Thanksgiving...Best Pie EVER!!!

When posed with the question, What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? My answer is instant, Triple layered chocolate pumpkin pie. Here is the recipe.....mmmmmmmm Thanks Kate Parker, for posing the question....Enjoy everyone!!


Triple Layered Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Foolproof Pie Shell
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
Instructions
Prepare, chill, and prebake a Foolproof Pie Shell. Reduce the oven temperature to 350º.
Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler set over, not in, barely simmering water. Add the chocolate and leave it over the heat until melted (5 to 7 minutes), and then whisk it until smooth. Set aside the top of the double boiler to partially cool the chocolate.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl, gradually adding 1 1/4 cups of the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Next, blend in the pumpkin, vanilla extract, spices, and salt until the filling is evenly combined. Pour slightly less than half of the filling into a separate bowl and stir in the melted chocolate until evenly blended. Pour the chocolate filling into the pie shell and gently shake the pan to settle the filling. Bake the pie on the center oven rack for 20 minutes. Then let it cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Carefully ladle the remaining plain pumpkin filling over the chocolate layer and shake the pan to settle the filling. Return the pie to the oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. When done, the filling around the perimeter will have puffed somewhat, but not so much that it develops large cracks. Place the pie on the cooling rack until the filling levels, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Combine the sour cream and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. Stir the mixture over very low heat for about 2 minutes, until it is fairly thin and slightly warm. Carefully pour it over the last layer and tilt the pan to evenly distribute the topping. Cool the pie thoroughly, then cover it with loosely tented tinfoil and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Henna by Remarkable Blackbird

When talking about the wedding and the crossing of two cultures, we knew we wanted to share some of the Indian culture with Aron's family. That's when we came to the idea of Henna. Then to find an incredible henna artist was right here in Maine we knew we had to have her. Genevieve (“Nev”) Levin is a full-time henna artist practiced in the art of Mehndi for 12 years. She came to French's point on Thursday evening to do Henna on Gita as well as her and Aron's family. It was what we called a "hen" party were all the women of both family hung out and had henna done. Nev was so fast and her work is amazing, it is one of the elements the guests kept talking about. It was a great way for Aron's family to learn about Gita's culture. One night while I was helping the photographers do shot list, she even did an amazing piece of art on my leg. Here is some of her work from the wedding.

From Head to Toe ~ Gita's Attire

When I first saw the film, The Way We Get By, I was touched and moved. However, it was during the Q&A that I fell in love with Gita and Aron. Gita is one of the sweetest and kindest people I have ever met. She has lived an amazing life with her INCREDIBLE parents and has the best laugh EVER!!! Her one flaw, is she cuts her hair when she is stressed....so we were working with a very short pixie that was getting shorter by the second. After, a private screening in Portland, Maine, she promised not to cut it again till the wedding. When Gina Leonard, Co-owner of the L-factor, saw her short hair, she knew exactly what Gita needed. Custom designed hair pieces for Gita to wear in her hair. Gita knew she didn't want a veil, so Gina create an adorable feather hair piece with vintage jewelry. To add some color for the reception and work with the weddings theme she made a poppy hair piece with vintage jewels accented with red feather detail.

The Feather hair piece was inspired my Gita's amazing dress. Jessi, Gita and I met up at Madeline's Daughter, an elegant bridal shop in Portsmouth New Hampshire. The owner Elizabeth Dirom assisted Gita personally and pulled dresses that fit her skin tone and figure. When we found the Pronovias gown, Jessi and I stopped. Gita loved it but was worried it may be too modern. She wanted to ask Aron, but we all vetoed that! We made Gita put on some shoes and walk around the shop. When she felt how it moved on her she knew it was her dress. We all laughed until we cried watching Gita prance around the shop, introducing herself to people saying, "hello, this is my wedding dress!" It was such a special moment for Jessi and I as we are not normally apart of the dress decision making.

We Knew we want to add some color to showcase Gita's beautiful skin tone. That when the amazing Sandi Mckeen stepped in. She custom designed a bolero in a marigold yellow. The color matched the wedding theme as well as kept her warm. Sandi has been making custom pieces for over 20 years and never advertised. Her work speaks for itself and she is in much demand.

Serjeo, of Boston, met Aron and Gita when Aron got Gita's engagement ring from him. They became friends and when Serjeo heard about the project he wanted in. He donated Aron and Gita's custom wedding bands, but also made a gorgeous necklace and earrings for Gita to wear the wedding day. The bridal jewelry was all diamonds set in platinum. It was so perfectly simple yet stunning. It didn't take away from Gita's dress or bolero merely pulled the entire assemble together.

When it came to Shoes, we told Gita she could use this to express herself and comfort. Her response was knee high black boots and white sweater tights. When she showed me what she was going to wear, I was thrilled. Gita always gets cold so this did double duty, an awesome contemporary look that would keep her warm.

Gita looked amazing. Photos credit goes to the RWM Photography team

Audra Photography
David Murray
Michelle Turner
Stacey Kane

The Little Details

When you ask a guest from a wedding what they remember about an event, it is usually the little details. The thoughtful things a bride and groom do to make their guests more comfortable. We really put a lot of effort into the details for Aron and Gita's wedding. To keep the guest comfortable during a chilly outdoor ceremony, we had lap blankets for the guest to use during the ceremony. As soon as the ceremony was over we had hot apple cider waiting for guest to take the chill off. Snacks and entertainment are always important and we had popcorn and candy for guest to nibble on along with the Delicious hors· d'oeuvre by Silver Tureen. (More to come about the incredible and unique meal.) As well as a photo booth from Maine Photo Booth Co.
The Signature drinks were a blueberry martini, a nod to Maine, and a Chocolate Martini, a nod to the bride and groom, professed chocoholics...
These Simple gestures to your guests do not go unnoticed. Also, these details are a great way to continue to make your wedding personal and continue your theme.

The top picture is a detail I want to highlight. These are custom cufflinks made by CHART metalworks,Charlotte Leavitt, Jeweler. Charlotte makes custom cufflinks using nautical chart maps. They are amazing quality and a great detail. Our were made with French's Point, but you can choose anywhere on the water. It is a great gift for groomsmen or for the groom. Each set can be different, including each link. So, you could have where you got engaged on one link and where you got married on the other.

These are the details that makes your wedding unique to you as a couple as well as to your guests. It can be summed up by an old adage "God is in the details" Meaning - Whatever one does should be done thoroughly; details are important.

Inspiration becomes Reality, The Reception

Photos By The Real Weddings Maine Team
Audra Photography
David Murray
Michelle Turner
Stacey Kane

Inspiration Board for The Reception

When it came to the Reception, we knew we wanted to celebrate Gita's Indian Heritage. That beginning said, we wanted a modern version of the Indian Wedding. This is for two reasons, first Gita's family is of the 1% of India that is Catholic not Hindu. Therefore, a lot of the traditions in the traditional Indian wedding are not applicable to Aron and Gita. Also, Aron and Gita are a modern couple, we wanted them to have clean lines to their design. When it came to color, we wanted the base color to be different, we decided on Slate Grey after elephant skin. Elephants are native to India, in fact at Gita's family home in India they have pet elephants. We also wanted to give Gita her favorite color, Marigold. To find a complimentary color to marigold we wanted a red. However, not your typical red. That is when the Poppy was discovered in a side dish we liked, poppy red. When investigating in the poppy flower we learned it was a symbol for Veterans. That seemed too perfect and we knew the modern design and meaning behind the poppy it was our continuing theme in the decor.

The Poppy~ It was EVERYWHERE!! It started again with the invitation by Ross Corttrell Designs. He hand cut a modern poppy in a beautiful poppy red paper. It was applied to a crinkly grey paper that was designed to look like elephant skin. When Ross found the paper and showed Jessi and I, we literally jumped up and down. It was simply perfect. We then had poppies in all the accents. Paper poppies like those given by veterans were made and then used as the escort cards. The Cake had an Amazing Hand Made gum paste poppy on it, made by Let Them Eat Cake. The two lounge areas had Poppy Pillows by Pottery Barn. Maine Photo Booth Co. Custom wrapped their photo booth with a poppy design on a slate grey background. The Place setting cards and Table numbers were made by Ross as well and had a screened poppy on the paper with an overlay of the name or number in slate grey. Finally, Gina Leonard, co-owner of the L factor, custom made hair pieces for Gita short hair. The Reception piece was a poppy with vintage crystal accents in the center.

Marigold~ The Program for the Ceremony was in a Marigold Yellow paper with a screened poppy in the background, as well as many of the flowers and garland made by Judy of Flora Fauna Designs were Marigold in color. However the "piece de resistance" was the AMAZING custom marigold bolero! It was made by clothing designer Sandy Mckeen and it was out of this world gorgeous. Marigold looks so sensational on Gita's skin and it kept her warm as well.

Slate Grey- The Elephant Skin inspired grey was in the Paper for the invitation, escort cards, and the amazing Silver Fortuny table linens from Over The Top Rental .

Inspiration becomes Reality!

All Photos are credited to the Real Weddings Maine Team
Audra Photography
David Murray
Michelle Turner
Stacey Kane

These images are why I love my job. Making a vision a reality

~A Collaboration of Design~ Part 1 The Rehearsal Dinner

The Inspiration:


When beginning the Design Process for the Rehearsal dinner, the Design Team that consisted of Jessika, Judy and Myself, knew two things. First, we knew the the rehearsal dinner was going to be a lobster bake and we didn't want the traditional checked table clothes and a red color scheme. The second point is we wanted to pay tribute to Aron and Gita's film making. When in Boston, Jessi spied a custom fabric that had a vintage 1940s feel. It was an ivory based with slate grey and brown lobsters embroidered. That became the base of the Rehearsal color scheme. With the lobster bake fabric having a vintage feel, that became the over all feel. A "movie/old Hollywood" theme. I truly believe that the details is what makes a design exceptional. Did we do Details. It started with the invitation designed by Ross Corttrell Designs. It was a mechanical piece that looked like a movie ticket. When the guest pulled on the sides it opened up to show the event information, black and white photo booth pictures, courtesy of Maine Photo Booth Co., as well as a "tear off" RSVP. It is so fun to be apart of the "Baking" process for this invitation. Ross, is an amazing designer. You can throw anything to him and he can figure it out. He calls it "Baking" and he is one incredible Baker.

To keep the vintage feel we had a vintage candy buffet with candy donated by NECCO candy company. With Dots and Clark bar, Mary Janes, and Necco displayed for guest to munch on. We also had a Popcorn Buffet donated from Coastal Maine Popcorn Co. We had an variety of six flavored popcorns from Pumpkin Pie to Salt and Vinegar. My favorite was the Chocolate Coconut Popcorn....so good. Entertainment is important and allowing your guest to participate in aspects of the event. The Company Mainely Kettle Korn came to the rehearsal dinner and made their homemade Maple Sugar Cotton Candy. The Guest got to watch the entire process. They also were able to get photos in a vintage photo booth from Maine Photo Booth Co.