Daria's Day

Chelsea + Matt's E-Session!

2008-08-28T11:44:00.008-05:00

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!

2008-08-27T22:23:00.011-05:00

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

E-Session: Brandi + Marty

2008-08-21T22:35:00.006-05:00

I'd like to introduce Marty and Brandi, the king and queen of adorable! We ran around at Shelburne Farms recently for their engagement session.

It started out as a perfectly sunny evening and just as we were going to head over to the water, these dark, ominous clouds rolled in and it started pouring rain!! We hid in the car for part of the storm and since we happened to be parked in Heidi and Ave's driveway when the storm broke loose, they invited us in. (Because that is how totally awesome those two are!)

During our visit, Ave insisted that Marty have a beer to help him through the rest of the session and that just cracked me up! And here is a little secret...when the rain passed, and we headed down to the lake, Marty was all smiles. So guys, take it from Ave, a beer helps!

Andy and I are totally excited to photograph their Adirondack wedding at the end of the month in Lake Placid!!

p.s. Brandi, aka Ms.Bliss, has a super cute blog about her wedding plans, which you can check out HERE!!

Amanda + Jeff's Lake View Wedding!

2008-08-16T23:12:00.017-05:00

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 all times!!
Amanda and Jeff opted for a "first look" before the ceremony. I love this moment that Andy captured as Jeff waits for his bride-to-be.

We had a little time for some relaxed portraits before meeting up with the wedding party. I love these...

A little sun flare magic...
polka dots and seersucker and other things blue...
The ceremony begins with Amanda and her dad and a little teardrop...Jeff awaits her arrival...
oops...a little veil snafu!
The tree canopy was so beautiful!
Strider, the dog of honor, rests his eyes because ceremonies are very long in dog time.
sweet.

Notice the paparazzi during the ceremony! More about them later. :-D

Amanda's dad blesses the rings as they are passed in a circle of loved ones.

The kiss!
Mr. and Mrs. Herzberger!!
Strider congratulates his mom!
family time
just stunning!
so dapper!
The paparazzi and my fun and fab new pals: Justin + Mary Marantz, Carla Ten Eyck and Mike Romano
The first dance
Amanda and her dad
Fun with "Granny"!
The perfect ending to a perfect day!

I love you A+J+S!! xox

E-Session: Kristen + Garrett

2008-08-12T11:06:00.006-05:00

I drove around in circles a bit, but I tracked down the super-fun Kristen and Garrett at his uncle's camp on Harvey's Lake near Barnet, Vermont, for their e-session in July.

This area has special significance because Garrett spent childhood summers on the lake. It was also where he asked his soulmate Kristen to join her life with his. For their session they wanted to follow the footsteps of that very special day.

Oh, and Garrett mentioned a fascinating tidbit about Harvey's Lake, so I googled it and found the following on the town of Barnet's website (complete with spelling error):
Harvey's Lake was the lake that famous French oceanograher Jacques Cousteau first experienced underwater diving. Cousteau visited Harvey's Lake as a child. Jacques-Yves Cousteau died on Wednesday, June 25, 1997. He was considered by many to be "the father of the enviornmental movement".

From the camp we drove up to the hiking trails in Peacham where Garrett brought Kristen for a picnic and his top-secret proposal. The path was kind of dark to start, but it opened up to this spectacular vista!

Garrett's blue steel...

we had to make a pit stop to snap up a photo of these cows...
We wrapped up our session back at the lake.

I can't wait for their September wedding at the Round Farm Barn in Waitsfield!!

On deck...Amanda + Jeff's wedding!!

Megan + Tony's Wedding at the Hawk Inn!

2008-08-06T14:27:00.006-05:00

The completely wonderful Megan + Tony tied the knot on July 5th down at the The Hawk Inn & Mountain Resort in Plymouth, Vermont. This couple is head over heels in love and are blessed with wonderful friends and family who traveled far and wide to be with them for their big day. Oh, and they have the cutest dogs too...Dasher and Layla. You'll meet Layla in a moment.
On with the show...

Megan and her girls prepared for the day at a lakeside bungalo, so I went with the camp theme for her dress and other details...
the hair...
the makeup...
The dashing groom and his boys were at the inn...
I swear this dog is smiling!
getting dressed...
I'm not exactly sure what Megan's mom is doing, but it made for a fun moment!
the gorgeous bride!
Megan's color choices were so pretty! The bouquets and arrangements were made by the always smiling Alison with FLORAL ARTISTRY.
Megan and her dad walk down the aisle...
Tony spies his bride...
some sweet ceremony moments...

Husband and wife!!

Some quiet time with the kids (Layla and Dasher)
Layla is irresistible!!
What a ham!
fun with the group
More fun details! The cutie cupcakes were made by Donna's Custom Cakes.
Megan and Tony were so worried that they weren't photogenic. Well these two love birds can have one less worry! Our photo session with them was so fun and relaxing since they built extra time into the cocktail hour.

so romantic!

Happily ever after...

M + T: We had SO MUCH fun with you on your wedding day. You were an absolute dream to work with and I wish you lived in Vermont!! xoxo

The Death of Film

2008-08-06T09:52:00.007-05:00

Light-Works in Burlington, my favorite local lab, officially stopped processing film last week. Instead of pouting about it, Marty Feldman, the lab owner, sent out an invitation to Vermont photographers to eulogize the lost medium. It was fun to hang out with my photo pals and meet some new ones. Certainly the most enjoyable "funeral" I’ve been to.

WCAX, Channel 3’s own Bianca Slota reported on the event. To watch it CLICK HERE!

And to check out the SEVEN DAYS online article (with a group photo taken by Matthew Thorsen) CLICK HERE!

We wrote epithets on strips of film...
...and placed them in this little coffin. The collection will be used in a display in the annual South End Art Hop.
The darker sides of Gordon Miller and John Williams
this really has nothing to do with anything, but I saw this cutie Pez collection while wandering around the lab.
Channel 3 hard at work...

The next few photos were taken by my kind of cockeyed pal John Williams.
Me and Barrie Fisher
Glenn Moody and Michael Riddell
The eulogy that Marty gave was anything but sad...
we are all about recycling in Vermont and film bags make great beer coolers...
Marty, 2nd from left, and some of his original Light-Works crew. Check out the poster of them just behind...nice hair everyone!
Glenn Russell and Marty. (Glenn is the most senior photojournalist at the Free Press and one of the biggest wiseguys ever.)
The sky that evening was just proof that there is life after death...

Hotel Bischlep

2008-08-05T23:42:00.008-05:00

The tradition started a long time ago when Andy was a professional bike racer...

We would host a bunch of his teammates in our home when the big mountain bike races were here in Vermont and just north of us in Canada. It was in the days before kids, so we would always have very big festive parties for whoever was in town and our local pals. Things are a lot quieter now, but we’ll still get some riders this time of year. This time around, Adam Craig from Team Giant (who will be racing in the Olympics in a couple of weeks) stayed a bit, as did a bunch of Trek Team Riders. They are always low key and really fun to have around.

During this time there is another yearly tradition…the “meet the pros night” at the weekly mountain bike race series at Catamount Outdoor Center here in Williston. This year Team Trek hosted a BBQ and, of course, we had to join in the festivities.

Pictured from left: Jeremiah Bishop (not a cousin, but a darned good rider!), Lea and Sabra Davison, Andy, Laura (Trek team soigneur), Caitlin and her squeeze Zach Vestal (Trek team manager), and I can't forget the mini Bischleps.
Lauren Ober gets beat up by some "Little Bellas". She's a rider and a writer and we joined forces on this article in Bicycling Magazine! (I kind of forgot to tell you about it when it came out...oops!)
"Little Bellas" founders and sisters: Lea and Sabra Davison.
Andy speeds by lightning fast on his brand new bike, which was a gift from the Davison sisters for being such an awesome coach!
Michael Riddell and Andy hang with the kids, some theirs, some not.
Summer and Madison have been friends since before they were born. Well not really, but her mom and I are great friends!!
Summer makes her way around the kiddie course. I think we should raise her seat a bit!
Here comes Baxter!
This little girl, Sophia, seems to be sponsored by cupcakes. I want to be on this team!!

On deck...the death of film and the beautiful wedding of Megan and Tony!!

Feeling FEIST-Y!

2008-08-05T22:34:00.005-05:00

Last month when my niece, Camille, was visiting from Michigan, she strolled into my office one day and said something like: Aunt Daria, we definitely need to go see Feist! So I said something like: OK!

Fast forward a couple of days...we found the perfect spot right up close to the stage, enjoyed the free Ben & Jerry's ice cream and our little picnic dinner and had a super fun time!!

The girls...
Don't worry folks...my niece isn't a gang member...

p.s. I'm from the Sesame Street generation so I find this Feist video extra adorable!

Sarah & Aaron's Wedding at the Bates!!

2008-08-01T13:43:00.006-05:00

Sarah and Aaron were married in a beautiful flower garden before their closest friends and dearest families and Cody (who you'll meet in a moment) at the Bates Mansion in Cavendish, Vermont. The rain this summer has been a challenge to work around, but fortunately, the skies waited to open up until just after the ceremony finished. Very lucky!
This extra special couple and their guests could have cared less about the weather; they enjoyed every minute of the joyous celebration!!

The estate is so beautiful and was the perfect spot to host their guests for a fantastic Vermont wedding weekend.

Sarah started her day with some pampering at The Castle Resort & Spa in Cavendish, just down the road from the Bates Mansion.
Andy met up with Aaron and the boys for their pre-wedding adventures.
sweet details were everywhere.
the gorgeous gown...
Sarah's mom gives the veil a spin as she passes it on to her daughter.
Sarah and Aaron jetted off to Italy after their wedding. That Andy is too clever!
The completely adorable Cody gets a little snuggle time while Talia from Signature Style Salon works on Sarah's hair.
Aaron prepares for the day.
The groomsmen wore these fab ties!
Cody hangs with the girls.
Stunning!
cute.
Sarah is escorted by her parents down the aisle.
can you stand it??
Cody wastes no time getting the rings to the alter!
Sealed with a kiss!
Congratulations Sarah and Aaron!!
this must be one amazing photo!!
Sarah receives some help with the bustling.
I adore peony bouquets! The flowers were arranged by the very talented Blomma Flicka Flowers.
Ooh la lovely buttons!
We took advantage of the slight break from the storm to do some relaxed portraits.

The gorgeous girls!
We snapped a few photos of the boys in their very dapper seersucker suits as the rain started up again, then it was off to the reception.
How could I not include a French girl twirling in a polka-dotted dress!
The first dance...
One of my favorites for last...

S + A (+ C) we adore you and loved every second of your spectacular day!!
xxoo

Pam + Tony's Fab Farm Wedding!

2008-07-25T21:12:00.009-05:00

I had been so excited to photograph Pam and Tony's wedding in Poultney, Vermont, since the day we met this darling couple and her parents last year. These people have a great sense of humor and are so sweet and genuine and they were so enthusiastic about the wedding and getting their family farm all gussied up for the big day! I drove down in May to see the lay of the land and there were infinite possibilities for amazing backdrops for photos.
Their wedding day finally arrived along with some seriously wild weather, but just before the ceremony, the skies cleared up and it was amazing for the rest of the day! And fortunately, Pam had some super cute galoshes to squish through the mud that the rain left behind.
Enjoy a few of my personal favorites!...

the day begins...
I adore this photo of Pam!
Pam prepared for the day at her Grandmother's farm house, just down the road from her family's home.
The real way to a girl's heart...

the very handsome Tony
Dana from Fresh was responsible for the gorgeous flowers.
A thundershower started as we quickly finished up the pre-wedding photos. Andy caught me in action. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...

Pam and her BFF avoid the puddles...
I love this moment as the sun makes an appearance.
Tony and his best man are seriously skilled on the guitar.
Pam's family specialize in beautiful eyes!
How much do you love this?!
A cute little detail...
Pam is very close with her father...

Some sweet ceremony moments...

Just married!!
Pam and Tony with their awesome parents.
This cracks me up!
Some relaxed portraits on the farm...

One of my favorite detail shots ever...
The toasts were full of emotion...

P+T it was a thrill and honor to be a part of your incredible day!!
xo

p.s. on deck...Sarah + Aaron!

Christina + Steve's Wedding!

2008-07-23T10:56:00.007-05:00

Christina and Steve were blissfully married in June at one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Inn at Shelburne Farms. Surrounded by loved ones, it was such an intimate and joyous celebration.
It was such an honor to be witness to the joining of these two very special families!
Here are a handful of my most favorite photos from the day.

one of Christina's adorable daughters getting prepared for the day...
Christina, her mom, and her darlings...
it was this moment that I fell in love with them...
this is one of my favorite pre-wedding moments...pretty much ever!
or is this moment my favorite?!
Andy stayed with the blue theme of the day for the ring shot...
Steve and his handsome boys!
When was the last time you saw or heard a lute? If you want one for your wedding Tom Vitzthum is your guy!
I loved how the family surrounded Steve and Chris during the ceremony.
It was an emotionally packed ceremony!

a little lens flair magic...

I love this...
The celebration begins...

a sweet moment...
The new family!!
It is obvious how much fun they are going to have!
The happy couple!

One last photo...

xo

Next up...Pam + Tony's wedding!!

O Canada!

2008-07-21T19:06:00.012-05:00

We just returned from a week of family fun in Mont Tremblant, Canada. It's in the Laurentian Mountains, north of Montreal, and about 3 1/2 hours driving for us. It was definitely one of our favorite vacations to date. Every day was packed full with outdoor activities: hiking, swimming, canoeing, mini-golfing, caramel apple eating, etc.

We stayed at a condo at the Wyndham Cap Tremblant and the kids were thrilled because there were two swimming pools within walking distance. One had a big slide, which they noted looked much bigger in the website's photo.
The lake view from the condos was so pretty. We really lucked out with amazing weather for all but one day.
Did I mention we were in the French-speaking region of Quebec? The kids enjoyed learning some words in a new language.
I don't think I've ever seen a bluer sky or puffier white clouds!
Yeti got to come along for his first and last big family vacation. Apparently a dog moved in near our condo one day while we were out and he and Yeti chatted up a storm almost the whole time we were away. I don't think the neighbors appreciated it much. A huge condo faux paw!
A little family photo on a hike above the village of Mont Tremblant. I finally figured out how to use the timer on my 5D. Doh!
My beautiful family!
I love this one of Summer. I put a little softening action by Kubota on it.
On our hike we came across a Ropes Course a.k.a. Acrobranche and we were all enthralled.
The mountains were covered in wildflowers.
Baxter was obsessed with wiggling his front tooth.
We finished up our hike by crossing a suspension bridge and Yeti didn't like it one bit!
After a long hike we got the ultimate treat...Caramel apples...yummy!!
We can thank a really nice passing tourist for this shot! Amazingly, it was well composed and in focus! I almost always toss them. Perhaps she was a photographer disguised as a tourist!
All signs lead to yum!
The village was so charming!
Did I mention how good the food was?...
....with some exceptions! What the heck is mock chicken meat loaf?!
The moon was beautiful.
Swimming for ten hours a day in goggles was not enough for aqua boy...he had to wear goggles in the bath tub...and walking to and from the pool too.
The next day we were all a bunch of Lugers!
Especially me!
Baxter rounds the final big corner!
Here is one of the last photos I took of Baxter with both of his front teeth.
That evening we did the family ropes course, a slightly tamer version of the one we saw the day before. It was still quite challenging, especially for a big chicken like me.
Go Baxter!
Summer had so much fun on the family course that she and Andy went on the adult course the next day. Andy said she was awesome! I don't have photos because I was busy taking Baxter swimming since he sadly didn't make the height requirement. My poor little guy!
On our last full day we went on a self-guided canoe trip down the Diable River in the The National Park. It was amazing!
(Oh, and did you notice something missing here??)
We stopped at this little sandy beach for a picnic and castle building.
Around every bend was another beautiful scene.

Tons o' Fun!!

Next up...Christine and Steve's wedding at the Shelburne Farm's Inn!!