Presenting Mr. + Mrs. Onion!

If I could hand out an award for the most enthusiastic bride of all times it would be presented to Lindsey! Lindsey is a blogger on a very cool website for brides called weddingbee.com. She has helped countless brides with decisions on every aspect of their weddings from invitations, to picking out dresses, to boudoir sessions. She is the best resource imaginable, and she does it in her honest and thoughtful style.
Anyway, we were so fortunate to be her photographers because she has been the biggest cheerleader since their engagement session. It has been a complete blast working with her and ultimately photographing all of the fantastic people and details that made her wedding so special.
And it was amazing! She had dreamed of having an Italian-style dinner party and chose the perfect spot for it at Adrianas on the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington. While photographing her reception I couldn't help but feel overjoyed when the sounds of laughter and conversation filled the room and I realized that her dream was fulfilled.
It was an honor to be a part of Lindsey and Nate's amazing celebration! They are the perfect pair! :-)

Lindsey and Nate prepare for their big day...







Dana at Fresh Studio did another amazing job with the flowers!! I love the colors of the bridesmaid's bouquets...
how darling is this flowergirl!
We had fun running around at University of Vermont to do their photos. I adored Lindsey's dress, it's so fabulous and retro!



I wish I could remember what was so funny!
I love the way Nate is looking at Lindsey here...
Husband and wife!
Lindsey and Nate led their guests from the church to Adrianas for the cocktail hour and reception. It was awesome!
Just a few of the fabulous details...



Nate and Lindsey took a quick break from the cocktail hour to watch this crazy clown on Church Street.
I wonder if you find this as amusing as I do.
so pretty!
As the evening was winding down, the happy couple strolled over to Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream. So fun!

don't you just love happy endings?

Jessica + Josh!

Jessica + Josh were blissfully married at the Stoweflake Resort on Labor Day weekend. The day couldn't have been more beautiful!

Jessica and Josh are a perfect example of why I love to photograph engagement sessions. I had met up with them during the summer at University of Vermont and we had a great time together. I felt like we were great pals the minute I entered the room where Jess was getting ready. Those connections are priceless!

There were two more things that happened during the day that I will remember for a long time...the toasts during the reception were so packed full of emotion, I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. And the singer from the band actually came out on the dance floor, called out all the gals and sang "I will survive!" It was awesome!!

This couple is so loved by everyone and it was such an honor being a part of their special day!!

almost ready to go...
love the bows...
Jessica was gorgeous!
Josh was so handsome!
the rings...
this might be my favorite walking down the aisle moment ever...
we photographed Nicole + Luke's wedding last summer.
a beautiful moment...
cute cake!
more adorable bows...
so elegant...

I love the next few candid moments...
oops!

hot!
p.s. I was walking past the spa and spied this magazine cover with my name on it! I didn't realize I was fashion's new "it girl"! ;-)

King and Queen of the Castle

John + Erica were happily married at the Castle Hill Resort in Ludlow, Vermont, last month. It was an exceptional day and every detail of this wedding was absolutely perfect...from the flowers by Dana at Fresh Studio to the stylish martinis during the reception. Erica even had crisp apple and yummy chocolate scents piped into the tent to entice guests to drink their signature drinks. Amazing!
I had the privilege of photographing their rehearsal dinner the night before, so I met the cast of characters. John + Erica are so charming and wonderful and their friends and family made us feel so welcome.
I selected just a few of my favorites from their day.
Enjoy!

The tables looked fantastic!
These darling little favors were filled with vanilla.
the gorgeous bride!
how fun is this bouquet?!
John and his boys looked so handsome in their bow ties! Are you thinking Rat Pack?
John prepares to sign the Ketubah.
I love this moment of Erica and her mom.
Husband and wife!
John, Erica and Erica's sister, Alexis, getting sassy!
love this!
and this!

so cool!
first dance.
the celebration!
John was quite the rockstar! He played along with their awesome 9-piece band, Manhattan Touch.
a fairytale ending...


P.S.
sorry, I couldn't resist...here is a photo from the rehearsal dinner that was too cute. Apparently, John is quite the karaoke singer, as well as part-time rock star.

California part two

We met up with our family on Tuesday at Asilomar Conference Grounds which is on the ocean next to Monterey. It is the perfect spot for family reunions because the rooms are spacious and each group of rooms has their own central meeting area. Asilomar is famous for their wonderful food and they definitely lived up to their reputation. All we had to do was show up at the dining hall and voila (!) the meals were served.

Of course, the most important reason that we got together was to celebrate my grandfather’s 90th birthday, but in our family we have several August birthdays as well: My brother is the 20th, my sister is the 24th, my grandmother is the 27th and I am the 23rd. So we had a big cake for grandfather and a small cake for the rest of us. We had plenty of cake! But forget the cake…the best part was spending some time with so many wonderful people!!

A HUGE THANKS to Dianne who did a beautiful job coordinating this event!


Happy Birthday dear Grandfather “Gijo”!!
(I know what you're thinking...there is no possible way that he could be 90 years old. Doesn’t he look AMAZING?!? I'm pretty sure that with all of my grandparents' world travels that they must have found the fountain of youth.)
Here is my beautiful Grandmother in one of the necklaces she made out of Fimo clay.
Baxter spends some fun time with Grandmother “Gigi”.
My sweetheart sister, Josie, and Gigi.
Fun with Cousins Johnny and Anna and their pop, Uncle Otto.
My adorable nephew, Jon, wondering who’s behind that GIANT camera.
My brother, Loren, sister-in-law, Terri, and my doggie niece, KD, arrive in their super cute Mini Cooper.
We spent a day visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was AWESOME!!
How bizarre is this giant sunfish? The first one I saw was lying as flat as a pancake on the bottom of the tank and I thought he must have died. Then suddenly he straightened up and started swimming around. Crazy!
Aren’t these jellyfish amazing?
Oodles of cool jellyfish!
I love this photo of my brother “Waddy” and Terri.
Dianne, aka “Honey”, with the kiddos.
Sometimes when I point the camera in the kids’ direction, I am received with “the look”. Waddy and Terri decided they would give me “the look” too. (Read below about the sign this photo was taken in front of!)
After reading my Grandmother's blog, I realized that this is the sign that she designed when she was a little girl. Read HERE for the story!
Because I didn't take a photo of the whole sign, I stole this image from “webshots" and wish I could give credit to the photographer, but there was no name attached.
I took this photo through the big windows of the dining hall. A minute later, with a mouth full of strawberry shortcake, I spied him swooping down, grabbing his prey and taking off. I guess we both had dessert!
The boardwalk at Asilomar.
Anna is so cute!
My cousin Byron and I grabbed some nice photos of the setting sun.
Lovely Aunt Kristin in the golden light of the setting sun.
Kristin and her daughter, Anna.
Uncle Otto looks so regal in this photo.
I was wishing a bird would fly past this tree…and it did!
The Smith family is full of amazing musicians, so when they get together it is very lively and entertaining!
Baxter moved quickly from the penny whistle to Aunt Kristin’s violin. She is a wonderful teacher!
My sister had the great idea to bring fabric markers and t-shirts for the kids so that all the family could sign and doodle on them. Cousin Byron went over top with his rendition of this surfer he photographed an hour earlier. Summer was thrilled!
I LOVE my Grandmother's hands!!
My gorgeous Grandparents!
I had to save my very favorite photo for last...


I think I broke my own record for the longest post of all times. Congratulations to any of you who made it all the way through! :-D

Next up: weddings, weddings, and more weddings...
xoxo

California part one

In August, the kids and I took a quick trip to California to celebrate my Grandfather's 90th birthday. We flew into Monterey on Sunday and since we had a couple of days before we met up with the rest of the gang, we spent the time in Santa Cruz with the kids' grandparents, who we affectionately refer to as "Honey and Papa". Honey and Papa treated us to a stay in Santa Cruz with a trip to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Being at the boardwalk again was extra special to me because I spent many childhood summers there with my bestest friend, Jenny, and her family. It really hadn't changed too much, so I was so happy to share it with the kids!

it's funny because I'm clown-phobic, but if I see one, I can't help but take a photo...
Summer, my water-lovin' girl, thought the ocean was a little chilly for swimming. She certainly wasn't being wimpy because I couldn't even stick my toe in that ice water!
From the wharf we saw a huge group of people in red swimsuits carrying watermelons. I wish I knew the story here.
No Photoshop effects here, the sky was this blue!
Attack of the pterodactyls! After all the summers I spent at the boardwalk I never remember the pelicans or seals that flock by the beach. So either that is a new thing (doubtful) or Jenny and I didn't notice because we were too distracted by the cute surfer boys!


I love this photo of Honey petting the cockatoo!Andy was in our thoughts even though he couldn't make the trip.
A fun moment with Baxter and Papa, and their matching hats, at dinner.
My surfer dude!A silly family portrait
This is so sad, but so sweet...Summer was measuring Baxter to see if he was tall enough for the big kid rides. So close...but so far from that 48" mark! He measured himself several more times to see if the results would be different if he tried again. Poor little guy!
Baxter was SO excited to go on this ride, but he had to be accompanied by an adult. I can't do spinning rides, so I had to enlist the help from a total stranger to help out. So if any of you recognize this guy, please thank him for making a boy so happy and keeping his mom from getting sick! :-)
Another freaky clown...
Summer and I got stylish haircuts at this cool spot in downtown Santa Cruz. We both decided the other day that we were just going to have to go back to get another one!




Tomorrow I'll post the birthday celebration pix!
xo

Seashal + Jeremy's Wedding Extravaganza!

I adored Seashal from the moment I met her on the morning of her wedding. She was one of the happiest brides ever and was bubbling with excitement to marry Jeremy. Her family and friends were equally as enthusiastic.

I loved the way the day was set up: the wedding was in the morning and there were a few hours before the cocktail hour, so that the newlyweds could chill out after a relaxed photo session. The guests could have a little lunch, play croquet, take a swim, or just enjoy the Vermont scenery at the beautiful Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, Vermont!

Seashal has fabulous taste and every detail of the day was so well thought out. She even planned a secret surprise ending for the day, which you will see at the end of the post.

Enjoy some of my very favorite photos from Seashal and Jeremy's magical day!

the rings...
Jeremy prepares for the big day...
a little kiss from mom...
look at Seashal's amazing eyelashes!
Andy composed this uber-cool photo from the organ's mirror...
how cute is this moment?
the newlyweds!
arriving in style...
some fun portraits...


the gorgeous bride...
I love this one...
so creative...
fun with friends!
dancing with dad...
the band was amazing...


Jim the innkeeper and his son put on the surprise fireworks show.

Bena & Chris e-Session!

Bena, Chris and I met up on a gorgeous September day for their engagement session down in Middlebury. We discovered some awesome places down by the Otter Creek and had a blast bebopping around town.

They were so much fun--and so much in love--and we even capped off the day with a visit to the local scoop shop.

Andy & I are so excited to be photographing their wedding, which is TOMORROW down in the lovely Vermont village of Barnard! The foliage should be nice and bright too! Enjoy some of my favorites from their engagement session, and **Click here for their slideshow!!**

WPJA Award!

This photograph of my 7-7-07 bride, Jessica, recently won 16th place in the international Wedding Photojournalist Association's quarterly contest's "Good Light" category.



Entering photo contests and competitions with organizations to which I belong, such as the Professional Photographers of America, WPJA, and Vermont Professional Photographers provides great experience because--although they are subjective--they help keep me fresh, inspired, and push me to create and capture award-winning moments.

A big congratulations to Jessica and Peter for having such a lovely wedding to photograph!!