Vendor Series Interview No. 10, FloraLatte

I have worked with Emily from FloraLatte for some editorial photo shoots over the last few years. All I can say is, wow, what creativity and fresh ideas she comes up with. The first design I had her work on was for a Grace Ormonde photo shoot where I asked her to create a grapevine themed table arrangement that was at least 8' tall! Hanging candles, flowers, curly willow and lots of countless hours of labor later, we had ourselves a full page spread in a very well-known magazine!
I am very excited for Emily this year especially, as she has closed down her retail store to really concentrate on weddings and special events. Take a look at her website and enjoy the interview!


FloraLatte

Emily Herzig-Alberini




Examples of her work:














KP: What is your favorite part of the wedding process?

EHA: I love how everything comes together in the end – the fished product… My favorite moment is when I arrive at the flower market to hand pick the final flowers for the wedding arrangements. I feel such a rush of excitement. Looking around, the smells, the colors -- finding the perfect accents to coordinate with the colors of the bridesmaid’s dresses, or the centerpieces… Even with all the planning and predicting I do, nature never fails to surprise me with its perfect unexpected blooms. I love the return drive to the studio where I have time to visualize the arrangements I will make in my mind. I find myself really connecting to the flowers and the people that I am designing for during these final steps of the wedding process – that is where I am my happiest.



KP: What do you love most about your job in the wedding industry?

EHA: I love the people I meet. I love how quickly we build friendships, and how we connect for such a short but important moment in their life. Every client challenges me and makes me look at nature in new creative ways. I love all the different ideas I get to work from and all the amazing flowers I get to work with! I find working with people and nature on this creative level to be very uplifting.



KP: What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

EHA: The cost of flowers and the amount of time it takes to create the arrangements and details that make an event great. Although I don’t think you have to spend a lot to have beautiful flowers – there are many do-it-yourself ideas out there that I don’t think are very realistic for brides to actually do themselves.



KP: How did you get into the wedding industry?

EHA: Lifestyle. As a little girl my mother taught me to garden, grow flowers, make arrangements, and tie bows. She decorated the house for every holiday and always gave my sister and I a part in that. In high school I worked for an organic green house and nursery, and in college, although I majored in Human Relations, I had a part time job in a floral shop for those four years…The wedding industry found me there…



KP: Tell me one wedding vendor other than in your industry you highly recommend? Why?

EHA: Errr – there are so many great vendors I can’t pick just one… I enjoy working with Matt and Liz Hinkley of Hinkley Photography.



KP: Tell me one wedding vendor in your industry you highly recommend? Why?

EHA: I admire the work of Ariella Chezar. I think she is an amazing floral designer.



KP: Favorite wedding story- funny or serious

EHA: The morning of my and Dave’s wedding, Dave got a flat tire as he was coming to get me. The plan was for Dave to pick me up at the hotel on his motorcycle and we would ride slowly the few miles down the nice country road to our ceremony together… His tire went flat on the way, amazingly he hailed a taxi. It was ironic that the taxi that drove past on this in-the-middle-of-nowhere road was “Dave’s Taxi Company”. We arrived at the bridge where our outdoor ceremony was being held laughing hysterically, slightly embarrassed… Dave didn’t have his wallet in his pocket so on exiting the taxi he had to ask friends for money to pay for the cab… Everyone was laughing thinking that this was a big joke that we had planned. It’s a nice story too – as the story became told, Dave’s grandfather was famous for flat tires, and his mother saw this happening to be good sign for us...



KP: What other part of the industry would you not want to work in? Why?

EHA: I really love working with flowers and creative design, I’m not sure it is as much the wedding industry that I like but the creative opportunities that wedding design gives me. As much as a appreciate and admire the creative work that goes on in other areas of the industry, it is really the flowers that I am passionate about.



KP: What differentiates you from the rest of your industry peers?

EHA: Everyone is unique in floral design, each designer adds their own unique style and perspective. I am unique for what I bring to it – the types of flowers I use, the styles that I create, each arrangement is different, a custom design…I also personally select the flowers from the Boston Flower Exchange and other flower companies in New England, this allows me to be spontaneous and creative with the best flowers of the season (often from locally grown New England farms). I also think I do more than most florists in the wedding design process; I often help with linen selection, theme ideas, and more.

Vendor Series Interview No. 4, Signature Events

Amy Piper of Signature Events is a wedding and event planner in the Lakes Region of NH. She works with clients throughout the country looking for a New England destination wedding. The word on the street is she's also a very talented photographer... Here are a few photos of her work, take a look at her website, and enjoy the interview!

www.signatureeventsnh.com


Amy Piper











KP: What is your favorite part of the wedding process?

AP: I would say that my favorite part of the wedding process is seeing everything come to fruition on the day of the wedding. I find that I work with most brides for almost a year during the planning process and it is always so rewarding to see everything that we have worked on come together in the end.


KP: What do you love most about your job in the wedding industry?

AP: Well, certainly I love working with the people who are a part of the wedding industry as well as the clients. I value the friendships that have been formed with the majority of my clients over the years. I also love working with all of the details that come with planning a wedding or an event. As I always say, the more details the better!


KP: What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

AP: The biggest misconception I find is that a bride looking to have her wedding at a public venue versus at a personal, private property is much more likely to feel that she does not need to hire an outside wedding coordinator because she has been convinced that the wedding coordinator that works for the public venue is all she needs. Of course, this is truly not the case, so it always best to take a little time to educate a bride on the differences between our roles as wedding coordinators.


KP: How did you get into the wedding industry?

AP: Signature Events was formed with encouragement from friends who had seen my event planning skills and experience through the volunteer work I did for various organizations. They also encouraged me based on my ability to create a fine arts and crafts show that I ran out of my home for 8 years. A Gathering of Friends was a 2 day event featuring the work of over 35 juried artisans. Their comments to me were “you’re so good at what you do, why don’t you consider getting paid for what you do!”, and thus Signature Events was formed! I am excited to say that I am celebrating my 10 year Anniversary this year! In my business I actually plan not only weddings, but I also enjoy planning corporate events, themed events, golf tournaments, etc. I love the variety!

KP: Tell me one wedding vendor other than in your industry you highly recommend? Why?

AP: There are really so many wedding vendors that play an important role in the overall success of the day, but I would say SperryTents Seacoast. Their tents are not only beautiful, but also different from any other tent company in their quality of craftsmanship. The owner, Bancroft Potter, as well as the members of his staff and tent crew is professional, courteous and a pleasure to work with.


KP: Tell me one wedding vendor in your industry you highly recommend? Why?

AP: I love the work of Mary Dann. Her work is beautiful, sometimes simple, but always elegant.


KP: Favorite wedding story- funny or serious.

AP: I’ll probably never forget one of my weddings from last summer. It was right around the time of the tornado, so the weather had been pretty unpredictable. With the ceremony being on an island, we lucked out weather wise when it came to transporting all of the guests by boats to the island. In fact, we even got them back to shore safely for the reception without any incident of rain. But it seemed as soon as the last guest was brought to shore, the skies opened up for the remainder of the day! Before we knew it, a portion of the tent leading to the bar (of all places!) was under water. Luckily, the venue had several wooden planks that we used to create a bridge to get over the water. The father of the bride was awesome and despite efforts to persuade him that he should return to the cocktail hour and that everything would be fine, he pitched right in! With shoes wet and ruined, the father of the bride and I were barefoot for most of the evening! Despite the trials and tribulations of the weather, the bride, groom and their guests were in great spirits all evening. At the end of the evening, the father picked me up off the ground in a big bear hug and told me how grateful he was to me for such a wonderful day!
I drove the 45 minutes home soaked to the bone, but with a huge smile on my face!


KP: What other part of the industry would you not want to work in? Why?

AP: I am not sure there are any I love all aspects of the event planning industry. Anything that involves details and the planning of an event whether it is a wedding, corporate, special event, etc is right up my alley!


KP: What differentiates you from the rest of your industry peers?

AP: Speaking for myself only, I know that when a client hires me, I am dedicated to their every need during the planning process. I try to separate work from personal life, so that I have time for both, but quite often find myself working late in the office, answering phone calls or responding to emails at various hours of the evening and making myself readily available to my clients even in what should be my “off” hours. Also, I am not sure if other planners offer photography as an extra bonus when they are hired, but I do! I have had a love for photography since I was a little and as my gift to the bride and groom, I take as many photos as possible at their wedding (making sure not to interfere with the professional photographer, of course!). Over the years, I have received some great comments about my “eye” for photography from both my clients and from professional photographers. I find those comments to be so rewarding.

Vendor Series Interview No. 1, Claris Photography

I am starting a new series of blog entries, interviewing vendors in the industry I highly recommend and enjoy working with. We're starting today with Liesl Clark from Claris Photography out of Wilton, NH. Take a look at her website www.clarisphotography.com for more of her work. Here are a few of her favorite shots to take a peek at!

Liesl Clark










KP: What is your favorite part of the wedding process?

LC: I have always loved shooting the Bride getting ready. It is such a feminine, intimate and fun time of the day. It is something most women have done in one way or the other since they were little girls playing dress-up together so on a wedding day it's sort of the ultimate girl time. Also, this has given me an opportunity as a photographer to open doors into the Boudoir category of my business.


KP: What do you love most about your job in the wedding industry?

LC: I really enjoy working with people. If my photograph doesn't have a person in it somewhere, it just isn't as rewarding to me. I like the collaboration of a person working with me to make a shot really effective - even when that person is just having his/her moment and I am there to catch it........very rewarding.


KP: What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

LC: That Uncle Joe or Aunt Suzie can do the job as a photographer at the wedding just as well a pro could do. Couples get burned every time they try this concept in order to save some money.


KP: How did you get into the wedding industry?

LC: My husband and I combined our names (Clark and Harris) and our talent and started our business Claris Photography.


KP: Tell me one wedding vendor other than in your industry you highly recommend? Why?

LC: I can't say enough good things about choosing the right band. Music is a huge part of the wedding day and can spoil the atmosphere or pull it all together depending on the proper fit. My all time favorite Band/DJ/MC mix is Pure Energy (Johnny Kelly)


KP: Tell me one wedding vendor in your industry you highly recommend? Why?

LC: I like the work of Tom Gibbons out of Bedford.......His work sets a tone of beauty and grace. It has a calming effect on me when I look at anything he does - just classic.


KP: Favorite wedding story- funny or serious

LC: My favorite story involves pure catastrophe......It happened in the beginning of our photography career at a Greek wedding when my husband Richard and I worked together. I am not sure which is funnier now that I look back on it...him walking backwards into a dripping 12 candle candelabra while he was getting shots of the bride and groom leaving the church after the ceremony OR rear-ending the Rolls which also contained the bride and groom. If I could have fired him that day, I would have! (And that is the only mistake I will ever admit to!)


KP: What other part of the industry would you not want to work in? Why?

LC: Videography doesn't interest me at all. I have great appreciation for those in the business - but I love capturing the still moment that says it all.


KP: What differentiates you from the rest of your industry peers?

LC: I think I have an understanding that photography isn't just about taking good pictures. While it is the obvious most important aspect of my job there is so much more to it. Maybe if I worked for a studio just as a hired photographer it would be different..but I own my studio so if you hire a photographer at my studio you get ME. I start the process with you, communicate all through the planning stages, and end with you -providing great images. I feel it becomes a relationship - even as couples start having a family they come back to me. In a society where we drive through to eat, press buttons on the phone to get help from a computerized voice, and rarely get personal customer service, I see my studio as more of a connection with couples I want to do a great job for.....in a personal way.