The Snyder Family

Cathy, Mike and Anthony from Pittsburgh came down for a couple days to visit us on Carpe Vita. We took a quick trip down the Intracoastal to Palm Beach and we sailed back. Anthony had us laughing the whole time with his pirate imitations. ARRRR! We spent the rest of the evening looking at the full moon.

Cathy and Mike love to scuba and snorkel. One day we snorkeled around Peanut Island and the next day they took a scuba trip out to one of the reefs offshore. Marty and I watched Anthony while they where out and we had a blast. He did a little fishing and honest, he wanted to "swab the deck"!

Friday night was our night to host the dinner at the sailing club and they where a great help. We made Lobster Rubins and Macaroni and cheese with truffel oil. It was a hit.

Thanks Cathy, Mike and Anthony, hope you can come down again.

Tiffany and Bennie's Wedding July 19

I met Tiffany earlier this year with her mother Deb at the Lighthouse Point Yacht Club. Marty and I had been at the yacht club a couple times before with our old boat and we did a wedding there almost 2 years ago.
Bennie is stationed in Hawaii and Tiffany has moved there also. Needless to say, they love it there and Bennie mentioned it was much less humid there than Fla.
They didn't get back into the states until the week before the wedding, so we had to hustle to get their engagement portrait done and album printed before the wedding, but we did it. We did the engagement session at the beautiful Hillsboro Lighthouse club. It was great to use the lighthouse, beach and house to work with. I also found that Tiffany was right when she said that Bennie was a hoot! Bennie also had a cast on his leg, no, not a war wound, a basketball injury! No medals.
We started the wedding at Tiffany's parents beautiful home. It had great light and the girls where a blast.

The ceremony ended with the traditional sword salute and pat on the bride's behind!
The day started rather late, so we had to really hurry to get some fun pictures in before the reception. Even though it was late, the reception was hoppin!
Apparently Tiffany and Bennie partied into the morning, and inspite of no sleep, they got their clothes back on to go out in the heat and do another photo session on the beach with Tiffany's Dad's Harley. They are off to Napa Valley for Honeymoon.
Have fun!

Where are we now?

We are back in Fla. This maybe the final move. After Marty resigned from President at Dessange, we decided to move everything including her parents to Fla.
It was a challenging month or so. We packed everything we owned and Marty's parents into a 27 foot Uhaul truck an 8x12 trailer, and their van. There was no room left, only room to sit or drive. We made jokes about "Loaded up the truck and move to...." all the way down. Couldn't make anything to rhyme to Beverly though!
We are still dedicated to do alot of weddings in Pburgh and all over but we are happy to be in Fla and traveling back and forth.
I am happy Marty is going to be more involved in my business, she is a real asset. We are also going to start promoting family portraits for everyone especially our former wedding clients. Please don't hesitate to call for a portrait session. We are formulating many exciting things to offer and we would love to see our clients keep up with their family history in pictures.
And don't forget that we would love to host everyone on Carpe Vita!

Nicole and Patrick's Wedding June 28

Nicole and Patrick is another couple that I didn't meet before the wedding. I finally got the chance when we did the engagement portrait shoot in the spring. We had a great time right off the bat.

Before we went out they invited me into the house they are restoring to have a glass of great wine and showed me the work they are doing their selves. Patrick is quite the carpenter and the work is as impeccable as their tastes. The house is a very beautiful and classic brick home on Western ave in Aspinwall.

Their wedding was at one of my favorite places, Morning Glory Inn in the Pittsburgh South Side. The owners, Nancy and Dave, are great friends of Marty and I and it always is a pleasure to see them again. They are the perfectionists as hosts and always please their clients in one of the most cozy romantic places in Pittsburgh.

Nicole and Patrick told me before the wedding that the crowd was going to be a little loud and crazy and they where especially the girls. I guess they where Rugby players in school and they where a riot to watch and hear.

After a very stylish, and emotional ceremony, the guests where treated to the great food and drink offered at the Morning Glory.

One thing I really enjoyed was the "Boat Race", the girls where talking about this all day and I didn't know what they where talking about. I soon found out. It was a drinking contest where 2 lines where formed. You chug 2 glasses of beer, put the glasses on your head and relay back to your teammates. The girls where proud of their undefeated history and they won again against the guys. You can see in the pictures the girls where already in the lead. I went home stinking of beer that night!

We really enjoyed the time we have spent with Nicole and Patrick and they have told us they may be the first to take us up on a Honeymoon cruise on Carpe Vita this fall.

Thanks Nicole and Patrick!

Kent State Reunion June 27

Many years ago in a far away place, Kent Ohio, I was a struggling Art Major in a very turbulent time. It was a time when parents and their kids didn't see eye to eye and the whole country was more alienated than it is now.

I immediately connected with a group of very talented, loving, crazy, and sometimes more political than necessary group of, dare I say, Hippies!

Excluding the hard times, such as the shootings on May 4 1970 where a few wonderful people where lost in a few moments of alienation, bad decisions and needless battle lines, Kent was a magical place.

We used to go see emerging guitarist, Joe Walsh with The James Gang, 3 times a week for 50 cents. Chrissy Hynde was in my dorm and hung around our group once in a while when she wasn't indulging in her passion for famous rock groups and I would occasionally hitch a ride with Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) in his Renaut Carravelle without any real seats other than the driver's seat to art class. He was one of the most amazing pencil artists I have ever seen, including the old masters.

These where special times and to see this group for the first time since the reunion in 1985 was something I will always cherish. Over the years I have learned how good my life is and the special people I have known, from this wonderful group of "Old Hippies" to all the wonderful people I have met through my business. Thank you all.