Monday, August 4, 2014

Weekends are for.... Tastings

In an effort to blog more, I am starting a new weekend series of posts all about my Friday-Monday activities! (No I don't take off 4 days a week but when I have to work weddings on the real weekend, sometimes I take Friday or Monday off) well cover weddings were doing, bridal shows or tastings and some personal activities! So let's get started! 

Well, this weekend actually DID start a bit early. I live about 10 miles from Atlantic City and this weekend they hosted 2 free concerts on the beach! I personally hate country music but I do enjoy the beach, it was a reason to party and Mr. Viola loves country, so we went! It was so crowded but we really had a great time! 

On Friday, I stopped at our local fish market to get some fresh little necks for steams and some scallops to serve over risotto. Mr. Viola must have been super excited because he brought me home flowers! And look what we found! I had never seen this before! 

And to end the weekend we had one of our favorite events, the Stockton Seaview wedding tasting panel! Instead of doing individual tastings for their couples, Seaview does seasonal tastings where couples & their families get to taste all different hors devours, salads, entrees and cakes! AND they invite all their house vendors! Did you know we were the house stationery vendor to Seaview? Have been for a few years now! Check out our display! 

Not only do we get to set up a display but The Seaview asks us to do the table numbers and escort cards! It's always so hard to decide one style to show all the couples with different taste so I usually go with something that's on trend! This time is was watercolor & gold! Two personal favorites! 

After the tasting, we headed over to Brigantine to have a big family feast at my parents house! And that's how the weekend ended! All in all, it was a perfect mix of work & play! 

xoxo
be.


Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Soapbox: Saltwater Studios

 
Although I wouldn't change my profession for anything, the wedding vendor realm can be pretty crazy. I literally meet and connect with new vendors daily, but when it comes to recommending services to one of my brides, I take that very seriously. 90% of this business is based on referrals, which is why caring about what you do and putting everything into it is so important. Over a year ago I contacted Stephanie from Saltwater Studio. She had shot one of my brides photos and they were gorgeous! I had never heard of her (they were based out of Philadelphia at the time) and I wanted to tell her how beautiful her work was and try to steal a beautiful image she took of my work. Well that email led to such an awesome vendor & personal friendship. I call her my co-worker because when you own a company but work by yourself most days, sometimes you just need someone to bounce ideas off of and tell you that you aren't crazy!
 
Well recently (for the second time since we met) Stephanie offered to photograph some of my recent work, and of course I jumped at the opportunity to get some fabulous images! My studio was just completed so we set up a little lunch followed by a photo shoot for some lovely paper items.
 
A full pocket invitation for a classic, Cape May wedding, with a touch of Victorian charm.
 
 
A sewn vintage, romantic invitation for a wedding at The Smithville Inn.
 
 
A modern, nautical single pocket invitation for a fun couple who were married at The Golden Nugget
 
 
A simple, traditional full pocket invitation for a wedding brunch at Rams Head Inn.
 
 
An old Hollywood glamour inspired sewn invitation for a wedding at The Carriage House
 
 
A modern, elegant full invitation inspired by the Philadelphia cityscape.
 
 
A full pocket wedding invitation inspired by the charm of Smithville Inn and winter colors.
 
 
A huge thank you to one of my favorite photographers, an amazing friend
and my full time "coworker"! Make sure you check out her amazing work!
Her fiancé does the cinematography too!


Sunday, February 16, 2014

Valentine's Day at Just Be.

When I was little, my dad would always spoil my mom & I on Valentine's day. He would give my mom a beautiful arrangement of roses, a gift and a cute card. And I would always get a single pink rose, a gift like hers but miniature and a sweet daddy/daughter card. My moms card was always funny or silly, not super romantic. I remember year after year watching my mom open it and either laugh or roll her eyes at my fathers humor. I loved this moment every year because it reminded me how lucky I was to have two loving parents. Their relationship, far from perfect, was always something I idealized when I was young. And it was always on Valentine's Day every year that I told myself one day I would find a husband who would treat me the way my dad treats my mom.

Well, I lucked out and found myself a hopeless romantic man and I married him! And every year on Valentine's Day he spoils me with fun homemade gifts, secret adventures and adorable personalized cards. So every year, I decorate the house and enjoy the 14 days leading up to the "hallmark holiday" ad many of you may call it! And this year, I ever got a few extra special Valentine greetings...

Here is a little glimpse into our 2014 Valentine's Day!

If you follow my instagram, you know that my fireplace mantel is my favorite part 
of the house to decorate! I change it every month, and this February was no different!

This is wat my Valentines did V-day morning
 INSTEAD of making me breakfast in bed... gotta love em!

 Gifts for Mr. Viola,  the hunting & port enthusiast

And a homemade gift from him.

All in all, it was a lovely Valentine's Day! We went to the movies to see A Winter's Tale (mixed reviews on this one) and out to one of our favorite BYOB restaurants! Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day, Hallmark Holiday or just your average Friday!

xoxo
be. 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Styled Shoot: Sail Away With Me

Hope everyone had a fun & safe Labor Day Weekend! Today is a pretty surreal day for me and the Just Be Studio... As I read all of my friends & family's statuses about sending their kids back to school or preparing their classrooms, it finally hits me that I won't be returning to my classroom for the first time in 3 years. I made a huge decision this past spring and today is the first day it feels real. So I slept in until 10am (only because my 9:30 appointment had to reschedule) and sat at my desk for the afternoon working, designing & making pretty things! Congrats to all my teacher friends an anyone sending their love ones off for the 13-14 school year! Hope this school year is amazing for everyone! 

This styled shoot has been quite a process. After being rained out 2 different days, we were finally able to pull it off! And with the ridiculous sunset we got to shoot during, I am glad we waited so long! The weather was perfect, we had gorgeous, fun models and don't even get me started about the vendors who offered their items & services to be showcased! Ok, ok, ok... on to the images by the incredible Stephanie from Saltwater Studios!


Any opportunity to team up with Betina's at Parkview I will take! She has such an eye for new creative arrangements and we just always work so well together! All I usually tell her are the colors and maybe 2 adjectives of what I am thinking and what she supplies is always DEAD ON!

TIP: Find a good florist who you can give them just a few details & trust them to come up with something STUNNING, not just duplicate a photo you provide!

 
 Seriously, how gorgeous was our model for this shoot? Not to mention the amazing sunset behind her! Saltwater Studios truly outdid themselves with these images!

TIP: Trust your photographer during a shoot! You will be pleasantly surprised with how awesome they are without giving them 20+ "picture ideas" from Pinterest. Remember, you hired them because you fell in love with their work.

 


If you aren't shopping on Etsy for your wedding, you aren't taking full advantage of the amazing items out there! Look for everything from paper items to flowergirl dresses to wedding party accessories.

TIP: Its all in the details so don't wait until the last minute! Don't think you'll be the only one to notice your one of a kind earrings or how unique your programs are, people notice and truly appreciate the little stuff.





How beautiful are the details on this simple, elegant gown? Wedding Belles Boutique seriously has so many gorgeous gowns. Every time I go in to see Tina I always have to browse to see what new hot styles they have in!

TIP: Don't go dress shopping with only one type of gown in mind. Let the boutique put you in all different types of dresses. You never know what you may fall in love with once you have it on!


 

 

Again, the details of this shoot were beyond! So fun & playful but definitely kept with the style of the shoot! And no, you may not need to carry a purse the day of your wedding, 
but its adorable for pictures!

TIP:  Have some fun with accessories! Change up your necklace or hairpiece for the reception!




I will never complain about my job because I thoroughly enjoy every single day! I never get bored because every event is so different from the next and when I do find myself getting tired of something, I just come up with some new designs to show my brides!

TIP: You should be able to walk away from every vendor meeting you have thinking 
"Gosh, they love what they do" 



A HUGE Thank You to the following vendors 
for their help to make this shoot my favorite yet!

xoxo
be. 

Photography Saltwater Studios

Hair Deana La Greca

Grooms octopus tie Jesitaj on Etsy

Cake Topper Wyale Designs  


Event Styling Just Be. Studio


Paper Details Just Be. Studio

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Styled Shoot: Sail Away with Me

I can not even begin to express how excited I am to be doing another styled wedding shoot with such amazing vendors!!! This Thursday, I am teaming up with Saltwater Studios, Betina's at Parkview, Wedding Belles Boutique and TONS of amazing Etsy Shoppes to style a shoot which is sure to be STUNNING!!! Yes, you've seen nautical but this one will be a bit different! You will have to check back soon to see the images! But for now, I will leave you with the inspiration board I have created! 

Hope you like!



xoxo
be.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Styled Shoot: Bright & Blissful

Recently, I have been approached to do several styled shoots and I could not be more excited! 
It all started with the Sweet Summer Peaches shoot I did with Saltwater Studios, 
and we have so many more in the works. 


Next week I am teaming up with some fabulous South Jersey vendors 
and the always amazing Hello, Gorgeous Photography to style a photography "workshop" 
for several other local photographers. The only detail I had to work of was that 
"the cake will be white with multi colored sprinkles".... seriously?!?!? SO EXCITED!!! I have been dying to do a super fun, colorful wedding for years and this is just as good, if not better! 
I could not be more excited for this shoot with such amazing vendors! 



Take a look at the inspiration board I put together! Hope you like! 
Check back soon for images from our big shoot on Thursday!


xoxo
be.




Monday, July 8, 2013

Monday: Weekend Recap

Champagne is always appropriate... especially when we are throwing the party! 
On Saturday, we had a party to celebrate Just Be. Not only were the last few weeks busy for us with weddings but we had a lot more up our sleeves! On Friday we finally launched our website! And on Saturday our episode of Life & Living with Joanna Gagis aired on NJTV! And this week our Etsy site launches! With so many exciting things happening for our little company, we thought why dont we throw a party to celebrate! So many friends, family & supporters came and we are so thankful! 
Take a look at some of our decor & details from OUR big day!

Focal point of the launch party? A champagne bar, of course! Guests sipped on champs all night long adding their favorite flavors & garnishes! If you have never tried lavender syrup in your champagne, you aren't doing it right! I loved introducing a personal favorite to all my favorite people!


Everywhere you looked white roses, hydrangea & gold leaves covered every surface! 
And a fun little extra detail, gold glitter in the water! 




The entry table with our new business cards and cute promotional pencils for all the guests!


 


We decided to serve our guests summer salads & four different sliders!
Super easy & everyone loved all the choices!
Each table was complete with a gold & white chevron runner, a banner & framed signs!





No party would be complete without a dessert table full of cakes, cupcakes and treats!




And finally we all know what the best part of having a party is.... leftovers of course!
I woke up Sunday morning, grabbed a black & white cookie and a glass of Rose´
and hopped in the hammock to relax, what an amazing weekend!


Thank you to everyone who came to show their support!
Be sure to check out our new website, www.justbestudio.com and check back soon 
for our Etsy shop and our episode of Life & Living with Joanna Gagis from NJTV!

xoxo
be.