snap and chat with Wendy Joblon

Trish and I headed out to South Dartmouth last week to visit the ultra fab Wendy... wedding planner, small business owner, mother of two, wife of one... and over all very cool lady. We always love to photograph a wedding when Wendy has had a hand in the planning. She has the best taste!

In addition to being a planner- Wendy opened this adorable store Folia in South Dartmouth that carries custom invitations and all things monogrammed (gifts, personalized stationary etc.)

Isn't it adorable? I want to live here.

... and the inside too...




Wendy has been in this space for a year. She's open from 10-3 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday.
In the summer she'll be open until 4pm.



Why add invitations to an already successful planning business? "Wedding invites and planning go hand in hand because there is a theme to it. Many people start with the invitation. It's nice to have that input."

Here she is! Wendy is about to be on the other side of a wedding .... her son is getting married over Labor Day weekend in Colorado. Wendy says she does not want to be in charge of anything!!! She just want to go and have a great time- oh, and wear a gorgeous dress of course...The wedding is planned for 450 guests, and there will be 28 people in the wedding party- wow!

Wendy is so respected in our business. Whenever her name comes up in conversation- it's always a compliment about her great style or just how nice of a person she is. I was curious about how she started her business...

Turns out Wendy went to BU to become a teacher-she made it through but decided it just wasn't for her. She said it was so hard that she lost 25lbs the first year! Maybe I should take up teaching?...

Next, she became the catering secretary and coordinator at the Sheraton Tara in Raynham, but left to move to Dartmouth and get married. Next for Wendy... to baby boys that kept he buys for a while until she started to get a little cabin feverish at home.

She ended up getting a job selling boxes... "I didn't know anything about boxes but boy could I sell them!" No surprises here... Wendy is a knock out, I am sure those companies she was selling boxes too would have bought anything she came in with.

One day when she was getting a manicure, her manicurist asked if she could help her plan her daughter's Batmitzvah. Wendy accepted. She also worked for several years at Hawthorne CC booking, coordinating, and overseeing all things wedding.

Then she decided, "Hey- I should start my own business, and that was 14 year ago!"

Wendy is modeling some of the adorable things she carries in the store, like this terry cloth wrap, with monogram of course. How cute would this be as gift for bridesmaids?

We are suckers for personalized stationary too.

If you need invitations or a fun gift, a trip to South Dartmouth is so worth it, it's the cutest little village with good places for lunch. Also, because Wendy is a wedding planner too she often doles out a little free advice to her customers!

Wendy, it's always so nice to see you- thanks for the snap and chat. We'll be back in for some stationary!

You can contact Wendy through her website: www.wendyjoblon.com

Folia is located at 354 Elm Street in South Dartmouth

My husband Jim jumped up from the computer last night and said "Trishy, come see this photo, you have to put this on your blog, this is what you are always talking about!".

The caption on this photo reads as follows: CFA volunteer David Nicholls escaped his Narbethong home with only his wedding album.

I felt such a swell of emotion, this is the only posession he saved from his home, aside from people my photos are the only thing I would try to save if my home was on fire. What else is there to say?

Photo by Norman Oorloff

You can see more photos and read more about what is happening here:
Victoria's killer fires NEWS.com.au

A snapper in training....

What's the key to the snap! success you might wonder?.... one word: enthusiasm. We LOVE what we do and we are always excited to come to work... that's it- that's the secret ingredient. So, on that note: feast your eyes on the next generation of snap.... a snap girl in training if you will. My daughter Vianne had the day off from school Monday so she came to the office with me and while we were busy with snap stuff, she was busy making us pictures and demonstrating her album design skills:

I will translate here because this letter is written in first grade language:

Basically she thinks we are real nice and our albums are real nice too.

Our pictures are also awesome (guys). This her album layout, I think she has the right idea, and the hearts are a nice touch. I like the super bride with the cape and the bracelet the best. She understands it's all about the details.

snap and chat with Semia

Although we've worked with Semia quite a few times a we've never actually met the lady behind the fantastic florals... she always seems to elude us. I got a brief glimpse of her in February at Karalyn and Erik's wedding... but not enough to satisfy my curiosity, so naturally a snap and chat was in order... Hey, wait a minute! Maybe she's trying to hide from us?!

How cute is this photo? Here's our first impression of Semia as she welcomes us into her store...

TA- DA! That's more like it!




Semia opened her shop in North Providence a few years ago... and they are constantly cooking up beautiful arrangements....



...and bouquets. Semia is REALLY busy, because she's a hard worker for one- and secondly the brides are insane for her because her work really stands out. It's young, and fresh, and sweet - just like Semia herself.


How would Semia define her style? "More is more! Abundant is my philosophy!"

I asked Semia if she felt brides were hesitant to try funkier designs... "It really depends on the bride, but I like to surprise people! For instance, when I did Karalyn's wedding I found something that I REALLY wanted to add to her table arrangements (the hanging crystals).

I called her and said, I've found this thing.. it's you, I know it's you... you have to have it! And, she trusted me.. and she LOVED it!"

It's that kind of inspiration, with a little bit of innovation and edge that sets Semia apart!

Semia adds..."I get two kinds of brides basically, the really edgy funky brides who aren't afraid and want things like black feathers in their bouquet- and then also the English garden traditional bride who wants her florals to look really rich. The best part is when someone really trusts you and doesn't need to know every color and shape, but they know what they generally want and want me to run with it! That's my favorite kind of bride."

Of course every bride wants to know that her florist is using the freshest flowers...

It doesn't get much fresher than growing them yourself does it? Semia's parents own a farm- and Semia has grown a cutting garden there since she was a teenager. Now, Semia's mom has taken over to help her- and in the summer they grow Dahlias, Sunlowers, and Peonies to name a few... as well as herbs which all make their way into Semia's creations.

Talk about a personal touch!

Semia's favorite season for flowers? Spring! "I love the flowering branches and lilac, peony and hydrangea!"

I think Trish had the best question of the chat... where does the name Semia (Se-mee-ah) come from?

"It's a family name actually. It's Lebanese, from my father's side. It's a tradition in my father's family that if your first child is a girl, you name her Semia. There are quite a few Semia's in my family!"

And what does the name mean?

"It means a jewel or a treasure."

AWH....

Semia was a bride herself last year. Everyone was wowed by the beautiful photos of all her amazing flowers which appeared in the latest issue of Southern New England Weddings (pick up a copy!) I was curious about her experiences being on both sides of the bouquet!

"It took a week of solid designing to to it all. It was a labor of love- I wanted to work here every day leading up to the wedding. My fiancee kept asking me to please go easy... but I just said, you are going to lose this one hon! "

"I got engaged in January- and we set our date for May- so my wedding was planned in 5 months! I wanted a spring wedding and it was really important to me to use key pieces from my mother's yard. I used a vase of dogwood branches and a vase of white lilac to bring in a touch of home. I was picking flowers in my mother's yard two days before the wedding."

"Every table at my reception was different, they didn't have to fit a formula. I told my staff- this is what I want... and they just ran with it... and I got to be surprised!"

"I actually got to set up for 2 or 3 hours and then went right from the Glen Manor to my rehearsal! It was everything that I wanted. We filled every square inch, but if I could have added more floral I would! It was a dream come true."

So what's in store for Semia this year? Just working hard... and making the world a more beautiful place it seems... Trish and I are just so glad we finally got to sit down with Semia and make a new friend. She's a lot like us... passionate about her craft and serious about being a good business woman out in the world. It's reassuring to chat with her and realize that even though our product may be different our principals and practices are really similar.

The last thing I asked Semia was, what is the latest trend for brides? What are we going to be seeing out there?"

"Diamonds are the new shells!" she says laughing. (Semia introduced those fun over sized fake diamonds sprinkled over tables at the reception-see photo above).

Spoken like a true jewel!

The snap cam visits Lauren and Jeff

Okay...so for our latest snap-cam edition we have the lovely Lauren and Jeff coming at you all the way from Boston, yay! They are getting married in May, it won't be long now. Their wedding is going to be at the Seaport Hotel in Boston which I am really looking forward to! I (Trish) met them last summer at Melissa and Steve's wedding, Lauren was a bridesmaid! So soon it will be her turn...

Their apartment is upstairs from this fab restaurant. I think that all those aromas would be hard to deal with, I would always be hungry!

What a gorgeous winter scene. It's so Boston!

Lauren's favorite statue in the Boston Public Gardens, right near their house.

Coming in for a close up, excellent camera work!

The snow falling is so great, it's just so, so wintery!

Oooh Jeff, love the composition in this one!!!

As much as I like to complain about the winter, it is pretty magical...

Thanks guys, can't wait to see you in the Spring, minus the wool hats!

Snap! Sneak Peek: Broadway Florist

Trish and Melissa snuck off to Belcourt Castle last week for a fun assignment.. to take some photos of gorgeous flowers and a beautiful formal dining room arrangement for Paul at Broadway Florist. We can't show you the "big picture" because Paul is hoping to have the images published, but here are a few close up shots that won't give it away! Here's keeping our fingers crossed for Paul.

Paul used 600 red roses for this amazing set-up! The room smelled so fantastic and looked really expensive...

snap and chat with Sofia of Design by Sofia

I keep hearing about Sofia... and seeing her beautiful designs everywhere... but she remained a mystery to us until we secured her for a snap and chat! We met at Starbucks, mainly because Sofia's office is covered in invitations in some stage of completion. Good idea considering someone who's name begins with (Tr) and ends in (ish) has been known on occasion to be a little less the coordinated. Better that we spill or tea at Starbucks than spill it on Sofia's production table!!!
Luckily, Sofia brought along some of her beautiful designs for us to photograph.

Each one of Sofia's designs is a custom Sofia original. They are also each hand assembled by her.

Here she is! The mystery girl! I didn't know anything about Sofia so it was fun to find out all about her passion for designing and beautiful papers and fonts.

Turns out that Sofia has a degree in business and finance and was working for an engineer while designing invitations for her friends and family in her spare time. She was a creative person busting to get out of a Type A occupation! Sofia started to get so busy with her side business that she was pulling all nighters to finish the orders that were pouring in. What's a girl to do? Why, quit her job of course! Sofia took a leap of faith and this will be her first full year in business for herself and so far so good!

I think it's a pretty cool combination to be a person who is precise and careful enough to cut and assemble all these invitations so that they are PERFECT, but also to be creative and free enough to design all of these pieces that are so ARTISTIC.

Sofia says that her brides are all women who have good taste and sense of style(here, here!) and understand how important it is to make a good first impression.

"The invitation says a lot about the event, you need to have your colors and theme nailed down first before choosing the invitation. I can design something in as little as 4 months... but ideally it's good to have six." says Sofia.

In addition to the invitation... how about a save the date, menu card, or table tent....

Sofia is working with planners in Houston, Maryland, and Florida in addition to Southern New England. She's gone national! Not bad for her first year in business!

What does she do when she's not busy whittling invitations? Hanging out with her two babies... Roxy and Titan. Maybe they can lick envelopes for her if she gets too tired!

Sofia, thanks so much for letting Trish and I get to know you! Although we don't get to see you out at the weddings, it will be fun to see your gorgeous work everywhere. I feel like now when I see it, I can say... "Oooh, that looks like a Sofia!"

check out Sofia's website: http://www.designbysofia.com/

The Snap Cam visits Charlene, Ryan and Bailey

Charlene and Ryan are planning a fabulous wedding this summer at Indian Pond Country Club. Charlene is a DIY-er bride! I really admire that. How do you find time to plan a wedding and make all these fabulous little details yourself? I think the hard work pays off in the end. It adds that personal touch. Here are some photos of Charlene's DIY projects...

Beautiful Invitations!

How cute is this Save The Date? Ryan did them himself! He is a graphic designer. He merged a photo of him as a child with one of Charlene and Voila! Who is that little puppy behind Ryan you say? I thought you'd never ask!

This is Mr. Bailey AKA "Cling On". Why? Because he goes everywhere with Charlene and Ryan! Here's a series of the cute little pup hanging in the car during a day of errands!

First stop... Pet Smart, of course! Only the best for this little puppy!

Then it's off to the vet! Are you getting the feeling it's all about Bailey? He looks a little nervous in this picture.

Now it's off to RI Rentals to choose the linens for the wedding. The colors and linen quality must have Bailey's stamp of approval.

The next day it was off to the dog park for a two hour walk!

Here's Charlene! She looks INCREDIBLE! She lost 15 pounds since I last saw her! Congrats, Char! That is no easy feat. Must be all this walking that you are doing.

After that it's off to Barnes and Noble for some Starbucks! Charlene is getting some new ideas from the wedding magazines while...

Ryan reads up on manly things like computers and cars.

Let me tell you I'm exhausted just looking at all the stuff these two did in their 24 hours. Somehow after all this Ryan still had enough energy to change the oil in both of their cars! What! Charlene wrote "He is so great! No wonder why I love him!"

Thanks for letting us take a peak into your busy lives and introducing us to the cutest dog ever! Can't wait to see all your finished projects on the wedding day!