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.

Six ways to help your wedding photographer help you

In our years of shooting weddings, we've noticed a few things that couples can do which, easily remedied, help make for even more amazing pictures. Help us help you by following some of these easy tips!

1. Pick locations with lots of natural light.
Consider each location where photos will be taken – the room you're getting ready in, the ceremony spot, cocktail and reception areas – and how much natural light is available at each one. As photojournalists, we love abundant available light and try to use our flashes as little as possible! While we are excellent at simulating natural light and adapting to all kinds of lighting conditions, available light really is the best thing for your photos.

2. Choose a nice hanger for your dress.
When you pick up your dress, chances are it will come on a cardboard bust to help hold its shape, or a cheapish looking plastic hanger. We want to take a lovely photo of your dress before you put it on, and picking out a nice wood, bamboo, sateen or silk-wrapped hanger will be a huge help.

3. Make a list of formals beforehand.
Typically, our couples choose us because we capture great moments and don't focus on posed pictures, but most people want at least a short formals session. While we don't work off lists when we're shooting, having a list of the different groups of people you want for the formals will be a great relief – it will save you from worrying whether you missed aunts and uncles or got the right combinations of people in your pictures.

4. Designate a wingman (or woman) to help organize formals.
We try to get through formals in an efficient, speedy manner so that you can get back to your party! One thing that helps is to enlist someone you know well, who knows your family and friends – say a bridesmaid, sister, or good friend – to help gather people together for formals. It can be hard to get people's attention once they have a drink and a hors d'oeuvre in each hand, so having someone there that knows everyone's names, is a natural leader and organizer, and maybe even has a nice loud voice, can make it easier to lure people over to the formals spot.

5. Let's get to know each other before the wedding.
The better we get to know you before the big day, the easier it will be for us to pick up on the little things that make your images more meaningful. Do you have an aunt who's attending that's extra special to you? Will your bouquet be wrapped in your grandmother's handkerchief? Did you put lots of time and energy into creating the centerpieces yourself? We often don't get to meet our couples in person before the wedding, but if you have the time, try to schedule a meeting with us either a few months before, the week before the wedding, or whenever you happen to be in the area. If not, a phone call works as well.

6. Relax, kick back, and have fun!
Relaxed brides make for the best photos – really. So kick back, enjoy the company of your loved ones, and have a great time. It's your wedding, after all!

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!

Groom a la chef

I was excited to stumble across a Seven Days mention of one of our grooms, Michael Clauss, who also happens to be the Daily Planet's head chef. We're shooting Michael and Alexa's wedding on June 12 at a private residence in Burlington.

Coming up May 14-20 is Vermont Restaurant Week – tons of local restaurants will be serving up prix fixe menus with mouth-watering dishes at unbelievable prices. Be sure to check out Michael's specially created menu for the Daily Planet that week - the options include spring vegetable torte with ramps and yellow fig and vanilla custard.

One of my favorite tidbits from a Seven Days article on Michael earlier this year is the mention of how he "moved to Vermont from New York for the 'love of [his] life,' fiancée Alexa." Adorable! We can't wait to shoot their wedding in just a few weeks.

Sunday is Fun Day

This winter, Judd grew a particularly hefty beard. On Sunday, while doing nothing in general, he decided it was time to trim it down for wedding season - and I couldn't resist documenting it. He misses his beard, but agrees it was SO worth the pictures!

NOTE: I know this isn't specifically related to weddings... but... we think that our blog should, in addition to helping promote and brand our business, give our readers insight into our personalities and hopefully entertain a few folks here and there. Therefore, we feel fully justified in presenting you with the occasional diversion. Cheers!

Spring has Sprung!

Apologies for the long absence, it has been a busy booking season and I know this page has been sorely neglected. I recently got a blogging kickstart at the Vermont Association of Wedding Professionals social media seminar yesterday at Sugarbush. I thought I knew enough about blogging, twittering and Facebook but left there with dizzying amounts of information, thanks to Carey Earle of Green Apple Marketing.

Eve now has a presence on Twitter! Updates are posted on the right sidebar of this page or you can check out our Twitter page here.