I knew when I saw these stairs and the fact that there wasn’t any snow on them that I needed to seize the moment just in case there wouldn’t be any other moments to sit down again!

Nevin did a great job selecting the perfect ring for Katherine don’t you think?!

Sometimes I just love a great black and white to make things pop…..especially with all of that fresh snow still on the pine trees!!

By this time, we were all getting a little chilly so I had remembered that there was a Starbucks up on the main thoroughfare and I figured it was the perfect opportunity for them to warm up!

One of the extra perks to shooting a winter session in Saratoga Springs is the lack of people filling the sidewalks!

Now don’t go and tell my husband about this next one…..

because we’re avid Red Sox fans in this house.  We don’t really watch a lot of sports (you didn’t hear that Nevin!) other than the Red Sox and Celtics but when it comes to those two teams……we certainly do become pretty passionate (though we tend to turn the channel when they’re losing!)  I’m so excited and can’t wait to capture their big day this September and I’m certain it’s going to be a beautiful autumn day…..and hopefully a lot warmer!!

I love newborns.  I love the way parents look into their eyes and love watching them sleep.  I love the excitement of seeing how the session will transform since it’s so heavily dependent on how calm/relaxed/sleepy they are!!

I love families.  I love watching how each family interacts with each other.  I love telling parents to relax……what will be, will be……just enjoy your family and I’ll handle the rest.

I love capturing seniors.  I love that feeling of not knowing what’s to come…….whether it’s nervous excitement or pure terror about what lies ahead of them after they walk across that stage.  So many possibilities.

I love capturing weddings.  I LOVE the love.  I love the excitement, the joy, the tears, the hugs, the dancing and the gift I’m able to give after the tables are cleared and the honeymoon is over.

I LOVE that I get to tell all of these stories, and that each one is important in their own way.  For this reason, and this reason alone, I will continue to capture everything that I love!  So with that in mind, I look forward to capturing MANY beautiful memories from all types of beautiful souls in 2012!!!

I love the informal in between moments, both with my weddings and with my portrait sessions!

I’m not one to use actions on my photos very often.  I like to keep things as natural as possible most of the time, but every now and then a vintage wash with a newborn session go hand in hand!

Such a great big sister already!!

And then Baby A rode the sleep train and I was able to take full advantage of his adorable sleepiness!!!

There’s nothing better than the memories that I’m given the opportunity to capture each year.  And there’s nothing sweeter than capturing a family and the love they have for each other!  Coming up on the blog is a recent engagement session and a couple more weddings!

I was hoping that I wouldn’t be the one that would have to give the final pull on her first “natural” loose tooth…….I was wrong!  Maybe it’s the fact that I was the only one that was here that made my body realize that I couldn’t pass out, but I made it through the pull……blood and all!  And now I have a very happy 5 year old that is extremely excited to go to school next week to show all of her friends!!!

Hopefully Daddy will be home for the next one!!!

Fast forward to August- a month of my life that I’ll NEVER forget!  When Irene hit Vermont, one of the first things I thought about (other than worrying about my home which is along a river) was the locations of my Vermont weddings and whether they would make it through the storm okay.  We talked about the “babbling brook” several times during their e-session and now I was worried about what that beautiful “babbling brook” (also known as the Saxtons River) had done to their ceremony site which was right along the river.  Luckily, the heart of Grafton made it through the storm okay, as did the The Grafton Inn.  It was just a few short weeks after the storm that I made the trek to Grafton.  I was hesitant about what I was going to see since I hadn’t ventured far from our town after Irene hit.  I was in many ways, scared of what I was going to see.  With a map in hand, I set out an hour earlier than normal prepared with possible detour routes if something on the Google map had changed.  It was heartbreaking to say the least driving through Jamaica, Vermont and driving on a makeshift road where homes once stood.  The outskirts of Grafton were hit hard as well and I felt the devastation, but upon arriving in the center of town, all of those feelings went away!  I was thankful that Lauren and Doug’s day would go on without a hitch and that in true Vermont spirit, the roads leading into town were repaired swiftly and quickly so that life could go on.

One of the things I love about Grafton, is that you feel like you’re completely cut off from the rest of the world…..almost like you’ve stepped back in time to a place where the only thing you worry about is what adventure you’re going to have that day.

I don’t know why, but this is one of my favorite photos to take of my brides shortly after they put their dress on.  It may be because I remember doing the same thing the moment I put my dress on.

After Lauren was finished getting ready, it was time to head off for the first look and I won’t tell you again how much I love first looks!!  Doug waited ever so patiently for his beautiful bride…

And boy was he surprised at her beauty….

I think that one of the things I loved most about seeing Lauren and Doug together, was the sparkle in their eyes whenever they looked at each other.  It just makes me happy that I have the opportunity to capture that!

There are COUNTLESS spots to capture photos at the Inn’s property and if I had all of the time in the world, Lauren and Doug would have had really sore feet by the end of it!  I guess since this is there wedding day though, they should actually get married instead of stand in front of my camera all day!

And then it was time to sign the Ketubah….

The ceremony site is so serene and peaceful and is the perfect place to vow to spend the rest of your life with someone!

I just love this photo.  Part of it is that I thought that Doug’s grandmother was too sweet and the other is that I loved that Kathy (the fabulous innkeeper) made these STUNNING quilts and set them out for the guests since there was a slight chill in the air on this peaceful September day.  It’s the little details that make the biggest impression on me!

It was such a lovely ceremony!!

I love how intimate the dining space is at the Inn…..very, very cozy and it feels like you’re eating at home…..only with much better food!!!

So as you can see, Lauren and Doug are two very happy people who just happen to be completely head over heels for each other which I think made for quite an amazing day!  Thank you Lauren and Doug for allowing me to capture your day!!

I still have a couple more weddings that I need to blog from this year including one I forgot to blog from August!  Next year looks like it’s going to be another fabulous year filled with some amazing weddings at some new locations for me that I’m super excited about including Jay Peak, The Barn at Boyden Farm, The Hermitage Inn and The Mountain Top Inn and Resort as well as back to some of my favorites including The Equinox, The Hubbell Homestead at Colgate Park, and The West Mountain Inn just to name a few!  Hard to believe that 2011 is almost over with and I don’t know about you…..but I’m really looking forward to 2012!

So let’s start this journey on the day Amy and Ashton said “I do!”  As I started pulling in, I was instantly greeted with bunting….or if you prefer, flag banners!  I initially thought that they were generic white ones that belonged to the camp, but upon closer inspection I discovered that they were made from vintage fabric and were handmade.  It was at this point, I knew that I would be capturing greatness!!

I had some time to take some detail photo while they did another run through of the ceremony, but those will come a bit later!  As I made my way up to the ceremony site, they were just finishing up so it was perfect timing…

Then it was time to get ready!  When you book this location, you get use of all of the cabins for your guests to spend the night which is a great perk.  Even with some unexpected construction on the site, Amy and Ashton made the best of it (pics of that to come too!)  So off to the cabin I went where Amy was getting ready.  Her dress was a true jewel.  An antique slip dress she found on Etsy from the early 1900′s.  It was truly unique and beautiful and perfectly Amy.

I loved their vows to each other….

Before the ceremony, they had time for a super quick first look all dressed up…

A few quiet moments together and then it was time to head up to the ceremony site.  What Amy and Ashton did inside of that building was truly breathtaking.  It was nice seeing some of their engagement photos sprinkled throughout their wedding…..

This is something that photos just don’t do it justice.  As soon as I walked into this old church, I felt the love.  You see that along the back there?!  Those are antique lace table clothes.  And of course some antique handkerchiefs for an even more personal touch.  It was like a vintage loving girls heaven so I was ALL about the details!!

Their ceremony was sweet and heartfelt…..and the light…..oh the light!!  What I wouldn’t give for natural light like this pouring in in just the right way all of the time!!

Cheers to the new Mr & Mrs!!!

Remember that construction I mentioned……yeah……smack dab in the middle of the site was now a big hole in the ground complete with orange safety fencing!  And a construction site wouldn’t be complete with some heavy equipment photos…..both formal and informal of course!!

After a small hike along the entry road, we grabbed some photos before the reception started….

So remember those amazing details I told you about?!  Get ready for some vintage craftiness OVERLOAD!!!  Lets start off with the place settings.  Each one was a vintage plate with vintage silverware and a handmade napkin and topped off with s’more yumminess!

Vintage Lace table runners went down the center of the tables along with canning jars that guests could drink out of and use to place their seating assignment…

The candy bar was a big hit and super cute….

Guests used paint chips to write their own personal messages to Amy and Ashton which I loved….

And they came in super handy for a ring shot….

Amy’s stunning flowers….

I love this sweet and natural moment….

You gotta love the light from the setting sun….

Many cute and yummy options for the wedding guests…..the dessert table was just about as sweet as can be….

As they were cutting the cake, I moved over just a bit to get ready for them to feed each other and I just barely caught this……it happened all soooo fast….

One of my favorite moments which may seem silly to some, was the fact that Amy and Ashton cut all of the cake themselves for their guests.  It was just that touching personal moment that was a great reminder of why their friends and family love them so much and why they put so much of themselves into their day…..

So towards the end of the reception, the mock photobooth was set up and it was a great success.  Photobooth set-ups are now available for all ’12 Weddings (haven’t added to my pricing yet) and I think that it’s a great way to break up reception photos and for your guests to have some fun in a different way!!

The happy couple…..

And the silly groom….

Talk about laughter the moment that came up on my computer screen!!!  So maybe now you understand why I had to share so many images!!  Thank you so much Amy and Ashton for allowing me to capture your day!  And if you made it this far, be sure to leave them some love in the comment section below……they deserve it after all of their hard work!!

So I’ll be back with another beautiful wedding next week

This year, I’m excited to be holding my first fundraiser event next weekend which will benefit the Fisher Elementary PTG.  ALL of the proceeds from the session fee will go directly to the PTG!  It’s a super duper huge savings valued at over $300 for only $40!!  Steal of a deal if you ask me and for a great cause!

In other news, I had my first “photobooth” setup at a wedding two weeks ago!  I was super excited to see how it would turn out to see if it could be something that I can offer in the future and I’m happy to say that it was a huge success (photos coming soon!)  The guests were able to control when the photos were taken with a remote control and not having anyone hovering over them and watching them worked out really well!  Before I used the set-up, I of course had to do a little test on my favorite subject and she was more than happy to oblige….

So needless to say, photobooths will now be an option for weddings going forward which I’m excited about!  It’ll be a fun way to break up the reception photos and make things fun for the guests…..and for me when I edit everything!!  Coming up soon are some more weddings that I’m still editing and can’t wait to share……it’s been a fabulous year so far and I’m looking forward to the year ahead!

When we bought our house three years ago, we knew it would be many, many years until we were done remodeling and restoring it.  It’s a process that is never-ending when you own an older home and you do the work yourself.  We also knew that though our house wasn’t in the flood plain, the backyard was and that it would, at some point, flood.  We were prepared for this.  It was, up until this point, something that we hadn’t experienced yet.  It’s the unknown that scares me.  I knew that during this storm that the river would flow into our backyard.  What I wasn’t expecting was the widespread devastation it brought to this beautiful state.  I decided to stay at my mother-in-laws with Lillian the night after the storm had hit, knowing that emotionally I couldn’t handle it and that I would be more of an annoyance for my husband who worked through the night trying to keep the waters at bay.  While the water from the flooding from the river didn’t end up coming into our house, it was the over saturated ground that couldn’t hold anymore water that ended up causing the flooding in our basement and bursting through the small cracks in the foundation.

Our journey home, was a longer than normal one since many roads were closed because of the bridges that crossed the river.  After driving through Sandgate, I finally hit our road and my heart sank.  I knew that what I would find when I got home wouldn’t be good.  But I knew that after the long night that my husband had, I needed to be home to help and with the power still on, I knew that Lillian would be content upstairs watching her favorite shows on Disney.  I walked into the front door, dropped off Lillian with my husband who was sleeping on the couch, went outside and cried until I didn’t have any more tears.  I knew that from the pictures I was seeing on TV that we were lucky.  I cried mostly because I was thankful that the river spared us because it could have been so much worse.  What was once a backyard, was now a pool….

In the end, we were lucky.  Although our house flooded, it wasn’t up to the ceiling like so many others experienced.  We didn’t lose our home and all of it’s belongings like countless families who live along much smaller creeks and streams.  Loss can be seen throughout the area, but so can hope.  So many people pulling together, so many people offering to help those they don’t know.  It’s what make Vermont special.  Days after the storm while working in the yard, people would stop their cars and ask us if we needed help.  It’s that kind of spirit that makes me love where I live.  While I hope this never happens to us again, we are now better prepared if it does.  We know what to do and what not to do.  We know that we did the right thing by not storing any valuables in our stone foundation basement.  We moved things that were going to get remodeled in the years to come, higher up on the priority list.  The Battenkill is a beautiful river and even with this tragedy, I will always love it.  I will always be mindful of it’s strength and I will always be mindful of what it can take away with that strength.  But most of all, I am mindful of what this river means to my family and to my community.  I LOVE VERMONT!

Don’t you just love how the light makes all of the grass glow and brings out Samantha’s stunning eyes!!

Don’t even get me started on this one!!  I love bright, beautiful and bold colors AND fabulous smiles!

Fabulous right?!!

The river never dissapoints and once again it made a beautiful backdrop for Samantha!

Thank you so much Samantha for letting me capture you and for laughing along with me the entire session!