Brecknock Hall 4th Annual Veteran’s Day Wedding Giveback

For the past four years I have had the honor of participating in this wonderful event at Brecknock Hall and I am happy to announce that this year’s wedding has been featured on Style Me Pretty!    Visit SMP’s blog to have a look and read more!  http://www.stylemepretty.com/new-york-weddings/greenport/2015/03/11/elegant-veterans-day-wedding-at-brecknock-hall/

Catering: Creative Courses Catering | Flowers: Ivy League Flowers | Flowers: Blooms By Design | Flowers:Kim Jon Designs | Flowers: Joanna L. Rallis Artisan Floral Design | Cake: Merry’s Cakes | Catering: Alure Chowder House & Oysteria | Catering: Front Street Station | Catering: Southold Fish Market | Catering:Grace & Grit Catering | Catering: Christopher Michael Catering | Catering: Sterlington Deli | Makeup:Allison Pressler Professional Skin Care | Favors: Dessert By Debbie | Officiant: Lasting Footprints, Reverend Sarah Margaret | Advertising & Publicity: Times Review Newspapers | Advertising & Publicity:North Fork/South Fork Weddings | Beer: Greenport Harbor Brewing Company | Hair Design: Fire Monkey Hair Design | Hair Design/Makeup: East End Expressions | Hair Styling & Makeup: Anna’s Salon | Lodging: Heron Harbor Suites | Miscellaneous: BodySmart Studio | Miscellaneous: Diane Legge | Music: MVP DJ | Tents & Rentals: American Tent Company | Tents & Rentals: McBurnie Tents | Venue: Brecknock Hall | Wine: Macari Vineyards

Brecknock Hall Wedding – The 3rd Annual Veteran’s Day Wedding Giveback

Tara & Joe                                                                                                November 10, 2013For the past three years I have had the pleasure of being part of this truly wonderful and inspiring community event, hosted by Peconic Landing @ Brecknock Hall.  Each year, a couple who has served or is currently serving in the U.S Armed Forces is selected to receive their entire wedding complimentary from an entourage of local vendors.  It is our chance to give back to our veterans, to say “thank you” with deepest gratitude, and to celebrate love with them.

Tara and Joe graduated from Mattituck High School a year apart, but it wasn’t until years later that they would begin to know one another.  Tara, a senior airman, was attending school at St. John’s University and working at a local North Fork restaurant.  The two would talk when Joe came into the restaurant but he soon left for basic training and they parted ways.  Time passed and then one day Joe, now a staff sergeant, walked right in and asked Tara out on their first date.  “I’ll never forget it, ” Tara tells, “He just got home from basic training in Texas wearing his military blues.  He was trying to impress me.  It worked!”

The couple was deployed to Afghanistan together last year with the mission to support helicopters flying casualty evacuations. Thanks to their efforts,  85 lives were saved.  They have returned home together as full-time technicians at the 106th Rescue Wing in Westhampton Beach.

May everyone take time this holiday season to appreciate and honor all of our country’s servicemen and women, home and overseas, and be reminded that this is “Land of the free because of the brave.”

Happy Holidays!

Contributing vendors for 2013 The Veteran’s Day Wedding Giveback:

• Heron Suites –  lodging
• Top Hat Entertainment – videography and entertainment
• Christopher Michael Catering – off premise catering
• Ivy League Flowers – floral design
• Flowers by Topaz – floral design and event planning
• Macari Vineyards – Long Island Wine
• Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. – micro brewery  –  beer
• Allison Pressler Professional Skincare – make-up (phone 631-722-4702)
• Grace and Grit – off premise catering
• Merry’s Cakes – special occasion cakes
• Caroline Rochetta Photography – wedding photography
• American Tent Company – Tents and party rentals
• The Greenporter – lodging
• Anna’s Salon – hair, make-up, manicures (631-749-4293)
• Chaps Corner – Formalwear for men
• Connie Cross Environmentals – décor
• Platinum Executive Security  – Mattituck based valet and event security
• Christina D’Asaro Design – invitations and wedding stationery
• East End Expressions – hairstyling
• Farmhouse B&B – officiant and lodging
• Mattituck Environmental Services – waste removal
• Sterlington Deli – catering
• Ava Flora – floral design and custom jewelry
• 631 Restaurant – Catering
• McBurnie Tent – Tents and party rentals
• Mattituck Laundry – cleaning services (631-298-1963)
• J’aime Les Bonbons – special occasion cakes, cookies, cupcakes
• A Lure Chowder House & Oysteria – catering
• Rolling in Dough Pizza Truck – food truck catering
• NorthForkWeddings and SouthForkWeddings

Brecknock Hall Wedding – The Veteran’s Day Giveback

I had the wonderful honor of photographing the Veteran’s Day Wedding Giveback at the very beautiful Brecknock Hall.  The selected couple this year was Justin Abbey (Southold) and Susana Andrade (California).   He is an E4 Specialist and working toward becoming a Black Hawk Pilot and she is an E5 Sergeant with a FAA certificate for Air Traffic Control.  They are stationed together in Fort Drum and both are scheduled to depart for Afghanistan this summer.

This wedding was really special because the families were meeting for the first time!  Two families, from opposite sides of the country, American and Mexican, creating a union and celebration that painted a palette of red, white and blue.  It was a truly inspirational Sunday afternoon.

*Click on the LINK Susana & Justin to see more from this beautiful wedding!  In my newly inspired exploration into Spanish music I discovered the sultry sound of Carmen Sevilla…hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Contributing Sponsors Include: Brecknock Hall & Peconic Landing, Christopher Michael Caterers, Mali B Sweets, Ivy League Flowers, Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., The Loft Restaurant, Allison Pressler’s  Professional Skincare, Anna’a Salon, MVP DJ & Entertainment, American Tent Rental, Chaps Corner, The Greenporter, Environmentals, Macari Vineyard, Top Hat Entertainment, Eastern Long Island Limo, Platinum Executive Security, Times-Review Newspapers.

    

Veteran’s Day Wedding Giveback

On Veteran’s Day I had the absolute pleasure and honor of photographing the wedding ceremony of Cat and John Schmanski.  The happy couple was selected as the winners of The Veteran’s Day Wedding Giveback Contest, hosted by Brecknock Hall in Greenport.  Cat, an army specialist, and John, a staff sergeant, first met in 2009 on an Army base in Germany and it is there that their love story began.  They fell in love and would only see one another four more times in the last two years.  Both Cat and John have been deployed to Afghanistan twice, but never in the same unit.  On May 28th, 2010 they exchanged vows before being deployed again.  John’s mother entered the couple into the contest, with hopes of giving them a ceremony and celebration to enjoy with all of their friends and family close to home.  Brecknock Hall contacted numerous local vendors/merchants and I feel grateful to have been given this wonderful opportunity to meet Cat and John and participate in such an overwhelmingly inspiring event.  And just a little side note to put things in perspective,  the bride was fresh off field training in Georgia the day before the wedding!

Enjoy some of my favorite shots from the day here, and be sure to visit the slideshow under LINKS, click on Cat & John

Brecknock Hall Wedding

Snow spotted the ground on this New Year’s Day, just as perfect clouds spotted the sky.  She is draped perfectly in her mother’s wedding gown, just as the white sheers hang in tall windows.  He listens carefully…Mozart plays, as he smiles to know it’s almost time to see his bride.  This 1850’s mansion could not have been a more perfect place for Juliana & Fritz to be wed…it is stately like Fritz, filled with beautiful light like Juliana, and it is a historic home which on this day became theirs as it filled with the immense love of their radiant families embraced by golden walls.  I am so grateful to have been welcomed into their beautiful world for that day.

As always, don’t forget to look at the slideshow Juliana & Fritz under the links to your right , as the photos below are just a small selection from the day.