Category Archives: Romantic Occasion

Romantic Proposal: Park City Ski Trip

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Hello Romantics!

One of our favorite things to do at Marisa Perry Atelier is share fabulous love stories!

Megan Williamson and Robert Pimpinella were each other’s high school sweethearts. Both went to separate Catholic schools; Rob in an all boys school and Megan in an all girls school. Her freshmen dance was joint affair between the two schools and they met each other there! Soon after, she asked him to go to her high school formal dance which was later on in the school year!  They have been together ever since.

Megan remembers initially thinking that although his dancing skills were lacking, he was cute.  Rob’s initially thought was also that she was cute and that he could go out with her!  After dating for a few months, he then thought that marriage with her was a strong possibility!
Last January, roughly 13 years from the first time they dated, Robert proposed!
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In January 2012, Megan planned a trip to Utah for the two of them to go skiing. Robert took this opportunity as a time to propose because she would be unsuspecting considering it was a trip that she had planned!

Immediately after they checked in at the Hyatt Escala Lodge on the mountain, they rushed up to the top of the mountain to begin to ski. There had been a recent downpour of heavy snow in the area and Megan was concerned that no one else would be going to the top of the mountain because the snow was deep and ungroomed. Despite the weather conditions, the pair went to the top and they were literally and figuratively in the clouds!

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After they skied down about 20 feet, they stopped to take in the views and atmosphere. Robert seized the moment and got down on one knee in the snow with the ring and said, “Will you marry me?”

Megan’s first reaction was that he might be kidding and said “Are you #$%@ing kidding me?”

{Rob normally loves to joke around a lot}

But as Megan replayed the trip thus far in her head, it occured to her that he had been very nervous at the airport. Rob had been crossing his fingers that security wouldn’t question the ring and out him!

Once Megan processed the sight of the ring and the moment she was in, she of course said “yes!”

Initial shock of the event had been replaced with pure joy!

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{Who could say no to this beautiful ring?}

The happy couple just came in to find their perfect wedding bands and will be marrying soon at the fabulous Canfield Casino in Saratoga! We will update you then with Wedding details!

Love always, Leeann

Romantic Special Occasions

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Greetings Romantics!

I asked my husband for help with this post about romantic special occasions and his response was a mumble/grunt about putting the toilet seat down before he fell asleep, so it looks like I’m on my own here.

One of our best days last year was his birthday trip to Catalina Island.  The 30 minute ferry out there was fun itself…a brisk breeze, a seal following the boat, and whale sighting.  Not bad!  It happened to be on a Monday, so it wasn’t crowded at all, an extra bonus.

Highlights include our submerged boat tour through a beautiful kelp garden and plenty of fish, but the best was yet to come!

Underwater View

As the no longer submerged boat returned us to the dock, we spotted a swarm of dolphins…there must have been about 100 of them!  My husband raised his camera and managed to capture this amazing shot of them jumping in row!

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We lucked out big time when a water taxi driver agreed to drive us out smack in the middle of the dolphin frenzy.  He even spun the boat around a few times to get them even more playful.  This is my other favorite photo from that day:  so random!

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The element of getting outdoors and seeing something amazing was the key to romance during this trip.  We all know you can do the dinner and flowers thing.  I think we need to step it up!  Get out, go somewhere you’ve never been, and see something you ordinarily wouldn’t during your day-to-day life.

What have been some of your unique romantic special occasions?

Until next time…

Proposing with Grace

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Jim and Grace are engaged!!!
Over this past Thanksgiving, Jim took Grace to his family’s house outside of Chicago.
Little did she know what was in store for her!
Jim first took her to the Aviary Cocktail Lounge for cocktails.
He then surprised her with a hotel room at the Peninsula so that they would not have to drive home that evening. Of course like every girl, she said, “I didn’t pack anything!”
No need – Jim sneakily packed a suitcase for her! Good thinking Jim!
He guided her to the hotel to check in before dinner. Once they were in the room, he got down on one knee, and said, “I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
 Grace was wondering if he was just being very romantic, or actually proposing. Then he took out the ring – and what a ring it is!!
She started to cry and was so overwhelmed, she was literally speechless!  Any of you who have every been proposed to know exactly how she felt! Then he proceeded to put on her hand, a gorgeous Marisa Perry cushion cut diamond ring, set in a platinum with pink micro-pave diamonds! Yay!!
Jim whisked her away to the James Beard award winning restaurant North Pond , where they had a romantic dinner by the fireplace!  He then proceeded to tell her the stories of how he created her ring with Bob, and how he chose the light fancy pink diamonds around the setting.  Designing an engagement ring  is a novel experience for most anyone, but especially for Jim who, I have been told, usually does all of his shopping online!
Grace told me that Jim said “Bob and I are now buddies”!
The following day, Jim and Grace went back to celebrate their engagement with Jim’s family, and hopefully to showed off the ring a little bit!!!
Much love to you both for an endless number of years….

Engagement Photos: Ninja Style

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Liz here.  I was actually involved in the business of engagements long before I became Mom and Dad’s (yes, that would be Marisa and Douglas) faithful minion.   One of my (and my husbands) earliest photography jobs was an engagement shoot.  I don’t mean the posed, smiling “we just got engaged, look at my ring” photos…that would have been too easy!  Our challenge was to literally stalk a couple on their journey through central park taking photos without the fiancée-to-be knowing.

 This involved a lot of sneaking around, pretending to look casual, and of course, hiding in the bushes.  After shooting/stalking them in the lower end of Central Park (Tavern on the Green, Bethesda Fountain, etc), we had to hop in a taxi behind theirs and head uptown to the Conservatory Garden for the actual proposal.  I can’t deny it was fun to rush into the taxi and dramatically yell, “follow that cab!”

 Upon arrival, we split up to catch different angles of the proposal.  There was an awkward moment when fiancée-to-be caught a glimpse of me trying to casually lounge on a bench.  What?  No, that wasn’t me skulking around you in a completely different area of town less than 30 minutes ago, what are you talking about?  I did get a weird look from her, but luckily it passed quickly.

Onto the proposal!  There I was, at a perfect angle as the gentleman got down on one knee.  Of course a giant family group had to pick that moment to pass right next to me and yell, “OH MY GOD IS HE PROPOSING???” and burst into ear-shattering cheers. I managed to click the shutter a few times before diving down into the bushes, scratching my arms on the way down.  Lousy thorns!

Overall that day was a lot of fun despite the blisters, sunburn, and scratches.  Sadly, I no longer have the images from that day.  It was exciting immortalize such a special time in a couple’s life on film.   I also learned that the CIA would probably not be recruiting me any time soon…

Have you ever witnessed a public proposal?

Romantic Occasion: Engagement Photos

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Hi, Romantics – Liz here.  When it comes to engagement portraits, Kate and William had it right.  Of course, we all can’t book Mario Testino, but there are a few things to keep in mind for yours:

1. Keep your outfits simple, and somewhat coordinated.  This is not a good time to break out the orange and purple Hawaiian shirt while the other wears blue and white nautical stripes!  I’d recommend black, white, and solid colors, with basic lines.  Ruffles and busy collars will detract from your overall look!  Remember, this is about you two (and, ahem, your ring).

2. When it comes to makeup, I’d recommend going with a professional makeup artist.  They know how to compensate for things like flashes and outdoor lighting.  If you want to do it yourself, put on a bit more than you normally would, once again keeping colors simple.  Bright orange bleeding outside your lip line?  No!

3. Posing!  I know it can feel awkward, but have some fun with it!  No need to be a contortionist at this point.  Practice in the mirror beforehand to see which way to turn your head.  Or, practice with the phone on your camera (gotta love technology).  Tip:  don’t tilt your head too far back or the camera will shoot straight up your nose… not pretty on anyone!  Keep your shoulders straight.  A good way to show off your new ring is to gently hug your new fiancée and rest your hand softly on their arm.

4. If you want to shoot your portrait outside, don’t do it between 10am and to 2pm.  The sun will be overhead, creating raccoon shadows on your eyes.  Cloudy days can sometimes be a good thing, be cause the clouds naturally diffuse the light.

5. Browse images online and send ones you love to the photographer so you can be on the same page before the shoot.  Communicate well!

6. Have fun and don’t stress.  If a photo is bad, it will get deleted and never see the light of day, so don’t worry about it.  Move on and get your money shot!

Until next time…