Bliss Takes a Tour
Four members of the Bliss Collection recently spent an afternoon visiting some of this area’s beautiful venues. As part of our continuing effort to increase education among members, we are touring venues to learn about their offerings so we can keep our brides and grooms informed of all the best things this area has to offer.
On the tour:
Christi Lopez, Bergerons Flowers & Events
Jessica Piscitelli, Jessica Pi Productions
Mary Supley Foxworth, MallowDrama
Tracie Rosales, Makeup Artistry By Tracie
And we got to see some sites! Each one of the following venues deserves it’s own post, so there will be more to come, but in the meantime, here’s a brief overview of our tour.
Venues Visited in Alexandria:
Hotel Monaco
Lee-Fendall House
Carlyle House
The Athaenium
The Westin
We focused on Alexandria on this tour and got a really great idea of the different types of wedding days available in one particular area of Northern Virginia!
Bliss Members in the Washingtonian
Every year Washingtonian Magazine comes out with it’s list of the top wedding vendors in the area. This year 4 Bliss Collection members made the list!
Congratulations to the following members:
Myrna Grossman – For All Occasions, Inc.
Maureen Chandler – Blush Bridal Boutique
Jessica Piscitelli – Jessica Pi Productions
Lynn Iannizzi & Priscilla Trimble – The Finer Points
Bliss Stages Wedding at Stonewall
The Bliss Collection recently staged a fake wedding. Why, you might ask yourself, would we spend time and money providing services for a wedding that was not real? Well, we all get to work with each other on a wedding here and an event there, but we simply can’t all work on the same event in the real world. So we staged one!
This was an opportunity for all of the vendors on The Bliss Collection to work together on one event at one time. Alexander Morozov and David Madison, our photographers, and Jessica Piscitelli, our videographer, also covered the event so we could share the details of what it looks like when we do all work together to put on an elegant wedding event. More photos and video coming soon!
Here is a list of all of the vendors who participated in this event and what they contributed:
Bergerons Flowers & Events – ceremony flowers, bouquets, personal flowers, centerpieces
Blush Bridal Boutique – gowns for bride and bridesmaids
David Madison Photography – photography
The Finer Points – member of events committee, added event planning support
For All Occasions – member of events committee, added event planning support
Gala Cloths – tablecloths, napkins, chair covers
Jessica Pi Productions – videography
Leslie Kane - Mary Kay Cosmetics
M. Beem Jewelers – engagement and wedding rings, and bride’s jewelry
Makeup Artistry by Tracie Rosales – make-up application for bride and bridesmaids
MallowDrama – wedding and groom’s cakes
My Mobile Salon – hairstyling for bride and bridesmaids
Photography by Alexander – photography
Presentations – invitation suite, programs, escort cards, menus, table signs, custom-labeled wine bottles
Say “I Do” Your Way – officiants
Seasons Cards & Gifts – favors
Select Event Rentals – china, chargers, glasses, flatware
A Sound Plan – DJ/emcee
Stonewall Golf Club – event facility
Takes on Table Numbers
At Presentations, LLC, we always love working with our wedding couples on the little details that make their big day more personal. Adding some creative force to traditionally dull table numbers is a great way to do this. At a minimum, we recommend that our clients carry the artwork from their wedding stationery over to their day-of materials (table numbers, seating cards, programs, menus, etc.).
Some of our couples have have taken this a step further, replacing table numbers altogether with:
-Photos and locations that the couple has visited.
-Values important to the couple.
-Words or subjects related to the wedding theme or location.
- And, our personal favorite, photos taken through the years of the bride and/or groom with their guests. This takes a bit more legwork for both designer and clients, but the results are well worth it. It is a wonderful way to show guests how important they are in the couple’s lives.
Details like this can help to bring cohesion to wedding design.
-Pam Colaluca & Susan Wilson, Presentations, LLC
Jessica Pi Productions Customer Service
I don’t know what my competitor’s customer service is like, so I would hate to say, “this is what sets me apart.” What I will say is that there are two areas in particular in which I think I have outstanding customer service – I take the time to listen, and I am a perfectionist.
I will start with listening. We are a boutique video shop. We are not creating cookie cutter videos. We create a unique video based on the bride and groom’s unique vision – every time.
I talk to each bride and groom several times before their wedding day to find out what they want in the way of video coverage. Not only do we discuss style likes and dislikes, but also preference for how we interact with guests and vendors – whether or not we will pose or in any other way dictate behavior or just stay completely out of the way and capture what happens from the background. My associates take their cues from me and we always make sure that the bride and groom’s ideas about how we cover a wedding are heard.
Additionally, once editing begins, I ask a ton of questions. What music do you want? Do you want fast paced editing, slow and romantic, black and white, sepia, or everything as real as can be? What parts do you know you want left in? What parts do you really want cut? We do the work, but you get to choose how we do it.
And that leads me to being a perfectionist. I often wish I weren’t. It would save me a lot of time. But I thoroughly review every video that we produce, whether or not I am the editor. I make sure each video tells a story, that every sequence makes sense, that each filter applied was well placed, and that the timing on every montage works with the rhythm of that song. After the 40 or so hours myself or my other editor spend compiling the first version, I often spend several more hours going through and making sure every detail is just how I would want it if it were the video I was going to be watching for my anniversary ten years and twenty years in the future.
- Jessica Piscitelli
Wedding of Lauren & Matt
MallowDrama made the wedding and groom’s cakes for the wedding of Lauren & Matt this past weekend, in Fairfax, Virginia. The couple was referred to us by Myrna Grossman of For All Occasions.
The wedding cake reflected their black and white color theme, picking up hints of yellow and green from their flowers, and the groom’s cake featured an edible sculpture of their dog Foosa, who played an important role in Matt’s proposal to Lauren – delivering the ring to her. Congratulations to the happy couple!
(Larger versions and more photos are available in MallowDrama’s Facebook albums.)
For All Occasions Customer Service
Providing excellent Customer Service is my first priority at For All Occasions. I set myself apart because I take time to learn about my client’s needs and wants to assure them that they will have the best wedding; the one that they have dreamed about. I am available to clients by email or phone, and I answer their requests rapidly. Many of my brides and grooms have commented through the years, “Boy, an answer so quickly?!”
I try very hard to accommodate my client’s requests. If they prefer to meet away from my home based studio, then I will travel to a mutually convenient location for our meetings. Our initial contact is through email usually, but then I offer a complimentary consultation so it allows us to meet and for each of us to learn about one another, I feel very strongly about making the client feel special and treating them with respect, offering suggestions when asked, and always allowing them the opportunity to know that the wedding is theirs, and I am there for them to offer ideas and my expertise where needed. I go above and beyond the service for which I have been hired ; giving my clients more than 100% of me, and am always striving to save them money where I can.
Not only do I take good care of those clients who have placed their trust in me, but I have been known to offer help to those who don’t even hire me to help plan their wedding., or to those whom I have never met. It never hurts to give back to the community as in turn, one day, it may come back. I recently got a call from a young groom needing help in finding an officiant on short notice. He didn’t know where to turn. I made a call for him, and in less than 5 minutes, he had an officiant and a place for a ceremony to take place. It was my pleasure to help out in a difficult situation.
- Myrna Grossman
Women in Weddings
The women of Bliss made a great showing at this month’s Women in Weddings meeting, at Stonewall Golf Club.
Jessica Piscitelli, of Jessica Pi Productions, Myrna Grossman, of For All Occasions, and Mary Supley Foxworth, of MallowDrama were in attendance. Christi Lopez, of Bergeron’s Flowers & Events was one of the sponsors of the event, and provided a beautiful Fall bouquet for each table. Jessica and Myrna were lucky enough to each win a bouquet in the drawing at the end of the lunch!
Women in Weddings is a monthly luncheon for, well, for women in the wedding industry. It’s a great place to network, and to learn more about some trends in the wedding industry. Jeanna Hilton, of Stonewall Country Club, hosts women in weddings. The venue, food, presentations, and the company are always top notch.
MallowDrama’s Take on Customer Service
We enjoy working with each couple to design a cake that uniquely reflects their style and taste, whether that is elegant and traditional or modern and over-the-top. We bring artistry, know-how, and professionalism to the table. We want the process of selecting a wedding and/or groom’s cake to be as stress-free and fun as possible for our clients.
With MallowDrama, clients receive personal attention from the chefs and cake designers from the initial inquiry. We offer prospective wedding clients a private tasting and design consultation so they can see and taste examples of our work. Often, couples may bring parents, a sibling or friend, or their wedding planner to offer their opinions, or break a tie when it comes to choosing the flavor of the cake. While the couple and their guests sample various cakes, fillings, and frostings (which they have selected), we discuss possible designs. During the tasting, we will create rough sketches of these ideas. The proposal we present following the tasting references and includes a beautiful color sketch of the proposed design to ensure we are all on the same page. Once a couple accepts our proposal, we are happy to work with them to modify design elements or the size of the cake as we get closer to the wedding day. And on that day, we’ll deliver and set up your cake before your guests arrive for your ceremony.
Another aspect of our customer service is the quality of our cakes. While we love to make breath-taking designs, we think it is important that the cakes taste as good as they look. All of our cakes are made fresh to order; they are never frozen. For the benefit of our customers and for the well-being of our community, we use mostly organic ingredients and strive to source fruits and other items locally.
-Mary Supley Foxworth