Bliss Collection Honors: Washingtonian Bride and Groom
The members of The Bliss Collection are always so proud when other hard working members are acknowledged for their excellence!
Washingtonian Bride and Groom has listed some of our beloved members in its latest issue! Why exactly is this an important honor?
Well…
According to wedding planner Myrna Hyman, “I found out that one finds themselves on this list based on votes from colleagues in the industry, which I think is pretty special.”
Miles Stiebel of MSE productions added ” MSE Productions is listed in the most recent 2012 Washingtonian Bride & Groom under Music & Entertainment. MSE Productions has been recommended by the Washingtonian as “One of the Best” for over ten years. This publication has become a fabulous resource for brides and grooms planning their wedding.”
So…which members of The Bliss Collection were listed?
Jessica Piscitelli (videography), Kristi Odom (photography), Myrna Hyman (wedding planner), Miles Stiebel (DJ services), Kelsey Thompson (photography, one to watch)
Congratulations, everyone!
More Bliss Collection Honors: Wedding Wire’s “Best Of” List
Great news, Bliss Collection members! Sooo many of us were listed on yet another prestigious list: Wedding Wire’s Best Of!
Susan Smith was listed under the category of Wedding Planners.
Myrna Hyman was listed under the category of Wedding Planners.
Kristi Odom was listed under the category of Photographers.
Kelsey Thompson was listed under the category of Photographers.
Jeanna Hilton of Stonewall Golf Club was listed under the category of Venues.
Miles Stiebel was listed under the category of Music and Entertainment.
Jessica Piscitelli was listed under the category of Videographer.
Congratulations to everyone! This is an awesome honor!
Bliss Member Wedding
By Jessica Piscitelli Robinson
As you can imagine, I have a lot of friends who work in the wedding industry, and only one wedding to go around. Choosing vendors from among my friends was very difficult, but I ended up with the best wedding team a girl could ever hope for.
I have listed everyone I worked with with at the end of this post. They were all fabulous and I highly recommend every one of them, so please follow links to their websites and hire them for all of your weddings.
But I need to say a few words about the Bliss Collection members, because Bliss was a wonderful resource for me for planning my wedding.
In the following video, I made sure to include live audio from both the procession and the recession because Eric Waters, a guitarist with MSE Productions, did such a fantastic job. I married a Robinson so the recession song was particularly key and, even though it wasn’t on his playlist, he learned it especially for my wedding.
As you can see, I shortened the video of the ceremony considerably. Not so in the Blu-Ray disc we have at home. It was such a beautiful ceremony that I kept in almost every moment for our own video.
Blush Bridal Boutique Has Tuxedos!
Blush Bridal Boutique now offers a spectacular selection of men's formalwear!
Boutiques Are Best!
Blush Bridal Boutique in Gainesville provides fabulous customer service and an amazing selection of bridal gowns and accessories.
I recently read a wedding blog that advised brides to avoid shopping in bridal boutiques if being semi-clothed in front of a stranger sounds stressful. The writer noted that it is way less mortifying to buy online or shop at the “warehouse” stores that just leave you alone to put on the gowns you wish to try.
I could not disagree more!
Allow me to explain.
When a bride shops at a bridal boutique, like Blush Bridal Boutique in Gainesville, she isn’t just shopping! She is consulting with a trained professional who understands what looks good on each different body type. The boutique experience goes something
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Jessica Pi and Kristi Odom Team Up
By Jessica Piscitelli, Jessica Pi Productions
In the words of the bride…
“Enlisting Jessica Pi for videography was a last minute “splurge” and I could not be happier with that decision! I’ve heard/read that so many brides regret not having a videographer to capture the day and I decided that was one regret I didn’t want to have.
Jessica was recommended to me by my amazing photographer, Kristi Odom, and I was extremely lucky that she happened to be available on such short notice! Jessica was awesome to work with – even though we didn’t get a chance to meet until my actual wedding day! Upon waking up the morning after the wedding, my first thought literally was, “THANK GOD WE HAVE VIDEO TO RE-LIVE THAT AMAZING DAY AND SEE ALL THE THINGS WE DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO SEE/APPRECIATE YESTERDAY!”
Check out this recap of their beautiful day.
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Bliss Photographer and Videographer Team
Jessica Piscitelli, of Jessica Pi Productions, and Kristi Odom, of Kristi Odom Photography, worked together to capture all the sights AND sounds of a beautiful wedding at Belmont Country Club.
Kristi Odom said, “Not only was it a beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony, it was a very fun day! Courtney and Ryan have such playful personalities, we definitely had some fun with the photography. I think one of my favorite moments was when the flower girl was walking down the aisle. She was told that she should throw her flowers. She yelled out ‘no I am keeping them’ and everyone laughed. So much fun!”
You can see what happened with the flower girl as well as a beautiful exchange of vows by watching the following video clip from the ceremony captured by Jessica Piscitelli!
Bliss Photo/Video Team Up
David Madison, David Madison Photography, and Jessica Piscitelli, Jessica Pi Productions, worked together capturing all the beautiful still and moving images of Kelcey and Mike’s wedding Day.
The couple were married at the Mormon Temple and David Madison captured some of the events outside the temple before meeting Jessica Piscitelli at the Halcyon House for the couple’s ring ceremony and reception. Click image below to watch the video!
Advice from a Cake Designer: Hire a Wedding Planner
As the cake designers and owners of MallowDrama, we’ve worked on a lot of weddings and would offer this advice to anyone getting married and having a wedding reception for more than 20-30 people (and even then): order a delicious cake (of course), and think seriously about hiring a wedding planner.
We were inspired to share this suggestion by a recent experience with clients who did not hire a planner. We had e-mailed the bride the week of her wedding to again confirm that we were all set for delivery. She replied and asked us to double up on something her venue was supposed to do. “If it’s not too much trouble,” she wrote, “could you go ahead and make the signs so we have a back-up plan? I’ve had to go to plan b, c and d often times this week, so having an alternate seems like a good fail-safe measure.” It wasn’t too much trouble for us and we gladly obliged the request. Several days before her wedding, though, she was dealing with last-minute details, scheduling and otherwise coordinating with vendors, and any little problems that invariably come up. All of that was taking time away from her spending time with friends and family who were in town to celebrate the wedding and causing her to focus on the details of party planning rather than her impending marriage.
Full planning services from an experienced, professional wedding planner save time and often money. The planner will bring organization to the process, as well as talented and dependable vendors, develop a budget working with the couple, and provide advice and suggestions based on the planner’s experience to help the couple achieve the wedding the couple wants. Some planners may also provide event design services to help the couple create a coordinated, cohesive look and feel for the wedding – looking for opportunities in the print suite, menu or bar, tablescape, decor, and other details to put the couple’s unique stamp on the event.
If these services aren’t in the budget or plan, a wedding planner can still provide peace of mind for the big day with day- or month-of coordination. Many planners offer these services to attend to the last-minute details (e.g., final payments, producing a schedule for the wedding day, coordinating with vendors, running the rehearsal, reviewing the floor plan, etc.) and ensure that the bride and groom and their family and friends can enjoy the wedding rather than running all over town to deal with whatever may come up.
When you contact a wedding planner about potentially engaging their services, be sure to ask:
- how long they have been in business;
- how many weddings they have planned;
- whether they belong to any industry organizations or professional associations (such as NACE or ISES) or have any professional training in the field;
- that they provide references for clients (names and phone numbers or e-mail addresses) for whom they provided similar services (i.e., approximately same number of guests, same type of coordination or planning services);
- if they have staff or other planners that would be available should multiple people be needed for the wedding day;
- how many weddings they will book for the same day;
- whether they offer a complimentary consultation in-person or on the phone to provide an opportunity to get to know them.
Wedding planners will often have several package options for their services. Find out what is included (including the amount of communication with them) and what would result in additional fees. Some also offer hourly services; in this situation, inquire about minimum and maximum number of hours, overtime charges, and travel fees.
Trust the talented, experienced, professional planners who are members of The Bliss Collection to provide their services for your wedding. They’re a pleasure to work with – friendly, savvy, creative, dependable, and resourceful – as you plan for your big day.
-Mary & David from MallowDrama
Jessica and Alan-Another Bliss Wedding!
Summer just wouldn’t be summer without a blistering hot day and a wedding!
Jessica and Alan’s wedding took three members of The Bliss Collection to Marshall, Virginia. Alan’s family friends lent their home and grounds to the couple and their guests for the day. Beautifully situated on the rolling hills of Virginia, the entrance, house, garden, pond, tent, pool, and fire pit were all thoughtfully planned out to host the guests that would arrive.
The Finer Points brought together the details for Jessica and Alan in prime form. Fighting against the ominous skies that brought the threat of a rain, the vendors made the best of the over 100 degree temperature and high humidity. What prevailed was a stunning wedding ceremony and fabulous reception.
Pergola on the grounds
David Madison Photography captured the days events flawlessly. As well as Bergerons Flowers & Events gathered the brightest and best blooms to continue the theme of this white and green theme.
Jessica and Alan
We will always remember this day, servicing once again a beautiful site in Northern Virginia.