Princeton, New Jersey. For many people, their first association with this location is Princeton University, the fourth oldest college in the United States and home to nearly 7,000 of the world’s smartest students. But Princeton is also a small town, (actually a township and a borough,) home to 17,000 residents nestled in an 18 square mile area. Only some of these families are associated with the University; corporations surrounding this semi-rural community draw many of the others here.

Debbie Tunnell is the mom in one such family. She relocated to Princeton from Texas with her husband and focused on raising two, young sons. A true Texan, her demeanor a model of Southern grace, she wryly observed that her family history was now interwoven with that of her new neighbors. Not that Debbie ever drew a mean-spirited breath, but her eyes made us laugh because they suggested that we Northerners had somehow sullied her credentials.

As her boys grew, Debbie combined a business Degree with her culinary passion to found, along with Dale Engelbert, Recipeas4U, LLC. This consulting firm plans and designs social events. They address everything associated with a gathering, from the theme of a party to how the venue is decorated. They pay special attention to the menu. In fact, Debbie develops many of the event’s dishes herself.

Dale Engelbert, a kindred spirit who had traveled up from North Carolina, redirected her attention from corporate communications to event production in support of Recipeas4U. The two then recruited Suzan Szymanski, a Princeton designer with a delicate touch and a love for paper, and the three set about publishing a coffee table book illustrating what they do best. That is when they reached out to me.

Dale was familiar with my food photography from Rats, an upscale restaurant at Grounds For Sculpture. Both Debbie and Susan had seen the advertisements I shot for the sculpture park. That work pre-qualified me. My home base as a Princeton photographer clinched the deal. Travel was not an issue, and I was conveniently available for impromptu photography sessions.

From the very beginning, this book was to be more than a cookbook. It was to celebrate the warmth of social gatherings in Princeton, and the style with which Princetonians open their homes to their guests. That generosity may also be present elsewhere, but in this book we would spotlight our small, Princeton community. This meant that we would also need other, visual accents to help establish our geographic setting.

I photographed The Princeton Battlefield Monument with daffodils in bloom, a bamboo grove in winter, and a local organic garden. I even photographed Princeton University students as they converged, zombie-like, late at night, upon their favorite eatery, Hoagie Haven.

The Recipeas4U team began to plan and produce events, most of which were fundraisers, and I photographed them. Then, unexpectedly, Debbie learned her husband’s business required him back in Texas. Her family would have to relocate. As Debbie pondered the significance of bringing her family ‘home’, she felt an emotional tug that revealed her roots had also been planted here.

That is when this book project turned into a love song. It was all of our work, but it was Debbie’s goodbye to the community that had adopted her. It was a longing gaze at what she would soon miss, and a gift of appreciation to those who would carry on. She filled the book’s pages with the poetry of hearth and palette. This book is an embrace of heartfelt gladness to have shared the company of friends.

We now saw our work in a different light. Each chapter of Sacred Spaces: Princeton Parties, Gatherings and Celebrations presents the team’s production of a different event. One was a candle-lit luncheon at Drumthwacket, the historical Governor’s Mansion at the South end of town.

Another was a fundraiser for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Not only was there a black-caviar treble clef on the caviar torte, but also members of the Orchestra’s string section performed on their Stradivarius instruments.

Artist Fay Sciarra hand painted each of the wine glasses that her guests took home as a remembrance of her soiree.

And Anne Reeves, the “talented town muse” and retiring Executive Director of the Princeton Arts Council, was fêted in a linen-draped country barn.

I did not know to solicit this assignment; it arose out of my being Princeton photographer. But this professional engagement evolved into a poignant learning experience.

Through Debbie I learned that there is more to any gathering than meets the eye. In photographing for Sacred Spaces I was absorbed into something subtle and complex. Like an inspired composer who painstakingly brings musical works to life, Debbie taught us to play her score. The performance we delivered was more than a momentary pleasure, for it was not music, but new memories, that flowed from our instruments.