{adventures} Northeast Kingdom of Vermont

Since I featured a Vermont wedding yesterday, now seems like an ideal time to share photos from my July vacation in Vermont.  RZ, Bailey & I, along with my Mom & her two best friends, spent one week  in the gorgeous Northeast Kingdom.  Oh, so beautiful!  & oh so much fun!!

We stayed on sweet Lake Salem in Derby, Vermont.  The sweeping lake views from our house were unbelievable:

RZ & I rented a tandem kayak for the week from the awesome folks at Clyde River Recreation.  They made it incredibly easy for us by delivering & picking up the kayak.  We thoroughly enjoyed several fun kayak trips on picturesque Lake Salem:

For swimming, we traveled to nearby glacial Lake Willoughby, a stunning lake surrounded by green mountains.  It was the perfect spot for soaking up the sun & dipping in the water.  The lake was so pretty, its clear water was so refreshing:

When the sun refused to shine one day, we headed to Jay Peak & went to The Pump House Indoor Waterpark. The lazy river had my name on it!  While I'd hoped to take the scenic tram ride to the top of the mountain, it was nixed because of the weather.  The clouds still made for some dramatic views:

A big highlight of the trip was the The Northern Star Cocktail Cruise on Lake Memphremagog, a fresh water lake that spans from Newport, Vermont to Quebec, Canada.  The whole gang went so we had great company while taking in the lovely views:

& just in case you were worried: Bailey was able to relax & unwind from the daily pressure & grind of his everyday life:

There is so much more to show & tell you but I'm trying to keep it short & sweet.  It was the perfect getaway to truly unplug & live in the moment.  Just take it slow & enjoy the views, not to mention the good company & the daily trips to the ice cream shop!  

Photography: Koru Kate of Koru Wedding

{noteworthy} summer vacation

Happy Friday!  Are you wondering why you're looking at Bailey sunning himself at the dog beach instead of the Sneak Peek for next Wedding Wednesday?  Well, my loves, Koru Wedding is taking a summer vacation!  The blog will be dark for the next two weeks as Bailey, my husband & I enjoy some rest, relaxation & sunshine with family & friends.  I will return on Wednesday, July 17 with a fabulous Vermont wedding, followed by plenty of wedding inspiration plus a little personal stuff mixed in for good measure.  You didn't think I would forget to give you every sugary detail of last week's cupcake tour, did you?  Hold tight, have some patience & I will be back very soon!

In the meantime, I'm wishing you long summer days of sun & fun!     

It's A Wrap! 19th Edition

America, the Beautiful Bride
Image via People

What a week! I came home from a peaceful, relaxing vacation to a rare earthquake, quickly followed by reports of a hurricane. Craziness. Our home is prepped with food, water & supplies for 3 days but we plan to leave town Saturday & not return unless the current storm prediction changes. I hope each & every one of my fellow East Coasters stays safe & sound!

Until we meet again, here are some lovelies gathered just for you:

So-called Ugly Betty is a Beautiful Bride!!!!
Am I the only one that missed her wedding?!

Follow me, this is sooooo much fun!

Trust me, just check out the fabulous getaway car

How did you know it was "The One?"

Wishing you a safe & happy weekend!

This Place

Ahhhhh . . .

Oh, this place. One of my favorite places. Sun, surf & sand. The days are long & lazy, made for a beach chair & a good book. The nights are perfect for campfires & s'mores. I adore this place.

Where can you find me these next few days? Not here. This place.

Regular blogging to resume shortly!

Gone Relaxing

Koru Kate is vacationing with her hubs!
Can you guess where they are from the photo above?

(p.s. Regular Blogging resumes in early August)

On A Jet Plane

Leaving on a Jet Plane Print
Available on Etsy at markrouttphotography's shop

It's that time of year again: my Mom & Grandma are leaving sunny California to visit us in summertime Jersey! They're leaving on a jet plane tomorrow to arrive in the evening. I'm the lucky duck on airport duty, then we'll head to California Pizza Kitchen to meet my sister & aunt for dinner. It's become our little tradition.

We've got fun times ahead in the next two weeks: my cousin's graduation, my goddaughter's birthday, my birthday celebration, etc, etc. I expect to keep up with my limited blogging schedule. Just in case I'm missing, please understand I'm enjoying my family & friends!

Aloha

Oh, how I adore palm trees!
Oahu

Breathtaking sunset at Waikiki Beach
Oahu

We lost count of the pretty rainbows we spotted
Maui

Maui as seen from the water
This is my favorite photo from our Hawaii vacation

RZ & I went to Hawaii in 2008, spending time with family in Oahu & spending time solo in Maui. We loved, loved every moment & we knew we would be back someday. In Maui, everyone assumed we were on our honeymoon. We politely informed the well-wishers that we were simply vacationing. Little did we know that three years later, we would be in Hawaii on our honeymoon!

That's right, we chose Hawaii as our honeymoon destination!!!!

Hawaii is perfect for us because it's a tropical getaway where we can do as little or as much as we please. There isn't much we enjoy more than relaxing on the beach &, obviously, we can be beach bums in Hawaii. However, there is plenty to do should we choose. Personally, I'd like to go on a whale-watching trip & see a whale after many failed attempts. RZ is looking forward to surfing again. Oh, and there's the Pearl Harbor Memorial, the Road to Hana, etc, etc. Our honeymoon is going to be awesome!!

Everything is in the hands of our travel agent, the wonderful Carmen of All About Honeymoons. Carmen has hooked us up with our South Beach & Cabo San Lucas vacations & we trust her with our honeymoon. She's arranging 2 nights in Oahu, 5 nights in Maui & 5 nights in Kauai. Doesn't it sound glorious?!

Picture Perfect

RZ & I had the pleasure of attending our good friends' wedding this weekend. The entire affair was beautiful & memorable. We started with a lovely ceremony at St. Joseph's Church in Bronxville, New York & continued to a fun reception at Fox Hill Inn in Brookfield, Connecticut.

At the reception, we were greeted with gorgeous tables boasting bountiful, blue & white hydrangea centerpieces:


Now look closely at our place setting to see our steal-worthy favor:


A framed photo of me & RZ! We loved it so much!! Ours is a photo from our vacation in Hawaii. Everyone at our table passed their photos around so everyone could admire them; people smiled & laughed at the images. It was such a nice, personal touch that everyone enjoyed. We were still talking about it at the brunch the next morning &, well, obviously I'm still talking about it :-)

I'm semi-tempted to steal this idea for our wedding, except that RZ & I have another plan. It's along the same lines of being very personal & very sweet (we hope). It will take some time & effort, much like these photos, but it will be well worth it to our guests. Sometimes you don't have to spend big bucks to make a big impact!

Invitations: K & R

RZ & I tend to mark our territory with our first initials when we're on vacation. Here, we wrote in the sand at a beautiful Cabo San Lucas beach:


Here, I created a cool monogram for us on the chalkboard in our fun hotel room at the W Hotel San Diego:


Best of all, we commemorated the exact spot on the winter Hamptons beach where RZ proposed:


It only seemed natural to include a monogram with our first initials on our wedding invitation. In fact, RZ insisted on it, much like I insisted on the meaningful swirls. Luckily for us, Marsupial Invitations created a very cool monogram with our K and R. The monogram didn't look right on the invitation but it's used on the accompanying cards. One more way that our wedding invitations are uniquely ours!

The Proposal

"We shall walk hand in hand into every day of our lives." ~author unknown

Engaged: I'm engaged!

The perfect proposal deserves the perfect description. To be honest, everything I have started to write just doesn't seem to do everything justice. The best I can do is provide a sweet image taken moments after the proposal & pair it with a great quote. I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite quotes (featured here in January) as we held hands & walked along the secluded beach moments after our proposal. Inspired by that lovely quote, we paused to take this photograph. The photo & the quote seem to convey everything for me.

I started this blog to share things that inspire me & my wedding business with you. Now I can also share the things that inspire me & our wedding with you. As a wedding planner & a Bride, I can only imagine how exciting things are going to be in the near future. Please follow me & enjoy the journey!!!