a new princess

a royal wedding is in the works! as perhaps you've heard (!), prince william asked for kate middleton's hand in marriage and the two are expected to tie the knot next year in 2011. hearing this news brought a flood of memories back for me as i remember as a small girl my father waking me up very very early one morning back in july of 1981 to watch lady diana (will's mother) marry prince charles. i was very much a girly girl and the royal family and princesses held a special fascination for me so i was beside myself to see it. my father himself was a lifelong admirer of the british monarchy and he equalled my enthusiasm for watching the wedding. as we watched i got a history lesson--about the windsors, st. pauls cathedral in which they were married, the monarchy etc. which was my father the historian through and through. it really was a fairytale and diana looked radiant and beautiful. i also decided i wanted a bunch of small children dressed as little lord fauntleroys and little bo peeps at my own wedding some day, just as charles and diana did. (i am happy to report i grew up and out of that little fantasy!)

it was a magical event and so special in that i shared it with my father. that time of morning felt like we were the only two people awake on our side of the pond. i knew that wasn't really the case, but there is something about that hour of morning that seems special, almost secretive and magical. in any case, i'm excited to see how this latest royal wedding will turn out. it should be a beautiful thing to see and i'm excited to wake my own daughter to watch it with me.

one thing though...william proposed with his mother's engagement ring, an 18-carat sapphire surrounded by smaller diamonds. i can't help but feel that the ring is a little, um, jinxed? that marriage ended in divorce. maybe i'm being cynical...perhaps william is simply looking at it as a cherished heirloom and he feels he is keeping his mother alive and a part of his own wedding plans. well, in any case, i hope the two truly do live happily ever after.

can you make a whole meal out of hors d'oeuvres?

from what i hear jane and sis might have tried last night with the thai chicken with peanut sauce hors d'oeuvres (provided by thyme to cook) which were served last night at naomi's studio and salon grand re-opening in west hartford. naomi (martinez), as some of you will undoubtedly know, is a very very talented make-up artist who has helped many brides look and feel better than their best on their wedding days. moreover she's incredibly nice and beautiful to boot. naomi has assembled a great team and re-opened her studio/salon.  besides wedding day services the salon provides a variety of ways to keep you pampered and beautiful from head to foot. here's the link.

it is clear that i missed a really nice evening with some good food (see above) and good people. a few of our favorite photographers were in attendance--jerome and jen braga, val mccormick and alissa dinneen. but perhaps the star of the evening was naomi's darling son caleb who charmed jane and sis. oh baby!

some of that professional photography i promised...

remember our bride bethany who had her lovely july wedding at the carousel pavilion overlooking new haven harbor? i promised some professional shots someday, and i'm happy to share the gorgeous photos we just received from sara at growing tree photography. in my last post i spoke about seeing old friends and other vendors, well, sara is a new friend and we hope to have the opportunity to work with her many times again. she is a very talented woman as these photos will attest to. katie slater acted as her second, and they did some stunning work...ok, i'll stop gushing now. i'm listening to carly simon so that's my excuse for the gushy-ness...

michelle wade photography

part of the fun of setting up weddings is seeing our favorite vendors again. we have been fortunate over the years to work with amazing people, in particular some very talented photographers. one of those people is michelle wade from michelle wade photography. this past season she shot of few of our weddings and its always nice to see her. plus, we are always confident that the pictures will turn out beautifully. i'm sharing with you some of her photos taken of two of our recent brides, liz and karin.