It’s true. This is my last post on this ol’ friend, Through the Lens.
But I’m excited about my new blog
It has one BIG, WIDE column.
That means I can get the photos really big 🙂
Come on over and subscribe.
{oh, and this blog isn’t going anywhere if you’re feeling nostalgic}
Lisa and Steve live over the hill from me. Literally.
In fact, every single vendor at this wedding was right here from good ol’ Westminster.
(Except for my second, Tim. He drove all the way from Hanover, PA.)
Last night I made it home in time to eat dinner with my tribe.
Nice.
I’m so excited about this couple and this wedding. Here’s just a sneak peak.
Way more coming soon.
Lisa and Steve met working at the Olive Garden . . . you may remember their romantic, after-hours engagement session at the restaurant.
Beautiful anticipation.
They laugh a whole lot. That’s the way it should be in my book.
A big white ballroom tent, a reflecting pool and acres of greenery . . .
a backyard reception most elegant.
What an amazing wedding. That’s just a sneak peak to entice . . .
there’s way more to come, but today is a big day in our home.
Shh. It’s a secret, but ‘ll tell you soon. Gotta go. Tons to do!
One last image . . .
I can never resist a chippy, white, warehouse wall.
It’s all about Woody. Buzz is okay, but it’s Woody all the way.
At three, Sam wants to BE Woody.
Big birthdays for both my boys.
We treated ourselves to a Starry Night Bakery cake. Hmmm.
No lie. It was so rich that we all had headaches about fifteen minutes after the party!
Rich, but delish.
Then, Carl jaunted off to play a gig with Skip in Belair, and I took the kids to the
MD Steamshow in Arcadia.
It was tractors and steam engines galore, and my little guys were in their element.
Later that night, Carl and I played “Where did you  think  you’d be at 50 . . . .?”
We agreed that our concept of “life at fifty” is nothing like the real thing.
It’s so much harder.
It’s so much sweeter.
To infinity and beyond.
Swan Cove Manor ,Cambridge, Maryland, was the site of Tara + Paul’s casually elegant wedding celebration.  Bringing together two amazing families for the first time,  Tara and Paul flew in from Colorado on Wednesday, and got the party rolling.  Tara’s family has always vacationed on the Eastern Shore, and it holds special memories.  Surrounded by hundreds of acres of  woods, meadows,  farms, and an incredible waterfront, the families vacationed together, crabbing, boating, and enjoying the relaxed pace of life on the eastern shore.
So, by the time I arrived to shoot the wedding, everyone was in vacation mode. Tara and Paul had each claimed one of the three estate houses as wedding headquarters . . . so I literally went from door to door to document the wedding day. You may remember Tara and Paul and their daughter Haley from our engagement shoot this summer on the campus of St. John’s College and downtown Annapolis. Â I knew it then . . . this is one special family.
This is how I came upon the day. Paul out on the dock with his nieces and nephew, catching Maryland blue crabs.
Meanwhile, Tara and her maid of honor, Haley, were next door, getting ready for the ceremony. The house was filled with lots of laughter . . . after all, Tara’s four sisters had come from far and near to live, once again, under the same roof. They nibbled on crabmeat, applied makeup and tied bows for each other and precious Haley got some coaching on “the princess walk.”
I remember thinking, at the engagement session, that Tara was just incredibly beautiful without a stitch of makeup on her face . . . Â But for this day . . . Â drop dead gorgeous.
When Paul called from next door, Tara sneaked off to the window to enjoy the excitement with him. They were minutes from seeing one another for the first time that day and their excitement was palpable.
A quick moment alone.
Time for the marriage of true minds.
One last love from Haley, the sweetest, most attentive maid of honor ever . . .
That’s one happy man.
Really. happy.
Guests’ arrival.
Glorious anticipation.
The “I Do’s”
With Haley right by their side . . .
And then the celebration . . .
Paul and Tara enjoyed the best of the Eastern Shore.
Hope you enjoyed this sneak peak.
It’s that time of year again. September Song, is in full swing, staging The Sound of Music.
I was in the audience back in ’77 when September Song first produced Sound of Music.
It was my first play.
I LOVED it.
My whole family went together.
I wanted to be Leisl.
I Â got to stay up WAY past my bedtime.
Directed by Erin Kauffman and produced by Joan Eichorn, this year’s production features some of Carroll County’s finest.
Last night’s rehearsal had all the magic of community theater . . . costume fittings, fix-its, scene construction and lots of love in the house.
Proceeds go to support CHANGE, Inc. and Therapeutic Recreation Council.
Performances are September 4,5,11,& 12 at 8 pm and September 6 at 2:30.
Century High School, Sykesville, MD
and for the first time, tickets can be purchased online.
We’ve got our twelve tickets and plan to make a Sunday afternoon event of it . . .
I brought two of the littles along with me last night.
My girls loved watching rehearsal and changed seats every scene so they could view the show from lots of different angles.
I had a little “splainin’ to do to Lily. She wanted to know why she was not cast as Gretl . . .
a Friendly’s “make your own sundae” helped her get over it.
The first time I met Karen and Chad the conversation flowed so easily that we quickly moved from . . . .”so, how did you meet?” . . . to pondering the big questions of life. Yup, right in the studio, first night. So, when I went home and told Carl about this intriguing couple who have traveled the world and found each other in a whirlwind of passion and adventure, I wanted him in on the excitement. We met up a couple of weeks later for fajitas and sweet tea, and again went from superficial to real in a matter of minutes.
Walt Whitman. Fred Astaire. Florence Nightingale
. . . any of these monikers is apropos.
Karen and Chad met ballroom dancing. And they’re good. During their shoot we went from Waltz to Cha-Cha to Swing and hit a couple more in between.
Karen is a nurse at Hopkins and Chad is a mechanical engineer at Aberdeen Proving Grounds.
They are different enough to keep life spicy, yet share really cool hobbies.
Their favorite hobby is, ahem, each other.
But hiking, traveling, reading, and playing are right in there.
Karen and Chad will be married this autumn at the elegant Ceresville Mansion in Frederick, MD.
I know their first dance will be somethin’ to see. I can’t wait.
Over the last several years I’ve had the chance to know the Dooleys in myriad ways . . .
Shirley as director/ choreographer of several productions, David as most supportive husband in the world, Brendan as the sunniest personality in our homeschool co-op, Jon as one of that awesome group of Young Life/ high school kids in our town, and Taylor as the college student/ soccer coach who breezes in and out of town.
They act. They sing. They play soccer. And they’re the warmest, friendliest bunch you’d ever hope to meet.
The Dooleys give me hope that there are still truly good, grounded guys out there. It’s a pattern of right choices that got them there. Gives me inspiration to press onward to win the prize!
Julia will be a senior at North Carroll this year.
She’s 100 % all- American . . . Â gorgeous on the outside, sunny and funny on the inside.
We discovered through the course of our shoot that we have many friends in common . . . she chooses her friends well.
We did our shoot on a hot, hot August day, yet you’d never know by looking at Julia . . . she’s a Georgia peach.
This goat followed Julia around for most of her shoot. He even came into our gazebo and started nibbling on her toes 🙂
Julia’s images are straight out of the camera. I LOVE every perfect freckle on her rosy cheeks.
Beautiful through and through.
Zach will be a senior at North Caroll this year. Zach is one in a million. Great athelete. Seriously funny. Incredibly polite and friendly. Handsome and ,did I mention, tall?
Zach is also a huge baseball fan . . . my son, Will, talks baseball with Zach every chance he gets.
We chose McDaniel College, where Zach’s dad is the athletic trainer, for our shoot.
Zach and his best friend, Jon, scheduled their sessions back to back. Always more fun to have your best friend egging you on during your shoot 🙂 Well, for part of it at least.
That’s why part two of this post is coming later . . . so much fun.
did I mention that I LOVE my job??
did I mention TALL?
Jon is a Renaissance Man circa 2010. He’ll be a senior at Key this year.
In the last year alone, Jon has played the part of Peter in our town’s production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, led his school’s varsity soccer team, and served as camp counselor for a whole slew of tweeners in three Christian camps this year.
As far as the Freundel littles are concerned, Jon is a rock star who ALWAYS has time for a smile or a word of encouragement for each of them. He’s golden.
We did Jon’s senior session on campus at McDaniel . . . and it’ll be blogged in two parts. Stay tuned. We had a blast and you’ll see why in a bit.
kathyfreundel 