Tag: Cat Cutillo

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Weddings

Microwedding with Dogs

There were almost as many dogs as guests at Sarah and Matt’s microwedding on June 20th. This was the silver lining of getting married in the midst of COVID-19. They postponed their larger celebration until 2021 but had an intimate ceremony this June with their parents, siblings and fur-family. A total of seven human guests and five dog guests attended their wedding in Vermont at Lareau Farm Inn in Waitsfield, VT.

Sarah and Matt both grew up in Vermont and knew that’s where they wanted to get married even though they now live in rural Pennsylvania where Sarah works as a college professor of psychology and Matt works as an electrical engineer in renewable energy. Matt spent summers working in landscaping growing up and loves the solar energy and stone walls surrounding the Lareau Farm Inn venue. The couple met on a dating app and their first date was over pizza and beer so Lareau Farm Inn, which is part of American Flatbread Pizza, was in all ways the perfect location.

“Lareau had everything we were looking for. It was stunningly beautiful (we wanted an outdoor ceremony), allowed dogs (a must!), and we wanted pizza and beer at our reception and with American Flatbread, Lareau is like the original pizza spot in VT!” says Sarah.

Sarah wore paper flower hair accessories that her mother had worn at her own wedding in 1989. As a wedding present, Sarah’s mom had earrings made from diamonds that belonged to Sarah’s grandmother who had passed away last year. Both Sarah and Matt wore heirloom rings from their family. Matt’s ring is his late grandfather’s wedding ring and Sarah’s rings were created from Matt’s late grandmother’s engagement ring.

Sarah and Matt had been engaged for a year and half before their wedding when COVID-19 hit and they knew they didn’t want to postpone. Sarah says they were so fortunate that Helen, the innkeeper at Lareau Farm Inn, helped them plan a microwedding for their families who both live in rural areas with limited COVID cases.

“Matt and I felt like the ceremony was perfect. We were surrounded by love and dogs and nature. We had asked my brother, Charlie, to officiate in our original plan, so that remained the same! One thing that we added to our ceremony because of the tiny wedding was “Community Vows,” where our families shared expressions of their love during the ceremony and my sister sang “Where You Lead, I Will Follow” by Carole King. Having fewer people really allowed us to more intentionally celebrate and embrace joining our two families together. We are so hoping we can celebrate our one year anniversary back at Lareau Farm Inn with all of our loved ones in 2021!” says Sarah.

They had their first look under the tall trees by the river and their intimate ceremony was incredibly romantic and overflowing with so much love and beauty. We walked down to the river to take some mountain photos and then Sarah and Matt spent some time cuddling with their dogs before they all walked down the aisle together.

The couple had initially planned a European hiking honeymoon, which they’ll go on in 2021, but they spent the three nights following their June microwedding on Lake Wapanacki in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and stayed in the Boathouse. After the ceremony, Sarah attached “Just Married” signs to their backpacks and we took the cutest photos of them on the trails behind the Inn and even got photo-bombed by a biker.

This was such an amazing wedding, with such a sweet and stunning couple. Thank you so much, Sarah and Matt, it was a true honor to be there! I loved every moment of documenting your day and getting to meet you all!

Categories
Quarantine

Stay-School Adventures: Memorial Day Parade, Quarantine Day 73

girl whispers to another girl during Memorial Day parade

STAY-SCHOOL ADVENTURES: Memorial Day, Quarantine Day 73 from Cat Cutillo on Vimeo.

Watching the Vergennes Memorial Day Parade every spring is one of our family traditions. When we lived in Vergennes, we would walk to the parade with my daughter Remy’s toy ride-on tractor in hand so she could watch the giant tractors roll by while sitting on her own mini version. Last year, my son, Bo, sat on that same tractor during the parade. We have both created memories and also started to relive similar experiences every year at this parade — which is held to remember and honor those we’ve lost.

This Memorial Day, the parade was canceled. We decided to fill the void by doing something new.

Bo on his mini tractor at the Vergennes Memorial Day Parade 2019

Our family created our own mobile parade, riding our bikes and rollerblades on the Burlington Bike Path. It was the first week since mid-March we ventured into a more public arena. We went early and the path it was mostly empty. The beat of the parade was replaced this year by the sound of wheels on pavement. We pulled over at North Beach to look at the lake, staring out at the infinite space of possibility.

We have wandered off the map of predictability. With a calendar of cancellations this summer, there are no go-to events for us to fall back on. Autopilot is out of order. There is both sadness from that loss and relief that there is space now for something new.

Remy on her rollerblades on the Burlington Bike Path this Memorial Day 2020
Categories
Quarantine

STAY-SCHOOL ADVENTURES: Gardening, Quarantine Week 9

a girl gardening

STAY-SCHOOL ADVENTURES: Gardening, Quarantine Week 9 from Cat Cutillo on Vimeo.

We’ve buried a lot of things in the backyard recently. From a fish funeral to a time capsule, my kids, Remy and Bo, have gotten used to digging holes over the past two months. The thrilling part is what they find: Worms, snails and more worms.

My 3-year-old, Bo, is a worm connoisseur. He knows every variety they come in, from long ones to fat ones to stubby ones. Worms are his biggest motivation in life.

This weekend, my husband, Ross, was equally elated about worms. Earthworms are a gardener’s gold and a benchmark for healthy soil. They speed up the composting process and help mix soil by eating the bacteria growing on decaying plants and giving off “worm castings” —  a nutrient-filled type of manure that plants love. As we were out in the garden planting seeds and seedlings, Ross took the abundance of worms he found crawling in the dirt as a sign that the growing season would be successful.

“It is going to be a great garden this year,” he said.

In response, my 7-year-old, Remy, started pumping out worm facts.

“Did you know worms have five hearts? They also breathe through their skin and don’t have any eyes. I’ve been studying them,” she told me.

Like many Vermonters, the first thing Ross did when he heard about the quarantine was to start planning for an expanded garden. He had the kids start seedlings with him in the house as part of their homeschooling curriculum. Watching the seeds sprout up from the soil never gets old for them. But perhaps the best part of planting this year was the digging. The creepy crawlers were like buried treasures.

Worms are a great reminder that life is odd and, at the same time, resilient. These creatures without eyes and ears might spend most of their time buried beneath the surface, but they are the first things you see in the aftermath of a rainstorm. And when life tears them in half, instead of dying, they multiply and crawl off in different directions to continue enriching gardens and delighting kids.

Music by Ben Sound:
bensound.com

seedlings growinga girl holds a wormgirl planting a flowerkids look at garden

Categories
Quarantine

STAY-SCHOOL ADVENTURES: Drive-By Parties, Quarantine Week 8

a drive-by birthday sign

STAY-SCHOOL ADVENTURES: Drive-By Parties, Quarantine Week 8 from Cat Cutillo on Vimeo.

I once did a project called “Passenger-Side Stories” — a collection of drive-by photos I took while riding shotgun. The images include oddities, like a mannequin on a bicycle, and slice-of-life moments, like four-wheelers racing alongside the road. It’s amazing what you can capture and connect with in the blink of an eye from the car window.

This week — the eighth in quarantine — I was reminded of this project. The week began with the distant sounds of sirens. My heart skipped a beat as they quickly grew louder. I worried something had happened to one of our neighbors. We opened the front door to see fire trucks and police cars streaming by, waving and yelling Happy Thursday! to our neighborhood. Relief and tremendous gratitude washed over us, and we joined the chorus of cheers. The sounds of sirens and honking brought reassurance this week.

My daughter’s good friend, Matilda, turned 7 and her mom planned a drive-by birthday party. She drove Matilda to friends’ homes, where they held up signs, waved and cheered. We live across from Matilda’s aunt, uncle and cousins, so there was a surround-sound celebration at our stop with handmade signs, bells and presents that we slipped into her trunk. Still, I know my 7-year-old, Remy, and 3-year-old, Bo, wanted to run up and give her a hug. It felt strange keeping our distance.

The next day we met up at a parking lot for a birthday parade for Remy’s classmate, Adara. We held handmade signs out the window and cheered and honked as we drove by Adara and her family, who were standing on the sidewalk with balloons. Then we returned home and just the four of us had a festive marshmallow roast in our backyard.

The week ended with a parade of teachers and administrators from Remy’s school, Chamberlin Elementary. Dozens of them drove the length of the entire school bus route, honking and yelling students’ names out their windows. My kids stood on the lawn, waving.

These drive-by parties and parades made a big difference this week. It was amazing how connected we felt, in the blink of an eye, to friends, classmates and teachers. All it took was seeing them in person — albeit 15 feet away and through a car window — instead of just online.

Categories
Quarantine

Kids VT Features ‘Stay-School Adventures: A Photojournalist Chronicles Her Family’s Time During the Pandemic’

click to read the story in Kids VT

image of kids in a snow globe
Illustration by Ross Sheehan

At first, I wondered whether the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order would be like living inside our own personal snow globe, amid an extensive collection of neighboring globes. My 7-year-old, Remy, and 3-year-old, Bo, immediately embraced the change, donning an impressive rotation of masks, capes, crowns and costumes. They were more prepared for creating their own new realities than I was.

As two weeks ticked by, I found myself giving a moment of gratitude one afternoon to the fence enclosing our backyard. It gave me 30 minutes of freedom as I let the kids run wild outside. When I saw them next, they were covered in mud. Life was unraveling. It was a Tuesday, and all the normal rules had been shredded and thrown in the air like confetti. But instead of cleaning up the mess, all I felt like doing was admiring the chaos and letting things unravel further.

By week three, we were rediscovering our own house, digging deep into the closet corners. We unearthed things we hadn’t seen in years — my 1998 Rollerblades, a kite and an Irish cap that my husband, Ross, brought back into his daily wardrobe. Windy weather one afternoon meant Ross could give that kite flight again. He raced through the backyard, intermittently dive-bombing the children, until it finally soared.

By week four, Remy and Bo had started digging through the recycling, looking for treasure to beautify their tree fort. I watched them hand off piggy banks and miniature furniture to one another. They spent days decorating the fort with pipe cleaners, ribbons and tea sets. Then they announced they would be permanently “moving out.”

That same week I started taking advice directly from the swamp next door. I thought about how it takes in toxins, churning them over like a giant strainer and purifying the water. It squeezes the best parts out of bad things — a perfect example of what to do when life gives you lemons.

On week five, we took a shortcut home from our neighborhood walk through a tunnel of trees. We talked about how trees track time through growth rings that are permanently logged into their layers. The harder the tree’s winter, the tighter the growth ring. We decided to track our time together with a quarantine time capsule that we buried in the backyard to unearth in exactly one year.

As our world has slowed down, we’ve grown more aware of the other living things inside our invisible snow globe. Remy is sharpening her bird-watching skills. Every day, she tracks the new family that moved into the birdhouse from her tree fort, peering at them through binoculars.

She wants to bring more bird families to the backyard, so she and Ross constructed a new birdhouse out of wood scraps and recycling. The kids collected moss and leaves to put inside — a complimentary bird nest starter kit.

It looks like we’ll be in the garage this week, divvying up leftover scrap wood to make more birdhouses. Bo wants a few scraps to construct an outdoor ant house. Everything else we find is for the birds.

image of a boy with birdhouseimage of kids bird watching with binoculars

image of a handmade birdhouse