Kim The JP's Blog

too lazy to post

2012-03-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

Oh, I have apparently been too lazy to post! I'm not sure why I forgot about this blog but I did.
Since the first of the year, I have done quite a few weddings.
I started off the year meeting three sets of wedding couples to talk about their 2012 weddings. On the 21st of January, I did a quick little elopement in Conway before returning to Jackson for an OUTDOOR wedding at Whitney's Inn. It was snowing ever so lightly throughout the ceremony and http://www.springsmithstudios.com/ took fabulous photos of the couple. After thawing out from that wedding, I had a break until early February when I did a ceremony for a couple at the http://www.christmasfarminn.com/. Steve and Sarah were a lovely couple and a pleasure to work with. Carrie Scribner's flower arrangements were to die for! Check out http://www.dutchbw.com/ for her beautiful arrangements.
Next up I headed back up the Notch to the Omni Mount Washington Hotel for a beautiful ceremony in the Conservatory. Then to the Jackson Falls and then again back to the Omni, but this time for an elopement.
The next morning found me at the North Conway Grand hotel and then a client meeting at the Eagle Mtn house. Later that week for a mid-week wedding at the Inn at Jackson for a couple that eloped on Leap Day!
Last weekend found me doing a ceremony at the Top O Quad at Bretton Woods and following the snowboarding couple down the mountain afterwards. I had hoped to be at Attitash this weekend for a similar situation but unfortunately that couple had to cancel.

Lastly, I expect to be at the Stonehurst Manor on Tuesday for a "First Day of Spring" elopement, on my lunch break!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Honeymoon fund website

2012-01-12T16:30:00.000-08:00

I was just looking at the website of my cousin Amanda Fox and her fiance Josh, because I'm performing their wedding in April. They have done something pretty cool for the registry and signed up here:
http://www.honeyfund.com/

Instead of choosing 6 bath towels and 12 knives, they have chosen things like "glasses of wine with special dinners" and asked for four total, at $12.00 each. They asked for 2 people to contribute to dinner on their fist night. 30 people to contribute $75.00 each toward their airfare, etc.
I think it's so neat and good for a couple who already have all the kitchen and bath stuff they could possibly need.

end of 2011

2012-01-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

well, as of Saturday I finished up two more weddings and brought my 2011 total to 75 weddings for the year! 328 overall since November of 2011. I actually did one on the 27th at the 1785 inn, outside with a nice view of Mount Washington. The couple's only guests were stuck in traffic so I had a little bit of time to chat with them and learn more about them. Since I was doing this one on my lunch break, once the other couple arrived, we kinda rushed things and I took off, back to work about 10 minutes late.

Saturday found me doing a quick wedding at one of my favorite locations, the Jackson Falls, despite the cold and ice! Afterwards it was back to Whitney's inn for a larger, more traditional wedding.

I've got a bit of a break now until two scheduled on the 21st of January:)

catching up with my posts

2011-12-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since I last posted and I'm sorry. I have been sick and although I have had quite a few weddings, I haven't been myself through them.

Let's see, back in November I did a nice little vow renewal in Jackson for a couple who had been married for 6 years. My photographer friend Tim Shellmer of www.shellmer.com was there to document the event for them and did a great job. That day also found me traveling up to the Omni Mount Washington Hotel for what may have been the largest wedding that I have ever worked with. It all went well and the weather cooperated for me to safely get there and back.

Once I caught the terrible cough/cold that has been traveling around my office, I still had weddings to do and first up was a lovely wedding at the Dana Place Inn in Jackson.The very wonderful bride even made me a necklace as a thank you gift after the wedding.

After that, I raced to Whitney's Inn for my next wedding of the day, frantically sucking down cough drops and water in hopes of holding off the coughing fits. Little did I know that might be the last wedding I will have done with their fabulous wedding coordinator Michelle Doyle Walker who has moved on to greener pastures. I also had nightmares the night before (cough medicine!) that caused me to dream that I was late for both of these weddings.

The next weekend found me at the Wentworth to do a wedding for the wedding coordinator of Castle In the Clouds. I manged to get through their beautiful wedding without coughing and stayed to visit with them a little bit afterwards. I love getting to know couples while working with them and this bride is a great lady and I hope we can stay in touch.

This brings me to this past weekend where I was able to join to very special men in wedded bliss. And bliss is the right word for this happy couple. I enjoyed getting to know them better and stayed to celebrate with their family afterwards. They also really liked my dog Matti, so they are good people for that reason alone.

May all my couples be happily married until "death do they part" or longer!

flashbulbs

2011-11-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

okay, gotta be honest here folks, taking pictures at the wedding of your loved-one is great....unless of course you are the officiant who is up there trying to read the actual ceremony and look out at the guests. Last night I did a ceremony in a small room with low ceilings and lots of people. The effect of 100 people shooting their
I-phones at me at the same time was enough to send me into a stroke or at least a migraine. The poor prof. photographer has to fight to get photos without extra light going off. Thankfully he bounced his flash at the ceiling.
I know you all want to get that great shot and have it long before the professional photographer sends the couple his/her photos. I totally respect wanting to put said photos on facebook ASAP, I really do. But please hold off until the end of the ceremony and take photos then. It's what I do!

cake toppers!

2011-11-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

My friend Karen is owner of Karen's Cookies and just posted this picture of a cake she made. I immediately thought it would make a great, simple, cake topper instead of the traditional guy and gal on top of a cake:)

2011-11-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

Cat and Chris were a fun couple to work with. They did what I always encourage couples to do, and that is really personalize their vows to each other. I had a hard time keeping a straight face while reading some of what they wrote. "You are the Beavis to my Butthead"....."You are my devious partner in crime".....

They also had their little dog Yeti with them in the ceremony and he was also wearing a kilt, just like his daddy. Best wishes to you Cat and Chris on your 11:11, 11-11-11 ceremony!

11-11-11

2011-11-10T17:47:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for me. I have deliberately taken the day off from work in hopes that I would get a lot of bookings for 11-11-11. For a long time it was just one wedding at 11:11 at The Christmas Farm Inn and a rehearsal at Whitney's Inn, both in Jackson, NH.
Within the last week I received two elopement requests, one of which is to be at a private home in North Conway and another to take place on the Jackson Covered Bridge.

Saturday brings me back to the wedding ceremony at Whitney's and I will get a chance to work with Roger Marcoux photography.

okay, really I just like to hyperlink things. I admit it. I also really love the inns and photographers I get to work with.

October is busy!

2011-10-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was super busy for me. It started off with having a wedding relocated from Great Glen Trails to Jackson which was absolutely no trouble for me and hopefully was just as lovely for the couple as they had hoped. Then I hopped in the car and headed to the Omni Mount Washington Hotel for a cold afternoon wedding on the South veranda. I hadn't been there in a few months and it's always a surprise to me when I remember how great the acoustics are for my speaking voice.
Sunday found me heading West fairly early in the morning for a late morning wedding at the Indian head Resort . I have been there a few times now and am starting to feel comfortable with that cute little gazebo overlooking the water. This wedding has been booked for nearly two years(!) and was for the sister of a previous groom I dealt with. I'm so pleased that she saw me do her brother's wedding and wanted to book me too. After I left them, I drove to Beaver Pond, which is a small little pond West of Woodstock where the A.T. crosses the highway. I did a quick legal ceremony for two women who had exchanged vows in front of their family and friends four years ago, albeit not legally.

Next up is a mid-day-mid-week wedding on top of Cathedral Ledges during my lunch break!

leaves down!

2011-10-15T06:04:00.000-07:00

This afternoon will bring me back to Whitney's Inn in Jackson. Sadly, we lost many leaves in the rain last night but I hope that it will still be beautiful out and that we'll be able to do it outdoors.
Last weekend was a little busy for me as I traveled to Plymouth for a rehearsal and a wedding and also had a wedding at the Jackson Falls on Saturday. Unfortunately, a third wedding scheduled for Franconia was postponed due to a car accident involving the grooms daughter. I hope that they are able to reschedule with me and continue with their plans.
Next weekend looks busy with four weddings on the weekend and one mid-week!

Rain, Rain

2011-10-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday found me racing back to Jackson on my lunch break to marry Linda and Andrew at the Inn at Jackson....thankfully in front of the fireplace. We'd planned on doing it on Cathedral Ledges but the rain felt otherwise. Luckily Meg Simone of Megsimone.com and nhelopements.com was already there and had her video equipment all set up. She took some great photos of them after the ceremony when I headed back to work.

Sunday found me also attempting an outdoor wedding in a rain storm. Wendy and Doug moved their wedding to the Jackson Covered Bridge and it was still a little bit windy and rainy, even under cover.

This weekend will find me attempting a few more ceremonies at the Jackson Falls and hoping for good weather!

more rain

2011-09-25T05:45:00.000-07:00

The rain held off yesterday for Katie and Joey to be married at one of my favorite places, Whitney's Inn in Jackson, NH. The ceremony was held near the barn instead of the area where most couples choose (between the inn and the cabins with a view of the ski slope and the arbor). I found it to be really beautiful and intimate in this little nook of a lawn.

Looking forward to the next ceremony on top of Cathedral ledges, later this week.

It's good luck to rain on a wedding day

2011-09-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Today's wedding, #301, was at the Covered Bridge over the Swift River in Conway, NH. Jessica married Walter while he was home on leave from the Military. Her mother set the whole thing up and I met them on my lunch break. It always seems a little weird to leave work at lunch time and have people ask me if I'm headed out to eat or do errands. Nope, I'm going to marry a couple......that's what happens when you ask for a mid-week, middle of the day wedding. Congrats to them both!

Video of one of my most popular wedding locations, in the middle of Hurricane Irene!

2011-09-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

2011-09-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

Janine and Adam were married this morning at 8:00 on 9/10/11 at Glen Ellis Falls. Originally they were scheduled to be married on the day that Hurricane Irene hit but since the White Mtn National Forest was going to be closed to the public, we felt it best to postpone the date. The weather was MUCH better today:)

Congrats to you both.

2011-09-09T03:52:00.001-07:00

I received a great recommendation today and wanted to post it. Than's M&J!

We quickly realized that Kim was a more organized planner than we were as she would check in with us regularly to make sure our ceremony plans were coming along. We greatly appreciated her attention to detail, so many of her suggestions were crucial ones we hadn't even thought of. During the rehearsal Kim was able to effortlessly gather our large wedding party and keep them on track, which was a very impressive task as they are a rather rambunctious group. All of our guests commented on what a wonderful job Kim did officiating the ceremony. When we couldn't get the unity candles lit because of the light breeze we just shrugged it off. Kim was able to keep our guests relaxed with us while she finished the unity candle reading and continued with the ceremony. We couldn’t have asked for a better person to guide us through a most memorable day of our lives.” Molly and John July 16, 2011

I'm Back!

2011-09-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night I met another couple on Cathedral Ledges and sent them off into wedded bliss. Saturday I was booked at both Loon Mountain as well as Indian Head Resort, both in Lincoln. Sadly, due to Hurricane Irene, both the Kancamagus Highway and Route 302 were washed out and I had to drive through Gorham to get there. That made my trip about 2 hours on the way over and 1.5 on the way back (less traffic). The Loon bridge is also washed out so that added about five minutes to go around through the "back way" to get to the gondola. I will be very happy when at least Route 302 is open again.

This weekend has me booked for four weddings, two of which have been in the pipeline for a while and two are last minute bookings. Friday night I will meet a couple at the Jackson Falls and Saturday morning will have me meeting a couple at Glen Ellis Falls at 8:00 am so that their ceremony is 8/9/10/11. Later on I will drive to Ossipee, NH for a ceremony and then back to Jackson again for a ceremony at the Falls. The Jackson falls are one of my favorite places to do ceremonies and not just because they are so close to home!

okay, that's enough for now. I will attempt to post more regularly now!

2009-06-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Tonite I did a wedding rehearsal for a couple at Whitney's Inn in Jackson. Owner Don Bilger was on site to help get the couple oriented and ready for their upcoming wedding. After I finish with them tomorrow, I will do an elopement in Intervale and on Sunday another elopement in North Conway. Must be the season!

http://www.whitneysinn.com/index.php

Forgive me

2009-06-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

Forgive me. I think 6 months between postings is kinda ridiculous but I have been working on other web based things. For one thing, I have managed to make changes and updates to my own site www.kimthejp.com on my very own! Check it out, there are many new photos on there. So many photos that I actually had to buy more space and bandwidth.

I also found a way to upload many more ceremony samples to my google page, so that people can link straight to it and not be limited to what I can email them or what is on the www.kimthejp.com

my digital "file cabinet" is now here
http://sites.google.com/site/kimthejp/

I have also traveled a smidge since last posting. If you want to see the Galapagos pictures, check out my facebook page. It was a fabulous trip. Last week I was at the beach in Maine and in September I will head to the Isle of Arran in Scotland, plus a few extra days in Dublin.

That's all for now. But darnit, I just realized that the first post I made to this was exactly a year ago, then I did one on New Year's and now I'm back again. Pathetic

New Year's Resolution

2009-01-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

okay, new year's rez is to update this more often than once every six months! I still feel that much of the useless things I feel the need to say can be said in one line on facebook status updates.

Today, is January 1st, 2009 and as of last night, I have officiated over 48 weddings in the year 2008. This is by far an increase over past years, especially 2007 where I only did 6. The best year was 20 weddings but this is still a magnficient increase. I hope that 2009 will be just as busy and financially helpful to me. They continue to be wonderful experiences, including the night I had to drive in the snowstorm of 18 inches.

15 days from now I am headed on a trip to the Galapagos islands with my mother and Lindblad expeditions and National Geographic. As I type this, it's -1 degree outside so I am anxious for a warm vacation in January. I plan to begin actively packing up my stuff as of this afternoon.

Okay, now i'm off to the grocery store, to hopefully beat the masses that are still nursing their hangovers.