Last Sunday, we had the pleasure of doing Vincent Robert’s First Communion Party. The ceremony was held at St. Anthony’s of Padua in East Northport and the party at Matteo’s in Huntington Station, a fabulous Italian restaurant, by the way. Vincent is the adorable 7 year old son of Diane and Rob Pavese who were one of our “old” married couples celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary on May 18, 2001! So congratulations once again, you guys. Vincent is such a ham for the cameras, we had a blast photographing him and his relatives and friends. We began our day at the church, where he was one of about 25 children making their First Communion that day. Although the church frowned on having professional photographers there, we did manage with our long lens to capture a few at the actual ceremony. Just look how beautiful the church looked with it’s spring trees in full bloom…
Our little guy arrives!
Diane and Vincent greet their families…
Here he is….
I am so glad that they still do this…..as we were waiting for Vincent’s arrival at church, both Rich and I were reflecting on our own First Communions. How it would be a special day and all your families would come. There was one day at Catholic school whereby they would invite all the moms up to purchase, for the girl’s, a little white pocketbook complete with a scapular, a little picture book missal, a little gold pin and a rosary bead in white. For the boy’s, it was the requisite bow for the arm, the same gold pin, a scapular, a black rosary bead and a missal! Boys could either wear a white or navy suit. Girls had their gorgeous white dresses, which at the time were to the knee, not the elaborate tea length dresses that you see now, but gorgeous all the same. It was the first time, you felt like a mini-bride! So Vincent is no different, here in his three piece white suit! So handsome, I might add….
The family, (from left to right), Rob, Diane, Vincent and Rob’s other son, Matt.
Diane and Vincent, they are so close. She is a fabulous mom in every way and you can tell Vincent adores her….hope I am on hand to see their “dance with the mom” dance, when Vincent gets married LOL…..as I am sure Diane will be a “hanky” full of tears!
Rob, and his son….
The two brothers….
You’ve heard of the phrase “every rose has it’s thorn”, well here, “every rose has a poke”!!!
A guy’s got to get in a little “texting” you know….
First Communion in this church, is done in batches during the month of May at the noon Mass with the whole congregation.
Remember, making your felt banner? Well, they still do it! It designates where your family and friends should sit! I remember doing this with our kids!
Vincent and his classmates prepare to come in to their designated pews…
Diane and Vincent sitting in their pew…..communicants always sit on the end!
All done, let’s get ready to partaaaayyyyy……
Outside the church, a little conversation with Father on how good he did!
Let me just say here…..Diane did such a fabulous job with this party. I know of some weddings that aren’t as elaborate. She should seriously go into party planning. She leaves no stone unturned. Here, the table cards set out by the cigars, for the men!
Flower arrangements, baby boy blue hydrangeas, combined with white roses for purity and lilies, a sign of Easter and spring time, always associated with church and Christ!
There even was a signature drink for the adults! I should have asked what it was called so I will take the liberty here….maybe a little red to signify the “blood of Christ”, would be apropos!
Vincent’s official communion portrait…..
Vincent had his own personalized napkins….
Here and there, Diane personalized Matteo’s with little mementos of Vincent’s life throughout his seven years….it added a great touch!
Favors were all wrapped up with a pretty little bow and blue hanging rosary cross, First Communion hang tag, those darn Jordan Almonds (who if anyone knows me, knows I have a serious addiction to them!) and ….inside…..
a gorgeous china espresso set!
Yes, Diane did not forget a thing! Even in the bathrooms for this party, was a framed “Vincent” frame with a basket full of goodies, should the occasional necessity be needed!
At one end of the room, Diane had it decked out as an old fashioned candy store complete with banner and candy bar!
On the opposite side of the “candy bar” nook, was a backdrop with two men who would take a quick snap shot of you and then you got the chance to personalize it with a wide assortment of picture frames that you could then take your treasure home in! Seriously, Diane, did you not think of anything?
Our little guy, picked a football themed frame!
Matteo’s dining room where the whole catered affair happened…
Along side the kid’s table where Vincent sat, was a picture book from Vincent’s birth on up to the present….
I couldn’t believe the wide array of things Diane had purchased for the affair. On each child’s place setting, was a pack of crayons, markers, and personalized pens that Diane said Vincent just had to have, LOL, how cute! She then did up these little sheets which the kids filled out as a keepsake of the momentous day…
The guests were provided white goody bags complete with a sticker of Vincent’s day, in which to put all their candy and assorted treasures in!
A DJ provided the musical entertainment while his partner provided assorted face painting techniques on the willing participants. Tons of blow up props were handed out which did not go wasted on the young-in’s!
“Hey, where is MY guitar and microphone!”, said one little bystander….
“Very nice work”, as one of our guests filled in his sheet!
You just got to love a kid’s take on the day! Pretty good artwork, I would say….
Little Vincent listening to his proud dad give a congratulatory speech to his son. Rob told a cute story of how Vincent looks at things in life. He was home one day and was going to spend the day with Vincent. He thought he would pick him up from school take him to one of his favorite places, McDonald’s for lunch and all. So he goes to the school, picks Vincent up and says like any parent would, “Vincent, how was your day?” Vincent, unemotional, sits down in the car and replies “it was good, dad”! Then, hours later, much to Rob’s amazement as he goes through Vincent’s homework book, he finds a note from the teacher. On it, she writes “Vincent had to spend some time in the time out chair today…..for excessive talking!” Rob, concerned as any parent would be of hearing this news, thinks back to when he picked him up from school and his remark about how it was a “good day” and he was puzzled. Surely, if he had gotten in trouble, wouldn’t Vincent tell him. And, it wouldn’t be deemed a “good day”would it? So, he goes over to Vincent and tells him of the teacher’s note that he just found in the book and asks Vincent “Hey, I thought you said you told me it was a good day at school? I see you got reprimanded for talking too much in class, what gives?” Vincent, in his usual candid approach to things, replies casually to his dad “well it WAS a good day for ME!” Rob, said about his son, “he always looks at the cup half full, never half empty. He has a way of seeing things always on the bright side”. Yes, he does, Rob and Diane. And may he always keep that wondrous childlike quality that truly makes him special.
Some of our little guests who enjoyed the day immensely!
Vincent and his grandma!
Emilia, Vincent’s godmother and cousin to Diane!
Emilia’s daughter gives Vincent a little smooch on the cheek!
Our Godmother’s cute family….
Balloons always lend a festive air to a party…
During dinner, guests were treated to a slide presentation of Vincent’s life shown through his eyes with the love of family and friends…
Like I always say, what is a party without a little bling? In whatever form it might happen to take, LOL.
A bunch of the kids in a spur of the moment pic!
The gorgeous, did I say, GORGEOUS cake, Diane had made for the occasion!
Crumbs Bakery provided the delicious cupcakes in both vanilla and chocolate!
Hershey’s chocolate bars made an appearance on the candy buffet table.
Just look at all that goodness…
Snow globes with Vincent’s pic in them, anyone?
Now, I have seen personalized M & M’s before at weddings, but, never so many different designs at one time, LOL, really Diane, did you forget anything?
So many treats, just what shall I pick….
This little guy just seemed to be overwhelmed with the choices set before him.
Some children decided to paint their arms instead of their faces, all is good.
Mom gives a hand when it came to cutting the cake!
But, she just couldn’t resist getting a little sweet with Vincent!
Oh and you didn’t think you weren’t being served dessert besides the appetizers, tossed salad, seafood salad, three choices of pasta and the family served dinner, did you? Nope, along with your cake, you got a fruit plate AND ice cream and Italian cookie toasts! God Bless You Vincent, and thanks for giving us the privilege of capturing your fantastic day!
close post
. It is the place where we update our photos and tell you bits and pieces about our life with three kids. So, check out our galleries, drop us a comment (cause you know we just love to hear from ya) and, yeah, don’t be a stranger.
Diane Pavese: OH, my goodness! How beautiful are these photos! You really captured so many moments (half of which I missed as the hostess!) You caught the essence of Vincent's personality - thank you for being such a special part of our day! When we had to choose a photographer for this day, we thought of nobody else but the beautiful couple that captured our wedding 10 years ago! xoxo LOVE YOU GUYS!! GOD BLESS May 6, 2011 10:23 pm
megan: What a little angel! He looks so sweet, and his whole family looks like they were just glowing with pride! June 16, 2011 4:28 pm