May 16, 2010: Nicole and Dana, Round Barn Farm

We kicked off our season a couple weeks ago with Nicole and Dana's wedding at the Round Farm Barn in Waitsfield, Vermont. It was a small, intimate wedding with picture-perfect weather. Congratulations, Nicole and Dana!

Venue: Round Farm Barn
Music: Jam Man Entertainment
Flowers: Fiftyflowers.com
Dress: Priscilla of Boston

Vintage bridal shoot

A couple of weeks ago, makeup artist/former bride/friend/all around awesome Candy Keurth suggested we get together and do an impromptu photo shoot. Sure, no problem. I was blown away when she walked through the door with these two lovely models, Mazey and Rose (left to right), in even lovelier makeup. The kicker: Rose's amazing dress was found in a free bin. I loved everything about this shoot right down to the cowboy boots. I think I would want my wedding to have this kind of casual vintage feeling to it.

Oh yeah. And happy three day weekend to you all. Cheers!

Vendor Feature: Good Commons

If someone invited you to be whisked away to a weekend of meditation, reflection and delicious food, would you do it? I sure did! A couple weeks ago one of our fall brides, Erika Shannon, and Tesha Buss, founder of Good Commons, invited me down for a Recharge retreat weekend at Good Commons in Plymouth, Vermont.

Erika is a fitness guru based out of New York City and leads part of the retreat. Both she and Tesha are amazing people and, even though I could only make part of the weekend, I had such a blast! Erika is getting married at Good Commons this September.

Tesha, a former Broadway performer and choreographer, created Good Commons a few years ago with the intent of creating a space where people, especially New Yorkers, could 'get away' from city life. She discovered a dilapidated old general store in Plymouth in 2006, began to build what eventually became Good Commons, and didn't look back.

I just want to give a quick shout-out to some of the people who led the retreat - first, Matthew Wexler, chef and Good Commons co-partner, who cooked amazing food all weekend. Of note: freshly baked chocolate cupcakes, with a hint of chili spice, served in teacups with whipped cream. Little yum-gasms.

Other folks I met over the weekend: Healing practitioner Timothy Becker, chiropractor Dr. Jason Gordon, and life coach Stefanie Ziev, all New York-based.

Be sure to check out the Good Commons site for upcoming retreats, and of course, they also host weddings and events. Just up the road is a historical site, 'old' Plymouth, which I scouted on the way back and will make for some awesome formals shots.

Now, on to the photos! Thanks again to Tesha and Erika for allowing me to take part in the fun and relaxation.



Drool-worthy buttermilk chive biscuits, and Matthew's doggie Wilbur.




A retreat guest talking to life coach Stephanie.


Our lovely bride Erika leading a morning meditation and yoga class.


Wait, let's zoom in on that shiny engagement ring a little more...








Saturday evening, after dinner and a few glasses of wine, we had an energetic and free-flowing temple dance session with Erika.

Vendor Feature: Farmhouse Truffles

Last Sunday, I took some time to drive down to Bristol, Vermont to meet with Erle LaBounty, creator of Farmhouse Truffles.

Erle, a Randolph, Vermont native, started creating truffles at his family farm more than ten years ago. He graduated from the New England Culinary Institute in 2001, embarking on a culinary journey that took him to Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, New York, Pikes Landing in Alaska, and Pane e Salute in Woodstock, Vermont. His truffle creations have been featured in Vermont Vows, and received rave reviews from The Boston Globe and Seven Days. One particularly tempting quote from Seven Days:

"Farmhouse's Truffles are rolled rather than poured, and they whisper their flavor..."

After meeting Erle at a VAWP seminar a few weeks ago I convinced him to let me document the truffle making process, and even managed to score a few to take home for myself.

The first step – vigorous handwashing, of course.



Erle makes his ganache in large batches - ganache is the creamy, delicious center that makes truffles so irresistible. He has a handful of signature flavors including chili and nutmeg, espresso and lavender. Since the ganache was already made, he moved on to the next step - rounding them into bite-sized balls and tossing them in cocoa powder.





He also showed off a few of his other E.R. LaBounty Confections, including these adorable white chocolate hearts:




Next, Erle melted tempered chocolate to roll the truffles in. Tempered chocolate has a smooth and glossy finish, and hardens to create a chocolate shell that doesn't go all gooey in your hands. It's a painstaking process that involves melting the chocolate and then getting it to just the right temperature for dipping.






Next he created a nifty little icing piper out of brown parchment paper, rewarmed his chocolate to the right temperature, and filled up the icing bag for his final step - the unique decorations that distinguish each signature flavor from the next.







Finishing touches:





Farmhouse Truffles are available in a variety of box colors to match your wedding theme, or the classic black box with red ribbon.





Some of you may know I have a weakness for dogs. Erle had literally just picked up Camille, an adorable 12-week Belgian shepherd-lab mix, the day before our shoot.



An afternoon full of good company, chocolate and puppies. What more could one ask for? Check out Erle's site for info on how to pick up some truffles for yourself, and happy eating!

August 1, 2009: Colleen & Matthieu, Chittenden, Vermont

In the upcoming - and relatively slow - winter months, we'll be posting a few of our favorite weddings from this past summer. One of my absolute favorites, Colleen and Matthieu's, took place at the Mountain Top Inn in Chittenden.







Judd photographed the groomsmen struggling to figure out how to fold their hankies...



T-minus twenty minutes!!



The ceremony took place just up the hill from the inn, overlooking the mountains.









Yummy chocolate table assignments - and gorgeous satin and pearl-wrapped flower bouquets.



After we got the formals out of the way we had a little more fun with some of the bridal party shots.





A festive reception followed outdoors.