Brothers-in-law Tom Borden and Gary DuBois opened La Cocina in March 1976. After expanding with an upstairs bar, La Cocina became the hippest place in town.
Back in the 1980s, Sandy McNay, my longtime friend and a talented photographer here in the Berkshires, asked if Iâd like to try my hand at shooting weddings. An avid shutterbug at the time, I happily agreed.
After Sandy put me through a thorough apprenticeship, I was soon on my own. In fact, between 1988 to 1998, I photographed well over 100 weddings. During that stretch, I met all sorts of folks, from storybook lovers to grumpy grooms and bossy bridezillas.
My first solo wedding was a doozy. First, to the brideâs home, where her Pomeranian never stopped chewing at my ankles. Next, a mad dash to the church where the preacher trumpeted his 11th commandment, âAbsolutely no flash photography during the ceremony!â He then relegated me to the choir loft. To my surprise, after the selfsame clergyman proclaimed, âYou may now kiss the bride,â the entire congregation below me blinded the newlyweds with a salvo of flashes that bounced off the rafters like disco