E-Session: Carrie + Ian

I met up with Carrie + Ian this summer at their beautiful home and property in Huntington.
They were both a bit nervous about our session and it's amazing how their comfort level changed by the end of it. I would say that most couples aren't crazy about being center stage, but it's the perfect warm-up for the wedding day.
And interestingly enough, their photos are some of my favorites of all times and we were able to make them a book for guests to sign with all of their favorites. It was awesome!!
We photographed their mind-blowing wedding celebration in early October and I can't wait to share the photos with you soon....





















I think this one is the bestest!
I just had to include these last two photos. Ian called me over to show me a family of deer in the field below.
Their wedding reception was held in the field where the deer were standing.

Brandi + Marty's Adirondack Wedding!

Brandi + Marty were blissfully married in Lake Placid, New York, on August 30th. It was a perfect day and a spectacular celebration! There were so many wonderful moments and fun details during their day and I'm excited to share the photos with you!
So settle in and prepare yourself for a long post...
And check out their wedding slideshow here!

Brandi and her girls started their day at the Mirror Lake Inn. They are all very close and it was so fun to see them interact.


Next it was on to the Crowne Plaza Resort to finish getting ready.
Brandi's flowergirls were completely adorable!
There is something so cute about this!
Lovely details!
Marty and his guys get ready.

The view of Mirror Lake from the hotel window was amazing!
This is one of my favorite getting ready moments ever.
One last shot of Brandi and her girls before they took a trolly ride to the church.The wedding ceremony was held in the beautiful St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church. Marty sits and waits for his cue for the ceremony to begin. The girls waited in the trolly.

Brandi and her father walk into the church.
The ceremony begins.


Just married!!
After the receiving line, the trolly was off to John Brown Farm for some fun photo time!











After a smooch, the trolly was off to the big celebration at the Lake Placid Club Golf House.
How sweet is the little cocktail flag!
And speaking of sweet details...
Can you stand more sweetness?? Andy captured this moment of Brandi and Marty looking at their rings.
Introducing Mr. and Ms. Bliss!!
A few more details...



B+M: We adore you and were so thrilled to be a part of your wedding festivities!

xox

Kerry + Dan Tie the Knot at the Old Lantern!

On a perfectly sunny day in August, Kerry + Dan joined their lives together at The Old Lantern in Charlotte, surrounded by their loved ones. It was a family affair as they each had three children and now they have six, oh, and one silly poodle named Daisy. Imagine how much fun holidays will be...I hope they have a long dining room table!
It was a day filled with love, laughter, and tears of joy. Andy and I felt so honored to be a part of their amazing celebration!
Enjoy some of my very favorites from their beautiful day...

I loved Kerry's dress...
...and sassy shoes!
The cake was made by a friend and it was just lovely.
The beautiful bouquet.
tying the bow.
I loved that Kerry + Dan's parents walked down the aisle together.
During the ceremony Kerry + Dan gave each of the children a flower and they put them into the special vase shown below.
The card reads: The bond that links a family is not one of blood but of respect and joy in each others lives.
Andy's magic sun flare!
S.W.A.K.!
Following the ceremony friends + family were invited to give blessings and advice to the couple. There were some fun and touching moments!
Advice from mom + dad.
This one makes me smile.
And this one chokes me up a bit...
The newlyweds!
One big happy family!!
We snuck away with K + D to our very favorite blueberry patch just down the street, Pelkey's, for some berry sweet and romantic photos.





On our way back I spied a cornfield, so we grabbed a few more photos there.


Time for toasts.
Cheers!
I adore cute kids with cameras and plaid madras ties!!
Lookout...it's the cake-a-razzi!!
A pretty sunset!
The first dance.
Party pals!
Things got pretty crazy on the dance floor!!
Cute!
Guitar heroes!!


K+D: Your love for each other and your family is inspiring!! We totally want to hang out with you!!
xoxo

Amy + Ryan's Monsoon Wedding!

Amy + Ryan's wedding at The Mountain Top Inn & Resort was a celebration like no other. So I am going to post a handful of my favorites and then you can watch their slideshow at the end to get the real feel of the day. Andy and I were so fortunate to have been able to capture the joy, love, laughter and rain drops from this extra special day!!

Amy admires her gorgeous Monique Lhuillier gown.
Did I mention how pretty her dress was?
I was crazy about the curlers!!
elegant shoes.
Andy captured this vintage-like photo of Ryan in a mirror.
I love the happiness here as Amy's dad walks her to the car.
Amy + Ryan wanted a first look and I love this series!!



family fun!!
the beautiful bride!!
A couple of my favorite moments from the Ketubah signing. It was so sweet that Amy held hands with her dad.

Cute ring shot...
Ryan and his parents head to the ceremony.
The sky was looking a little ominous.
A couple raindrops fell and some smiles and umbrellas appeared. The Rabbi reminded everyone that they wouldn't melt and he carried on...
A few more raindrops fell and this little guy caught some of them...
I think this was about the last "normal" ceremony photo...(The gorgeous trellis and other beautiful flower arrangements were created by the amazing Nancy Murray with A Schoolhouse Garden.)
And the rest were a bit unconventional :-)...
How much do you love the guy with the chair?!?
The expressions were priceless!
The completely fabulous Janna saved the day and my camera with her little umbrella and her huge smile. Andy was saved by Chelsea, the resort's wedding planner.
The kiss was beautiful!!
Then Ryan picked up his new bride and ran for cover.
Still a little soggy, but blissfully happy!
Just before dark we took a few fun and romantic photos.
The first dance.
The seafood appetizers were AMAZING!The party was wild!!

Ryan's brother had the whole place roaring with laughter during the roast, oops, I mean toast.
Cheers to Amy and Ryan!!


Okay now get your tissues, get comfy and CLICK HERE to watch their slideshow.

There is an old saying that wet knots are harder to untie, so Amy + Ryan, your knot will be unbreakable! xoxo

Andy rocks Katie + Nathan's E-Session

Andy photographed his first Engagement session last month for the adorable and fun-loving Katie + Nathan and I was completely blown away with the results!!
And get this...I am going to be his second shooter at their wedding TOMORROW at the brand new Stowe Mountain Lodge. That's right...He will be in the driver's seat and I get to hide out in the grass while he shoots. We are both excited about it.
Make his day and leave him some comments!!




i LOVE this one!!

Chelsea + Matt's Shelburne Farms Wedding!

About a month before Chelsea and Matt's wedding I received the sweetest letter from Chelsea's mom, Katy. In the letter she said, "The tradition here in the South is to bury a bottle of bourbon in the back yard exactly a month ahead of the wedding, and exactly on the hour of the wedding and you are (hopefully!) assured of a good day weather wise on the wedding day! I dutifully buried a perfectly good full bottle of it so we are keeping our fingers crossed, bourbon buried and prayers said."
I don't know if it was the bourbon, the crossed fingers, the prayers or the combination of all three, but the day was spectacular!! But not just in the weather department, it was perfect in all other areas too. These were the nicest people Andy and I could imagine working with and they made us feel like special guests at their wedding.
It was nearly impossible to narrow the photos down for the blog because I had too many favorites!!
Enjoy!
Chelsea and her girls prepared for the day at her family's camp on Lake Champlain.
Andy was here.
Pretty shoes.
Beautiful bride! (future brides take note...Erin from Paragon Design in Shelburne is wonderful to work with!)

I love this moment as Chelsea's sister, Meg, reads the toast she prepared to her mom, Katy.
Katy fixes a button on the dress.

The handsome groom gets ready.
Wow!!
Chelsea's sister had all of the guests sign this table runner and then she planned to embroider their names. What a thoughtful gift for her sister and brother-in-law!!
A kiss from dad.
This is what Chelsea and her sister, Meg, do when they're excited!
The ceremony was held at the Shelburne United Methodist Church.


Just married!!
I loved the fun ties, so Andy put together a montage of 4 of them for the slideshow. Chelsea wrote to say how much she enjoyed trying to figure out who they belonged to, so this one is for you, Chels!! xo
This guy made surprise appearances throughout the day.
The stylish wedding party!!
The dynamic duo of Gwen + Minner Hobbs of Flowers in Season did an amazing job with the flowers!! The colors were vibrant and beautiful!!
So romantic...

Heading back to the cocktail hour...
Totally feroche!!
The toasts were lively!
I adore this moment...
Let me tell you about this moment...Chelsea's dad was giving a toast and was expressing gratitude to the people who made the day special and suddenly he directed everyone's attention to ME. I must have turned 3 shades of red, but luckily it was dark in the room. I was completely touched!! Thank you, Chal!!
Chelsea's sister gave an awesome toast too!
The newlyweds prepare for their first dance. How funny is it that Matt is stretching?!

The band was CRAZY fun!!
A perfect evening for a perfect day.

C + M: It was a true joy and honor to be a part of your amazing day! You and your family have a special place in our hearts!!
xoxo

Elyse + Paul's E-Session!

I met up with sweethearts Elyse + Paul at the Burlington Intervale this summer. It is such a beautful location with colorful gardens, grassy fields, farm equipment and mosquitos the size of small aircraft. Elyse + Paul were such fun and so full of love for one another. I truly enjoyed capturing their playful spirit and we can't wait to photograph their wedding at the Burlington Country Club this fall!!

Joe + Meagan's Wedding at Mountain View Farm!

You may remember the very fun e-session I photographed with Meagan and Joe this summer. After running around with them at Ben + Jerry's I was extra excited about their wedding at the beautiful Inn at Mountain View Farm in East Burke. Joe + Meagan have seriously awesome family and friends and the whole day from start to finish was fun, relaxed and perfectly wonderful. And miraculously, mother nature cooperated because the impending rain storm held off until the reception started.
So get comfortable and enjoy my favorite photos from their day...

simple and sweet-as-can-be favors.
Meagan prepares for the big day.

she was absolutely radiant!
Joe snuck in for a quick kiss before Meagan dressed.
the elegant dress.
I loved the colorful paper lanterns and the shoes.
donning the gown.
sooooo cute!
Joe and Meagan opted for a "first look" before the ceremony and these are a couple of my favs!

wedding party fun!

Danika at Blomma Flicka Flowers is a true artist!
Meagan was gorgeous!!
Dashing Joe and his posse head up to the ceremony location.
Meagan's parents joined hands behind her as they walked her down the aisle. (sniffle, sniffle...)
Joe spies his bride. (more sniffles!)
A fun ceremony moment.
Meagan told her girls to pick the green dress of their choice and I loved the way it turned out!
The music was lovely.
The backdrop was stunning.
The celebratory kiss!
The recessional was very festive.

There was plenty of time for some relaxed portraits with the newly weds.



my competition.
The toasts were full of emotion.
The sky was ominous, but the guests were inside having too much fun to care!
A little smooch at dinner.
Happily ever after!


M+J: Your love for life and each other is inspiring and we adore you!! Can't wait to hear all about Africa!!
xo

PARTY TIME!! 3 Party Posts in 1!!

While Andy is finishing up the editing on the amazing wedding of Meagan and Joe, I'll keep you entertained with this festive post....

PARTY ONE:

You may recall that my darling daughter, Summer, turned ten at the end of April. We were traveling on her birthday, so we had a mom + daughter day at the American Girl Doll store in NYC. She made it very clear at that time that she still wanted to have a party with her favorite pals at home. Well, between the crummy weather and the busy schedule, we never seemed to make that happen until the week before school started up again. Oh, and it worked out great because my replacement dad (the dad who raised me) and his wife (affectionately known as "Papa and Honey") were visiting that week. They were super heroes and helped with everything! Honey even helped Summer make a scrumptious cake from scratch!!

the girls...

the yummy cake...
Hannah was born one day before Summer and is her first friend ever.
Riley is probably freeeeezing in this photo as it was about 55 degrees out.
Honey and Papa!!
fresh picked garden flowers
the taped boxes are always tricky...
worth the wait...
it was a bit too windy for candles, but Summer didn't mind.
the cast of characters...
yum.


PARTY TWO:

Okay, so I made it through my 40th year with not too much trauma...oh, except that on my actual birthday, I was flying home from California with the kids and tore my shoulder. oh, and now I need surgery. But this is a happy post, so we'll talk about that another day.
So anyway, I decided that because I'm not a big fan of the 40th birthday party, but love parties, it was safe to celebrate again. So we threw a last minute Plaid-themed party. Why? Because not everyone has polka dots, which I love even more than plaid. Andy whipped up his nearly world-famous carrot cake, two of them actually, and they were scarfed down by the end of the day.

This is what was going on pre-party...which proves there is never a dull moment with Baxter around!

the adorable Amanda Herzberger popped by early on.
Yeti loved the ice cold water.
some of my favs: Marc, Whitney and little Kata
too cute for words...
It was a two man job to light all those candles!
Thanks to Barrie Fisher we had documentation for the next few photos. Sorry that you had to use my Canon, Barrie! :-P


Barrie and Steve Mease capture the cake...
Patty with her fab plaid tie and Cheryl D.
the Delucas were born in plaid.
Pat and Eileen
some of my all time favorites: Janine, Rimmer, Max + Cody
Papa and Honey with their grand dog, Yeti!
Post party. Yet another example of the around the clock entertainment around here...


PARTY #3 a.k.a. The party that I wish did not have to happen at all!!

If the Lunbecks didn't decide to up and move to the state of Washington, a million miles away from Vermont, we wouldn't have had to go to this very fun and festive party. We'd rather keep those wonderful, adorable, and fabulous Lunbecks right here where they belong. We really did have a great time, but I hid my camera, so I didn't miss the fun.

The Lunbecks

Thomas gives his son a little lovin'.
I have no idea whose kids these are, but you've gotta love the decorations on that t-shirt!

Hi Martha, I know you are out there...I miss you already!! xoxo

Chelsea + Matt's E-Session!

I squeeeeezed in an e-session with Chelsea and Matt a few days before their wedding day at the end of July. I was delighted that the weather held out because it was completely wonderful to spend some quality time with these love birds and some of their family and friends who had arrived in town for the wedding.

Chelsea and Matt were high school sweethearts in Virginia and chose Vermont as their destination location because of family ties to the area. We met at Chelsea's parents' beautiful new lakeside cottage and had fun exploring around the neighborhood for their session. We ended back at the cottage and I had so much fun visiting with all of them. By wedding day, I already felt like part of their family. Chelsea, Matt and company are extra special people!!

Now I have a funny story to share...
Andy had been waiting to post their e-session slideshow until I blogged about it. I had to blog about back to school yesterday and promised to get it done today, so in anticipation of it all, put their slideshow link up on the website yesterday. The link wasn't active yet, but according to our blog stats it had been clicked over 100 times!! He felt so bad for all of the folks waiting that he posted it last night and it has been watched now over 300 times!! I love the enthusiasm!!



























up next: The fabulous wedding of Meagan + Joe!!

Back to School!

Every year on the first day of school, the Deluca girls have invited all of the neighborhood kids to a cute little party at their bus stop. It's a great tradition because eating powdered sugar doughnuts with your pals takes away those first day jitters.

As always, young children (and their parents) shed a few tears as they take their first trip to kindergarten. And this year I noticed that there were several kids missing and then I realized that they were off to their first day of high school. Scary because I remember the way each one of those kids looked when they were similar in age to my wee ones. Well, I guess mine aren't exactly wee ones anymore since Baxter is starting 3rd grade and Summer is now attending the middle school in fifth grade. (Whining ahead...) And get this...she didn't even care about a new outfit for back-to-school. She already knew what she was wearing and it didn't involve a shopping trip. WHAT?!? It breaks my heart I tell you!!

Ok, I can't even talk about that anymore, you can just go ahead and see for yourself how grown-up they both are...
The Mamarazzi!!
We had to take this group photo over about 5 times as more kids showed up. Baxter is at the far left and Summer is the second from the end on the right.
Be afraid...very afraid...it's the new face of Cujo!
Every time I turned around Baxter would have his mouth stuffed with those doughnuts.
The goodies...
Baxter with his traditional first day of school powdered sugar lips. This time with the new vampire teeth...
hugs and kisses as the bus door opens...
the line-up...
Bob, the best bus driver....EVER!!
Get some sleep while you can baby Thomas, because in 5 short years you'll be hopping on the bus too!
Waving good-bye. And hey...wait a minute...is that the world's biggest first grader stepping on to the bus?? Nope, that is Lauren Ober, reporter extraordinaire. She attended first grade all day...complete with story time, school lunch and a game of octopus tag. She stumbled off the bus at our house and the poor thing was so pooped that we had to fuel her back up on popcorn and soda to make sure she made it home to write her story. Click HERE for her story!!


next up...Chelsea and Matt's e-session!

xo

Amanda + Jeff's Lake View Wedding!

Amanda and Jeff a.k.a. "Jeffanda" were married on the most perfect day in July on a hillside overlooking Lake Champlain. I was extra excited for this wedding because over the last year and a half since I met Amanda, she has become a special friend and blossomed into a very talented photographer. I adore her and her family and friends and have loved watching her take flight with her photography business. She is simply wonderful and she and Jeff are made for each other!
I am delighted to finally share a (big) handful of my favorites from their day...

a little spritz of perfume...
Amanda's dress was custom made in Burlington, so the fittings gave her the perfect excuse to visit her beloved Vermont many times before the wedding.
Jeff prepares for the day...
details, details...
and more charming details...

the finishing touches...
The cutest ring shot of