Mar
31
I just got back from a fantastic trip to New York City. I spent three wonderful days with two of my fellow photographers of The Next Set, Critsey Rowe and Thomas Geist. We toured the city, had great food and, yes, we did some work. We visited cutting-edge wedding vendors including fabulous invitation designers. The highlights, though, were two incredible shoots with Critsey and Thomas. We did a private portrait session with David Tutera, party planner for the stars, acclaimed author and host of the new reality TV series, The Party Planner on The Discovery Channel as well as host of Get Married on Lifetime…more on that shoot later.
Up first is an After Session with Chris and Otakar.
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Mar
31
The Yankee Candle Company flagship store is like a playround for adults and kids alike. Of course, there are candles- every shape, size, color and scent of candles. But there is also an array of other gifts- from food to toys to christmas ornaments. They even have a fabulous romantic award-winning restaurant, Chandler’s. I am fascinated by this place. There are so many things to see and hear and smell and touch. Of course, whenever visitors come, we now bring them here.
Here’s a few from our most recent visit with my parents…
Gotta love the pickle ornaments!
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Mar
26
Discovering New England has been a most pleasurable task. A couple of college friends introduced us to the delights of Maple Sugaring season by bringing us to our first Sugar Shack. What is a Sugar Shack? you might ask. This is where they turn maple sap into maple syrup. It takes something like 40 gallons of sugary watery sap to make 1 gallon of sweet maple syrup. And most of these places simply boil the water away, a process that takes quite a bit of time and some careful attention.
We have visited several maple syrup farms and hope to visit even a few more. We started with the North Hadley Sugar Shack. Not knowing what we were in for, my friends Peter and Surita brought us here for a delicious brunch. The pancakes were great and, of course, so was the syrup. The sugaring room wasn’t open when we visited there. We actually learned more about the sugaring process when we ventured out on our own to Steve’s Sugar Shack. Steve showed us the ins and outs of the process.
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Mar
19
What a treat to visit the Smith College Conservatory last week. The bulb show certainly brought fabulous color. And I was equally astounded by the variety of tulips and other bulbs. On top of all of that, the smells were intoxicating. It has been a busy couple of weeks but this was certainly a welcome respite. Here’s a few images from our visit….
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Mar
16
Perhaps my favorite part of wedding planning and the part I am sure I didn’t get enough of was the cake tasting. Of course, now we go to the bridal fairs (see entries- Bay State Bridal Expo, Westin Copley Place Bridal Expo, and Western New England Bridal Show) and we get to taste bits of cake from around the state. Hooray!!!! I have enjoyed a lot of cakes recently. And I would have to say that Konditormeister makes a mean chocolate cake and Ivy’s Fine Cakes and Pastries makes one awesome lemon. But it isn’t just the taste that is important for a wedding cake. It has to look amazing, too. And people’s imaginations run wild, especially after watching shows like The Ace of Cakes. So the cakes have become a showcase of someone’s style.
Check out these beauties by Deb from Cakes by Deborah.
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Mar
13
After meeting the people promoting their sites at the Western New England Bridal Show, we were wowed by the options. It is clear that whatever you are looking for, you can definitely find it in Western Massachusetts. There was such a range- from fabulous hotels to historic estates with spectacular grounds to upscale restaurants.
We met Holly and Michael from The Hotel Northampton at the Baystate Bridal Expo. We had already known about the Hotel from visiting Northampton last spring. It is a gorgeous, historic building; we were looking forward to getting to know the people who worked there. I am so glad we did. Holly and Michael are amazing. They really know what they are doing and they provide the highest quality service to their brides. Holly is at all of the weddings, an extra level of guidance. Her couples are so lucky to have her.
The Hotel Northampton will help you with everything and even create a beautiful and great-tasting cake for your day….
Check out their website for more info.
If you are looking to have your reception at a restaurant, check out the Westwood Restaurant and Pub or Chandler’s Restaurant. Tracy and her crew were in the booth next to ours. This was their first time at one of these shows. They had an elegant and professional look. I am sure their events are pulled off without a hitch.
Here’s a few images of their scrumptious chocolate fountain and their sample table setting….
Chandler’s provides an upscale, warm and romantic environment for bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, and wedding receptions. I met the catering manager, Amanda, at the show. We are looking forward to working with her and taking some images of an upcoming event for the restaurant. We will definitely share the pix when we take them.
If you are looking for an historic estate, you have so many amazing options. The Harding Allen Estate in Barre, MA is a stunning site. This grand mansion evokes memories of opulence and style form the roaring twenties. The catering services are provided by a groumet chef. The grounds are filled with flowers in the summer and changing colors in the fall. And to top it off, owners Grace and Carmin have the experience of three generations in this business. We will be working with them to create some images of their estate very soon.
A little closer to the Pioneer Valley, check out The Carriage House at the Barney Estate, Emma’s Place on Wilder Pond, and King Philip’s Stockade in Springfield. These city owned properties provide a breadth of options with green space in abundance.
Or if you would like to plan a weekend get-away for your guests, try a retreat in Vermont. The Mountain Meadows Lodge is a lakefront property in Killington; here Anne and Bill will take great care of you so that you can relax and enjoy time with your guests. Some of the special touches available here include a “rowboat” bar, hikes to nearby waterfalls, farm animal feedings, and my personal favorite a campfire with marshmallow roasting and s’mores. We can’t wait to check the place out in person!
Mar
11
We met some great vendors at the Western New England Bridal Show so I thought it would be fun to share a little about a few of them. Today I will focus on Bridal Heirlooms, located in South Hadley. This full-service bridal boutique was started by a pair of sisters; we were fortunate enough to have met Christine. She has amazing taste and her booth set-up looked fabulous.
Take a look at these couture gowns….
And what girl wouldn’t love a pair of sexy shoes for her wedding day?
If you head over to South Hadley, make sure to say hello to all of the ladies. They will definitely help you find whatever you are looking for.
Mar
10
We had a fabulous time meeting brides and vendors from our local area at yesterday’s Western New England Bridal Show in Springfield‘s MassMutual Center. Everyone here has been so welcoming and generous. We couldn’t be happier about our move and we can’t wait to create some fantastic images for these wonderful people.
Let me take this moment to congratulate the winners of our free engagement session, Kelly and Lenny. They will be getting married in Saratoga, NY at the Saratoga National Golf Club in June of 2009. Congrats to you both! We are excited to work with you.
Speaking of fantastic images, Dave took a break from the booth to go enjoy the fashion show. We haven’t done any runway work in awhile so he was glad to get back into the game. Here’s a few from the show put on by Bancroft Bridal….
Dave said he was excited to try a different perspective. Typically when shooting fashion, we stand at the end of the runway. This time, he was able to move around and check out some different perspectives.
We met Tara, the boutique manager and daughter of the owners. It’s a family operation which translates into great service and great attention to detail. Their one goal is to have “happy brides.”
Here are a few pix of the dresses you can find at their shop….
And kudos to the DJ Network for the great music.
We would also like to thank Lisa and Jim Powers of CJC Events and the MassMutual Center Event staff. They all did amazing job!
Mar
08
It seems like every day is a snow day here in Northampton, MA. The kids have been getting off school left and right due to this winter’s multitude of storms. But there is one kid that couldn’t be happier, our puppy Max. He LOVES the snow. Here’s a few of him going nuts….
And for those who wanted to see where we are living here’s a few of our cute little rental. We live in Florence which is a village within Northampton.
We live very close to the Norwottuck Rail Trail, which runs from Amherst to Northampton. We took a short walk along it on the one day above 50 degrees. It was so foggy it looked a lot like San Francisco in the summer.
