Tarallo/Taylor Wedding

Sarah Tarallo is a wonderful old friend of Trevor's from high school. She met Freddie a few years ago while they were both at a training for work. It was "one of those things" since they both only had one chance to go to this class, and it happened to be on the same day! Fast forward to April in Western Maryland, and it was time for their wedding!

They found a beautiful golf club called Rocky Gap. It was gorgeous there! It was a sunny beautiful Friday when we arrived.

It had a really pretty lobby! The whole thing was decorated in natural textures and colors with a huge stone fireplace as the centerpiece.

We did a little exploring while they were setting up for the wedding on Saturday. There was a huge hallway leading to the ballroom that featured works from local artists: paintings, drawings, photography, sculpture... it was a really nice way to use the space.

The staff was busy setting up!

We found the supply room! It was pretty neat to get a peek inside.

Soon it was time to get ready for the wedding! The wedding and the reception were in the same place because it was raining! The rest of the weekend was beautiful but Saturday afternoon kept us inside unfortunately. They say that's good luck, right?

They named the tables for places that were significant in their lives. We were at the table named for Manassas, which is where they live now.

Sarah's sister Dana is crafty and creative. She helped with the centerpieces.

They took advantage of the cutest trend going on right now--a cupcake cake!

Sarah also got down and crafty and made their champagne flutes! Love them!

And then it was time for the happy couple to make their appearance! The bridal party dressed up in crazy hats and boas and made their entrance first.

Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Freddie Taylor!

Congratulations Sarah & Freddie!

Do What Makes You Happy

In the short time I've known Caty, she hasn't ever been one to do what someone else wanted her to do just because someone else wanted her to do it.

Recently, she and her boyfriend Chris took a trip to Paris where Chris proposed. After eight years together, you don't just take a girl to Paris and not come back engaged! 

Yesterday, I received an email from Caty. Subject: "We're Married! :o)" They decided to take the plunge and get married on the eighth anniversary of their first date. Caty had always said she doesn't want a big wedding with all of the pomp and circumstance, shopping & stressing, picking and choosing, planning & planning & planning. This couple wanted a small private ceremony with close friends & family, then have a party later. And that's exactly what they did.

I think we can all take a cue from Caty & Chris and sometimes just do what makes us happy. They can proudly say "we did it our way!"

Congratulations Caty & Chris, the new Mr. & Mrs.! 

Emily Actually Weds

You might be wondering where our wedding fits into this whole fiasco. Well I didn't take any pictures. How's that. Pfft. I was busy.

BUT

Our amazing photographer, Mitch Wonjarowicz, was also extremely busy all day. You can see the best of his work that day on this slide show. It will be available for 6 months on this website, so if you're reading this after March 18, 2011, sorry.

Emily's Wedding Slideshow

Enjoy! I just watched it twice. Again.

Alyssa & David on 10-10-10

Over 32,000 couples in the US & more than 31,000 couples in the UK tied the knot on 10-10-10.

The Today Show did a piece about the numerology surrounding the day. Take a look. Turns out, 10-10-10 has more significance than its novelty.

Alyssa's wedding was a long time in the making. Alyssa & David exchanged promise rings for Hanukhah (Chanukah? I never know which is correct) in 2008, and by early 2009, they had set a date for their wedding. Alyssa always knew she wanted a black tie wedding, and it was probably the most elegant affair I have ever been to as an adult.

I spent most of Saturday & all of Sunday by her side while she prepared for the event. We bridesmaids got our nails done on Saturday & then headed up to the hotel for a little bit of chill time before the craziness began.

Between bridesmaid duties, I snapped a few photos of the getting-ready process.



I mostly have a whole bunch of portraits. If you read about my camera issue over in Photography, you know how difficult it was for me to get a decent picture at this event. I ended up with a few keepers.

Samantha was a little lady the whole weekend. She was so patient and reasonable and non-10-year-0ld like.















Zoe is America's Next Child Model. She was posing & working it like no other. She kept posing & I kept snapping. I started to believe she never takes a bad photo.













And Stephanie's third gorgeous girl, Chelsea, was a little bit more on-the-move, so I hardly have any photos of her, except for this one, which I love love love. This is Alyssa's mom watching Chelsea look out the window.



Let's talk about the mom who produced these three little beauties. Stephanie is David's sister, Alyssa's Matron of Honor and Alyssa's shiny new sister-in-law.

With three girls between two and ten, Steph is on-the-move quite often--probably more so than her youngest. The photos I have of Steph are extremely artsy and some of my favorites from the whole weekend.





Steph insisted that the following photos didn't even look like her. But I assure you, this is Stephanie.





And my personal favorite--the Stephanie perfume ad...



Steph had three girls to get ready, plus herself. Here she is putting the finishing touches on Zoe's hair.



The other two bridesmaids were Caty and Rachel, pictured, respectively, here. Through this whole experience, I fell in love with Alyssa's friends and family. I am so thankful to have been involved in it. Caty is just the sweetest thing. She has something positive to say about everyone, and she's so giving. She's the first one to jump up and say "I'll do it!" if someone asks for help. Rachel and her family are so adorable. She wore her prom dress as the bridesmaid dress! A very impressive feat after just having a baby a few months ago!





Alyssa's grandma was with us the whole day. Here she is getting her make-up done.



Time for a fun break. This is what the boys did while the girls were primping and preparing...



Jerks.

Now it's time to focus on the important part... the bride!

First was her hair.



A little make-up.





And it was time for some formal-ish portraits. Of course, I wasn't the photographer here, so I had to grab some shots while trying not to get in Laura's way! I have to say... I'm pretty much in love with what I did get. I feel they all captured exactly what was happening at that moment. No narration required.





















 

And then they got married. Here's where I step away from the camera.

And then the party started!







 

Alyssa and her dad were so sweet. They were both dabbing tears. (Again with the tilting. Lesson learned. No or minimal tilt for dancing pictures. Sorry if I made you seasick with these).







 

Cake cutting! Oh the delicious tiramisu cake!







 

And then... just like that... it was over. It's amazing how fast these events go. You want to hold onto every minute and make it last forever, but eventually, it's time to pack up your camera and make the journey home.

Amanda and Jeremy's wedding in NY

I have a few photos from Amanda & Jeremy's wedding. Jeremy is Trevor's friend from way back in middle school & high school. It was great to see all of Trevor's old friends.

Amanda's parents and Jeremy's parents were both married in the same church where their ceremony took place. I believe the pastor said there were a few generations sharing the same tradition. That was really nice.

Their ceremony program was attached to a fan! It was really hot that day, so it worked out perfectly.



 

Beautiful pink flower centerpieces



This lovely fruit was waiting for us at our table when we arrived.



 

The favor was a box with a heart-shaped cookie cutter inside, and a "recipe for love"



All the place settings at the table...



I loved their cake. It was quite similar to the one I made for Kelly in May. Must be a popular style this year! It was delightful and tasty. Two of my favorite things.





 

I guess I didn't get very many photos! I was busy catching up with everyone I guess. It's nice to put down the camera and enjoy once and a while!