Karen Pike Photography Rotating Header Image

video slideshows

Kari and Stephan’s wedding

Aug 29th, 2012
by kpikephoto.
1 comment

Kari and Stephan were married last month at Basin Harbor Club on one of those gorgeous sunny July days. For Kari, it was like coming home. Born in Monkton, Kari moved overseas with her family when she was 9-yrs-old.(her parents taught at international schools). Though she has lived out of the U.S. for most of the last 15 years, her family has always returned to Vermont each summer to vacation on Lake Champlain.

Kari and Stephan are actually high school sweethearts, but their high school was in Israel! To make their romance even more international, Stephan is German, raised in Germany, and now, the couple lives in Doha, Qatar! That’s right-Qatar! Quite a commute to Vermont to get married!

The couple looked stunning, with Kari in a form-fitting white gown (and bright blue shoes for a touch of color!) and Stephan in a sharp navy suit and light pink tie. The gardens at Basin Harbor were in full bloom and we definitely took advantage of that as a setting for their pre-ceremony portrait session.

All of the details were perfect, of course, and Basin Harbor outdid themselves with the food, with appetizers like yummy figs and prosciutto and nori rolls and then dinner which including salmon, filet and an amazing pasta bar!

The bridal party was a hoot-including many who came from various countries to celebrate with the couple! And, since everyone speaks the language of love, there weren’t any apparent communication issues!

This was a partying crowd and the dance floor was busy all night, with the help of DJ Jim Companion from Top Hat Entertainment.

I love this picture of Kari and Stephan’s moms and a family friend channeling their inner “Mama Mia” and singing ABBA songs into their makeshift microphones!

I hope you enjoy this fun slideshow, recapping this glorious wedding celebration: (Slideshow is FLASH, so you cant see it on your Ipad or Iphone. Quick, find a computer!!)

–
If you’d like to see all the photos from Kari and Stephan‘s wedding day, please click HERE (but you’ll need to get the password from the bridal couple in order to view the gallery)

Mattison and Jill’s GRAND wedding

Aug 22nd, 2012
by kpikephoto.
No comments yet

Jill and Mattison were married last month at the Grand Isle lake House and I’m so excited to finally get this wedding on my blog! This celebration was a long time coming, as Mattison had proposed to Jill countless times over the years and finally, SHE SAID YES! This became Mattison’s mantra during their next 12 months of wedding planning.

Look at these gorgeous rings from Von Bargen’s by designer Todd Reed.

Everything at the Grand Isle Lake House was perfect- as always- and all of the food by Executive chef Sheryl Eddy was as beautiful as it was delicious. Dinner at The Lake House is a foodie paradise (And I am a big time foodie!)

Jill and Mattison both looked elegant in their white summer outfits and Jill carried a stunning bouquet of flowers by Gwen and Minner Hobbs at Flowers In Season. (the table centerpieces for also jaw dropping!) Gorgeous hair and makeup were done by friends Shelby Ferland and Ashley Black.

The ceremony was heartfelt from beginning to end. As Jill walked from the front of the inn to meet her betrothed and continue on down the aisle together, Mattison and all of the guests serenaded her with Train’s “Marry Me”. Accompanying the group on guitar was the talented John Sochin (who also performed during the cocktail hour!)

Oh, how I love doing the big group portrait!

The cocktail hour and dinner was fun, funny and festive– Everyone had a ball and the laughter and smiles were infectious!

I took Mattison and Jill down to the beach after dinner to take advantage of the beautiful end-of-the-day light.

It was over 90 degrees, even in the shade, and guests kept as cool as possible outside with the supplied parasols and fans. Once inside and dancing to the great songs played by DJ Rob Douglas, the sweat started to pour and everyone just embraced the heat and let themselves go. It was a great party (and probably- once my camera and I were gone- some late night skinny dipping to cool off!)

I love to travel with fun props and my favorite MOBILE FRAME for some giggle pictures.

Mattison’s SHE SAID YES banner hung from the cupcake table for a final reminder to all! The Cake and Cupcakes were made by Liane Mendez of Let’s Pretend Catering and they were AMAZING!!

Here’s a super fun slideshow of Jill and Mattison’s wonderful wedding day, to a mashup of Train‘s Marry Me and Ingrid Michaelson‘s Everybody:

-
If you’d like to see all of the photos from Mattison and Jill’s GRAND wedding, please click HERE (password available from the wedding couple)

Much love to you both, Mattison and Jill, and congratulations!

Jessica and Grey’s E session

Aug 16th, 2012
by kpikephoto.
No comments yet

Before I left on vacation a couple of weeks ago, I met with bride-and-groom-to-be Jessica and Grey for their Engagement portrait session. Their wedding is quickly approaching– September 29th!–so we barely snuck in the E session!

It was so great to meet them and have an afternoon to get to know one another before their big day next month.

They are fun and easy going and it is obvious how much they love each other and cant wait to be married.

I had to leave for vacation without getting their portraits up online, so Here I sit with a Grande Americano at the Starbucks in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, uploading their photos and writing this blog.


Since there is little time to chat, I will just present the great pictures of this beautiful couple and say that I can’t wait to photograph them at their celebration. See you soon, Jessica and Grey!

Here’s a fun video slideshow of Jessica and Grey’s Engagement portrait session:
-

-
If you’d like to see all of the photos from Jessica and Grey’s E session, please click HERE (and this is a password-protected gallery, so you need to get the secret word from the couple).

Felicia and Dana: A story of True Love

Aug 16th, 2012
by kpikephoto.
No comments yet

“Sonny, TRUE LOVE is the greatest thing in the world-except, maybe, a nice MLT (mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich), where the mutton is lean and the tomato is ripe.”
–Miracle Max, ‘The Princess Bride’

This is a story about True Love.

Once upon a time (1975ish) in the land of far, far away (Newton, Massachusetts), a young princess (13-year-old Felicia Sanchez) entered Warren Junior High School, where she met a young prince (13-year-old Dana Lukens). While the princess spent much of her time playing flute and acting in school plays, the young prince was busy with Track team and soccer. Still, each watched the other from afar, becoming more and more enchanted as time went on.

Like many storybook romances, however, the prince and princess each got swept up by other events in their lives and they were both too young and shy to reveal their true feelings to the other. In 1980, they graduated from the royal Newton North High School and each went off to different kingdoms to pursue their dreams.

Years went by (about 33 of them!) and the young prince and princess had grown into amazing and vibrant adults, with interesting lives, thriving careers, beautiful castles and, for Dana, 2 wonderful sons (this is a modern fable so, yes, both had married along the way but realized that they were not with their true loves ).

MOST importantly, as we come to the climax of this story, they both had Facebook pages.

Author’s Notes:

A. Felicia (who, as kids, we all called “Leachy” ) is one of my oldest and dearest friends, from as far back as elementary School and we have remained close until this day.
B. Dana and I were friendly back then, but I remember him more as the boy who Leachy thought had great legs.
C. Dana and I reconnected a couple of years ago on Facebook and have become friends.
D. I love to play matchmaker (“So, Dana, you should really connect again with Leachy. She’d love to hear from you…”)

On July 28, 2012, Thirty-five years after Leachy wrote in the Warren Jr. High yearbook that she’ll always “remember D.L.”, I drove with my wife to Portland, Maine to attend their WEDDING!!!!

Now how’s that for a Love Story?

I hope you enjoy this slideshow of the royal couple’s celebration, which I made with love, accompanied by Maxine Nightingale singing her 1976 hit, “Right Back Where We Started From.”
(note: slide show is in flash, so you won’t see it on your iPad!)

-

Congratulations, my dear friends and, like the storybook says, may you live happily ever after.

To see all of the photos from Dana and Felicia’s celebration, please click here:

Holli and Corey’s Wedding

Aug 9th, 2012
by kpikephoto.
12 comments

Holli and Corey are the definition of the phrase”perfect together”. They have known each other since grade school and they are so comfortable together and so happy with each other that everyone around them cant help but be happy also.

Their wedding was held at the Quechee Club, on a gorgeous day at the end of June. The bride was stunning in her white gown– and a snazzy pair of Cowboy boots!- and the groom looked like something out of GQ in his Calvin Klein suit and Fedora. It was a party from beginning to end and everyone had an amazing day. From the time Holli and Corey met and did their portrait session until the last cupcakes were gobbled down and the music stopped for the night, they never stopped smiling (except to cry a few tears in Church when they said their vows).

And, with the help of my great second photographer, Jennifer Kiewit, we managed to shoot way over 2000 photographs. I edited them down to about 1200, and that was tough! So, since I am eager to get these photos online for Corey and Holli, I will forgo my banter and just let the pictures speak….





Here’s a super fun slideshow recapping this awesome day, accompanied by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros singing, “Home”:
-

-

If you’d like to see all of the 1000+photos from Corey and Holli’s celebratory, please click HERE (and get the password from the couple!)

Ron and Cris’s Wedding

Jul 17th, 2012
by kpikephoto.
No comments yet

“Style” is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Cris and Ron. Their wedding, held on the North Hero House pier and then the reception at the North Hero Community Hall, was nothing short of spectacular. The Couple, down from Ottawa to celebrate their nuptuals, transformed the hall into a blinggy ballroom fit for royalty. And Cris really looked like a princess!

This wedding was all about love and family, tradition and making memories. Every detail was thought out, from the tuxedo-folded napkins to the (faux) diamond studded platform built for the bride at the ceremony (Cris is about 5 ft and Ron is over 6 ft!). The food, catered by North Hero House, was as yummy as it was beautiful and the band, Dance Knights Orchestra from Montreal, provided amazing entertainment and dance music for the crowd.

Cris and the bridesmaids got ready at the inn, while Ron and the groomsmen dressed at the couple’s South Alburg lakeside retreat. I love this angle as Cris gets help putting on her dress-

Such a sweet moment-the flower girl was completely mesmerized by the bride all day.

Second Photographer Extraordinaire Jenn Kiewit took great pictures of Ron and his crew getting ready!

The idea was for the men to travel to the ceremony by boat, but not every plan goes accordingly when making a wedding…

The boat stalled out about 200 feet offshore and, after a bit of a delay, Ron and his crew were rescued and delivered to the pier!

Look at this scene-gorgeous or what?? And what a perfect day…

Yup, when’s the last time you watched a couple serenade each other at their wedding! Wow!

I love catching those out-of-character moments during the ceremony:

Lots of fun portraits after the ceremony before heading to the reception hall…

After cocktails at North Hero House, the whole crowd proceeded down the road to the Community Hall…

Not only did Ron and Cris sing during the wedding, but they also performed an amazing waltz at the reception. It was like watching “Dancing With The Stars”–

Lots of toasts and lots of tears, just as it should be…

Go, Cris!

I LOVE to make slideshows for my blog, and, because they are done in FLASH, it breaks my heart that you can’t see them on an IPAD or IPHONE (I’m working on it!). And this slideshow is super special, because Cris and Ron did the vocals! Accompanying the photos here is their redition of “When God Made You“, the song they sang to each other during the wedding ceremony. It’s pretty great and Cris has an amazing voice (Ron’s not too shabby, either!!)

-
If you’d like to see all of the pictures from Cris and Ron’s wedding day, please click HERE (and you will need the password from the bridal couple to enter the gallery)

Colin and Deb’s Wet and wonderful wedding

Jul 5th, 2012
by kpikephoto.
1 comment

Colin and Deb live in Portland, Oregon and when they contracted me to photograph their wedding, Deb wanted me to know that they were “a little bit different from the the average ‘young’ couple getting married.” At 40 and 42 yrs old, she described them as both technically middle aged, though young at heart. This being their first marriage, Deb said that they were either “late bloomers, or picky. Hard to know!” What I do know is that their story is sweet and fun and something made for the movies!

They met in Feb 2010 from a Match.com connection, and within 3 weeks of dating, they had decided that they would hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) together. So they started dating and not ten months later, on a snowy whiteout day, Colin proposed to Deb just below the summit of Mt. Mansfield. That was 12/29/10.

As they had decided right at the beginning, the couple hiked the PCT from April 28 to September 29 2011, a total of 2655 miles, in all kinds of weather, from Mexico to Canada. And they kept an amazing daily blog of their hike, which, with each entry, tells of their developing love story as well as their adventures on the trail.

As if the hike wasn’t drama enough, Deb and Colin settled back into Portland, and they soon became pregnant, expecting a little girl at the end of August. The bride was 6 months along at their June 2 wedding- gorgeous and radiant. And the groom, with a never-ending grin on his face, looked like the proud and happy papa-to-be!

As for the wedding itself, it was held at the romantic Edson Hill Manor in Stowe. It was a wet day and the ceremony was moved inside under the tent. The rain didn’t damped anyone’s spirits, though, and it was a beautiful service officiated by Deb’s mother, Rev. Janet K. Brown> Her heartfelt homily had wedding guests both laughing and crying!

Deb wore white with a purple sash to match Colin’s tie. And there were smiles all around when the bridesmaids and then the bride came down the aisle wearing an array of bright red shoes.

The ceremony was followed by dinner and dancing and laughter and joy- a perfect beginning to Colin and Deb’s new life together as a married couple. They were a match made on the internet and now are a match made in heaven– I know–corny! But cute, right?? And they are (cute, that is!) Spend any amount of time with them and you just want to start singing Broadway tunes!
!

So, congratulations, Deb and Colin ( and baby girl bundle!). I am so happy for you all– and I look forward to doing baby portraits sometime soon!

Enjoy this slideshow of the couple’s wet and wonderful wedding day…

-
If you’d like to see all 600+ pictures from Colin and Deb’s wedding day, please click HERE (and contact the couple for the secret password to the gallery).

Jill and Mattison’s E session

Jun 19th, 2012
by kpikephoto.
3 comments

Mattison and Jill were engaged on Valentine’s Day 2011 and are getting married in July at the gorgeous Grand Isle Lake House. I asked Jill to tell me the story of Mattison’s proposal and she answered, “which one?!” Apparently, there have been several over the 12 years since their love story began and she finally said “yes“. It’s not that Jill doesn’t ADORE Mattison, or that she doesn’t love sharing their beautiful South Hero home, their three dogs and their and committed life together; she just wasn’t sure about the word “marriage”. Then Mattison showed her some ring designs by an amazing jeweler–and I guess that did the trick. Diamonds are a girls best friend, ya’ know!

I got to know this beautiful and engaging couple through our mutual love of watching women’s roller derby and about the time I became “Chick Clicker” for the Green Mountain Derby Dames“, they started doing their website design. Three years later, I have hung up my Chick Clicker persona but am happy to say that I still have Jill and Mattison in my life and I am thrilled to be photographing their wedding next month.

If you know me, then you know I am an avid dog lover so some of my attention at this couple’s E session was centered on their three adorable pooches, Toluca, Sherman and Quincy. I mean, how could I resist these faces???

Congratulations, Mattison and Jill, on your engagement (finally) and your long awaited wedding. It will be an amazing celebration.
-

–
If you’d like to see all of the photos from Jill and Mattison’s engagement session, please click HERE (yup, it’s password protected, so you’ll need to get the password from the couple!)

Chris and Molly’s Wedding

Jun 12th, 2012
by kpikephoto.
No comments yet

Chris and Molly were married on May 26 at the Basin Harbor Club in Vergennes. It was a glorious Saturday afternoon and the bride looked stunning in her white sweetheart neckline gown and fuchsia Kate Spade pumps. Bright pink was the color of the day, from flowers to ties to table napkins (which ended up being made into party hats later in the reception!).

It was one of those weddings where everything just seemed to go flawlessly–the weather, the ceremony, the food, the band– everything was perfect. But then, Chris and Molly are so laid back and so happy, that it wouldn’t have mattered what happened as long as they had each other and the Justice of the Peace to make it legal.

Chris is a bit of a joker, with a mischievous sense of humor and a grin to match. So, getting those sweet romantic portraits without him making Molly laugh was a bit of a challenge. In the end, the portraits are fun and funny and uniquely Chris and Molly-just as it should be.

It was definitely a Partying crowd and there was no lack of energy either on and off the dance floor. Three generations of dancing, singing, laughing guests boogied together to a mix of pop and jazz covers, while pairing chocolate covered strawberries and wedding cake with desert Coronas and Basin Harbor Ale! A good time was had by all!

I hope you enjoy this slideshow of some of the day’s best moments, to Roger Ridley‘s awesome rendition of “Stand By Me” from Playing for Change. Thanks, as always, to my uber talented second photographer, Jennifer Kiewit, who has an amazing eye and helps make us such a winning team!

–

–

If you’d like to see all 800 plus photos from Chris and Molly’s wedding day, please click HERE. (You will need to get the password from the Bride and Groom!)

Girls on the Run 2012

Jun 11th, 2012
by kpikephoto.
No comments yet

Saturday was the annual end of the season 5K for Girls on The Run Vermont and the event at Champlain Valley Fairgrounds drew over 2000 participants. The 5k is a non-competitive, family-friendly event where everyone wears the Number “1″, everyone gets a medal, and everyone is a winner! How can you not love that???

Girls on the Run Vermont started 12 years ago with 15 girls. Today it’s grown to 2,500 girls and 125 schools statewide. It is part of nationwide organization with national sponsors, but my favorite corporate client, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont is one of the main Vermont supporters and it is a joy for me to cover the event each year for them.

It seemed like half the marketing staff of BCBSVT came out to help with face painting and Kevin Goddard, Vice President of External Affairs, welcomed the crowd from the stage and actually took a group shot with his I phone of all 2000 plus attendees! Very cool!

So, since I’m a photographer, not a writer, and I know people are anxious to see these pictures, I will let my images do the story telling. Enjoy the slideshow!

–

–

If you’d like to see all of the photos from Saturday’s event (or order enlargements) , please click HERE

← Earlier Posts Newer Posts →