The Toast: for N&D

Nathaan and Dorothy got married this past weekend in Crested Butte, CO and my darling sister Dominique and I had the honor of giving them a toast.  

On Meeting Nathaan: From Gretchen’s Perspective

The first time we met Anjuli and Nathaan was at thanksgiving at my Tripathi cousins, but the first time I met Nathaan in Middlebury was on a bleak weekday evening as I was walking home from school.  He and his roomate pulled down the dead end street I took as a short cut home and nothing short of scared the living daylight out of me.  See for Nathaan, this method of getting in touch with me was far more logical than sending me an email later that started with “Hey Gretchen I saw you walking down the street earlier”.  Once I got past thinking I was going to be kidnapped or worse, and saw the situation for what it was: two scruffy-faced freshman boys in their pajamas, I was able to agree to go to dinner at Middlebury College with Nathaan the following Thursday.

Over the next few years we made a ritual of our Thursday night dinners.  And the dinner wasn’t always the highlight of the night.  A typical dinner was followed by assorted antics from pretending Domi was a little lost child in the dorms to massive snowball fights with his teammates in Ross. 

On meeting Dorothy: From Dominique’s perspective

On one particular Thursday in January of 2007, Nathaan picks Gretchen and I up as usual.  He informs us that it is breakfast for dinner at Atwater. For a 12 year old, collosal waffle sundaes with every topping known to man are the coolest thing ever. (sorry mom).  On our way to campus, Nathaan hands me three dollar store plastic roses and tells me to pick one.  I think oh that’s sweet and I avoid the one with ripped leaves and the offcolor red and I pick the best one.   As we pull in in front of the German house I’m thinking, what is Nathaan up to this time.

“Go in and find Dorothy and give her that rose” he tells me.

So I walk up the steps, crack the door, and yell “Dorothy??”

“In here” from around the corner

This is a college house, this is COOL, I’m thinking to myself as I walk around the corner to the kitchen and see this tall pretty blonde girl cooking.

“Are you Dorothy?” I inquired and she nodded.

I scamper over, hand her the rose and hightail it out of there which was my normal escape route in these sorts of shinanigans and hear her say “thanks! You’re cute!”

I run out the front door, flash Nathaan a thumbs up and jump in the car with my one track mind set again on waffles.

G: Meanwhile Nathaan is just sitting smiling in the front seat. Roses are legit… so I start to inquire about this Dorothy girl.  She speaks German… that’s cool...I also speak some German, she's from Colorado too and she’s an alpine skiier- badass. By the time Domi comes flying out of the house with her curly hair bouncing everywhere I am pretty jealous I wasn't cute enough to be sent in with the rose to meet Dorothy.

D: So that was seven years ago, and I’ve grown seven inches taller and over the years that tall pretty girl who was Nathaan’s friend has become the short pretty girl who I am honored to call my friend, and thanks in part to the cuteness of my 12 year old self, my family.

G: So today we’d love to give you these roses as a token of our love to you two as you enter this new chapter of your lives together. We love you and can’t wait for the adventures to come.

Maine Photographers Headshot Party 8.25.14

I had a fantastic time Monday night meeting these five incredibly talented photographers from Maine! We chased the light downtown and I learned a lot about posing my subject. We took so many photos it was hard to pick favorites, but here are a few I am particularly fond of.

It was a blast and I'm looking forward to the next one!

Here's a shot of me in action taken by the talented Kyle Burnell .