Saturday, February 28, 2009

A Reunion


The coolest thing happened recently. I was attending a fabulous wine dinner with my husband at The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront when (during the cocktail hour) I saw a guy across the room that I sort of recognized. He looked back like he sort of recognized me. Anyway, eventually he walked by (with a woman) and when I looked at him, he stopped and asked: Are you Elizabeth Bailey? When I said yes, he said that I had planned their wedding 12 years ago! I had not seen them since the wedding. We had the best time catching up on 12 years worth of news, but most surprisingly, we all talked about the wedding like it had happened yesterday. We must have talked for an hour! We all remembered certain details and they said that even after all these years, their families still measure all weddings against the fabulous wedding of Lynn and John. It was so great to see them again and so rewarding to hear that they still recall their wedding with such happy memories.


So thanks to the kind invitation of catering staff at The Marriott, I was able to reconnect with a very fun, wonderful couple.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Virtual Martini with Anne Sachs

Let's Have a Virtual Martini with Anne Sachs of Sachs Photography.

Business Name:  Artful Weddings by Sachs Photography

Name:  Anne & Joe Sachs
Phone Number: 410.889.7854
Email Address: info@artfulweddings.com
Website Address: www.artfulweddings.com 

How did you get started in the business?
20 years ago, I met Joe who had a commercial studio in NYC.  I was working on a Art History/Russian Area Studies degree and would work with him in the studio at night.  Back then it was an 8x10 (large format camera), poloroid tranfers, tranparencies and running film back and forth to the lab.  Now it's all computers.  Not sure if that's a totally good thing. 

How would you describe your style?
Natural and Real.
 
What has been the highlight of your career to date?
We were hired to photograph a wedding on the Pacific Coast of Mexico at a tiny, beautiful eco-resort.  There were only 50 guests, thousands of turtles, lots of horses and the Spanish chef who made the most beautiful dinner parties on the beach.
What is your favorite part of the wedding day?
The toast.  I just love it when the bride and groom get to sit down and listen to the most heartfelt thoughts from their closest and dearest friends and family.  The warmth and smiles show what's really important in life.

What is the best compliment you've ever received?
This one from May 2008:  Photo after photo is one special moment after the other – not only do we think the images are wonderful, people have complimented your work like this: stunning, incredible, artistic, the most beautiful wedding photos they'd ever seen.  Undoubtedly, we enjoyed the end results, the photos, but we also enjoyed working with you. You were casual, friendly, and warm. After meeting you once, I felt I knew you for years!  Even my guests mentioned what a warm and friendly presence you had.  Others noted how you blended into the event and we unobtrusive while working.
When you travel, what is the one thing you cannot live without?
My camera

If you weren't a photographer, what would you be?
Too many things I'd love to be... I'd love to refurbish vacant townhomes in Baltimore City.  Some of the the structures are so beautiful and would make wonderful homes.  Or run a farm that takes in orphan cats, dogs and and any other four legged friend. 

Share a fun fact about your home life.
We have the cutest cottage studio in our backyard.  And our street has its own book club - the Newland Road Book Club. 

What was the last thing your purchased?
A new dining room table. 

Tell us some of your favorite places to shop both local and out-of-town.
Barneys on Madison in New York all, the cool home decor shops in Soho and Teuscher chocolates on 59th street.  I used to walk down to Teuscher for a lunch of their amazing Swiss chocolates.  Their hazelnut crunch truffle is to die for!

And we must know your favorite local restaurant.
That's tough there are too many.  A toss up between Petite Louis and the Ambassador.

Let's say you have a day off and you are able to do anything at all for 24 hours (money is no object).  What would the day look like and who would you be with?
Fly to San Francisco and spend the day photographing the red woods in Muir Park with my sister.

Share some of your favorite images from 2008:

Saturday, February 21, 2009

The Place to Be on March 1st


The hottest bridal show to hit Washington DC is happening on Sunday, March 1st at the magnificent Willard Hotel. The event is hosted by Engaged! Magazine.


Join fashion consultant and media personality, Clinton Kelly, best known for his warm humor and stylistic flair as co-host on the makeover reality show What Not to Wear, as he presents an interactive presentation with the audience of brides-to-be on What To Wear on the big day. Collaborating with the participating bridal salons, and featuring the designer gowns from these salons, Clinton will assist members of the audience in choosing the right wedding gown. For more information, e-mail: info@engagedmagazine.com.

Couture wedding gowns, incredible flowers, phenomenal photography, stunning cakes, dazzling jewelry, elegant linens and tabletops, melodious music, artful invitations, romantic honeymoon destinations, moving videography, and so much more. Your one-stop source for the finest wedding vendors.


The bridal show takes place from 11am - 5pm and tickets are $ 55.00. Visit http://www.engagedmagazine.com/ for more information.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Hot off the Press




We are proud to announce that one of our 2008 weddings has been published in the wonderful new issue of Engaged! Magazine. The stunning setting for the wedding at The Engineer's Club was captured by photographer Steve Canning. Thank you to magazine editor Doreen Tisone for featuring this wedding. Issues of the magazine are on the newsstand or stop by the office for a complimentary copy.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Greetings from the White House

A note of Best Wishes from the White House is the perfect accent to your wedding day scrapbook.  There are a few guidelines you'll need to follow to receive your note from Mr. and Mrs. Obama.

Include the following:
Name and Home Address of the Honoree(s)
Form of address (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr., Miss, etc.)
Exact date of occasion (month, day, year) your (the requestor's) name and daytime phone number)
Wedding (Include couple's married names and current or new address)

The White House will send a card of congratulations on your wedding by contacting the Greetings Office:

Fax:  202.395.1232

Mail:  The White House
          Attn: Greetings Office
          Washington DC 20502-0039

You must follow these guidelines:
U.S. Citizens Only:  The White House will send greetings to United States citizens only, for special occasions.

Advance Notice Required:  Your request must be received six weeks in advance of event date.  Greetings are generally not sent after the event date, except for wedding congratulations.

When to expect your greeting:  In most cases, greetings will be mailed from the White House approximately ten days prior to the event.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wedding Leftovers?

Just Married!  You return from your honeymoon you walk into your house - full of bliss and a little tired from traveling.  And then.  You see it.  It's the pile.

The pile of wedding gifts, extra ceremony programs, candles, cards, candle holders, a card box....

It's all of your cherished wedding things that now in a heaping pile in your living room.

Well, what are you going to do with all that stuff?  Some of it you'll keep (the gifts!) and some of it you want to pass along to another bride (or just get out of your living room).


There are a number of places to post your items online.

12 Too Many

Wedding Bee

Bride to Bride Boutique

FreeCycle.org

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

How Much?

You're having a party and you're making your shopping list.  You have everything for the menu figured out and now it's on to the bar.  You don't want to over buy and you certainly don't want to under buy - how do you figure out how much wine, beer, and liquor to buy?



A note of caution - don't use this calculator for your wedding or other large parties.  Ask your caterer or bartender for advice.

Monday, February 16, 2009

more than the Wedding March

Selecting ceremony music can be a difficult process.  It's usually not music that most of us are all that familiar with and decisions are usually based on what we've seen at past weddings.

MyWeddingMusic.com has samples of each piece and you can purchase the songs to hear them in their entirety for just 99 cents.  They even have them broken down by suggested places within the ceremony - processional, recessional, preludes, etc.  You can even download sheet music for your musicians!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Virtual Martini with Arthur Remanjon

Let's have a Virtual Martini with Photographer Arthur Remanjon
Business Name:  Arthur Remanjon Photographers
Name:  Arthur Remanjon
Phone Number:  410 366 2500
Email Address:  weddings@remanjon.com
Website Address:  www.remanjon.com 

How did you get started in the business?
Fifteen plus years ago, I borrowed a vintage wedding dress and had my two very attractive friends play bride and groom for my first, albeit staged, 'wedding shoot'. Having none of my own, I borrowed decent camera gear from the art school I had recently gone back to. I then proceeded to shoot the only way I knew how and that I thought I was any good at - which was in  an  edgy 'street-style'. Little did I know way back then that my 'style' would soon be called 'wedding photojournalism'. I had no idea what I was doing, but I did know, intuitively, what I thought looked 'cool'.  I finagled some large prints into a very high end bridal couture shop, where they were seen by some hip and sophisticated brides who had to know who the photographer was. I started getting calls right away.

How would you describe your style?
Highly creative wedding photojournalism coupled with classic portraiture. We can be very 'fashion forward' and edgy and we can also create strikingly serene, evocative and beautiful images. We're all about capturing  moments with a unique and original perspective. We're like heat seeking missiles for emotion and passion.

How many people are part of your company?
Three full time with several second shooters. We are one of the few studios to have an award winning designer, in-house, and who is completely devoted to creating absolutely original and breathtakingly beautiful album designs. Everyone working at or for the studio has a degree from a top rated art school.

What has been the highlight of your career to date?
There have been many, however, Lindsey's and Christopher's New Years Eve wedding extravaganza that we created images last year at The Hippodrome Theater, as well as Betty and Jarret's wedding at The Walters Museum of Art , are two of my absolute faves.
Both were orchestrated by Elizabeth Bailey Weddings and were an amazing realization of the very best in designs by the very best vendors in the biz. That, coupled with the great personalities of the bridal couples, their wedding parties and the families, made for intensely pleasurable, visually rewarding experiences.

Give us your favorite wedding or event planning tip.
Plan intensely, but absolutely let go on your wedding day. Leave plenty of 'wiggle-room' for added time due to traffic and the inevitably unplanned for little glitches. Rely on the years of experience of your wedding planer and vendors.

What is your favorite part of the wedding day?
I love the 'getting ready' part, where our bride, surrounded by those who love her, suddenly sees herself transformed into the vision she has dreamt about. Those are powerful moments.

What is the best compliment you've ever received?
I've been told that when the bride (and oftentimes the groom and families) saw their wedding images for the first time, they were so overcome by the emotional power and beauty of the images, that they wept. You can't get a better compliment than that. Makes my heart sing.

When you travel, what is the one thing you cannot live without?
Well, I do love my electric toothbrush....

If you weren't a photographer, what would you be?
Actor (my first love), dancer, vocalist, painter

Share a fun fact about your home life.
I have two very large dogs, Marcel (mixed breed) and Riley (geriatric Airedale) who have seen me through the high and the low. They are my furry family and we take very long and rambunctuous hikes every morning and every evening. At night, just before I drift off to sleep, Marcel appears and put his muzzle on the bed until I give him a good scratching behind his ears.

What was the last thing your purchased?
A pair of wooden tongs. My girlfriend was appalled when she saw me using a kitchen knife to extract toast from the toaster.

Tell us some of your favorite places to shop both local and out-of-town.
Retroactive, a vintage store on Magazine Street, in New Orleans. I'm sure it's not the cheapest vintage store in town, but the owner, Joe, has amassed a great collection of 1920s -'70s clothes, hats, glasses, shoes and the best bric-a-brac! I do like Brooks Brothers as well. Its a little pricey but the quality is there.
And we must know your favorite local restaurant.
Woodberry Kitchen . Spike and his team do an amazing job and they do it consistantly. I'm 'tight' with the assistant manager there and he hooks me up.

Let's say you have a day off and you are able to do anything at all for 24 hours (money is no object).  What would the day look like and who would you be with?
I guess it would have to be New Orleans, where my folks were from and where I've spent considerable time. My companion would be the beautiful and sexy Margaux, with whom I am smitten. I'd first hit the streets with my camera , looking for eccentric denizens of The Big Easy, to shoot, and send Margaux off to explore the myriad and eclectic shops on Magazine street. We join up for lunch at The Gumbo Shop in the "Quarter", and where the barbeque shrimp are sublime. We'd then visit the Voodoo shop, have our fortunes told, take a carriage ride, go for cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe Du Monde. Then off to that amazing city of the dead, Layfayette Cemetary No. 2, in the heart of the Garden District, with its above ground tombs carved by Italian stone masons - truly a visual feast- followed by dinner at the deservedly famous Commander's Palace. That night we'd stay at The Royal Street Bed and Breakfast.

Share some of your favorite images from 2008.


Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!


Here's to a day filled with love, laughter,
and lots of engagement rings!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Movie Night?

If you're planning on staying home for Valentines Day, then you'll need to rent some movies.  Here are our favorite romantic movie suggestions.
Beth's Favorites:
Like Water for Chocolate
The Way We Were
Love Story
Moonstruck
Christina's Favorites:
Love Actually
The Notebook
The Princess Bride
Little Women
Say Anything
What are your favorites??

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Sweet Jam Filled Treat

Something sweet for your Valentine.  These sweet treats are a wonderful idea for your family, friends, or co-workers.

Jam Filled Valentine Cookies
Ingredients
Makes several dozen, depending on cookie size

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
4 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pale-pink or white sanding sugar (optional)
Petal dust in pink, orange, and violet tones (optional)
2/3 cup apricot or strawberry jam, slightly warmed (optional)

Directions

In bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture to mixer bowl, alternating with buttermilk, until combined. Wrap dough in plastic; chill until firm, 1 hour or overnight.

To color white sanding sugar, if using: Place a few tablespoons in a small bowl. Mix in petal dust with a toothpick, a bit at a time, until desired shade is reached. Colored sanding sugar will last indefinitely.

Heat oven with two racks centered to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On lightly floured surface, roll chilled dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut out hearts using any 1- to 3 1/2-inch heart cookie cutters. If desired, cut centers out of some hearts. Transfer with spatula to baking sheets. Chill for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if using. Bake until just golden but not too brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack. Continue with dough; reroll scraps.

To make sandwich hearts: Brush bottom heart lightly with jam; cover with a second heart with center cut out; jam will adhere hearts. Fill cut-out area with more jam. Cookies will keep, in an airtight container, at room temperature for 1 week.

recipe and image from MarthaStewart.com

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Hot Date, Hot Dress

Whether it's your first Valentines as an engaged couple, married couple, with a baby, or your 25th Valentine's Day together - you want to look your best and feel great.
BCBG Max Azria Strapless Floral Silk Dress
$338 from Nordstrom
Lauren by Ralph Lauren Faux Wrap Matte Jersey Dress
$140 from Nordstrom
Maggy London Sleeveless Silk Dress
$148 from Nordstrom

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Give the Love

Valentine's Day Gift Inspiration.  Think beyond chocolates and roses.  Diamonds are still always appreciated.
5 Nesting Heart Dishes from JDWolfePottery $90.00
Heart IPod Case from FernFiddleHead $8.00
Lovebird Brooch from PrinceDesignUK $21.00
Peanut Butter and Jelly Valentine from OhSusana $3.50

Monday, February 9, 2009

Cupcake Love

Heart shaped cupcakes?  Yes please!


Crown Heart Cupcake Pan $24 from Williams-Sonoma 
you'll only find it online so order quick!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Virtual Martini with Rennie Friedlander

Let's Have a Virtual Martini with floral designer Rennie Friedlander
Business Name:  Simply Beautiful Flowers


Name:  Rennie Friedlander
Email:  renniefriedlander@msn.com
How did you get started in the business?
For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to work in a flower shop -  I graduated with my degree in fine art and worked a few years for a few of my favorite retail and wholesale florists. I also spent a few years in public relations and advertising.  Simply Beautiful Flowers began in 1992 - and the shop opened in 1995.

How would you describe your style?
I would describe our style as natural, gentle, soft and feminine.  We are capable of achieving any style - but if given free rein - we go for a luxurious abundance of extraordinary flowers!  We like to arrange flowers in a way that their unique beauty can be appreciated - relaxed and unmanipulated.

What has been the highlight of your career to date?
Highlight of my career is the joy of working so closely with so many lovely people.

How many people are part of your company? 
Our company is a family affair - my husband, Brian, is also my business partner, my mother and father are both accomplished artists and frequently take part, a full-time designer and store manager Jan Baker, full-time floral processor, Thelma Smith and the area's absolute best and most accomplished freelance help for our wedding and event work

Give us your favorite wedding or event planning tip.
Favorite wedding planning tip - invest in a wedding planner - create a timeline - and once the wedding begins - no more stressing over anything -- just enjoy all your friends and family
What is your favorite part of the wedding day?
"I do" and the kiss

What is the best compliment you've ever received?
Best compliment is repeat business and referrals

When you travel, what is the one thing you cannot live without?
I need my Visa, cell phone, comfortable shoes and a positive outlook

If you weren't a floral designer, what would you be?
I'd still be a floral enthusiast - so maybe a teacher, photographer, painter, author or speaker on flowers and nature's gifts of beauty
Share a fun fact about your home life.
We live across the street from the shop and get to bring our sweet dog, "Archie" to work.
What is the last thing you purchased?
Flowers for tomorrow's work.
Tell us some of your favorite places to shop both local and out-of-town.
My heart beats fastest on 28th Street in NY (the flower district) and locally,  I love my floral wholesalers, Wegman's and Nordstrom.

Share some favorite pictures from 2008.
images from Philip Weber for Arthur Remanjon 

images from DavidMichele.com 

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Cute Shoes!

All of your bridesmaids are very different people - that's why you love them.  If you're set on the idea of having them in the same dress - why not give let their personalities shine on their feet!

This image from Mrs. Coconut on WeddingBee  

And how cute are her yellow shoes!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Make It Work: Guest Book

You decided what kind of guest book you want and now it's time to put it to you.  It's super important to you and you can't wait to read all of those little messages when you get home from the honeymoon.

Now:  Make It Work (thank you Tim Gunn!)

1.  Placement:  Position the guest book near the bar guests will use during the reception.  It can also be placed near the bar at the cocktail hour, but remember that's one hour of time for all of your guests and they will be busy chatting during that time.  For the best results have it available at both the cocktail hour and the reception.  Placement near the bar is key.  It's where people congregate and wait in line for a bit so they'll have plenty of time to write you a special note.

2.  Supplies:  Have plenty of pens, paper, and any other supplies needed to create your guest book.  Make sure the pens are acid free and that they have a pretty cup to sit in.

3.  Height:  Use a high-top (high boy, elbow) cocktail table with a pretty linen.  The higher table will ensure that guests don't have to bend over to write.  That means their backs won't hurt and they'll spend more time with you on the dance floor.  The small size of the table (30 or 36 inches) will provide the perfect amount of space.

image from artfulweddings.com