Happy Easter from Valladolid!

HAPPY EASTER! 

Hope everyone has had a wonderful day eating sweet treats & celebrating with family & friends!

and just for fun, here's a little Honeymoon Post...

^^Beautiful details outside the town's central cathedral.^^

^^Easter sombrero?^^

While Jake and I were in Mexico on honeymoon (side note: I love saying "on honeymoon" it's so over the top, like saying when we were on "holiday") we visited the ancient city of Valladolid. It was the last stop of the day after having explored Chichen Itza. We were given just thirty minutes to wander, snap a few photos, devour some incredible ice cream and return to our bus. And albeit brief, this afternoon has become one of my favorite memories.

^^The pastel walls around the city were fantastic.^^

Here is a wonderful excerpt from a New York Times article I found that beautifully describes Valladolid... 

"Authentic: it’s a word that is frequently used when describing Valladolid. Culturally speaking, it’s a layered authenticity. The city is deeply Mayan, from the cuisine — sweet and spicy, heavy on the beans and slow-roasted pork — to the guttural consonants of the Mayan language heard on its streets. Many women wear the traditional Mayan huipil — white cotton blouses or dresses adorned with bright, flowered embroidery and sold in places like the Mercado de Artesanias, a block from the city’s beautiful, newly refurbished Parque Principal, or central square. It is also distinctly Spanish: Founded by invading Spaniards in 1543, its colonnades, pastel stucco and paving-stone streets give Valladolid an Iberian feel. The central cathedral, a fortress of ascetic Franciscan architecture, is standing room only on Sunday evenings. As in Spain, shops are often shuttered each afternoon for siesta." - Valladolid, Mexico, a City of Yucatan Cool by Austin Considine

^^ While I was happily photographing the town Jake managed to sneak away and find this incredible Frida Kahlo meets Day of the Dead display and surprise me with it on our ride home. :) ^^

^^ Coffee & Strawberry ice cream atop a crispy waffle cone, unbelievably delicious. ^^

Matthew Paul where has the time gone?

Three years ago a little 8lb bundle of joy changed our lives. Our family gained exciting, new titles - Mommy, Daddy, Gigi, PopPop, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, Madrina, Padrino! What did we do before you came along Matthew? Holidays pre-2010 are now a blur without memories of you and Luke in them. Your smile, your zest for life, your kind little soul has changed me forever. I love you sweet boy. I will most likely squeeze and smooch you far into your adulthood and have no plans to change that. 

2010

2013

Want to see more photos from Matty's big day? Check them out here... Matthew Paul's 3rd Birthday 

Smile, baby!

Photographing babies is not easy. They are in constant motion and more often than not, unwillingly to "just hold the teddy bear, sweetie pie" while you try and snap a single focused photo.

I should preface this post with saying, I have no training as a photographer. I almost always click the "auto" setting on my Nikon and just play. Nothing fancy here. But, after years of nannying and now auntie-ing I have compiled a set of tricks to finally get that adorable baby on film.

1. Go for the candid shot! Posing your baby once they are able to roll, crawl, walk and eventually run away from you will be a never-ending game of cat and mouse. If he happens to playing with a truck, sit by and wait for the magic.

2. Take like, a million pictures. I'm not kidding. I get a lot of flack from my family (ahem, my husband) for snapping away while life is happening in front of me. But, no one can argue with my logic when they see the final product. (I usually take hundreds to get just a dozen keepers.)

3. Get down on their level. Lay on the floor, rest the camera on a coffee table and snap.

4. Embrace natural light. Which can be tricky because if it's not bright enough you risk losing the focus. So wait for a sunny day and go play outside! A flash is often too harsh and takes away that soft, sweet, natural glow of your baby. (Just ask Xanthe Elbrick, who is an expert on capturing gorgeous portraits using natural light.)

5. When all else fails, silly noises and faces are still a sure-fire way to get a smile and giggle out of your little one. Move away from behind the camera and trust you have your baby in the frame and go crazy. Babies often freeze when looking directly into a lens, but will respond to the faces of those they love.

Cameras used: Nikon D3000 with the kit lens coupled with this 50mm portait lens

iPhone 4 is my go-to day to day camera

Bridal Shower

You might know this already, but I'm kind of a planner; Your typical type-A, in control (lovable) perfectionist. Especially when it comes to organizing events and parties. So when my sister and bridesmaids asked me about my shower I said "oh don't worry, I'll plan it!" They told me, respectfully, to back off.

We discussed dates, themes and general ideas and then my army of party planning bridesmaids took the reins and created the bridal shower of my Pinterest dreams! (seriously)

Cake: Two Little Red Hens - an American Bakery (Red velvet with cream cheese frosting, it was insane.)
Pink Ombre italian cookies: Hand dipped and baked by my Aunt Barb
Cake Pops: Created by my bridesmaid, Lindsey Freedman (I never knew she could make cake pops!)
Decorations: Pink Pom Poms from Martha Stewart
My Dress: Lela Rose, Rent the Runway (<- greatest experience ever!)

still to come... my bridal shower invites and some of my favorite gifts & games! 

The Honeymoon

Jake and I realized very early on in our wedding planning that a honeymoon immediately following the big day was a must. We knew we were going to be craving alone time, relaxation time, warm weather time, do-nothing-except-lay-in-a-cabana-together time. 

Our friend and bridesmaid, Courtnay, suggested an all inclusive resort she and her boyfriend had vacationed at last November. The Excellence Club: Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa looked like a dream. During the icy, snowy, frigid winter months leading up to our March 2nd wedding Jake and I would periodically stop throughout the day and say, "You know what? In 43 days or in 28 days or in six days... we'll be in Mexico." *pause* "Oh, and we'll be marrriiieeed."

Our only plan was to lay low, (no instagram or Facebook, as per my husband's request) and enjoy being together as husband and wife. 

It was incredible. 

I will be posting about my Honeymoon outfits/ over-packing and our day-trip to Chichen Itza, check back shortly...

(Jake rocking his Grandfather's Panama hat from the 1960s and me rocking my new Goorin Bros. hat that my dear friend Emily gave me the night of our rehearsal dinner. Needless to say, it was the perfect gift, and one I wore it every single day of my honeymoon. You'll see.)

Striking All the Right Notes...

For the past few weeks Jake and I have been excitedly (and anxiously) awaiting the release of our Vows article for the Sunday New York Times. It was really wonderful to have something to anticipate and look forward to after the wedding.

On Friday "Striking All the Right Notes" hit virtual news stands with the online edition. What a thrill!

But as incredible as it was to see it on my Mac, there is just something so much more magical about seeing it in print; actually, holding it in your hands. On Sunday with a hot mug of coffee in one hand, I began flipping through the paper looking for the article. As each page turned, I passed the faces of political giants, celebrities, fashion icons and then... boom little old me and my new hubby! In the New York Times. How did this happen again? I'm still so honored that they picked us. I will show this article to my children and my grandbabies one day and say "Look! Look at your {imagine awesome grandma name} and Papa Jake! Weren't we something else?!"

For now, I get a thrill showing coffee baristas. "Isn't that nice!" They say and then "Here's your latte ma'am." (<- now that I'm married all of a sudden I've become ma'am?!)

All our love and thanks once again to Anna Jane Grossman for writing such a witty, touching and very much Kate and Jake-centric article and to Tina Feinberg for capturing our Old New York romantic elevator dip! 

The New York Times!!!

After keeping this (somewhat) quiet for the past ten days - our New York Times: Vows article, for the March 17th 2013 Sunday Weddings & Celebrations in the Fashion & Style section, was released online today!!

  Striking All The Right Notes: By Anna Jane Grossman 

photos by Tina Feinberg

Don't forget to pick up a hard copy this Sunday!

photo by Tina Feinberg for the New York Times

I'm so very excited and still in shock that they found Jake and my wedding interesting enough to cover for, ok... I have to say it again, THE NEW YORK TIMES!

Check out our website: The Wedding of Kate & Jake

for more updates!

Sneak Peek: Villatoro Productions K & J Wedding Trailer!

Villatoro Productions Presents:

Jake and Kate... New York City Wedding Trailer!

Jake & Kate Goldbas New York Wedding Teaser from Villatoro Productions on Vimeo.

Christian and his brother Josh are magicians. Somehow watching these three minutes of film, I'm transported back in time straight to my wedding day. Beyond looking forward to the full film!!

Live Music by: The Evening Orchestra, conducted and arranged by Jonathan Ragonese!

Sneak Peek: Katie Slater Photography

I will be sharing more photos by the incredible Katie Slater very, very soon.

I'm still swooning over the handful of shots she's sent me thus far. Completely gorgeous.

Love you Katie!!

Wedding: The Vintage Sheet Music Pockets

A few months back some of you may remember that I was hunting down vintage sheet music. Especially music with vibrantly colored, illustrated covers. After scouring garage sales, thrift shops, Etsy, eBay and street fairs around NYC I eventually acquired quite the stack of beautiful, musty smelling, sheet music!

My idea was to create invitation pockets out of this sheet music to hold our letterpress stationary suite. (Here is a post about our wedding stationary we discovered and created with Lion in the Sun in Park Slope, Brooklyn where we also purchased invitations for the engagement party and bridal shower!)

Now how should I do this? I brainstormed. I scoured Pinterest. I visited Paper Presentation. I inevitably realized Paper Presentation is similar to a casino when I accidentally spent three hours there. I experimented. I traced. I cut. I affixed.

And after a short 900+ minutes (no joke) came up with these... 

^^Just a few of my favorites!^^

^^A peak inside! More here!!^^

^^Boxed up and ready to be mailed!!^^

You can find instructions on the creation of these pockets in my "DYI Wedding: How to make a Vintage Sheet Music Pocket"!!

Just call me Mrs. Goldbas

photo by Xanthe Elbrick Photography

On a cold, but sunny Saturday on March 2nd, 2013 I married my best friend.

We said "I do" under a beautiful Chuppah with both a Rabbi and Priest blessing our marriage.

We were surrounded by family and friends who cried, cheered and danced the night away with us.

The Evening Orchestra played our first dance and there were five wedding cakes to choose from.

As the night inevitably reached its end, it started to snow.

It was near perfection...

********

HI! Remember me? The engaged NYC girl who had with all intent and purpose created this blog to chronicle the journey of wedding planning? Well, the DIY wedding process was a lot more time consuming that I had originally imagined.

Don't worry, now I'm just going to retrace my steps. Take you back to the beginning, well back to September. Luckily I wasn't too busy to take pictures, so the pictorial timeline is there!

Next up? The Invitations.