best of 2008

Charlottesville's Wedding Blog featured us today... bored at work? check it out!

Easton Events Best of 2008...

the sun also rises

This was in my inbox this morning. The same morning I opened an email from James, a Marine friend, who shared news from Iraq. A marine was killed this weekend in a mission, another was wounded. It is a reality that can't be denied...and these marines, are people, sons, daughters, friends, cousins, neighbors, Americans.

By the way, this photograph was taken by James. Sunset in Iraq.


To Kill an American

(Written by an Australian Dentist....)

You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is. So they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)

'An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims inAmerica than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.

The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.

When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!

As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. Americans welcome the best of everything...the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services. But they also welcome the least.

The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America.

Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.


a little twinkle

Last week I ran into a good friend of mine, Erin McDermott, at an art show around town...and we started talking jewelry. There are a lot of people out there (myself included...) who like to make jewelry...but Erin goes beyond just making it. The design is uniquely hers. I don't normally write plugs, but since I adore Erin (and her jewels!), its the holidays...and some of you may still need some ideas for those lovely ladies in your life...I thought I'd share her link...

Below is a just little ditty she wrote (which I love love love, Erin can i make that my bio, and just write "ditto"? kidding.....)

I am inspired everyday – not only by jewelry but also by the world around me. I like change…not only talking about change, but actually doing it. I like exposed wooden beams. Red brick under plaster. Glass globes. Woodcuts. Letterpress stationery. Pink lady apples. Down comforters and soft pillows. Converse. Riding in a car. The Post Office. The right stamp for the right letter. Looking up. Grilled cheese and old cotton t-shirts. Baby lotions. Eccentric, goofy, and humble people. Cracker jack prizes. Tight socks around the ankle. Corduroy. Stone and stucco. Sharpies. Riojas. Hidden pockets. The names of paint colors. Layering. Slate and concrete counters. Cajun shrimp toenail polish. Owls and the rings on tree stumps intrigue me. Exact change. Discovering cellars and basements. The idea of living in a lighthouse. Renovations and additions in my life. The process. Looking forward to evenings. Burlap and raffia. Docks. Embroidery. White and denim. Lockets. A series of four Black and white pictures from photo booths. Peeling paint off wood layer by layer and peeling dried salt off skin after a day at the ocean. Old diners and bakeries with glass cake plates housing layer cakes. And, of course, I love jewelry.

the life of a photograph

Two weeks ago I had the complete honor of hearing National Geographic photographer, Sam Abell, speak to a group of about 30 people at the New Dominion Book Shop in Charlottesville. It was one of those moments (which, happen to last for 2 hours) that I will probably never forget. He talked about his photographs, how he made them, why he made them, why he has given them lives, published them-- why we know them. It was a talk, as much about photography as it was about life. It was all there in his pictures (or absent from them...), it was incredible, emotional, hysterical, and extremely inspirational all at the same time. 

Below are a few of his pictures. The first, is my favorite. The second, he told me, when I asked, is his. The third...well... maybe it will be yours?

sensational cakes!

Sylvia Weinstock has featured two (not one, TWO) of our events in her new book, Sensational Cakes! (Can you tell I'm excited?!) Recently we were featured in Virginia Living Magazine, and a few others around here... but this is BIG. Ms. Weinstock is no small name (though she is a small lady!). You know who she is... what Vera Wang is to gowns, Sylvia Weinstock is to cakes. She is known for her owl rimmed glasses... and her incredible cake designs, that look as if they belong in a china museum rather than on china plates. Easton Events planned and designed these weddings, Patricia Lyons made the photographs, and Ms. Weinstock has immortalized our brides, their weddings, and our event design, in her new book...check it out. Now. Let them eat cake!

holiday snail mail

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday...the three "f"s as my friend Sean says... family, food, and ....yes, football. After Thanksgiving comes the rush of Christmas...which, I have to admit, I'm also looking forward to. More family, more food, and yes...more football. In the spirit of the holidays, and just life in general, here is a little idea that a friend of mine passed on to me...

When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get. When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

to make it a little more fun...you can always add a lottery ticket!

father of the bride

I loved everything about Price and Kip's wedding. Price was a stunning bride, who was at ease the entire day. When we had to move her reception (thanks to hurricane Hannah) from the tent at her parents' house to the Keswick Hunt Club, she took it all in stride. Her sister, Maggie, designed and made her wedding dress...and her other sister, Caroline, rocked the reception with her rendition of At Last by Etta James. At one point, i thought the floorboards of the hunt club might give in...there was no shortage of dancing or fun had. Below is an article Hugh Wilson, Price's dad, wrote for the Keswick newspaper. I love it. thought you might too...


Hugh Wilson, Father of the Bride remembers

The wedding was in the church where she was an acolyte who carried the cross one Christmas. The reception was in the Hunt club where she went, as a very wicked witch, with her sisters and brother to the Halloween haunted house. The bridesmaids were her fourth grad pals plus her two sisters. Her little brother, Pat, not so little any more, was a groomsmen. Charters and I couldn’t help wondering how the years had just shot by us.

Price was the beautiful bride in the beautiful dress her sister had made for her. Frayser “Kip” White was the handsome groom, himself a local boy – no man – the son of Frayser and Gail, our dear friends.

The Reverend Julie Norton performed the marriage with her usual grace, faith and good cheer. It was a fully Christian wedding, over before the pagans know what had hit them.

Maggie, the frantic dressmaker, fainted in the middle of the ceremony, but as drinking champagne fifteen minutes later at Kinloch Farm. Bob and Janice Aron had provided their magnificent home as a pre- and post- wedding staging area.

Lynn Easton Andrews and her wonderful associates made it all look so easy.

Our friend, Steve Tyrell, flew in from Los Angeles to sing the same song he made so memorable in the movie “Father of the Bride”. It was “The Way You Look Tonight”.

Sister Caroline gave Etta James something to think about when she sang “At Last”.

Then the rock/bluegrass/kickass band, The Gourds, rolling in from Austin, Texas made the old floorboards bend right up until the couple slipped off to Keswick Hall in a shower of sparklers.

At several points during all of this, my wife cried. She was – excepting the bride, of course – the prettiest girl there.


If you're interested...here is their slideshow (again)...compliments of Lynne Brubaker

go go America

so cool!

thank you to all of you who have written letters to james and his marines... they will really appreciate them. keep them coming...

the kids at the Oakland School in Keswick spent the afternoon on veteran's day making cards for james' platoon... thought you might want a sneak peak, as they are going in the post today.... its impossible not to love these kids, these cards, and the sentiments behind them...

go go america...

and just because...

save the date

save the date people! 

December 13th...we're Crawling for a Cause in Charlottesville...

details coming soon......

snail mail

i just got back from an amazing weekend in Charleston... and walked in to find a piece of snail mail, postmarked from Iraq, waiting for me on my bed. it is a letter from one of the marines in James's platoon...he writes, "For me personally, getting letters from back home and stateside help so much. It helps me get though the days, convoys, dust storms, hot days and freezing cold nights. It makes us feel better to know that people like you back home actually do care for us..."  its so real. its so tangible. its so sincere. 

Mail call

It is hard not to be in love with Virginia in the fall (besides the given: barn parties, bonfires, s'mores, apple crisp, apple cider, apples, apples, apples...). I went for a walk last Sunday and couldn't help to think about how lucky I am to have such an amazing city at my fingertips, to live in and to explore.

I wanted to throw this out there for you. Whoever YOU are. The more I think about how lucky I am (in life) the more I appreciate the men and women who have given up their hikes, their Saturdays watching football, their holidays, their personal lives, etc. to represent the US in various states, shapes and forms. My good friend, James, is in Iraq today. This week. This month. For months. He's is the 2nd Lieutenant and leads a proud platoon of 40 men (and one lady!) in their day to day, month to month, missions in Iraq. He is the type of guy who you want on your side, and the good thing is, he'll always be on your side. He makes friends with those who don't have any. He looks out for the other guy. And he always puts the other guy first. He is that type of guy.

Recently I sent a box full of odds and ends for James and his platoon. Included were letters from my friends and family, most of whom, have never met James. We wrote to James, but mostly we wrote to members of his platoon. I just got a letter Monday from him, thanking me for the care package-- but mostly for the letters. James wrote, "The letters were by far the best...you should have seen their smiles. Mail here is an enormous boost to morale, so getting it, even from someone you don't know, is wonderful and goes for miles."

You don't have to know them to write them. You don't have to write your life story, or ask theirs. But a simple "thank you", joke, quote, picture, anything... would be amazing.

So... if you're interested, even the tiniest bit... please email me and I'll give you his address. Or you can send the letters to me, and I'll send them together. My email is dickiemorris@gmail.com

Thank you for reading this, and thank you for for considering James and the amazing group of men and women, who are by his side...by our side.





Note: If you're not comfortable writing... well, Hallmark will do it for you!

the jewels of autumn....

Who knew?!

Two barn parties in one month!

Its fall...and last night, Shawn Cossette and Gay Berry, threw an incredible celebration of autumn. Their barn was draped in burlap, the inside housed hundreds (maybe a thousand?!) of beautiful candles..and gourds beyond the imagination. It was a throwback to the olden days...

The entertainment was everything from gospel music to the workers of the Buckingham County Rail Road-- who showed us how railroad tracks were laid way back when... when manpower was the only kind. They sang their songs, swung their hammers... and sent chills up our bodies. If you ever have the chance to see them-- do it. They were quite an amazing act.

The evening was absolutely spectacular. And leaving the party... we looked up...and there were stars dotting the sky... which is just another reason to love fall and its celebrations.

happy sunday

Sunday is (by far) my favorite day of the week. Anything goes on sunday.... anyways... last night, while grabbing a drink with some friends, we looked down and saw this on the bar. It was hard to resist a picture. Doesn't it remind you of a charlie brown character? His smile got bigger as the night went on...

(compliments of one sean wathen!)

Paige

It is a well known fact that being around little kids can boost your

serotonin production. They are their own little source of giggles and smiles... it is almost impossible not to want to scoop them up, put them in your pocket, and take them with you. That is how I feel about Paige. I spent a couple hours yesterday with my cousin Peter and his wife Karen...and the apple of their eye (and now mine) Paige. She was pure joy for two hours, smiling, hamming it up for the camera (and her parents, who she knows are wrapped around her little pinky finger)... I think we got a couple good shots for her Christmas card....and a few to keep until her rehearsal dinner... (say no to crack)...

36 Hours in Charlottesville...

As a proud Cvillian... thought I'd share this with any of you interested... The NY Times Travel section thinks we are worth (at the very least!) a 36 hour visit... Check out the article

Bethel Hollow

This past weekend my brother, let's call him Munk, spearheaded a fall party at Bethel Hollow. There was a myriad of drinks, plenty of pork (and by plenty, i mean 70 pounds), good tunes, great friends, fireworks and even flashlight tag. This is my question to YOU. When was the last time you played flashlight tag? Do it. Do it tonight. With your neighbors. Neighbor bonding! (if your neighbors won't oblige, then as your back up, call your friends...). My favorite hiding spot: under a tent ("in" the tent was "in" the rules...you can't do it). So that is my challenge to you my friend. And if you find yourself needing an extra tagger...you know my number!

it has nothing to do with lucky numbers

i've never really believed in those lucky numbers they put at the bottom of these fortunes. but for some reason, i always believe in the fortunes themselves.

i'm a believer i guess.

this fortune was given to a friend of mine. the fortune that came in my cookie didn't suit me, so we traded. i hope its still ok to believe in them. this one suits me.

fleatamus maximus

For those of you who don't know flea, you should.

She is my sister...and she is pretty incredible.

Yesterday morning, I went to brush my teeth-- and sitting next to the sink were these two rose buds, with a little handwritten note. I don't know about you-- but the very essence of a good day starts with some handwritten love. A sticky note, a scrap of a paper, a piece of snail mail-- it doesn't matter, it hits me all the same, its pure and its sweet, it is a straight squeeze to the heart.

This morning, when i woke up and looked at my dresser, one of the roses had opened -- and looked so happy next to the other. I'm still waiting for that one to open--but I have a feeling, that will have to wait until tomorrow.

little Miss Julia James

In life, I consider myself to be a hard worker.... most of the time, that is. Friday, at Lucy and Alex's rehearsal dinner, I spent most of the evening with a little girl named Julia. When I first met her, she was jamming away on the grand piano in the corner of the Clifton Inn's dining room (rehearsal dinner guests present). As great as she sounded (something tells me she hasn't had lessons...yet) she had some competition with the actual dinner music playing over the house sound system. It broke my heart to ask her to stop. Not even phased, she hopped off the bench, looked up at me and asked, "do you think you could just keep an eye on me?" It was hard to say no to that. Especially when I realized just how cool this 5 year old was.

In between my event "duties" (which happen to be far and few between for this particular dinner...no, i wasn't slacking!) I kept an eye on Julia, and she on me. We colored, talked about life (she told me she was very brave...then led me down to the wine cellar to prove it) and contemplated the different reasons octopi had 8 legs (or are they arms? julia asked...).

Here are a few pictures from our coloring session. My favorite was the tree she drew me..."with leaves falling, because its fall". That Julia is one smart cookie. And I must say-- the next day, at the wedding, when I was running about handing out personal flowers and making sure the ceremony went smoothly... Julia was back at my side... "just in case you need me" she said. And I did. A big thanks to little Miss Julia James, for the pictures, the giggles and the reminder of the joy in everyday things... Especially little people who are willing to think big.

(isn't she something else?!)

recent easton events...

Ronda and Brian's Slideshow!

Kelly and Graham's Slideshow

(Both compliments of Patricia Lyons...)

Price and Kip's Slideshow 

(Compliments of Lynne Brubaker!)

unsolicited advice

my dad gave this to me a couple months ago. since then, the top of the page has become dotted with thumbtack holes--where i've taken it down, read it, and reposted on my corkboard above my desk. i've copied it, scanned it, even written it out by hand, for friends. i thought it was time to type it out. so here it goes...

unsolicited advice...(which i recommend taking)...

• No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
• Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
• You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
• Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
• Don't compare you life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
• Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
• However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
• When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
• Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy clothes. Don't save it for a special occassion. Today is special.
• Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
• Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
• Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
• If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
• Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
• Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Note: My dad didn't write this... it's author is unknown. I love it that much more!

Jamie and Kristen!

Jamie and Kristen were an absolute blast to work with, I'm a little sad that its all over!

Kristen wanted a "Midsummer's Night Dream" feel for her reception...

Compliments of Easton Events... 

Here are a few shots from their celebration at Veritas.

And once again, Allegra and her assistant, Jen, captured their evening beautifully! Stay tuned for more pictures...

Lucy and Alex...they love each other most

Lucy and Alex are hitched! 

Between the Easton Events team and the great people over at the Clifton Inn, Lucy and Alex celebrated their marriage all weekend long. Their friends and family flew in from every corner of the globe, making their 100 person guest list the most eclectic I've ever seen. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful celebration of two people's love. As Lucy's sister, Margot, said in her toast, its so amazing to see two people who "love each other the most" in this world promise their lives together. (Side note: if you haven't read "Where the Wild Things Are"... you should...)

Check out these gorgeous shots Allegra (http://www.allegrasblog.com/posts/weddings/lucy-and-alex/) took of the Lucy and Alex...