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Marianne turns event planner...

Boy it is tough to plan an event. SO many details to take care of: the food, the linens, the flowers, the guest list, the menus, the cake & the list goes on... and to top it all, keep it a secret?

Last Saturday, I threw an intimate, surprise dinner get together for my special plus one. It was a private chef's tasting at the Epicurean Umbrella kitchen. Amidst the stainless racks, we dressed up an 18-foot long table and made our own little restaurant. Sizzles & aroma of food filled the air as well as cheers & laughter amongst friends. Good times.

It's great to have so many talented friends in the industry (who I'm pretty sure are glad I'm a photographer & not a planner!!!) to bounce ideas with. The gorgeous flowers by Mille Fiori, linens by Wildflower Linens, delectable dinner & desserts by Epicurean Umbrella, cake by Sweet Lady Jane.

I've always had the utmost respect for planners & that just tripled after planning my own little thing. I am keeping my job & will leave this to the experts! Here are a few details...


with the man of the hour who was impossible to surprise... but we pulled it off! :)

Daddy's Little Girl

We IM, we text, we Skype, we talk on the phone... I can never run out of things to talk about with this man. When friends think I'm miss-smarty-pants, I hold this man responsible for it.

My dad is the best! He taught me the little patience I have in playing golf & the sunny 16 rule in photography - stressing that it's not your golf clubs or camera that make you great at what you do. He always said education is the best gift he & my mom could give us (so I kept going back to school for as loooong as I could). I truly am & forever will be thankful for it.

I first learned to shoot with his thirty year old manual Canon (see my brand loyalty!) that he had used to take photographs of us growing up. Five kids & we all have multi-volume photo albums (props to mom too of course!). I think growing up with all our school programs, birthday parties, recitals, graduations, vacations, volleyball tourneys, etc. documented make me value what I do even more. Cliche as it may be, memories really are priceless!

Best of all, he is my most loyal blog reader & number one fan. It's not father's day nor his birthday but just "appreciate the people we love day." Love you Pop.

Here's my dad on a recent visit with not-so-little, little brother & moi.