Mazel Tov Alex!

Just recently, Alex came of age as he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah a few weeks ago at the beautiful Temple Sinai in South Burlington. I loved how the sun filtered through the stain-glass windows as Alex and his mother spent some quiet moments together following his ceremony. And then the love in his grandfather's kiss...!

Friends and family were treated to an amazing lunch spread whipped up by the great folks at Let's Pretend at the temple before heading out for Alex's super fun party at the new (17-sided) Round Barn Event Center at Sleepy Hollow. The new barn was a perfect place to bring everyone together for this wonderful celebration as everyone had a spectacular time through the evening.

What a Beautiful World

I met up with Kim and her two beautiful children at the Vermont Botanical Gardens for a photo session. It was a gorgeous day and it was a pleasure to capture the kids running around through the gardens, climbing trees and smelling flowers. Here are a few photos from our time together. For more sweet images, you can watch their slideshow.

Donut Try This At Home!

One of the most wonderful parts about living in Vermont is the very distinct change of seasons. Adams Apple Orchard and Farm Market in Williston hosts an autumn festival every September where we love to chat with neighbors, pick crisp sweet apples, see the animals and watch the marionette show. But I am a little embarrassed to admit that one of the festival highlights for our family are the tiniest, yummiest donuts on the planet. They fry them up and sprinkle the toppings as you wait. We ordered 2 dozen and...gulp... they were gone within minutes. The only clue that we even ate them was the powdered sugar covering half of Baxter’s face and his little fingers (and the photos, of course!). Good thing they come around only once a year!
ps I wish I could take the credit for all of these photos, but Andy took most of them. :-)

Breaking Bread with Jill & Johnathan

Jill and Johnathan were married on Labor Day weekend at the Unitarian Church in Burlington. Following photos at the church and at the top of Church Street, we headed over to the Echo Center on Lake Champlain for a few more photos and finally we were off to the Burlington Country Club for the big celebration. Johathan’s family and friends flew all the way from Australia to join in the festivities. They brought with them their passion for life and zany sense of humor. Some of Johnathan’s family is Macedonian, so they had one of the funniest traditions I’ve seen yet…Johnathan’s brother picked up a huge loaf of bread and danced all around the room with it. When the dance was finished, the newlyweds had to fight to see who could take the bigger piece of the loaf. According to tradition, the winner wears the pants in the family. You can scroll down to see who the victor was.

I met so many amazing people and witnessed some wonderful traditions. It was such a pleasure documenting their amazing day!

Kisses in Quechee

I recently met Jessica and Peter in the charming town of Quechee for their engagement session. I’ll be photographing their wedding next summer on the coolest date imaginable: 7/7/07! (I’ve already had several requests for that same date! But I’m not booked yet for 8/8/08…)

Most of their pictures were taken at the town's original mills, which is now the home of Simon Pearce. If you ever need a wedding gift, their glassware is stunning. Plus, it used to be the home of the Quechee Gallery of Fine Art, owned by Barbara and the late Bob Keeshan, aka Captain Kangaroo!

Before taking pictures, we toured around town to see their ceremony and reception locations, with the reception scheduled for the beautifully renovated Quechee Club.

It was fun hanging out with such an awesome couple! I'm really looking forward to their wedding next year!

Party Time!

Baxter celebrated his 6th birthday with some of his best buddies at a local gymnastics center on Sunday. There were lots of fun activities, but everyone loved running down the tumble track and flying into the big pit of squishy foam blocks the best. And speaking of flying…I can’t believe that my baby boy is in the first grade already. It’s a great reminder to enjoy each day!

Rebecca + Alex

Rebecca and Alex were united in marriage at the Inn at Essex at the end of August. I told them they should write a book called “How to plan the perfect wedding in just 8 weeks!” They wanted to have an outdoor wedding, but it’s hurricane season in their home state of Florida, so they decided to bring their closest family and friends to our wonderful state to be married. It was amazing that they pulled it all together; it was a day filled with sunshine, tears of joy, love and laughter! It was serendipitous that I had the date free because it was such an honor to document their beautiful day!

Labor Day

The Green Mountain Stage Race ends every year with a criterium in Burlington. We enjoy meeting friends in town and watching the bikes go zipping by. This year, the kids had more fun making city hall into a playground than watching the race. Enjoy a few photos from our day!

Peter Huoppi is a staff photographer at the Burlington Free Press, where I freelance. He took some photos of the cyclists turning into the corner with a wide angle lens. His head was inches from the passing riders, but the awesome image he captured for Tuesday's front page was worth the risk!


No worries...we didn't end up rushing to the e.r. following this stunt. The ground was just below the frame and the low angle makes this look more dramatic than it was.