Feast at Round Hill Wedding

Elyse and Jaime are some of my favorite people. They have a real spark and their enthusiasm is contagious! I was not at all surprised how fun, high-energy and personalized their Feast at Round Hill wedding was. The overall theme and structure of their wedding was modeled after a stage production. Elyse and Jaime met during college while both involved with theater. On their wedding day, the biggest “production” of their lives so far, they were all smiles. From the handmade stage on which they got married, to the “playbill” wedding program featuring bios of all of the people involved, Elyse and Jaime really made their wedding their own. The weather on this October day was simply beautiful and we were able to get really great shots of their outdoor ceremony and all throughout the intricately landscaped grounds of Feast. Not every client has the time and/or interest to sneak away during their wedding day to spend some extra time taking photos with me, which is totally understandable. Elyse and Jaime, however did decide to take advantage of some gorgeous late afternoon light, which by my count is some of the best light there is! Once they returned to their already in progress reception, the dancing went off the charts high energy! I would expect nothing less from the couple who grooved down the aisle to James Brown’s “I Feel Good” as their ceremony recessional song!

Here is what Jaime and Elyse had to say about my service via their review on The Knot:

I don’t have enough nice things to say about Peter and his assistant/gear goddess/parent wrangler (and wife) Peggy. From our first Skype session with Peter we were struck with how kind he was. Personally, I worry about how I look in pictures. It is very easy for me to lookawkward, and I didn’t want that to happen for our wedding pictures. For this reason, it was very important for us to do an engagement shoot with Peter. This was the greatest idea in the universe. We met up with Peter and Peggy in their home turf in Kingston, NY. We sat down and chatted a bit about logistics and got to know each other a bit. These folks are fun! We walked around the lovely town of Kingston, got some pictures taken and really connected with the two fine folks that were going to be in charge with recording the happiest day of our lives. Everything went very smoothly and we got some amazing shots around Kingston. We knew, even before the wedding, that we had made the right choice in photographer. And the wedding day? Peter and Peggy were rockstars! As the groom, I’ve got an easier go prior to the ceremony, so I saw Peter a little less in the morning. I knew that he was around, taking shots of the bride and ladies getting ready. The day was magical and Peter captured it beautifully. Him and Peg were great. Peg was great at getting our folks lined up for the family shots and Peter was amazing at identifying where to shoot and how to get us all looking super glamorous. The ceremony looked absolutely magical and he caught a great moment in our recessional that has been the go-to image that I send to folks that want pictures of the wedding. We also had planned to do some sunset portraits while folks were eating their dinner. This provided some private time for us and some amazing pictures with dramatic lighting. It was so great to have these shots. Peter and Peggy stayed longer than we expected them to and kept shooting till the bitter end. They seemed to be having as much fun as the rest of our guests and were so sweet the entire day. Peter and Peg are rockstars and I will be forever thankful of how awesome they were. Lastly, two days into our honeymoon we received an email telling us that the pictures were ready to view. This was certainly unexpected, but very welcome. We spent a long time looking through the pictures and re-living the day that had only happened mere days ago. The pictures look FANTASTIC! I’m so happy that we ended up picking Peter as our photographer. We couldn’t be any happier with our pictures. Thank you, Peter (and Peggy). You guys rock!

Makeup Artist: Meredith Hayman

Bride’s Dress: Kenneth Pool / Glamour Closet NYC

Bridesmaid’s Dresses: The Dessy Group

Flowers: Done by Friend

Videography: Birdhouse Weddings

Cake Artist: The Pastry Garden

DJ: A Perfect Blend Entertainment

Amy and Henry’s Mohonk Mountain House wedding coincided with the famous Hudson Valley colorful autumn foliage. The trees were in full splendor and the landscape an amazing fall palate. The damp and rainy day, although not optimal for an outdoor ceremony, was beautiful nonetheless. The charm and warmth of the Mountain House certainly filled in for the weather! At Amy and Henry’s engagement session I learned about the hotel’s significance for Amy during her childhood. I was so happy to be a part of capturing new special memories here for her wedding day.

Amy and Henry had their first look under the protection of the large porch of the hotel. Although quite chilly, their families and wedding party members were champions as I quickly snapped some formal shots on the porch with the stunning lake and mountains behind them. The rain also moved their outdoor ceremony to the indoor parlor, where the sweet and engaging Rabbi Renee officiated a beautiful marriage. The rain let up just enough for me to be able to take Amy and Henry out for some more photos by the lake and boat dock. The reception was a whirlwind of heartfelt speeches, the Hora (traditional chair dance), lots of dancing and a live performance by Henry and his band, The Cheap Moves! Amy even joined them for a song!

Here is what Amy and Henry had to say about my service via their review on The Knot:

Peter and Meg are where it’s at! As soon as I spoke to Peter on the phone, we just “clicked,” and I knew I wanted him at our wedding. Planning our wedding was a crazy process, but none of my anxiety went towards photography. Peter just genuinely loves weddings and seemed to have a blast just documenting our day. I still think he was more excited about the day than I was at times! He is also incredibly fast when it comes to turnaround time. We literally got our digital photos back 4 days after our wedding! We also did an engagement photoshoot with him about 2 months before our wedding, and I’m so glad we did. He managed to capture so many beautiful images. I’m extremely self-critical and still I found so many photos that I love. I could not have been happier with Peter and Meg, and we were so pleased with their work that he will be doing my sister’s wedding in 6 months!

Wedding Coordinator: Christina Lavatalo, Mohonk Mountain House

Makeup & Hair: Helen Staniszewski

Bride’s Dress: Sottero & Midgley / I Do…I Do in Morristown, NJ

Flowers: Flowers by Elissa

Officiant: Rabbi Renee Feller

Band: The Band Method

Lighting: Hourglass Lighting

I am so excited to share Rebecca and Ben’s Handsome Hollow Wedding photos with you! This location has, hands-down, one of the most beautiful barn spaces I have ever been in. From their website:

“Originally built 240 years ago near Albany, New York, the structure was a working dairy barn until the spring of 2014 when it was dismantled and cleaned for relocation. In October 2014 the timbers were delivered and the frame assembled on site in 10 days. Over the following 8 months local craftsman worked on the barn and the grounds until completion in July 2015.”

Wow. Not only painstakingly rebuilt but also seriously outfitted in the best ways possible for weddings and events. There is also a farmhouse on site, in which Rebecca and Ben gathered with friends and family as they prepped for the wedding.

Those that follow my work know that I’m kind of obsessed with nature and photographing people in it. The grounds at Handsome Hollow were a wonderfully dreamy mix of beautiful old trees, wild grasses and old stone walls and structures. I was pleased to say the least! Rebecca and Ben are some of the nicest people I’ve met, and it was really nice walking around with them and capturing some great photos. After the outdoor ceremony, guests were ushered to the beautifully adorned barn for cocktails and provided with outdoor lawn games. Rebecca and Ben had an extended cocktail hour which I really love at weddings as it gives guests a good amount of time to chat and chill. In addition to a bounty of food, guests were offered Tonjes Farm cheese, made by the dairy owned and operated by Ben’s family! I encourage you to find their products at the Union Square Saturday Greenmarket in NYC or more locally at various Sullivan County farmer’s markets. Yum!

Wedding Site: Handsome Hollow

Makeup & Hair: Glo Beauty Bar

Bride’s Dress: Dennis Basso / Klienfield

Flowers/Decorative Elements: Earth Girl

Music: DJ Domenic Entertainment

Catering: The Heron Restaurant

Have you ever been to a wedding that had a docile cow in attendance that was available for petting? WELL I HAVE! Whitney and Sam’s Ankony Carriage House wedding had a whole host of amazing details, but the attendance of a cow was certainly a cool (& totally welcome!) first for me. I had not met Whitney & Sam until a few days before their wedding when I made a site visit to get a lay of the land. And by land, I mean one of the most gorgeous Hudson River view properties I have ever seen. The beautiful outdoor space seemed quite an appropriate wedding site for Whitney & Sam, as they are avid adventurers. Their love of skiing and all things outdoorsy is one of the things that drew them together.

From the beautiful and heartfelt ceremony to the reception, this wedding was a pleasure. We had a few great options for photo locations and I really loved walking around with Whitney and Sam after their ceremony and snapping away. It’s not every day that you capture a wedding couple in a portrait with some adorable cows! The reception notably featured really awesome (and somewhat interactive) on-site bbq catering and kicked off with an upbeat and talented band that kept the dancing going all night long.

Here is what Whitney and Sam had to say about my service as per their review on The Knot:

When thinking about our wedding my husband and I picked out a few things that were “key items”…things we wanted to make sure we got the best and a photographer was one. We looked though many portfolios online and contacted different people however when we came across Peter’s photos we were done looking!! All of his photos were beautiful and conveyed the same feel that we wanted- kind of a rustic, country chic. Since we were from out of town we did not meet Peter until a few days before the wedding when came out to look at our wedding location. The second we met him in person we again knew we had made the right choice. He spent hours hanging out with my family and walking around scoping out the property and different potential photo areas. I honestly wish we lived closer so we could hang out with him and his wife Peggy on a regular basis!! They are both so laid back and easy going. On the day of the wedding they did a fantastic job!! They were so sweet and helpful and accommodating when we (I) decided at the last minute I wanted a certain type of photo or a specific location. The locations he picked out were beautiful and I am so happy to have the photos to remember the day. Peter is highly highly recommended…looking back we would definitely hire him again!! Thanks again for making our wedding day so special 🙂

Coordinator: Every Little Detail

Makeup & Hair: LaV Beauty

Bride’s Dress: Fantasy Bridal in Salt Lake City, UT

Bridesmaid Dresses: J Crew Wedding

Flowers: Haworth’s Flowers

Officiant: Rev. Lisa Zaro

Band: ETA Music

Catering: Fire Roasted Catering