Featured Vendor: Latasha Haynes Photography

Welcome to the first edition of the latest feature on the Paisley Petals Blog: Featured Vendors! There are a lot of AMAZING wedding vendors out there. There are also a few who are... well... not so amazing. I thought it would be fun to feature a few of my personal favorites here to help some of my brides who are still searching for their perfect vendor.

Today, I would like to introduce you to Latasha Haynes Photography. They are fairly new to the wedding photography scene, but their passion for their work is unmatched. I always tell my brides that it is important to like your photographer- not only their work, but also like them on a personal level. They are going to be up in your business ALL DAY LONG, so it's important that you enjoy having them around! If you're still looking for a photographer, do yourself a favor and consider LHP!

I did an email interview with Latasha last week... here is what she had to say:

1. How would you describe LHP?
We are a fusion team, east meets west, boy meets girl. He supports (HER) and she loves Him. In (AN) effort to maximize their God (God-given) gifts, he took to reading, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", "Richest Man in Babylon", "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived"... Robert Kiyosaki told (HIM) to "mind their business" (SO) he started trading stocks, she started shooting, people that is, with a camera. As she grew, he grew and (...TOGETHER THEY MAKE UP THE TEAM THAT IS) Latasha Haynes Photography! We specialize in sassy, bold, edgy and urban lifestyle portraiture. We love candid moments, love moments, life moments and we love being (THERE) to witness (THEM).

2. Why do you LOVE what you do?
We get to create memories, a legacy and a heirloom: something that is going to tell a story for years to to come. While doing this-we meet the best families/seniors/couples and children, who become our friends, where relationships are created and its amazing. We have the best clients and I am thankful because many of them become great friends and a huge part of our lives moving forward.

3. What is your #1 piece of advice for engaged couples?
Get to know your photographer, both their work, what people say about them and decide if you you can be friends with that person because for 6-12 hours of the most important day of your life, they are going to be standing beside you like a best man or maid of honor--you need to know that you can count of them and that they want the best for you. You're trusting their eyes to tell the story of a day where their work is all you will have to remember it.

4. Who is your ideal wedding client?
My ideal wedding client is high energy, excited and loves fashion and has a editorial eye. They are adventurous and open to trying new things and LOVE to have fun.

Thanks so much to LHP for being our very first Featured Vendor! Don't forget to hop over to the website & blog where you can see lots more of their amazing work! Here is a small sampling for you to enjoy:

Featured Flower: Tulips

This post is lovingly dedicated to my BFF Julianne! :)

As we anticipate the arrival of spring, it seems appropriate to feature the quintessential spring flower: the tulip. Available in just about every color and many fun varieties, you can always find a tulip to fit your mood, decor, or event. Feeling romantic? Try a Peony Tulip. Mysterious? The black parrot tulip is for you. Kinda Crazy? A fringed tulip might be more your speed. Want to bring in some of the freshness of spring? Nothing better than a green parrot tulip. Keep in mind that tulips are phototropic...even after they have been cut, they will continue to grow toward the light. Sometimes they will grow an inch or more in the vase! Just as well, though- it will remind you to re-cut their stems & change the water!

A few photos of some of my favorite varieties:

Green Parrot Tulips

Peony Tulips (yes, that's a tulip!)

Fringed Tulips

Black Parrot Tulips

Real Wedding: Lindsey and Andy

I'm excited to launch our new "Real Weddings" feature on the blog today! I'm hoping that this will be a fun read and provide some insight for couples who are currently engaged. Enjoy!

Lindsey and Andy are such a sweet couple, and their love for each other was so evident on their wedding day! It was a privilage to be a part of it! Lindsey was my perfect bride- a great balance between knowing the look she wanted and trusting me to do my job. I knew I wanted to feature her first because she's so thoughtful and genuine, and I knew her answers would reflect those aspects of her personality.

Special thanks to Theresa at Aubin Ahrens Photography for getting these beautiful photos to me so quickly!

Lindsey Niuman and Andy Tolman
August 7, 2010


Photo by Aubin Ahrens Photography



Photo by Aubin Ahrens Photography


Photo by Aubin Ahrens Photography


Vendors:

• Venue: Alderbrook Resort and Spa
• Caterer: Alderbrook Resort and Spa – Kristin Wiseman
• Makeup: Andrea Aiken – Alderbrook Resort and Spa
• Wedding Coordinator: Studio G Occasions - Karen Guyt
• Photographer: Aubin Ahrens Photography - Theresa and Ned Aubin Ahrens
• DJ: Generation X Productions: Jered Delpalacio and Ollie
• Cake: Kathy Reese
• Videographer: Capstone Media Productions – Veronica Brown
• Invitations/Programs: Costco
 

Favorite moment(s) of your wedding day:  I know this sounds scripted, but it really isn’t…the one moment that I got really emotional on our wedding day was when I saw the absolutely gorgeous bouquet that Paula had made for me.  I was so happy that I cried and that was really the only time the whole day that I got teary.  Aside from that moment, Andy and I agree that our favorite moments were when we saw each other for the first time and when we were pronounced husband and wife at the end of our ceremony.  We also really loved getting to spend time with all of our family and friends throughout the day.  Seeing all of our hard work and planning come together when we walked into our reception venue (the tables all set, place cards at each spot, candles lit, floral centerpieces in place, the cake, and all of our friends and family sitting around the room) was also pretty awesome.


Photo by Aubin Ahrens Photography


Photo by Aubin Ahrens Photography

Advice for engaged couples:  Hire Paula and Paisley Petals as your florist!!  Seriously, she did an amazing job!  We would definitely recommend doing your research and meeting your vendors before you hire them.  We either met or got personal recommendations for each of our vendors and we couldn’t be happier that we chose the vendors we did.  We were very pleased with all the services we received.  One very important piece of advice that we can offer is to allot at least an hour of extra time to get ready before your photos and ceremony.  Unfortunately, our hair stylists were 45 minutes late and didn’t finish getting everyone’s hair done until an hour and a half past the time we were supposed to have been done.  This was very upsetting, because our photo sessions before the ceremony were cut 1.5 hours short which resulted in a rushed and stressful photo shoot.  Our photographers did an awesome job within the crunched time frame they had to work with, but we missed out on getting photos with different combinations of family members and the bridal party.  It would have been so much more fun and relaxing not to have to rush through things.


Photo by Aubin Ahrens Photography

What you're up to now:  We are still living in Madison, Wisconsin and are looking forward to moving back home to Washington once I graduate with my master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin in May of 2012.  I am currently attending school full time and am looking for a part-time job since the group home for teenagers that I worked for closed due to county budget cuts at the end of December.  Although I miss my job and the income, it is really nice to have so much more time to focus on school.  Andy is currently working for a clothing company down town and is hoping to attend graduate school to obtain a master’s degree in public administration.  Andy still loves to play hockey and golf and is looking forward to warmer weather so he can get back out on the golf course.  We enjoy being parents to our two cats and look forward to starting a family once we move back to Washington.


Thoughts on working with Paisley Petals:  It was an absolute pleasure working with Paula and Paisley Petals.  From our very first meeting, I could tell that Paula was a true professional who was as knowledgeable as she was friendly.  Paula is a very talented, caring, and sensible florist who will be honest with you about what she can do for you within your budget.  When we first met, I described the color palette and “look” that I wanted as well as the different types of flowers I liked.  Paula listened to my ideas, asked great questions, and did a wonderful job of explaining what she could create for me.  I was thrilled with what she came up with and felt so comfortable knowing that she really understood what I wanted.  I was planning our wedding from Wisconsin and Paula did a fabulous job of communicating with me through e-mail, sending me pictures, and making plans to meet in person when I knew what dates I would be in Washington to finalize wedding plans.  Paula was always very responsive to any questions or comments I had which was incredibly reassuring, especially since we were planning everything from across the country.  When I wanted to make some changes to our original design, Paula was very accommodating and fair.  She told me what the additional cost would be for her to add the flowers that I wanted and was happy to make the changes upon my approval.  On the day of our wedding, Paula was incredibly punctual and hand delivered my bouquet to me and my bridesmaids.  She labeled each bouquet, corsage and boutonniere with the recipient’s name which was such a nice personal touch.  She made sure our centerpieces, flowers for the cake, and flower bundles on the aisle chairs for the ceremony were perfectly arranged and set up.  Hiring Paisley Petals was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding and was definitely money well spent.  The value and quality was remarkable.  Everything looked amazing and we couldn’t be happier that we chose Paisley Petals as our florist.


Photo by Aubin Ahrens Photography


Photo by Aubin Ahrens Photography

Word is getting around...

That Paisley Petals is a great company to work with for wedding and event flowers! In the past 4 months, we've won 3 pretty amazing awards that we're super excited about! If you're a fan of our Facebook page, you've probably already heard, but we thought we'd put them all here in one post. We don't want to brag too much, but we've worked really hard to be the best at what we do, and we're pretty excited that people are taking notice!

In October, we won 4th place out of 96 nominations for best wedding florist in King 5's annual Best of Western Washington Contest! It was so exciting to watch as we moved up through the ranks! Thanks to everyone who voted for us! The top 5 in each category are featured on the BOWW website all year! Check it out here.



In January, we were notified that we had received two more awards, each from a different nationally known wedding website. The first is from The Knot. Paisley Petals has been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best of Weddings 2011 Pick! You can check out our profile on The Knot here.



The second is the Bride's Choice Awards 2011 from Wedding Wire. This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate quality and service excellence in the wedding industry. This is the third year in a row we've won this award, and it's an honor every time! You can view our Wedding Wire profile here.



So once again, we'd like to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of our clients, family and friends for your continued support, love, encouragement and referrals! Looking forward to another great wedding season in 2011!

It's That Time Again!

The month of January has become almost as crazy for Paisley Petals as the month of June! This is the time of year when Spring & Summer brides turn their attention to booking a florist. My schedule is chock full of consultations, quote work-ups, and contracts. We already have 8 Spring and Summer dates booked up! Thank you so much to everyone who continues to send us your referrals- we couldn't do this without you! Having said that-- if you know someone who is engaged to be married this year, we would love it if you would send them our way! All of our contact information can be found on our website-- www.paisleypetals.com.

A lot of you have asked about new photos. I am still working on getting my hands on professional photos from most of my summer weddings. But, here is one to tide you over! Aly & DJ were married on July 17th, 2010. Isn't she beautiful?! Congrats, you two! (Photo by One Love Photo)

Top 5!

Thanks so much to all of you who voted for Paisley Petals in King 5's annual Best of Western Washington Contest! There were 96 florists nominated, and Paisley Petals got 4th place! Pretty exciting stuff!

Click here to see us on the BOWW website.

Thanks again to all of our clients and friends!

Guess the Price: Round 2

Hey there, faithful blog readers! You should be hearing a lot more from me for awhile, as wedding season is winding down.

A couple of people have asked, so here it is: round 2 of the guess the price game! Here's a re-cap of how it works:


1) I will post a photo of an arrangement out of a magazine
2) You, dear readers, will leave a comment with your guess as to how much that arrangement would cost
3) The first comment to hit the right answer, or to come closest without going over (price is right rules!) in one week wins a prize!

We're sticking with salted caramels from Sweet Necessities as a prize- Yum!

Okay, so we're going bridal for this round. What do you think this funky fall bridal bouquet would cost?



To help you out with your guess, you should know that this bouquet contains: cymbidium orchids, mokara orchids, fern curls, craspedia, montbreitia, pincushion protea and ferns.

Good Luck!

Oh, and the winner from last round was Rebecca Nash-- Most of the guesses came in via Facebook, which is why you don't see her guess in the comments section here. Wish I could figure out how to make the comments show up in both places! Anyway- Congrats Rebecca!!