Wedding Professional Chats

Business Name: Feastivities Events
Your Name and title: Meryl Snow VP
Phone: 215 475 3338
Website Address: www.feastivitiesevents.com www.offshootsdecor.com www.philadelphiaspicniccompany.com

blog http://feastivitiesevents.blogspot.com
Search Facebook: FEASTIVITIES, OffShoots, Philadelphia's Picnic Company
Twitter: merylsnows

How and why did you start in this business? My husband Andy & I have had extensive experience in the restaurant business. We grew tired of the same routine and looked further into the hospitality industry for a unique way to share our talents together. We decided that catering was underutilized and lacked a certain flair. That was twenty-two years ago and now our company has grown into a full service event planning, catering and decor organization.

Why do couples hire you? They don't hire ME, they hire the company and our team approach. A well orchestrated company that will make their vision a reality.

What is your favorite aspect of your job? Creativity. 'nuff said.

What is the strangest request you have gotten for a wedding? To keep the bride ' s parents away from the wedding ceremony. I was given photos of her parents in case they "crashed" the wedding. I hired secruity for the day . Indeed they showed up, and we had to escort them out. Strange.

Can you offer a piece of advice for couples? Weddings are extremely overwhelming . Often a bride may say, "I didn't see that! " Take a few moments to walk around, really look and obsorb the surroundings. The room, the floral, the food. Listen to the music. Couples spend months visualizing their event, now they need to experience it.

What is your Dream vacation? Rome. There is something there that I haven't experienced in other cities. The culture is laid back yet so exciting.

What is your favorite food item or dish? I have many... Experiencing modern cuisine is always a plus. Deep down it has to be my mother ' s stuffed artichokes with olive oil & seasoned bread crumbs. Simply fabulous!

What can’t you live without? My team. It takes creative forward thinkers to run a successful design, catering, picnic and planning company.

And your favorite quote? "In order to win the race you must run in it." Meryl Snow

Wedding Professional Chats

Douglas Benedict Photography
Douglas Benedict
610.217.6455
www.DouglasBenedict.com
Blog: http://douglasbenedict.blogspot.com/

I discovered wedding photography four years ago while I was working as a staff newspaper photographer. I photographed my first wedding for a friend of a friend and was hooked from the beginning!

Wedding photography offered everything I wanted in photography: beautiful and emotional imagery.

My years as a working journalist serves me well in wedding reportage. I am not interested in posing or forcing a lot of situations. I prefer to get out of the way and let couples have their wedding and photograph what I see in front of me. I love the real.

The best thing about my job - and this I didn't expect - was the wonderful relationships I've developed with my clients over the years. I may start a wedding day knowing very little about my couple. But after spending the entire day with them - one of the most important days of their lives - you can't help but feel close to a couple. I am continually moved by weddings and love to just be able to be a part of them. Today I have close friends that I met because they were clients.

My wedding coverage starts at $4,300 which includes no limitation on time or venues.

You should know that I am the father of two boys and the husband of the best wife in the world. It's funny, but I just know that my own marriage and family life is a big influence on my work. The wedding day is the first step of a long, wonderful path.

My dream vacation has no computers or cell phones. It has a hot sun, my family and usually sand.

What lengths haven't I gone to in order to get the perfect image? I have been in trees, muddy ditches and moving vehicles. I have hung from the tops of buildings, shot from helicopters and church steeples. The best images are always earned!

I could not live without my family, camera or regular exercise.

Favorite quote: "Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again. " Henri Cartier Bresson

I have many favorite places and venues, primarily in New York and Philadelphia. I love the Tribeca Rooftop in NYC as well as the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Union League and Crystal Tea Room.

Wedding Professional Chats

Business Name: Bigg Romeo LLC
Names: Franco Sicilia Jr. - Band Leader
Phone: 215-639-1422
Website Address: www.biggromeo.com
anything else you want listed ie: blog.biggromeo.com

How and why did you want to be in a wedding band? We never wanted to be in a wedding band. We were begged 12 years ago by a VP at Comcast to play his wedding. After much debate we did it. We did what we did at the night clubs and it was a major hit. We fell in love with the rush and have been doing it every since.

How many years have you been doing this? We'll be celebrating 14 years in
the the fall of 2009

How would you describe your style? High Energy Modern Dance Band

What is your favorite aspect of your job? I love working with brides on the little details. I like being able to make a difference on their special day.

What is the starting price for a wedding? It varies with travel. We've played from Virginia Beach to Connecticut. We are very competitive price wise.

Anything else we should know about you? We've won "Best Of Philly" from Philadelphia Magazine. We've appeared over 15 times on VH-1. We've had 3 vocalists and centerpeices of the band together since day one of the band.

What is your Dream vacation? I would love to take pictures all over Italy.

What is your favorite song to do at a wedding? I love hearing Sandy sing "At Last" by Etta James. I usually call it at the end of the night and it gives me chills even 12 years later.

What can’t you live without? Laughter

And your favorite quote? “If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”
- Winnie the Pooh

Wedding Professional Chats

Calling all wedding, event, or party professionals - if you would like to be interviewed for my blog - let me know!

I am happy to post your answers to our chat! - you can be local or not! Looking forward to hearing from you!
Just email me. mas at elegantengagements dot com

Wedding Professional Chats

Business Name: Eventions Productions
Names: Rian Winther: Production Manager/ Head Lighting Designer
Phone: 610-485-5900
Website Address: www.eventionsproductions.com

How and why did you get interested in the business? I was very fortunate to start doing professional theater while in high school and college. I learned so much about lighting and sound from the pro’s in the industry. I’m very lucky that I have a job that I can take that knowledge from the theater and use it in a different and creative way.

Why is lighting so important at a wedding? It completely changes the look and feel of a room. What once was in darkness can now be highlighted. Take your centerpieces for instance, you pay all this money for all these beautiful flowers and they sit in the dark all night. Why not highlight what is important to you. Not to mention what it can do for your photos and videography. I don’t know one photographer that doesn’t prefer to have lighting at an event.

What is your favorite aspect of your job? The initial design to the final product. I love watching when a bride and groom walk into the room for the first time. So far, I’ve made 6 brides cry(in a good way of course)!!

If a client has a limited budget what is a must have as far as lighting? I would say uplighting and a textured dance floor wash. Those two options go a long way on a tight budget.

Anything else we should know about Eventions? We are really excited about our new virtual lighting designer on our website. A potential client can design the lighting for a ballroom using our virtual ballroom, submit their design to us and get a quote. So far we have gotten a lot of great feedback from it.

What is your Dream vacation? I’m a big fan of Europe. I would say an all expenses paid 2 week trip to Paris, Rome, Barcelona and then one week in the Bahamas to relax. I don’t think that’s too much to ask!!

What can’t you live without? My girl, my cats and pasta.

Do you have a favorite Philly area venue? There are a ton to choose from. Right now I would say Artesano Iron Works. It’s beautiful, very cool and different from the cookie cutter places.

And your favorite quote? If we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Wedding Professional Chats

Business Name: Precious Petals
Names: Darlene J. Owens-Walls
Phone: 215-357-3870
Website Address: www.preciouspetals.net

Being a recent bride myself, I loving seeing a bride get exactly the look she is trying to achieve!

How many years have you been doing this? Since I was 15 years old!
How would you describe your style? Stylish and chic
What is your favorite aspect of your job? I love meeting with the brides and seeing their ideas from conception to reality!
What is your favorite flower? Simply a peony!
Where do you get your inspiration? from the flowers themselves and the venue!
Anything else we should know about you? Between my brides and my passion for flowers I love what I do!
What is your Dream vacation? I lived my dream vacation... Hawaii for my honeymoon for 25 days!
What can't you live without? my family... each and everyone one of them
And your favorite quote?
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

Wedding Professional Chats

Business Name: DVideography
Names: Dave and Sheryl Williams
Phone: 610-989-0158
Website Address: http://DVideography.com

How and why did you start the business?
A film and video hobbyist since my teens, I started shooting weddings and events professionally in 2001. In less than two years, it became our full time business.

How would you describe your style?
Our style balances the most unobtrusive coverage with the most creative angles, movement, and sound for a combination of cinematic visuals and authentic documentary storytelling. The most common feedback we receive is that our clients didn't even know we were there, yet we managed to capture the fun and emotion.

What is your favorite aspect of your job?
What truly excites me the most is when I know we have just captured a special moment - something that my clients' children and grandchildren will hold dear. I also love the occasional opportunity I get to see the look on my clients' faces when they watch their movies for the first time.

What is the starting price for a wedding?
$3500

What exactly is HD videography?
HD is technically anything above the dimensions of a 1280x720 picture. What that really means is a clearer, wide screen image that looks better than standard definition recordings, especially on larger screens. Even if the end product is delivered on a regular DVD, because it was shot in HD, it still looks better. But the best way to experience HD is to take HD delivery, either on BluRay or as an HD movie file which can be played on computers or from low-cost HD players available in many stores.

What do the readers need to know about it?
The important thing to realize is that HD is quickly becoming the norm but not all HD is equal. Many consumer cameras are now HD but this does not mean that a consumer HD camera is the right tool for the job. Professional HD videography, just like anything else, should be viewed in its entirety. Ask to see recent work and ask for referrals. Any videographer worth his weight should show LOTS of video online.

Anything else we should know about you?
We all work as a team for our clients and I will bend over backwards for them. We have not advertised in many years because of our very loyal clients who come back to us time and again. Almost all of our clients are referred to us.

What is your Dream vacation?
Before my kids get too old, I'd love to spend time with them on an island. Maybe Hawaii? They love the water and an experience like that would be wonderful.

What is the greatest length gone to get the perfect shot?
At a destination wedding we did in the Bahamas, I convinced a helicopter pilot that we didn't need him for the entire hour ($600) but only a few minutes to get the establishing shot of the hotel. He agreed to take me up for $250. The Same Day Edit the next night was a hit and my clients truly appreciated the arial shots that were the icing on the cake.

What can’t live without?
Rice Pudding

And your favorite quote?
It's better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.

Where is your favorite place to shoot?
St. Thomas, USVI

Please share with us you favorite video clip or highlight reel.
Some of my favorites are some of the most intimate, like this trailer from a recent Cairnwood wedding:
http://www.dvideography.com/video/laura-and-john-at-cairnwood/

Wedding Professional Chats

Business Name: Fresh.Designs.Florist.Incorporated
Names: Susan Davis
Phone: 610-459-1608
Website Address: www.freshdesignsflorist.com

How and why did you get into flowers and then into wedding flowers?
My business partner and I wanted to do something artistic, creative and original. I had always wanted to work in the wedding industry because I am a hopeless romantic. We tried our hand at a few things and ended up doing flowers. One of out first large jobs was for President Jimmy Carter at the Ballroom at the Ben. We were pretty new in business so that was very exciting!

How many years have you been doing this?
We have been in business for 21 years! Began in 1988.

How would you describe your style?
We love very full lush arrangements and tend to stay with the most current trends. Our style can be soft and romantic, classically elegant or contemporary and clean. It just depends on the brides vision. We listen to her ideas and create her dreams.

What is your favorite aspect of your job?
Working with all the different styles of bouquets depending on the bride.

What is your favorite flower?
I love Vibernum. It is only available for a short time and it makes everything look instantly beautiful when added to any arrangement.

Where do you get your inspiration?
Nature, Television, Art, Magazines and my brides!

Anything else we should know about you?
We are a passionate family business. Everyone who works here has done so for many years! My husband and I just adopted two babies, now 12 months and 7 months old. They come to the shop and love to play with the flowers. So we have a wide range of ages working with us! I have my masters degree in counseling and this helps me to hear my clients and help them to navigate through the details of a wedding!

What is your Dream vacation?
I want to go to Egypt, the Holy Land and Greece!

What can’t you live without?
Chocolate and Coffee!

And your favorite quote?
Proverbs...."An empty barn stays clean but there is no profit from an empty barn" and "the vision is achieved through much work!"