Let the Amateurs Photograph Your Pets, Not Your Wedding

WARNING: if you enjoy perusing photo albums filled with shots of family members standing together in rows and looking desperately uncomfortable, this post is NOT for you. Granted, we all want (and should have) pictures with our loved ones at special events, but wouldn’t you rather feel tears of joy as you look at Grandpop hugging you with all his heart at your wedding, or laugh at perpetually-drunk Uncle John falling on the dance floor at your daughter’s sweet 16? (I’m kidding about the last one… really).

Cookie-cutter photography with stiff poses and bad lighting has its place… in yearbooks and the 80s. Since I’m not a fan of either one, I had to spend countless hours researching (ok, obsessing), to find James Berglie, of Be Photography while I was planning my wedding. During our initial meeting he showed me his portfolio and talked about his approach to wedding photography, but even more importantly, he listened to what I wanted. I knew immediately that his photojournalistic style was a perfect match for me, and I wasn’t disappointed. James was accessible throughout the process, and his coverage of the wedding was flawless. He was like a ninja, getting shots I didn’t even know he was taking, and he managed to get incredible photos in the worst conditions. It was a rainy day and the interior was poorly lit because it was a historic building, but the moments he captured were priceless and later retouched to perfection. I have since worked with him on other projects and followed his work through his blog, and I’m amazed by the ever-increasing quality of his work.

NOTE: James is actually a true photojournalist and commercial photographer–his work has been picked up by dozens of news outlets and he has been commissioned to shoot products–so keep him in mind if you have non-wedding related work as well.

LINKS:

Click here to see his work on the Be Photography website.

Top-rated on Wedding Wire and winner of awards from The Knot and Wedding Wire’s Bride’s Choice: Click here to see his reviews.

CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS BELOW TO SEE LARGER SIZES, AND CLICK AGAIN ON INDIVIDUAL IMAGES TO SEE THEM RESIZED IN FULL-SCREEN MODE.

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Marketing Materials Putting You (Or Your Clients) to Sleep?!

In this fast-paced world we live in, we often have only seconds to make a lasting impression. Everything from the clothes we wear to the way we speak gives others a sense of who we are, so it’s important to always put your best foot forward. In building a business and standing out from your competition, it’s downright CRUCIAL.

Last year I realized that my real estate business’ branding was about as exciting as a trip to the dentist. I decided to make a change, and that led to an exhausting hunt for the perfect design and marketing company. They had to be creative, outside-of-the-box thinkers and doers, but at a price that wouldn’t require a second mortgage on my house. After tons of research (and finding lots of boring, expensive companies), I found Chip Thompson through a friend’s referral.

At first, I was concerned that creating a website long-distance would be difficult, but after a few phone conferences and emails, my fears were gone. I warned him from the beginning that I could be very picky and demanding, but he assured me that he would work with me until I was happy with the result. He sent me the first visual concept for my site within a few days, and to my total surprise he nailed it on the first try! (Truth be told, I had wanted to put him through the wringer a little more to prove how picky I was, but it just happened to be perfect right away).

Throughout the entire process, Chip was efficient, patient, funny, down-to-earth, and persistent in finding solutions to fit my needs. He also came up with innovative ideas to further promote my brand that I never would have thought of! The final result is a website that I am incredibly proud to call my own. When it comes to something as important as branding your business, don’t entrust the task to someone who is just “doing a job”… give it to someone like Chip, who is passionate and knowledgeable about every aspect of marketing. With him, you’ll have a graphic designer, web designer, marketing guru, social media genius, and more… all wrapped into one!

LINKS:

Click here to get to the Chip Thompson Design & Marketing site. If you scroll down you’ll see some of his most recent projects, but you can also click on his “portfolio” link to see more, and “what clients are saying” to read other testimonials.

Visit www.baltimoreagent.net to see the gorgeous website he designed for my real estate business. Check out the great design, rotating images, menu buttons, and “The Real Deal”, which is the blog he set up for my site as well.

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Bye Bye, Mall Photography… Hellooooo Gorgeous!

I’m not going to lie… I was guilty of having Glamour Shots done as a teen, and thanks to my mom (who refuses to burn them), I will never stop kicking myself for that huge lapse in judgment. At least she and my husband both know that to release any of those pictures would ensure them a swift and painful… *cough*… tongue-lashing. Since then, I have sought out the most talented artists I could find to photograph me, and I no longer live in fear of embarrassingly bad pics hitting the net.

Jill Gately, one of Nicole Palermo’s best partners-in-crime, has the rare talent of being technically excellent as well as intuitively gifted. She knows exactly what angles to shoot, when to snap the picture (capturing the moment a millisecond before it turns ugly or silly), how to “work” the environment and lighting, and how to make people feel so comfortable that she gets the best of even the most amateur modeling abilities.

Jill shoots everything with passion: engaged couples staring lovingly into each other’s eyes, mothers tearing up at weddings, young parents swinging their impossibly adorable kids around, and lovely women bringing out their inner pin-up girl. Her style has an extraordinary dream-like quality—the images she produces are bright, dynamic, and masterfully retouched just enough to make you go “awwww”, even if you’ve never met the people in her portfolio.

LINKS:

Click here to visit her website, or here to see her blog posts.

Top-rated on Wedding Wire: Click here to see her reviews.

CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS BELOW TO SEE LARGER SIZES, AND CLICK AGAIN ON INDIVIDUAL IMAGES TO SEE THEM RESIZED IN FULL-SCREEN MODE.

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Rehearsal in Chicago (from “The Making of RED”)

My favorite acting professor of all time, Ed Gero, describes the unique and grueling rehearsal process for his new show, opening in Chicago. During my time at George Mason University I took every class I could fit into my schedule with him, and had the thrill of seeing him in various theater productions in DC. Every show was an incredible experience, so if you have the opportunity to go to one of them, DO it!

Kudos, Ed!

Rehearsal in Chicago It is hard to believe that almost a month has gone by since I spent time in the Rothko Room at The Phillips Collection. I had intended to give a more timely report of the arrival and progress of the rehearsals. It has simply been a whirlwind of activity since I arrived in Chicago on the 15th of August. I managed to get settled in quickly in my apartment with a fantastic view of the city. Wow. It was happening. The first day in town was spent tran … Read More

via The Making of RED

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Bad Makeup Happens to Good People: Don’t be one of them

We all have awesome hair and makeup days (once in a while), but we all have days where one look in the mirror can send us into a fetal position under a pile of blankets in bed. DO NOT attempt to fix that hot mess on your wedding day or other special occasion!

Nicole Palermo is hands-down the BEST makeup artist I have ever worked with, both personally and professionally. I was lucky enough to find her as I was planning my wedding, and the minute we met, I couldn’t help but adore her! Her enthusiasm and desire to make your dreams come true is positively contagious. I brought her an eyeshadow color that I wanted to use, told her the general idea I had, and she brought it all to life in a way that took my breath away. Since my wedding day, I have done two more shoots with her, and she brings the same creativity and passion to each one.

Nicole is a multi-talented phenomenon. In addition to creating makeup magic, she has developed her own beauty products, she styles boudoir and other photo shoots, and she organizes fun “martini & makeup” parties for her clients. Guys, if you don’t know what “boudoir” means, you’ll want to find out so that you can buy a package for your special someone. Trust me. Ladies, if you haven’t done it already, you’ll want to sign up ASAP. We all need awesome pictures to look back on and sigh about how great we looked “way back when.”

LINKS:

Click here to go to her makeup site, or here to find out about boudoir photography, or here to read her beauty blog.

Top-rated on Wedding Wire: Click here to see her reviews

CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS BELOW TO SEE LARGER SIZES, AND CLICK AGAIN ON INDIVIDUAL IMAGES TO SEE THEM RESIZED IN FULL-SCREEN MODE.

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Back Muscles Should NOT Feel Like Granite Countertops

Things that should be rock solid? Countertops, real diamonds, and preferably, abdominal muscles. Things that shouldn’t be? Toilet paper, mattresses, and your back muscles. If you frequently find your shoulders hunched up to your ears and your back gravitating towards a sturdy tree to rub the knots out, you need a massage. And I’m not talking a ridiculously overpriced, it-smells-and-sounds-pretty-in-here-but-my-back-is-still-tense kind of massage… I mean the kind of therapy that makes you spring embarrassing tears of relief because you feel taller, lighter, and less likely to scream at the next person who ticks you off.

After years of enduring massages whose effects lasted as long as my manicures (literally minutes), I found Renee Snow. From that day forward, I have saved all of my best knots just for her, because she is the only therapist I’ve ever dealt with who had the training, experience, and intuition to give me long-term relief. When I herniated two discs in my lower back last year, it was Renee who kept me sane until I finally had the surgery I needed. Every time my old car accident neck injury starts acting up, it’s Renee to the rescue, kneading that speed bump into Play-Doh until my headache goes away and my jaw unhinges from its “I Will Survive” pose.

In recent years, my talented massage therapist has branched out by forming Aloha Spa Parties, a mobile spa business that specializes in pampering clients with massages, manicures, pedicures, facials, the works! An excellent alternative or addition to the typical bachelorette or birthday party. She’s also creating luxurious organic body care products, which are incredibly effective AND affordable. Since I’ve had the privilege of trying some of them out, I’ll be reviewing them on upcoming blog posts, so stay tuned for more!

To learn more about Renee and her network of specialists at Aloha Mobile Spa, click here.

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Welcome to Venesueca.com!

Have you always wondered if you should buy that product you saw on TV, visit a restaurant or city you’ve heard about, or hire a particular vendor to help you with a project? Maybe you want fresh ideas to inspire your daily life or to make the daily grind a bit easier. At venesueca.com, you’ll find the answers to many of those questions! I love to travel, see new places, try new things, and meet new people… along the way, I enjoy writing about my experiences so that others can benefit from my reviews. Stay tuned and comment often!

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