
Edward, move over

Topic: Cupcakes, by Angie
Warm and delicious
Cupcakes are so yum yum yum
Decadent heaven

Topic: Pandas, by Alicia
Do sadpandas wear
Sadpandapants? Or perhaps
Panda pajamas?

Topic: Two whining children, by Angie
The whine of children
Maybe sell to the circus?
Love them anyway

[Angie's favorite of the night:]
Topic: Bacon, by Alicia

Would you eat bacon

Were it made from the mighty

Hippopotamus?

Topic: Drama & a bad boss, by Angie
Oh lord, hate my boss
It's always something crazy
Totally drama

Topic: Va De Vie (a wedding planner at the event!!), by Alicia
Weaving the pieces
Of a joyous occasion
She is Va de Vie!

Topic: The long line to get into the event, by Angie
Admission to Yelp
The line's around the corner
Totally worth it

33 haiku and two hours later, it was time for Vow Muse to call it a night. Them's some good haiku-ings!

Want Vow Muse to formulate fabulously fun haiku at your event? Email us!!

Wedding Vows for Nicole Richie and Joel Madden a la Vow Muse

 Imagine you're Nicole Richie, and you want to have the most astoundingly perfect wedding known to America (especially since you'll be darned if Paris Hilton is thinking of upstaging you in a few years when she finally settles on a beau of her own). Well, you're in luck if you're Miss Nicole (and Mr. Joel Madden by association): Vow Muse is on the case!

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden get cutesy with their vows? It could've happened!

Joel Madden to Nicole Richie:

 Nikki, it's funny to think that just now we're getting married. I feel like we've accomplished so much since we met, and marriage is just another layer of our friendship, partnership, and relationship. You're an incredible woman, a mother all moms should emulate, and your heart embraces everyone you meet. I'm so thankful you let me into your life, and that I get to share my world with you. I'd say that I cannot wait to wake up to you, but we already do. I'd say that I cannot wait to start a family with you, but we already have. So what I'll say is this: I cannot wait to take on the world together every single day. I look forward to holding your hand until all we have the energy to do is sip lemonade and make each other laugh.

Nicole Richie to Joel Madden:

Joelly-Woelly. Wow. No really, wow. Oh my goshness, where do I even begin? One of the many things I love about us is the way we refuse to follow the rules. Another thing I love about us is that we're completely on the same page in our relationship. I'm marrying the best father I could dream up for our children. I'm marrying someone who wants to give back to the world just as much as I do. I'm marrying you, and I know we're going to have an amazing life together, if only because we already have it. And that's already a wonderful life. I love you times a million, and I'm so thankful for what you bring me each and every day: yourself. Let's get to the I do's and go on being fabulous together!

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Photo taken with permission under Creative Commons from wikimedia.
We learned everything we wanted to know about Nicole Richie here and Joel Madden here.

Katy Perry & Russell Brand's "Wedding Vows" a la Vow Muse!

Well the truth is, Vow Muse didn't get asked to take part in helping Katy Perry and Russell Brand pen their wedding vows at their recent nuptials. But that didn't stop us from stepping into the world of imagination and wondering what words the pop-star and comedian might have exchanged privately! Want to step into Vow Muse's fantasy vows* for KP and RB? Read on.

What would Katy Perry and Russell Brand say during their wedding vows? Heck, we don't know either, so we nabbed our keyboards and put our thinking caps on.**

Russell Brand to Katy Perry:

My kit, my Kat,
Spend tea-time in my lap
We'll be rocking in style
Like before rocking down the aisle
I'll write you sweet melodies
Oh wait, that's your cup of tea
Kiss all the girls you desire
I'll love you even more for that quagmire
Please be honest, please be true
And I'll always do the same for you
Okay, enough of that rat-a-tat-tat
I love you too much for that serious crap.

Seriously Katy, you're a concoction too intoxicating to be without. You make me laugh, which is pretty freaking hard to do, and I can't wait to sweep you off your feet every single day of our lives. As long as you promise to pair the socks. You know I hate that.

Katy Perry to Russell Brand:

Russell, first, of course I'll pair the socks. Well, maybe I'll hire someone. Either way, we won't be sock hunters. Seriously though...I'm not sure what I can say here that I haven't whispered to you during bad movie premieres, shouted from the rooftops during crazy nights in London pretending to be chimney sweeps, and shared via email with every single person witnessing us today. You give me hope for the future, you make me forget the past, and you provide me with security, support, and back-up vocals in the shower. Baby, I'm honored to pair your socks, to make you popcorn with honey-butter on it, and to sit with you in bed when you're sick nursing you back to health. I want to do everything with you.

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* All our research for the writing of Katy Perry and Russell Brand's vows was taken from the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Perry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Brand

** Picture used with permission from under Creative Commons from cutekatyperry.com. If someone smart and in charge feels this is incorrect, please tell us and we'll figure it out! 

Yelp Elite Event at Eleve

When Yelp's lovely Monica S. invited us to be "entertainment" at the Yelp Elite Event in Walnut Creek last Tuesday, we Yelp-crazy muses could hardly say no. Judging from the last Yelp event we were invited to, we assumed there would be booths or tables with many different organizations or companies strutting their proverbial stuff. Not this time.

The Muses at their haiku station ready for the event to start!

Yelp has a system whereby it elects "elite" members based on the volume and quality of their contributions (and profiles) on the site. These members receive special stuff from Yelp, such a sweet badge on their profile and invites to real-life parties every now and again. This party was held at Eleve in Walnut Creek and offered free food, drinks and entertainment to 175 eager Yelpers.

The VM typewriter, thanks dad!

The entertainment? There was a band (which got great reviews, though we couldn't hear them from our station) and there was a fabulous duo of hotties* offering custom written haiku to patrons. And it was great! We were once again stationed in front of the bar "line" (which we later found out wasn't a line, though people thought it was -- you were just supposed to go up to the bar) where we solicited folks for free haiku and even wrote a few for people in line who had indicated no interest at all in a haiku.

Yeay, you may not want one, but you may still get one. Kinda like socks for Christmas except that you may want to hang your haiku on the fridge. Booya.

Vow Muse setup at YEE Walnut Creek.

 *Oh, I totally went there.