But Tom, what about Natalie?  She’s a longtime resident of the Hudson Valley, and loves the station, too.  As part of the Fall 2011 fundraising effort, Natalie offered to do a benefit concert, with the proceeds going to the station.  Very cool of her, to say the least!  I’m not sure how the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA was chosen as the venue, but what a fabulous place it is for a show like this.  I’ve loved Natalie’s music since her days with 10,000 Maniacs–she has a unique and beautiful voice, and she’s a great musician and lyricist.  In addition to a lot of her classics, Natalie also sang some of her newer material, children’s poems that she has set to music…unusual, maybe, but they’re beautiful, and made for a nice juxtaposition with her more well-known work.

Opening the show were Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton of the band Ida…check them out, too.  Her voice, the harmonies and guitars…gorgeous!  She even played a harmonium…bet you don’t know what that is!

Uh-oh…suffice it to say that I’m no music critic, so I won’t try to start now.  For me, it was a great night–hope you enjoy the photos!

Joe Donahue, radio host and interviewer extraordinaire, and a great guy!

Ida's Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton

The Patriots were playing, and they had at least one avid supporter!

Dr. Alan Chartock, President & CEO of WAMC...and a true visionary. Love the guy!

Alan with the star of the show

Accompanied by Erik Della Penna on guitar, and the Coriolan String Quartet

Natalie--backstage after the show, with Alan

One last backstage photo of Natalie and Joe

Inside, we met up with some of our favorite wedding colleagues in the area.  First, ace wedding planner Shannon Whitney–she’s the owner of Wedding Planning Plus, and she is, in a word, awesome.  Fun, calm, super-organized, on top of every detail…’nuff said!  Dave and Sam from Bigler Productions were on hand to shoot video, and Susan from Make Me Fabulous was doing makeup along with a couple of her colleagues whose names I’ve unfortunately forgotten.  My bad on that, since they’re all great, all the time…and they definitely live up to the name!  The flowers were from Designs by Douglas–this was our first time working with them, and they did a beautiful job from beginning to end.

Back to our bride and groom–they’re a great couple, and I really enjoyed getting to know them over the past year.  He’s pretty stoic–definitely the strong, quiet type!  Kristina is a lot of fun–she wanted every detail to be just right, and why not!  All her hard work and planning paid off in a fabulous wedding!

See what I mean? A unique and beautiful place!

Kristina's dad came up with an unusual way to keep the dress out of harm's way!

And finally, our bride! Getting the full Make Me Fabulous treatment!

Shannon from Wedding Planning Plus...can't say enough good things about working with her!

Ready to rock!

Before and after. Or ready...and not!

My backup crew...

Isn't she gorgeous! And yes, the house was just as cool inside as out.

Chillin' before the ceremony, after Dad brought her down off the mountain in his classic Corvette.

A final bit of advice from Mom.

Ready to walk...

The ceremony was in Rogers Memorial Park in Bolton Landing, and was performed by Jessica Rowell of Carissa Ceremonies — she always makes her ceremonies so fun and personal, and I have only the highest regard for the way she does things!

A nice touch with the leaves the guests tossed at the newlyweds!

After the ceremony, we headed down to Erlowest, one of my favorite places to shoot. See why?

The staff at Erlowest is always on their game, and I especially love working with Erin Dewey, who’s in charge of everything wedding-related there.  You’re probably getting the idea that we had a great day, working with a lot of the top people in the area…and you’re right!

This is Kristina with her dad, caught in a really nice moment in the day.

Kristina's grandpa is a WWII veteran, and yes, he's a true character! Great guy!

Not to be defeated by the 7-year-olds!

One more toast couldn't hurt!

This might not be such a good one to end on, but I couldn't resist. There's something about putting on a funny hat that makes people act pretty funny!

All in all–a pretty darn good day.  Hope you enjoyed the photos!