Mountain Home, January 2018

d e d d e The Wotographers Ph

A Photo Shoot Led to a Wedding ...

Now They Shoot Weddings Together

E E R F he wind

By Carrie Hagen

as t

Young Lyssa Bakes Cakes The Right Fit at Amber Rose Bridal Glamour Glows in the Gaffer District

JANUARY 20181

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Volume 13 Issue 1

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All Dressed Up and Someplace to Go

The Wedded Photographers

By Gayle Morrow

Williamsport’s Amber Rose Bridal offers tips for saying yes to the dress.

By Carrie Hagen

23

Carey’s Brew House

By Janet McCue

28

6

A photo shoot led to their wedding—now Michael and Alexandra Meseke shoot weddings together.

The Food of Love

By Cornelius O’Donnell

Sage advice for the newlywed kitchen.

Let Them Eat Cake

By Gayle Morrow For six years, nineteen-yearold Alyssa Cameron has been stirring up dreamy desserts.

34

Back of the Mountain

By Bernadette Chiaramonte The original winter white.

12 Something (Simply) New Cover by Tucker Worthington; cover photo courtesy Alexandra Meseke. This page (top) courtesy Alexandra Meseke; (middle) courtesy Alyssa Cameron; (bottom) courtesy Christine Spreng..

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By Elaine Farkas Corning’s Christy Spreng creates elegant custom jewelry for special days.

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w w w. m o u n ta i n h o m e m ag . co m EDITORS & PUBLISHERS Teresa Banik Capuzzo Michael Capuzzo ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER George Bochetto, Esq. MANAGING EDITOR Gayle Morrow DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Gwen Button ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Maia Mahosky SALES REPRESENTATIVES Robin Ingerick, Linda Roller, Richard Trotta GALLERY MANAGER/CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Michael Banik ACCOUNTING Amy Packard DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY Tucker Worthington, Cover Design

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Maggie Barnes, Mike Cutillo, Melissa Farenish, Elaine Farkas, Carrie Hagen, Don Knaus, Cornelius O’Donnell, Ann Duckett, Roger Kingsley, Janet McCue, Brendan O’Meara, Peter Petokas, Linda Roller, Micah Sargent, A.J. Sors, Ruth Tonachel, Dave Wonderlich CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Mia Lisa Anderson, Steve Chesler, Bernadette Chiaramonte, Diane Cobourn, Christopher Keays, Jan Keck, Nigel P. Kent, Roger Kingsley, Johnathan Mack, Alexandra Mekese, Ken Meyer, Linda Stager, Mary Sweely, Clayton Vargeson, Sarah Wagaman, Curt Weinhold DISTRIBUTION TEAM Layne Conrad, Grapevine Distribution, Gary Hill, Duane Meixel, Linda Roller THE BEAGLE Cosmo (1996-2014) • Yogi (Assistant) ABOUT US: Mountain Home is the award-winning regional magazine of PA and NY with more than 100,000 readers. The magazine has been published monthly, since 2005, by Beagle Media, LLC, 87-½ Main Street, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, 16901, and online at www.mountainhomemag.com. Copyright © 2017 Beagle Media, LLC. All rights reserved. E-mail story ideas to editorial@ mountainhomemag.com, or call (570) 724-3838.

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AWARDS: Mountain Home has won over 85 international and statewide journalism awards from the International Regional Magazine Association and the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association for excellence in writing, photography, and design.

DISTRIBUTION: Mountain Home is available “Free as the Wind” at hundreds of locations in Tioga, Potter, Bradford, Lycoming, Union, and Clinton counties in PA and Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates, Seneca, Tioga, and Ontario counties in NY. SUBSCRIPTIONS: For a one-year subscription (12 issues), send $24.95, payable to Beagle Media LLC, 87-½ Main Street, Wellsboro, PA 16901 or visit www.mountainhomemag.com.

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The Wedded

6

© Alexandra Meseke Photography (3)

Photographers A Photo Shoot Led to Their Wedding—Now Michael and Alexandra Meseke Shoot Weddings Together

By Carrie Hagen See Photographers on page 8 7

Photographers continued from page 7

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M

ichael and Alexandra Meseke remember when they first saw each other: it was early on the morning of September 21, 2006, underneath the Manhattan Bridge. Both would spend the day there, in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood, on an HBO Boxing promotional photo shoot featuring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. While Michael weaved around monitors, cables, and generators as a lighting assistant, Alexandra worked as a digital technician, analyzing and editing images as they crossed a computer screen.

Later that day, the two shared an hour-long train ride back to Manhattan. Their stories converged on the commute, the start of a partnership that brides would schedule weddings around.

• Originally from Rochester, Alexandra arrived in New York City in 2005, just after graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology. She wanted to pursue food photography, and dreamed of taking pictures of cookies for the cover of Martha Stewart Living.

“I was terrified of working with people,” Alexandra, now thirty-four, remembers. “Photographing people well means establishing relationships in a very short period of time.” As an artist, she found pleasure in the color, order, and design of still life photos. As a recent technology school graduate, she found instant work for her editing skills in an industry transitioning away from film to digital photography.

A decade earlier, Michael had driven away from his native northern California in a Volkswagen camper van. He ended up in Manhattan, where he waited tables and assisted photographers while studying acting. By the time he met Alexandra, Michael’s artistic attention centered on environmental portraiture, a craft he practiced by photographing his eccentric West Village neighbors.

Alexandra felt drawn to his stories of “insane and amazing” encounters.

“I’m going to be friends with this guy for the rest of my life,” she thought. Michael had a slightly different idea. He found her phone number on the day’s call sheet—a list of contact information—and left a message that night. They met for a drink soon afterwards, and before long, the two lived in Michael’s rentstabilized 350-square-foot studio. Together, they crafted Michael’s portraits, photographing friends and neighbors against a backdrop in the apartment. Both also continued as commercial photography assistants, favoring jobs like those for Target and J.Crew that let them shoot in natural (unstaged) light.

The couple’s skill sets and interests merged into a business idea after Michael began assisting a photographer whose pictures appeared in wedding magazines.

“I just loved seeing these women in these dresses!” Alexandra remembers. Teaming with Michael had made her more comfortable interacting with strangers, and her digital editing experience was honing her voice as a producer. Four years after meeting, Alexandra and Michael had their first wedding assignment—Michael’s cousin in San Francisco. But first, they were scheduled to marry themselves.

Alexandra Heliotis and Michael Meseke tied the proverbial knot on August 14, 2010, in the town of Victor, New York. They held the outdoor ceremony under large trees, where seventy-eight guests watched them exchange vows in front of a close friend. The party then headed to a nearby barn for barbecue and dancing.

Alexandra and Michael chose not to hire a photographer because they had so many among their friends.

“One of our closest friends was an up-and-coming wedding photographer, so she took the lead,” says Alexandra. It was a decision the couple came to regret—not because of picture quality, but because they now see the value in “hiring a nonfriend to capture every moment” shared by the entire wedding audience. Michael, now forty-five, says their wedding day was a formative professional experience. Clients benefit from the couple’s firsthand knowledge of “the gravity of that day” and their ability “to anticipate what is coming next and who is who.”

A month after marrying, the Mesekes flew to California for that first wedding job. The experience was something of a betrothal—Michael’s attention to detail and fondness for portraiture with Alexandra’s voice and production abilities.

Back home, the couple began promoting themselves as wedding photographers. Jobs came quickly, including several requests for destination events in the Finger Lakes.

Alexandra knew the region well after growing up in Rochester, but not Michael.

“When I saw the Finger Lakes, the way they were formed, their tranquility,” he says, “I was surprised with their beautiful simplicity.” Michael found an instant aesthetic connection to the landscape, which reminded him of his native northern California.

Upon the arrival of their son a few years later, the Mesekes decided to settle near their burgeoning Finger Lakes wedding business and closer to Alexandra’s family. They now live in East Rochester.

“We thought we’d be giving up great weddings if we left New York [City],” says Alexandra. “But that’s not been the case.” Alexandra Meseke Photography is now in its eighth year of business, handling between twenty-six and thirty weddings each year.

“We limit ourselves to never taking more than thirty,” Alexandra says, noting that they do have to turn down potential clients. “It’s hard to say no. It’s really hard to say no.” Now with two small children, the couple prioritizes a healthy balance between family life and work events—especially those that end at midnight when little voices awaken them at 6 a.m. Wedding night work sessions are often followed by breakfasts out where the family catches up over waffles and pancakes. In spite of late hours, early mornings, deadlines and partnering only with one another, Michael says they do a good job of keeping professional stressors from their personal relationship.

“We’ve always worked together,” he says. “[Our partnership] is what we are, always.”

A good amount of Alexandra’s time is spent maintaining an online portfolio and blog of selected events on Alexandra Meseke Photography’s Web site. “It’s hard to keep up with, but it is essential to our business,” says Alexandra. A combination of text and photography, each blog post builds the couple’s business presence online, making it instantly more “searchable.” Alexandra’s hope is that when a bride-to-be types a venue of interest into Google, she will see a link to one of the couple’s posts and pictures from that venue.

“It takes a lot of brain power and time to put together the best collection of images to catch a potential client’s eye, and then coming up with something interesting to say, in order to boost See Photographers on page 10

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Photographers continued from page 9

the SEO [Search Engine Optimization] is even harder, as we’re not writers!” she says.

Victoria “Tori” Cosgrove is one bride who wouldn’t have found Alexandra and Michael without their blog. From the Rochester area, Tori, twenty-six, and her then fiancé Ian Cosgrove, twenty-eight, decided to marry in Buffalo, a destination more easily accessible to his Canadian family. Tori planned the event from Detroit, where the couple lives.

“It was super stressful trying to plan a wedding in a different state,” Tori says.

“I was doing everything on my own. I had nightmares about this wedding day. I was scared out of my mind.” Tori works in a law library, and she knew she wanted to get married at Buffalo’s Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, a venue she describes as “very old school vintage” with dark corners and chandeliers. Finding a wedding photographer was a greater worry.

“Ian and I aren’t super comfortable in front of a camera,” Tori admits.

Finding Alexandra’s blog, she surveyed the online portfolio, and recognized that the Mesekes were not “typical cookie cutter photographers” who staged wedding parties in only traditional shots. “I could get a real sense of who each couple was.”

Tori and Alexandra corresponded via email. One of Tori’s concerns was that the venue might be too dark to produce great photos. Alexandra responded in detail, sharing illustrated ideas for Tori and Ian. The couple married in Buffalo on May 20, 2016.

“When I look through the photos now, I can’t believe how beautifully they captured every moment.” Tori says. “The most special moments of our wedding we shared with her.”

Cliona Stack, thirty-two, agrees that the Mesekes create an intimacy with their clients. “You feel like they are old friends to help you through the day,” she says of the photographers, whom she hired and has stayed in touch with for years. In 2014, Cliona and her husband, Andrew Potter, married on Seneca Lake at Suzanne’s Fine Regional Cuisine, a venue they found after “stumbling” on the Meseke’s blog.

Cliona calls one of her favorite wedding images a “fairy tree photo.” In it, she and Andrew are walking to the venue in a field of wildflowers. “Alexandra is a storyteller,” she says. And after being part of Cliona’s 10

wedding story, her sister Emir hired the Mesekes for her own two years later.

• Clients not referred by family or friends might hear about Alexandra and Michael from wedding planners. Kelli Berg, owner of Simply Beautiful Events, an event design company in Rochester, says her staff tries to match the personalities of clients with wedding vendors.

“They are precise in what they need, forward thinking, and they get the job done,” says Kelli. In her experience, clients “don’t want to think about what’s happening” on their big days. They want photographers to get shots that are candid, emotional, and “in areas they don’t even know or didn’t even realize” the photographer captured. What works for the Mesekes, says Kelli, is their “New York City style” and their personal interactions with couples.

“I wrangle personalities, and Michael focuses on the details,” says Alexandra.

She describes herself as an extroverted introvert, an emotionally exhausting combination. “But when you’re a wedding photographer, you have to have a personality.” A personality and a plan.

Before the big day, couples must respond to a detailed questionnaire asking them to consider what is most important for them to have documented. Their answers offer a blueprint to the photographers.

“We are really good at molding to each client individually,” Alexandra muses. “We have clients who say ‘shoot the wedding and all of the details,’ and others who say, ‘I don’t care about any of that—just capture the moments.’ We manage to do what they’ve asked us to do.”

On Kelli Berg’s recommendation, Hannah and Bobby Torney hired Alexandra and Michael for their June, 2017, wedding.

She and Bobby live in Vermont, but Hannah wanted her wedding to be on Canandaigua Lake, where her family has a second home and she spent her summers growing up. She knew many of her guests “didn’t realize how much there is to do” in the Finger Lakes, listing the region’s lovely vineyards, clear lakes, hiking and biking trails, breweries, and charming towns.

Hannah described her style to Alexandra and Michael as “natural, soft, playful, nothing staged or over the top.”

Her wedding hosted 250 guests. Hannah See Photographers on page 30

Cliona Stack and Andrew Potter

Hannah and Bobby Torney

© Alexandra Meseke Photography (3)

Tori and Ian Cosgrove

Shutterbug Spouses

T

here are a few other husband/wife photography teams in Mountain Home territory. Partners Virginia and Tim Carden operate Carden’s Photography (www.cardensphotography.com) out of Williamsport. Married since 2004, the duo has shot weddings and family portraits full-time since 2008 with a “modern, photojournalistic style.” In 2011, the couple—also parents and filmmakers— added videography to their list of services.

According to their Web page, Carden’s Film is “a documentary style cinematography studio specializing in one of a kind wedding films.”

Jo s h Gr i m e s , o f Gr i m e s t o n e Photography (www.grimestonephotoblog. com) in Lock Haven, photographs weddings with his wife Sarah’s assistance. A father of three and also a minister, Grimes says on his photo blog that he started shooting weddings after taking a college photography class.

Friends of his soon became engaged, and, unable to afford a wedding photographer, they asked him to step in. Josh Grimes happily did—equipped with a Canon camera purchased from a pawnshop. Word of mouth sent more clients his way, as did advertisements posted on Craig’s List. Now a professional—and with a digital camera— Grimes says, “I love people. I’ve tried to hone my skills as ‘a people photographer.’” In 2016, Josh and Sarah Grimes opened Odd Fellas Burger in Lock Haven as “a place for community to gather.”

A l e k s e y K P h o t o g r a p h y ( w w w. alekseykphotography.com) is a husband and wife business based in Buffalo that serves the Finger Lakes and western New York with “modern, creative, and documentarystyle photography.” The two met when Aleksey Khmyz came to America with the Ukrainian military for training classes at Fort Lee, Virginia. There, he met Leah, serving with the U.S. Army. To stay together, both resigned their posts, married, and settled in Buffalo, Leah’s hometown. The couple’s Web site says they bring a “Euro-American perspective to every event.”

Bogdan and Jenetta Boyko are a husband and wife photography team in Binghamton. On their Web site (www. boykofoto.com) they define photography as “capturing emotion, one click at a time.” In addition to weddings, the Boykos document “special life events.” ~Carrie Hagen 11

Courtesy Alyssa Cameron

Let Them Eat Cake

For Six Years, Nineteen-Year-Old Alyssa Cameron Has Been Stirring Up Dreamy Desserts

By Gayle Morrow

I

n a house on a mountainside in Tioga County is a darling little pink and white kitchen known as Lyssa’s Bakery.

There, nineteen-year-old Alyssa Cameron stirs up some sweet stuff. From fondant to buttercream, vanilla to red velvet, cupcakes to five-tiered creations, the oh-that’s-justperfect wedding cake you envision for your once-in-a-lifetime day is the one Alyssa will make for you.

“I love to be a part of the special day,” says Alyssa. “I always wanted to do something with weddings.” In fact, she confesses, being a wedding dress model is on her bucket list. Given what she’s accomplished so far, it would not be surprising to see her on the runway at

some point.

Alyssa’s professional baking career began as a challenge from her dad. The family often enjoyed brunch at Lamb’s Creek Food and Spirits, a Mansfield-area eatery, and they especially enjoyed the Oreo truffles. Really, really enjoyed the Oreo truffles. When Alyssa was thirteen, her mom, Jean, had signed her up for a Wilton cake decorating class, so she had learned the basics and was building on those skills when her dad suggested that if she could recreate those Oreo truffles at home, he would transform a room in their house into her bakery space.

It was, as they say, a piece of cake, at least on Alyssa’s part. The family’s own

kitchen was under renovation, Jean recalls, so her pine cupboards, the stove, and the refrigerator found a new home and a repurposed life in Lyssa’s Bakery.

“I thought pink and white would be a pretty bakery,” says Alyssa, of her paint job, and she’s right about that.

She made Christmas cookies at first, and worked with her mom, who was also making cakes. Then, with the help of Facebook, “it kind of took off,” Alyssa says. She still makes cookies, and cakes for other occasions (like Sweet 16 parties for her friends), but these days, after recently celebrating four years as a licensed baker—a process that includes the requisite kitchen inspections and water testing—it’s the See Cake on page 15

12

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Cake continued from page 12

wedding cake business that seems to be keeping her busiest. It was just in 2016 that she began focusing on wedding cakes; by 2017 she had almost twenty weddings under her apron.

“Weekends are crazy!” she laughs, her enthusiasm infectious.

But not the clients. The brides and grooms she’s created cakes for so far have been “so easy” to work with. They come in with ideas and then “I kind of like to put my own touch on each and every one,” Alyssa says. “I like to be creative.” And creative she is.

Her cakes—which can be up to five tiers (a cake that size makes 162 servings, she says, so for bigger weddings “a lot of people do cupcakes, too”)—are made from scratch and come in all kinds of flavors. She ticks off some of the most popular: vanilla, vanilla with raspberry filling, red velvet, chocolate, and chocolate with chocolate ganache filling. The groom is often the one who decides on the flavor, she notes. The frosting can be buttercream or fondant (she explains that a fondant frosting gives a smoother, sharper, shinier finish than buttercream). Both can be tinted. Buttercream is made to be slathered on, swirled like a seashell’s whorls, and is a bit heartier than fragile fondant when it comes to transporting.

Fondant itself can be sculpted into all kinds of fun shapes, and Alyssa has used it to make animals, to give a cake the appearance of birch bark, and to carry out the bride and groom’s wedding theme of game boards (think Scrabble tiles).

“We have a lot of fun with the customers,” Alyssa says, and notes that while her age may have been an issue at first, it doesn’t seem to be so much any more. “People say ‘I trust you’ and ‘do what you want.’ They sometimes ask ‘How old are you?’ and that’s pretty funny.”

Lyssa’s Bakery clients are local and regional—they come from Williamsport, Elmira, Bloomsburg, Tioga and Potter counties, and, once, from Alaska. Alaska? Alyssa and her mom chuckle about that one as Gaines (Gaines, Pennsylvania, that is) was the destination wedding venue for that particular couple. A cakedelivering adventure brought a laugh as well. There happened to be two weddings at neighboring venues and the folks at the first celebration they drove up to said thanks but no thanks, they already had a cake. The second group of wedding revelers was more receptive and, yes, it was their cake. Mission accomplished.

Alyssa recalls that a cake delivery to an Elmira venue required that she produce her license before she was allowed to enter the facility. She didn’t mind.

“It’s all about food safety,” she says, adding that could be compromised “if you’re just ordering from a random person.”

As for idea help, Alyssa is pretty sure where to get heaping servings of that. She has three older brothers; two of whom are “my Google” she laughs, and the third is always happy to be the one who taste-tests a new creation or confirms the quality of an old favorite.

“They all help in their own ways,” says Jean with a grin, adding that her own role as Alyssa’s mentor, assistant, and teacher—Alyssa was home-schooled—has diminished over the past four years. “I don’t have to help her with anything anymore except the dishes.”

To schedule a cake or other confection consultation with Lyssa’s Bakery, find the business on Facebook or call (570) 4398190.

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16

© Chesler Photography www.WinterWeddingPhotography.com

Trash the Dress— Or Just Continue to Make Art with It

By Steve Chesler Having heard of the concept of trash the dress photos a few months earlier, I wanted to try a few with some of my brides. I finally had the opportunity when one of my brides called me several months after her wedding wanting to do a session with her Friesian horse. We had a hard time getting our schedules to coordinate, which brought us into the snowier months of the year. I couldn’t have planned a better scenario with the white wedding dress and white snow in contrast to the beautiful black horse.

This was the first Trash the Dress session we did, which was later followed by dozens more, including a session in NYC, which aired on Inside Edition.

We don’t actually trash the dresses. It’s just an opportunity to allow the bride to wear the dress again in some unusual situations that she wouldn’t have time to do the day of the wedding.

17

Gayle Morrow

All Dressed Up and Someplace to Go Williamsport’s Amber Rose Bridal Offers Tips for Saying Yes to the Dress

By Gayle Morrow

H

e asked, you said yes, now what?

“The bridal dress is your first stop after the ring,” says Shannon Shadle, manager at The Amber Rose Bridal in Williamsport. “Normally the dress is the big thing.” Indeed. With an average price tag of $1,200 to $1,500 (and, certainly, the option of spending way more or somewhat less; Shannon agrees that budget is a critical consideration, but notes that “we, of course, have a sale rack”), finding The Dress is a huge deal on the bridal bliss scale. Where to begin?

Regardless of where you are shopping, “appointments are preferred,” concur Shannon and Tiffany Brungart, a consultant

18

at Amber Rose. Surprisingly, they say, it normally takes only about an hour for a bride to really narrow down her choices, but a girl on a mission can toss a lot of tulle and lace off and on in sixty minutes. “You know after you’ve tried on a few what is working,” says Shannon. Tiffany adds that “trying on too many can be confusing,” so, if you have the time, it might be less stressful to stagger your searches rather than to opt for one marathon day of looking at dresses.

Brides should also be mindful of the fact that “bridal runs small,” Shannon says.

That means if you’ve been working out and/ or dieting in anticipation of slipping into a size four or six, and the tag on the dress

you love says eight or ten, remember it’s all semantics. There is no need to starve yourself into a smaller size based on an arbitrary number on a dress label.

It is helpful, Shannon continues, if brides try to be open-minded and try all styles. A lot of girls come in with the idea of wanting a fitted dress and leave with a ball gown style, and vice-versa.

“You still pull a fitted gown, and let her make the call, but you might also suggest something you think would work,” Shannon says.

You might presume finding a dress you can walk in, or one that will allow you See Dressed Up on page 20

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Veiled in expertise: Owner Amy Heckman consults with a bride to ensure the perfect ensemble for the perfect day.

Dressed Up continued from page 18

to dance or sit down for your wedding supper would be something of a primary consideration, but, meh, not always so much.

“Some people want comfort and some don’t care,” Tiffany says, recalling that brides have told her they don’t intend to sit down all day anyway.

Bring on the corset and the laces, right? Actually, purchasing special undergarments for the wedding dress is often not necessary these days, as many dresses have the appropriate built-in foundations. At Amber Rose, “we do their fittings and alterations,” she says, so they can address the need then if something special or additional is required to make the dress fit properly.

Neither time of year nor venues seem to be much of an issue for brides making dress decisions for themselves and/or their bridesmaids, say Shannon and Tiffany. Regarding summer v. winter, it’s an individual choice, of course, but the professionals at Amber Rose say the days of “seasonal bridal dresses” are gone. As for bridesmaids’ attire, brides these days often choose a designer and a color, then let the bridesmaids pick out their own dresses.

20

Courtsey Amber Rose Bridal

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For brides, ivory is the most popular color, with champagne trending, says Shannon.

“We’ve sold, maybe, five white gowns in the past two years,” she notes. Black, says Tiffany, is kind of big right now for mothers and bridesmaids; pastels are always popular, too. Veils and trains are, of course, another part of what makes the perfect bridal dress ensemble.

“People are doing more with headbands and different things,” says Tiffany.

So what about the guys, that other half of the bridal party?

For the groom and groomsmen, “color is the thing,” Tiffany says.

Tails (on tuxes) are out, so the choices remaining are: suspenders or none, bow tie or straight tie, shirt type, and the jacket. Venue plays more of a part with tuxedo choice, says Tiffany, as it influences the “jacket” or “no jacket” option.

One new twist on bridal attire is wedding suits for women.

There are a variety of classy-looking tux-like suits that might be a super-unique choice for a super-unique bride. Brides might also put some thought into what they’ll wear as a going-away outfit, depending, of course, on their mode of travel and whether the newlyweds are leaving directly from the reception.

Then there is the question of what to do with the wedding dress after the fact. Traditionally a bride might pack it away in tissue paper and mothballs, or fold it up and place it at the bottom of her hope chest. Today’s brides, however, might have a “trash the dress” day just for fun; one woman wore her dress to Knoebels, rode the rides, and had a blast posting the photos. Others might cut up their gowns to make christening dresses for their children, or use their dresses for a costume.

“It’s not so much keeping the dress for the kids anymore,” says Tiffany.

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hat makes Carey’s Brew House unique? Let us start with the beers. Carey’s has an extensive array of brews on draft—IPAs, lagers, saisons (a highly carbonated pale ale), and Scotch ales. Customers can enjoy their favorite Sam Adams but also explore the region’s offerings, including neighboring Ithaca Beer and Horseheads Brewing. Too many choices? Try a flight.

Before opening Carey’s Brew House in early 2017, Joe and Tammy Carey ran The Site Cyber Bar & Grill, kitty-corner across the street, for eighteen years. They’d also managed a catering contract for a banquet facility. Although Joe is officially retired from a career in health care information technology, he is far from retired as a brewmaster, bartender, bookkeeper, building renovator, and jack-of-all-trades.

It took the Careys over two years to renovate the former furniture store on 58 South Bridge Street into the Brew House. They saved many of the building’s great features, including the fireplace, the embossed ceiling tiles, and the grand staircase. In retaining the furniture-store walls, they delineated a variety of functional spaces. At street-side, storefront windows and white linen tablecloths welcome diners; in the middle room, cozy booths (and a child-size table and chair set) beckon families. Set further back is the bar with its casual seating and pool tables.

Like the beer offerings, the menu contains standard pub food options like sliders, wings, and chicken tenders, but just as many surprises. Carey’s bacon beercheeseburger features local bacon and handmade beer cheese; the torta ahogada—more common in Jalisco, Mexico, than Corning, New York—is a tasty “drowned” sandwich covered in a spicy tomato sauce. Entrées include rib eye and stuffed chicken saltimbocca for the carnivores while garlic-buttered shrimp, seared swordfish, and a Thai noodle bowl lure the pescatarians and vegetarians. In early autumn, the spring/summer menu makes way for fall/winter specials, including a stuffed pork chop with an apple risotto.

Tammy, who wears as many hats as Joe, is also a gardener. You might find her pickled cucumbers on your Cubano sandwich or her pumpkins in an ale. She’s also the manager for the upstairs banquet room with its wall of windows—an area that is ready to decorate for a wedding reception, retirement party, baby shower, or Grandpa’s eightieth birthday—which can accommodate 150 guests.

Like an English pub inviting neighbors to stop by for a meal, a drink, or a game of darts, this north side establishment welcomes families, tourists, groups for casual business lunches, and couples on their first date. Stop by Carey’s Brew House and introduce yourself to Joe and Tammy. You can reach them by phone at (607) 377-5651. ~Janet McCue 23

Courtesy Christine Spreng (4)

Something (Simply) New

Corning’s Christy Spreng Creates Elegant Custom Jewelry for Special Days

By Elaine Farkas

N

ew York’s Finger Lakes region is fast becoming one of the premier wedding destinations in the northeast, and it’s easy to see why. In addition to the unique geology and terrain, the Finger Lakes region offers opportunities for nuptial celebrations that cannot be found anywhere else. A flourishing local art scene helps create the heart and soul of the wedding industry here, and one such local artisan is jewelry-maker Christy Spreng, the proprietor of Glamour and Glow (www.glamourandglow.com) and Christine Elizabeth Jewelry (www. christineelizabethjewelry.com) on Market Street in Corning’s Gaffer District.

Christy started Glamour and Glow

24

ten years ago, but her inspiration for her custom creations goes back to the time she was a young girl. She always knew she wanted to be a fashion designer, and started making both clothing and jewelry as a child.

Inspiration, according to Christy, can come from anything.

“Usually it’s a feeling,” says Christy. “I cherish times spent with my grandmother (who is a water-colorist) painting, sketching, and going on walks in search of ’pecial ’tones that ’parkle (I had trouble with my s’s). She taught me that nature is beauty and that simplicity is aesthetically pleasing. I’m always turning to nature for inspiration, whether it be for a color palette or the way a tree’s branches grow. I believe that it came

from my grandmother.” The purity and elegance of Christy’s designs are reminiscent of the ancient glaciers that have shaped the Finger Lakes, and demonstrate how her inspirations come from nature. The media she uses are also inspired by local, natural beauty.

“I have always incorporated tassels and silks into my designs, especially for my bridal collection,” she explains. “Other media are Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, gemstones, fine silver, sterling silver, and 14k gold filled.”

Christy works with wedding parties, designing, with input from the brides, the jewelry and themes.

See Something New on page 26

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Courtesy Christine Spreng Something New continued from page 24

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“It’s so much fun,” says Christine (pictured above), “meeting with the bride and learning about her vision for her special day. I enjoy the process of dreaming up designs to fit her personality and style.” Christy’s designs have found favor worldwide. Via Skype she has helped brides in England to plan and design their wedding jewelry, and she made jewelry for a wedding in Australia last year. Currently, she is working with a bride in Paris for a summer wedding.

“When I celebrated ten years in business this past October, I put a post on Facebook and was blown away at all of the comments from past brides thanking me for doing their wedding jewelry and how they were still enjoying it today,” she marvels. “I’m incredibly grateful, humbled, and blessed.”

While Christy says she does not have a favorite wedding style, she admits to a love of classic, Bohemian, and a good 1920s theme. “It’s fun to get lost in the different possibilities,” she says. “However, whatever your style is, I think it’s very important to still look like yourself on your wedding day.” To this end, she has recently launched a bespoke hairpiece collection. These hand-forged and handpainted pieces have a vintage and nostalgic aesthetic, with each piece made to order.

“I can customize to the wedding colors and hair style,” she continues. “I usually

ask simple questions such as: what are the colors, what is her fashion style, is it a themed event, what is the neckline of the dress, what is the style of the dress, does she want something borrowed incorporated into the design, what are the personalities of the bridesmaids?”

It has been a few years since Christy moved her shop from the Arnot Mall to the Gaffer District, and since then she has been an integral part of the district’s transformation to an all-things-wedding destination. “I think the Gaffer District is a one-stop shop: brides can bring their mom, family member, maid of honor and make a whole day of it. From engagement rings to bridal jewelry, bridal headpieces, flowers, even rehearsal dinner and bridal shower dresses—you can get it all here.”

It’s true. From the wineries nestled on the rolling, glacier-carved shores, to the local merchants and artisans lining the village streets throughout the region, a bride has multiple opportunities and options to make her wedding special and unique. Christy’s delicate jewelry and accessories bring the natural elegance of the Finger Lakes to life for each bride on her special day.

Elaine Farkas currently resides in Tioga, PA, with her husband and a rather large cat named Sasha. She teaches physics and runs the planetarium at Mansfield University.

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The Food of Love

Sage Advice for the Newlywed Kitchen

By Cornelius O’Donnell

I

’m an opinionated guy and I have some firm opinions on the subject of weddings. After all, I’ve been an usher countless times, and an attendee at friends and family-members “I dos” more often than I can count.

When it comes to receptions, I prefer the real deal, no seated multi-course dinners for me. They tend to strain the resources of some venues, and the meal arrives at your place lukewarm. I do appreciate a glorified hors d’oeuvre gala, with lots of waitstaff passing the trays and—depending on the number of guests—at least two bars on each side of the room (lawn, patio, what have you.) A family dinner can follow a reception, of course.

The Happy Couple Settles Down As a newlywed, once you are truly settled and your honeymoon dainties are back in the drawer, you two will be heading for the kitchen and cooking. You’ll soon tire

28

of the ramen noodle/dorm food routine and you might want to start having friends and family over—particularly if you hope to show off the plates, cutlery, pots, and pans you were fortunate to receive as wedding gifts. Fortunately, help is available at your bookstore on how to pull off a simple meal and add to the bounty already in your kitchen. And there is a welcome tutorial on how to stock the pantry shelves. The folks at Martha Stewart’s Living have just published The Newlywed Kitchen. Its 300 pages are filled with sage advice (and thyme, and rosemary, and basil—okay, I’ll stop) that Martha has been doling out in her books and magazines for years.

Another book has crossed my kitchen counter that I quite enjoyed reading and so might you. The Newlywed Cookbook is written by a newlywed, Sarah Copeland, who is involved with crafting the content of many a Food Network feature. Check

your bookstore; go online if you must. It was published in 2012 by The Chronicle Publishers, and I can give it a two-word review right up front: “a knockout.” The subhead reads: “Fresh Ideas and Modern Recipes for Cooking With and For Each Other.” The oversize book’s 290 pages more than fulfill this promise. In fact, the first sixty-eight pages and two chapters, “Stocking the Pantry,” and “The Seasonal Kitchen,” are filled with ideas on how and what a couple might want in their kitchen.

Any reader, newlywed or otherwise, will learn quite a bit perusing these pages. Then the recipe-laden chapters roll out, with the 130 recipes grouped under these titles: Brunch; Little Meals (“take good care of each other” is the subtext here); Supper (simple meals); Comfort Food; Date Night (romantic meals for each other); Vegetables; Embellishments (snacks, sauces and sips); Gatherings (feasts for family and friends);

welcome to Indulgences (sweets); Escapes (campfire cooking, pretty picnics, and portable parties).

I can’t remember ever seeing that last category in a bridalthemed book. Girl and Boy Scout manuals maybe. It seems Sarah had fun writing this. And wait until you see the color photographs. The talented photographer had fun, too. They are simply smashing. The recipes are probably what you came for, and here is one example from the book.

Two-for-Two Cheese Soufflé As author/newlywed Sarah says in her headnote: “There is nothing cozier than a cheese soufflé for two. Light a candle, bring the dish to the table with two forks and a herb-y salad for two, and let the world melt away.” Her recommended sip? “An American brown ale.” I’ll drink to that. ½ c. finely grated aged Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese plus 2 oz. for topping 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature plus more for buttering and brushing 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour Pinch of nutmeg (preferably fresh grated) ¾ tsp. kosher salt ¾ c. whole milk 1 small garlic clove, skinned and minced ¾ c. grated semi-hard cheese such as Manchego or Gruyere 3 large eggs, separated (easily done through your fingers) ½ tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

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Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-cup soufflé mold and sprinkle with the Parmesan to coat completely all the way to the top. Shake any excess cheese into a bowl and reserve. Put the mold in the freezer to chill. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low. Whisk in the flour, the nutmeg, and the salt. Whisking constantly, cook the flour without browning for about 5 minutes. Whisk in the milk and garlic and continue to cook, whisking at a low simmer until the mixture is smooth and thick, like pudding, about five minutes. Stir in the Manchego or Gruyere and any leftover Parmigiana and cook, stirring, until the cheese melts. Remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks, one at a time. Continue stirring vigorously with a rubber spatula to cool. Whisk the egg whites and lemon juice in a spotless medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium high until they just hold a soft peak. The key is not to overwhip the whites, which would give your soufflé a cloudy instead of creamy consistency. Fold one-fourth of the whites into the cheese mixture with a rubber spatula, carefully turning the bowl until the whites are streaked throughout. Add the remaining whites and fold in but don’t overmix, which can deflate the whites. Transfer the batter to the chilled mold and scatter that 2 teaspoons of Parmigiano over the top. Place the dish on a baking sheet and set in the oven. Decrease the oven temperature to 325-degrees and bake until the soufflé is golden, puffed and set, but just a touch wobbly inside, 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Chef, teacher, author, and award-winning columnist Cornelius O’Donnell lives in Horseheads, New York.

29

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and her bridal party had been in weddings before, and she and her friends were “very impressed with [Alexandra] and how laid-back and fun, rather than bossy and intimidating, she was.” Instead of being “almost too structured,” Alexandra and Michael emphasized relaxing and enjoying the moment. To get the poses they wanted, Alexandra was “direct and to the point” but also made them laugh with instructions like “now growl at her.”

The pictures surpassed her expectations. “I look like a model,” Hannah says, still with a trace of surprise in her voice.

• The morning of a wedding, Alexandra goes to photograph the bride and her attendants as they prepare, and Michael heads to the groom and his friends. What they overhear varies greatly. The women, Alexandra says, compliment the bride and her choices, “ooooing and awwwwing as her look is coming together.” The men are often talking about things like the special bottle of Scotch they’re drinking, or how a run or round of golf went that morning.

Michael says his favorite thing to photograph is the moment “when [the groom] sees her coming down the aisle.” Alexandra favors documenting different reactions to the couple, from the best friends, the father and mother, getting “all of it in one picture, as they laugh and smile and cry.”

The Mesekes conclude their role in the day’s events by taking final shots of the reception room or its outside building. If nothing special is planned for the couple’s exit, “we will encourage the bride and groom to get on the dance floor and really embrace each other, sing in each other’s face, let loose, before it’s time to head out.”

• Hannah Torney hasn’t ordered a wedding album yet because she finds it hard to choose what images will go inside of it. But in the age of digital image sharing, this twenty-seven-year-old wants the traditional wedding keepsake. So does Tori Cosgrove.

“There is no cutting corners,” says Tori passionately. “When the day is over and everything is said and done, all you will have are the photos.” This sentiment is perhaps why so many guests want to have their own pictures of the wedding, snapping shots in the presence of professionals who are hired to do the same.

“We have lost count of how many [photos] are ruined because of people getting in our shots with their iPhones,” says Alexandra.

“Somehow guests think that if they stick their hands out just a little, they’re not blocking the bride coming down the aisle, but they always, always are.” Clients express sadness when they look over their pictures and see guests fumbling with phones in lieu of celebrating in real time. Still, the couple’s success comes from their ability to blend with both the bridal parties and the background noise. Their approach wins over even the more critical guests and difficult bridal party members.

Tori Cosgrove says her “very picky and outspoken” family praised the couple’s work, and even her tired, distracted flower girls did as Alexandra directed, giggling when she jumped up and down to get their attention. “Every single person [in the immediate family] later said to me, ‘Your photographers did such an amazing job.’”

Inspired and haunted by true stories, Keystone Award-winning writer Carrie Hagen is the author of We Is Got Him: The Kidnapping that Changed America. She lives in Philadelphia.

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www.hearthstonehomes.com 31

REAL ESTATE

HOME is where the is.

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B A C K O F T H E M O U N TA I N

The Original Winter White

By Bernadette Chiaramonte

I

n a winter landscape—this one happens to be at Ives Run—trees are almost always the oldest living things we can see. What a treat when we can see them newly frosted, when can we borrow a sprinkle of summertime light to make them glisten, when a bit of blue provides just the right eye-pleasing color contrast. In the quest for something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, Mother Nature delivers once again. ~ Gayle Morrow

34

Don’t Assume Your Best Deal Comes From The Big Home Center...

North Country Woodworking Come see your local cabinet makers!

We are a family business with over 25 years experience manufacturing custom cabinets, doors, moldings, and furniture.

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Come visit our showroom just 6 miles North of Mansfield, off Route 549.

Our showroom is open Thursday-Saturday 10am-4pm or call for an appointment any time.

Ask for Pete McLelland or Pete McLelland, Jr.

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Dr. Bhullar sees patients at Williamsport Regional Medical Center, providing both non-surgical and surgical treatments for hemorrhoids, pelvic floor disorders, fecal incontinence, colon and rectal cancer, and other complex issues of the colon and rectal system.

570-321-3160 | UPMCSusquehanna.org/ColorectalSurgery 36