Thursday, August 30, 2012

Girl Trip!

Every once in awhile, when I can coordinate a rare weekend off with my best friend in NYC, we get to hang out! The calendars aligned last Friday/Saturday, and we chose to visit Lancaster, PA. It's somewhat of a halfway point... I grew up visiting that area because I had (and still have) lots of relatives there. Some of the things we did I hadn't done in years! (Pretzel factory tour anyone?) What basically ended up happening was we ate food constantly the whole weekend. Not that I'm complaining.

Friday was nice - I picked Lisa up at the bus station, then we headed to Central Market to indulge on some classic PA Dutch treats. (I ate a quarter pound of Lebanon bologna for lunch. Weird? Maybe.) For dinner, we joined an Amish family in their home and ate traditional Amish food (roast chicken, ham loaf, buttered noodles, chow-chow, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet corn, and more.) It was a feast. And seriously, their kids could not have been any cuter or more well behaved. In turn, I behaved and didn't take any photos... After dinner, since we were only a few miles away, we stopped by my aunt and uncle's house/awesome alpaca farm. Check 'em out if you're in the area - Cider Press Alpacas. They gifted me and Paul an alpaca blanket which is my new favorite one to snuggle with on the couch.

Here's Lisa looking a little apprehensive. Farm animals just aren't her thing...



Okay, these next photos are from Saturday, when I pulled out my real camera and shot some real photos. We started off the day by visiting the September Cheese Farm in Honey Brook. Which, let's just be honest, was pretty awesome if you love cheese. I discovered something new about Lisa on this trip... I love cheese, but she LOOOOVES cheese. Note the difference.



Lisa in sample-tasting heaven.


They had some really awesome cheese flavors to try, including peach (tasted just like peaches, I swear!), roasted garlic, apple cinnamon, jalepeno, cajun, and cranberry orange. I liked them all. 





City meets country.

 


Then it was off to Intercourse (yes, that's the name of the town) for a pretzel factory tour. Little bit underwhelming, but we did get to practice making our own pretzels. 


I am an expert, can't you tell?  



And since we were close, we had to drive over to Wilbur Chocolate in Lititz. Which was also a bit of a letdown, but the town was cool. I knew Hershey's Chocolate World is definitely NOT disappointing, so we drove there next. You'll have to forgive me for not taking photos there because I've been a zillion times. But every time it's just as magical as the last... (I'm munching a chocolate bar as I type this, in fact.)




Anyhoo, I won't detail the whole rest of our day because I don't have pictures to follow, but I'll tell you it involved a nice home-cooked meal at my aunt's house in Lancaster (different aunt), and a trip to the Jigger Shop! All in all, a great time. :)


Friday, August 17, 2012

Jeb & Mark - Washington, DC Engagement Photography

When Jeb and Mark emailed me with ideas for their engagement shoot (complete with a push-pinned Google map link) I couldn't be more excited! Their list was so... them. From the crossword puzzles in bed to the drinks at Nellie's Sports Bar, I quickly got a good read on who they are as a couple and a sneak peek into their lives. The highlight for me was finally getting to go to the iconic Ben's Chili Bowl, as I've tried literally three different times to get a chili dog and every time I ran out of patience because the line has been so long. Well this time we walked right up to the counter and three minutes later out the door with our chili dogs (Jeb and Mark were kind enough to buy me one to go). Ummm, delicious. And talking about chili dogs at 11:30 in the morning is making me hunnnngry.

I might have gotten a little off-track there, but seriously, this engagement shoot was so much fun and I can't wait to see what Jeb and Mark have planned for their wedding in October!






















Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ashley & Eric - Tremont Plaza Hotel Baltimore Wedding Photographer

Ashley and Eric's wedding was my first visit to the Tremont in Baltimore. And what a cool place! I enjoyed all the different rooms (and of course, the break from the outside heat.) :) This couple is awesome, and I loved their sense of humor (you'll see evidence of this in the photos too). I have no doubt they'll keep each other smiling for the rest of their lives. And umm, can we just talk about how much Eric looks like the guy from American Pie? Sorry Eric, I know you hear that all the time! A big thanks to Scott of Scott Henderson Photography for shooting this one with me.

Venue: Tremont Plaza Hotel and Grand Historic Venue
Photographer: Emily Chastain Photography
Florist: Bella Fiori Couture Floral & Events Design
Cake: Sugar Bakers
DJ: DJ D-Mac & Associates
Dress: Essence of Australia via Bridals by Elena
Hair: Mindy Whalen
Make-up: Blend
Ceremony music: Rich Barry
Lighting: Perkins Productions