I haven’t seen Stephani and Michael since their brisk fall engagement shoot last October when we traveled from Leddy Park in Burlington to Shelburne Orchards and the view near Shelburne Museum. What a colorful fall day we had. And the wind really brought flight to Stephani’s mermaid hair! I am so excited to see them again tomorrow to capture their wedding day at Lareau Farm Inn in Waitsfield!
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.
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.
Stay-School Adventures: Spring Cleaning, Quarantine Days 25-28 from Cat Cutillo on Vimeo.
The swamp next door has become my spirit animal. 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 Saturday, I was staring out the window, looking at the swamp, when my friend called from Brooklyn to tell me her father had died that morning of COVID-19. I looked at the swamp, trying to churn out something to say.
Earlier in the week, my kids had announced they were “moving out.” They spent the week spring-cleaning their play fort in the backyard revamping it into a “permanent” residence. My daughter got the idea from an episode of Fancy Nancy.
The play fort was like a clown car, filled with old balls, bats and baskets overflowing down the slide. I couldn’t believe how much had been crammed in there. We finally had our answers for where all the lost items had been hiding.
I watched my kids hand off piggy banks and miniature furniture to each other, beautifying their 9-square-foot space with a small stool, a tea set and a handcrafted chandelier made from pipe cleaners, tape and ribbon. They asked my husband to wood burn a “Welcome” sign, then secure it over their front door with a drill.
With every passing week of isolation, my kids’ imaginations flourish and they connect more with their internal worlds. It’s as if the daily costumes are shields, enabling them to create their own realities.
The trash has become their treasure. They even intercepted a tattered rainbow tablecloth on its way to the garbage can. It’s become the portal to their new life.
I had the honor of photographing a mock wedding for the Pink House Farm, a new wedding venue in Cornwall, Vermont. The Pink House Farm is a gorgeous wedding venue just minutes from Middlebury, VT, but with a serene farmland setting with mountain views of the Adirondacks and pastures grazed by black Angus. They even have a flherd (a combined flock and herd). There are large fields with infinite reception setting possibilities and gorgeous red barns. The entire property has been restored by owners Churchill Franklin and Janet Halstead Franklin, both Middlebury College alums. The immaculately restored pink farmhouse and its fabulous porch lined with a row of white rocking chairs create a luxurious setting that offers both quintessential red barn Vermont and luxury. Last year, I also shot a family portrait session on the property for a luxury family getaway. This is truly a one-of-a-kind wedding venue and unlike any other venue I’ve seen in Vermont.
Wedding Photographer: Cat Cutillo Photography & Video
Wedding Venue: The Pink House Farm
Flowers: Middlebury Floral & Gifts
Cupcakes: The Waybury Inn
Stylist: Molly Sheehan Daly
Models: Katie and Joe Sheehan
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Julie and Dave’s backyard wedding in East Dorset, VT, was the stuff that dreams are made of. Their wedding was such a pure reminder for me of why I became a wedding photographer and what a life-changing experience it is every time I get lucky enough to witness and document a couple’s journey. Julie and Dave are naturally unforgettable people and their wedding was a reflection of that. It was full of glowing light, rustic orchards, hand-made hearts, a rope swing, yellow fields and views, views, views expanding in every direction. There was magic and inspiration everywhere. I was struck by how beautiful and authentic Julie and Dave were throughout their day and how much love surrounded them.
Everything about their wedding had so much depth, history and meaning and at the same time was full of regrowth, rebirth and excitement for an unchartered future. Julie’s dress was a recreation of her grandmother’s original wedding dress that her friend (a professional seamstress) worked with her to reimagine. Their rings were passed down from their families, the metal melted, and recreated and given new life for their futures. Friends came forward during the end of their ceremony to sing Julie and Dave down the aisle. And each table went up to the microphone before dinner to say a poem, sing a song or choreograph a dance performance. It was unlike any other wedding I’ve ever photographed. The entire concept of what it means to have a wedding was reimagined and new life was breathed into that. In fact, this day was Act II of a three-act wedding. Act I had already taken place near Sacramento, where Julie hails from, and Act III was planned for Boulder, where Dave grew up.
When we met last spring, they told me how they wanted their wedding day to be about their friends, their family, their community, and that is exactly what their day was, a beautiful moment in time that brought me back to my own photojournalism roots and reminded me how fleeting and gorgeous one moment can really be. Thank you so much, Julie and Dave, for picking me as your photographer. I will never forget how authentic and beautiful your day was and how much of an impression it has left me with.
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