vendor tour: Peter Miles

Those of you who attended my grand opening had the pleasure of listening to the very talented Peter Miles. Known to his friends only as Miles, he recently relocated to Portland from Vermont, and is taking the city by storm with his fresh, honest sound, performing at favorite local venues during the week (RiRa and Bull Feeney's, to name a few) and is available to perform your wedding music on the weekends! I highly recommend Peter as your ceremony and/or cocktail musician. And his band, The High Road, performs at wedding receptions throughout New England.

Miles website: here.
Miles performance schedule on MySpace: here.
Order his new CD: Live, Life, Live here.
And, a few pictures from a recent stroll around the Old Port:

vendor tour: Puttin' on the Glitz

owner: Assiah Russell
address: 150 State Street, Portsmouth NH
website: www.puttinontheglitznh.com
phone: 603.436.5600

I first met Assiah last summer at Stefanie and Tom's wedding. Stefanie and her bridesmaids all wore Assiah's stunning jewels, each a beautiful combination of colors and sparkle. Assiah opened her darling Portsmouth shop three years ago seeing a need for women to have fun daily jewels with personality and pizazz not to be tucked away in a jewelry box. This upscale accessory store is a must-see on your wedding To Do list!

The tiny store, a jewel in itself, is located on State Street near Prescott Park.

The window display definitely caught my eye.

And inside, my mouth dropped. How small, yet how well stocked with stunning pieces.


The very glam, Assiah.

Assiah has such great taste and vision for her selections and display.






I met my mom June and stepfather Steve for a quick bite to eat, and to poke around the store.

Steve was trying very hard to get in the photos as mom tried on some necklaces. :)

We liked this one- casual and fun.

Looks nice, mom!

This cuff was a bit over the top (and weighed a ton!), but would be perfect for a formal night out!

I came home with something special to wear for my opening party. You'll just have to wait and see what it is!


Thank you, Assiah! We had such fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again in a few weeks!

vendor tour: Beautiful Days

owner: Kate Martin
website: www.beautifuldaysevents.com
email: kate@beautifuldaysevents.com
phone: 207.384.4703

Kate Martin is both a wedding coordinator and a flower designer. In addition to having an amazing creative eye, she's an all-around kind, warm, fun person who makes you feel like a friend the moment you meet her. Kate operates out of her fantastic South Berwick home (her husband is a very talented carpenter!), and more specifically for flower arranging: the garage.

It makes complete sense to arrange flowers in a garage to keep the flowers cool, even tho I know Kate isn't thrilled with the aesthetic look for this vendor tour!

When I visited Kate, she and her assistant Mimi were assembling mostly purple flowers for a wedding the next day.


Kate separates all of the flowers by type in these buckets.

She has a great workbench with all the necessary tools and ribbon, and shelves lined with various pots, vessels and candle holders.

Inside, Kate has an office for her coordination supplies and business general organization.


Kate and her sweet little boy, Wyatt!


Thanks for letting me take a peek at your workspace, Kate! It was such a treat to see you and explore the wide open spaces of South Berwick! See you at the opening!

vendor tour: bridal bootcamp

host: Fitness Revolution
address: 18 Lafayette Rd., North Hampton, NH
phone number: 603.964.2348
website: www.fitrev.net

All brides want to look their best on their wedding day. With bridal boot camp programs, like the one at Fitness Revolution in North Hampton, reaching those fitness goals is closer than you think! Fitness Revolution has launched an 8 week program that includes small group training sessions twice a week, nutrition counseling, a diet journal and motivational counseling. The cost is $559 and includes full use of the gym facilities! ** Click here ** to download the PDF for this program.

I had the pleasure of photographing a bootcamp training session and I was very impressed. I was exhausted from just chasing these ladies around as they exercised! While shooting, the weather changed from bright sunshine, to big raindrops, and then to dark and cloudy in the course of the hour. It was pretty wild!


This is Allison Quinlan, the bootcamp instructor.

The session began with stretching to warm-up in the parking lot.



And then a little jump rope to elevate the heart rate.

For 50 minutes, the students rotated from cardio to strength training exercises.





Allison timed every exercise.





Backwards running drill.

Walking push-ups.

Reach those toes!

Lift those backsides!

Crunches.

Sprint drills.

Overhead presses.

Squats.

Finished! Cooling down with some stretches.

Allison did a fantastic job!

Well done, ladies!

vendor tour: Signed, Sealed & Delivered

owners: Ellen Knipe & Lauren Watkinson
phone number: 207.504.6603
website: www.ssdinvitations.com
email: info@ssdinvitations.com

I met Ellen and Lauren a few years ago at Michelle and Jeremy's wedding and was immediately impressed with their talent and product. Unlike the major stationers, Ellen and Lauren custom design everything and oversee the process from start to finish. Several of my couples have used their services since and I continue to recommend Signed, Sealed & Delivered again and again. As part of the off-season's vendor tour, I thought I would take you to their Brunswick studio where it all comes together.

On a very cold day outside, Lauren's mug was sitting on the coffee table inside and it just felt too cozy and friendly not to include.

As prospective clients, you will be able to browse their portfolios.

Their designs are gorgeous, both letterpress and flat.

Aren't the textures of these papers scrumptious? These thicker papers are used to wrap programs and such.

You can also have your envelopes addressed. Ellen is a fantastic calligrapher.

The workspace. Lauren and Ellen were not keen on being photographed, so I tried to sneak when they weren't looking. ;)

Lauren's little boy, Christopher, was not as camera shy. He was eager to handle my camera.

The studio features some fun furnishings... neat metal chairs and a funky light fixture.

Fun purple seating!

Ellen was working on affixing custom seals to a save-the-date. Lauren and Ellen said that they discuss the wedding theme with their clients when trying to come up with the invitation design. This couple had chosen hydrangeas. Lauren and Ellen worked together to design the hydrangea and the matching papers from the save-the-date, rehearsal dinner & wedding invites, program, table numbers and place cards, thank-you notes, and any other paper needs the client might have. They stressed the importance of being consistent with the look for all wedding-related paper.

Some details in the space.

Thanks so much for being a part of the vendor tour, Ellen and Lauren! I look forward to working with you much more in the future!

vendor tour: Bei Capelli

owners: Melissa Vigue, Tiffany Conway and Nancy Cartonio
address: 450 Payne Rd., Scarborough ME 04074
phone number: 207.885.0888
website: www.beicapelli.com

I met co-owner Melissa Vigue more than a year ago while she was styling the hair of a bride for a wedding I was photographing (picture at left). I loved her sweetness immediately, her great sense of style (see the earlier post about the bangs she recently cut for me!) and her climb-to-success story. After agreeing that both of our business styles are very similar, it only made sense to start seeing Melissa as a client at the salon. As it turns out, she grew up one street over from my house, and now lives less than a mile from me, too!

Bei Capelli has been nominated for the Global Salon Business Award, a hefty honor that requires a seemingly college-like application process including essays and headshots. Melissa asked me to take the photos for their application. And so while this isn't necessarily a vendor tour, per say, mimicking a bride's visit to the salon, it still gives you an idea of the space and just how many stylists Bei Capelli employs. I hope to get back soon to take a more photojournalistic tour of the space for you to see just how fun- and relaxing- it is!

This is the team- owners, stylists and receptionists. It's a big staff! I also took individual headshots of everyone, but that's not too terribly exciting to see.

The owners (L to R) Nancy, Melissa and Tiffany

A little collage inside the salon showing the cutting floor, the "color cafe," the shop and the exterior. I love how the hairdryers hang from the ceiling!

If you're looking for a stylist for your wedding day, Melissa and her team are available to travel to your preparation location or you can visit the salon. I can't recommend these folks more, both from personal and professional experience! Good luck in the competition, Melissa!

vendor tour: Joya Beauty

owner: Joanne McDonough
website: www.joyabeauty.com
email: joanne@joyabeauty.com
phone number: 603.534.3412

Last month I had the privilege of receiving a soothing Vitamin C facial by Joanne, and I just knew I needed to return to experience her custom make-up application as well. And so, Joya Beauty in Dover, NH, is the first stop in my off-season vendor tour! I have had the pleasure of working with Joanne at several weddings, and am pleased to show you what it is like to meet with Joanne as a potential bride would. J came along today to document the make-up process, and while he was enjoying a thank-you facial, I snapped some details in the studio.

On to the pictures... Keep in mind (read: beware) there were no Photoshop actions used on these images to smooth my facial imperfections, pores, etc. It's the real deal.

A cool collage (pictures by Em).

This is Joanne and her adorable chihuahua Paloma (left by J, right by Em).

When you arrive, you'll enter through the sliding glass doors on the left side of the house. And this is what the inside of Joya Beauty looks like (by Em).

Without a stitch of make-up, I made my best pathetic "before" face to really show off Joanne's make-up abilities. And with an unflattering lens for added effect! Scary, huh? (This, and the next bunch of pictures are obviously all by J as I am in them).

As I wait in the chair with the bridal smock on, Joanne mixes up a mineral powder foundation to precisely match my skin tone (she also has liquid). Worth repeating, Joanne custom designs your make-up! It's not like visiting a make-up counter at the mall where you find a tone that closely (if you're lucky) matches your skin-type. Joanne's matches exactly!

Applying the powder foundation.

Checking it out- well done!

Joanne uses a tissue when applying the eye shadow- so in case any drops it won't mix with the foundation.

I adore Joanne's funky glasses, don't you?

Speaking of funky, J uses the fisheye lens for a little variety. Not sure how flattering this is, however.

Next is concealer.

And then mascara.



Finally, blush- and a smile. I'm beginning to look a bit more like my daily self.

Joanne combines a base, moisturizer, color, stain and shine (I might be forgetting something?) to create a custom lipstick.

Such a pretty berry color. And it has a scent of vanilla (you can select from several smells). Joanne then puts this in the microwave to melt for a few seconds before pouring into a wand for me to take home.

Getting prettied is serious work.

Joanne packages up the lipstick and foundation, and presses a sticker with her logo and "custom made" label (left by J, right by Em).

Voila! A much more pleasing view of me by J!

Thank you so much, Joanne! It was a pleasure to be girly with you for the afternoon. And thanks to J for capturing the experience (by Em).


If you're looking for a make-up artist for your wedding day, I encourage you to call Joanne asap (and if you're not yet convinced she's the best and would like to see more images from my day, email me and I will send you the link to an online gallery of more than 200 pictures). She also hosts small parties at her studio to create custom lipsticks and such with your girlfriends. And a gift certificate for any of her skin treatments would be a welcome addition under anyone's tree next month (speaking of, I hope you all had a relaxing, festive, loving Thanksgiving holiday!).

vendor tour

During the last few years, I have created a list of trusted vendors I share with my wedding clients based on positive personal experience from working with them. All are folks I have come to respect and admire in the industry and I recommend them to my clients without reservation knowing their style and personality match the same high quality I deliver to my clients.

Now that my regular season is over, I thought I might take you on a tour of these friends throughout my off-season in the event that you may still be vendor shopping or if you are planning your New England wedding from a distance and might not have the opportunity to visit prospective vendors shops, offices, salons, studios, etc.

The first tour is of Joya Beauty. Check back soon for pictures and my experience when I visited her home studio in Dover, NH.