Who inspires you? :: A week of inspiration

I recently received the sweetest email from Sierra of Romeo Envy on Etsy. She just opened up her new Etsy shop, which sells lovely jewelry at very affordable prices. I hope she doesn't mind me mentioning, but she had been following the twigs & honey blog this past year and was inspired to start her own shop! I've received some of the nicest emails and convos from many brides and aspiring entrepreneurs. Thank you to everyone and keep them coming. It really makes my day to read all your heartwarming stories! I think that with the state of the economy today, it is really great that people are turning toward crafting, the arts, and hobbies! It's even greater to hear that people are supplementing their income through crafting/creating/designing or taking the plunge and becoming their own boss/home business. Doing what you love and being able to make a living or extra income on the side can be very empowering. Also, supporting crafters, artists, and designers is wonderful and gratifying in its own right!! I love finding those one of a kind pieces, made by the hands of some talented individual near or far and not too different from myself or my complete opposite.... awesome! Doesn't it feel great to create and to support those who create?? I'm not going to make this blog my political soapbox, but I do want to say that I think small businesses are such an important part of the greater picture. I love seeing all sorts of talented people succeed against current projections and trends. Every little bit can truly make a difference. What goes around comes around. Have you hugged a crafter, etsian, artist, designer today?

So I thought of doing a slightly different week of blog posts next week. Sierra's email got me to thinking. There were many individuals who inspired me to both start twigs & honey and make the career shift from employee to self-employed. I thought it was about time I share with everyone else who those fabulous people were! I'll do a post a day about an aspect of the twigs & honey business and the individual that provided me with the inspiration and push. Check back all next week!

Happy Weekend! Old photo of an Ann Wood Handmade bird. Longing for warmer days...

Snap! Girls TV "The Pilot Episode"

Our friend Dave Bettencourt told us about a sweet little video camera called the Flip Video. I purchased one the next day... and set about my evil plan for torturing Trish and Melissa, and hey, while I'm at it... all the other vendors at weddings too. Why not? I know you guys love seeing the behind the scenes photos... so now you can see us in live action too. I shot this movie at Karalyn and Erik's wedding. Plan on seeing a lot more of these.

Lights, Camera.... Action!

Karalyn and Erik at Belle Mer Part 3 - The Party!

It feels like we have had a whole day of fun already (because we have!) but we've got an entire evening of good times ahead... Karalyn and Erik wanted to get a peek at the ballroom before anyone else, so we snuck in first for the big reveal!

Beautiful!

Here's Belle Mer's Stuart... he's making sure Karalyn is a happy camper. She definitely is!

Karalyn strikes a pose with Pam of PDR Events... the lady behind the scenes.






How would you describe this arrangement? Sparkles, Crystals, Wintery sticks, Giant white flower poms... Semia has outdone herself here.









Melissa was photographing the details... but here's Trish muscling in for the shot.









Love the feathers.

I wanted to keep this big sparkly M for myself. Karalyn might have noticed it missing from the top of the cake though. I think Trish and I have got all the angles on the cake covered here.

As if her day wasn't perfect enough... Karalyn also gets a killer sunset. We ran outside for some quick sunset shots.

...and then of course the Blue Light...

Ta Da!

These folders are for the photolounge pics... Melissa is feverishly printing them out and setting them out for the guests to pick up.

The band was excellent... Beantown Band. If you are looking for a band- make sure to check these guys out.

Erik gives Karalyn a little spin around the dance floor...

Whew! The evening is flawless- thanks to Pam's team and the stellar staff at Belle Mer.

Sweets...

That's Erik in the middle of the dance floor- who knew he had such awesome moves! I've never seen anyone dance so skillfully to Billie Jean before (except maybe Michael himself).

A little "Living on a Prayer"... and Karalyn playing the guitar.

The End!

K & E, Thank you, thank you, thank you for making us a part of such a fun day! Can't wait until you get back from Hawaii so we can talk about it all! Hope you love the photos so far, there's a lot more where that came from!

Friends and Family of Karalyn and Erik, if you want to receive an email when all of their photos are ready to view on Pictage, click here, and register.

Beautiful! :: Amy & Sean's wedding photos :: Paul Rich Studio

I'm up late as usual and while visiting Paul Rich Studio's blog, I was so excited to see some of Amy & Sean's wedding photos! They turned out beautifully! I wasn't expecting them up so soon, so it was a great surprise. I think the rest will be up after all the post production work is complete, but some of their favorites are up and you'll have to check out there blog to see the rest and to see all the other lovely pictures from these talented photographers! Here are a few that are just too lovely for words:

I love this photo. My mom looks so cute. It's very creative photography too. My mom and I were actually standing behind my sister in the bathroom, and the photo is showing our reflection in the bathroom door's mirror. At least I think that's what I'm seeing. My head hurts thinking about it. ;)

Photo credits: Paul Rich Studio

Major Etsy shop update!

I finally wrangled a bunch of pieces together and have completed an Etsy shop update. I listed 7 new pieces! Here are some of my favorites:

This piece is similar to the one worn by Holly. I received a ton of inquiries about it after her lovely wedding to Mario was posted on Snippet and Ink.

You must view more photos at the photographer's blog. Her dress was done by Elizabeth Dye!
Photo credits: Jonathan Canlas

Enjoy!

Karalyn and Erik at Belle Mer 2.21.09 Part 2

Karalyn and Erik really wanted some fun photos that felt like "Newport", and I really wanted to give them what they wanted. I was a nervous wreck the whole week fretting about the weather... but Karalyn lucked out. We had a gorgeous day, the sun was shining and the wind was blowing a little, but not enough to keep us inside. When Karalyn and I met a few weeks ago she assured me that she was up for anything for photos. She said I had free reign to drag her all over Newport... okay Karalyn, be careful what you wish for... We started at Salve Regina in Newport, I love these big ornamental gates.

Romantical...

You can't have enough smooching...

Next we head right down the street to 40 steps on the Cliff Walk. I love this spot, but it's tricky... sometimes the light is all wrong- and then there's the problem of tourists- not today! The sun was in just the right spot and we had the place to ourselves.

There's that breeze- it's working for us though!

Where are we?!






Trish is coming to the rescue... Karalyn forgot her bouquet at the top.







Karalyn was very brave and went off roading a little here- not too easy in heels, but she was giving it 110% as she says... it pays off!









Nice of you to join us Erik.

Here's Trish and Mike Picard getting the shots pictured above... I am not sure what's going on in this other photo- it's pandemonium, I like it though. Who is Erik trying to catch here? Me? Karalyn? Both of us? I think we are both in trouble if we slip. Oh- and what is Melissa doing? Catching Erik? This has disaster written all over it.

Karalyn loses the shoes to make it back up the steps...

Pretty dreamy.

Karalyn had some fun sunglasses stashed away- I am picturing her wearing them now on the beach in Hawaii.

Fun.

Next stop... Bannister's Wharf. Doesn't get much more Newport than this.

Every time I am down here I find a new spot. I love this little dock. It's so New England.

This is Trish's shot. She's pretty tricky, I didn't even see her doing this photo. That's the fun thing about shooting together, when we get back to the office and look at the photos there are all these unexpected perspectives... Love it!

This photo was Karalyn's idea, she liked the sign. Good idea!

Heading back to Belle Mer, it's party time!

2 more photos with yours truly. I love the bottom one with me and my bride buddy.

You think that was fun!? You haven't seen anything until you've seen Belle Mer transformed by Semia! The sparkle factor is going to hurt your eyes (in a good way!) Stay tuned for Part 3 On Saturday!