Vendor Reviews~ Audra Photography

Real Maine Wedding's blog is featuring the 12 Days of Laura & Nolan, where we give a shout out to all the vendors who have help make  Real Maine Wedding of Year such an amazing event.  Today Kathryn wrote about our friend& colleague Audra, of Audra Photography... Here are some her shots from our wedding together.... and check out Real Maine weddings blog and see all the blog posts  about the 12 days of Laura & Nolan...

Real Maine Wedding~ Mother of the Bride Experience

As Mothers of daughters, we can't imagine what this moment will feel like, to have a daughter getting married.... How much more different would it be if your daughter won the wedding of her dreams..... Here is Ellen's experience as she tells of her perspective of Laura, Nolan, and this crazy journey.... Hello!  Well, the fabulous wedding planners, Amber and Kathryn asked if I may want to blog and give my reaction to this whole amazing experience.  As the mother-of-the-bride, I have a unique perspective of this wedding...and it has been fantastic! First of all, nobody knows Laura better than me. I know what this day means to her more than anybody.  From the time she was a tiny toddler, her eyes have been focused on that trip down the aisle when she could be the princess and live happily ever after.  During her teen years, I used to put a Bride magazine in her Christmas stocking rather than the latest issue of Seventeen.  She would daydream for hours!  Most often when she was lost in wishful thinking, her sentences would start  "Someday, when I get married....." and she'd go on to tell me the details of her dream wedding.    Well guess what....dreams DO come true! Dreaming became a reality when Laura and Nolan entered this contest and WON!  We were so hopeful and so happy during the contest.  The support from everyone was a gift in and of itself.  The day her name was called was un-real.  Wow..this is happening!!  Little did we know things would only get better!  The people we have me along the way have been so generous, so friendly and so sincerely happy for Laura and Nolan.  From the moment we started making plans, everyones focus has been on giving Laura her perfect day.  The vendors have been amazing!  How will we ever be able to thank them? Not only do I think Laura will be a perfect bride on a perfect day, but I am proud that she will be a good wife for all the years of marriage ahead. She isn't just thinking about her day, but of her life with Nolan.  She loves him with all her heart, as he loves her.  They will be strong together.  They are good TO each other, and good FOR each other.  What more could a mother ask for? One of life's greatest blessings is to be able to see your children's dreams come true.  I am so blessed to see Laura's dream about to come true, in just a few short days! (I am so glad her dad is walking her down the aisle.  Otherwise, I think she may break into a run!)  She is more than ready for 'happily ever after'! Thank you Real Maine Weddings ! Ellen Plaisted

Inspiration board for our December wedding

We have an amazing wedding coming in December at the amazing Ski- Esta in Bethel Maine.  It is an amazing location and in the winter is a paradise.  To create an amazing ambiance we are using silver, red and lots of candle light.  The ceremony will be in front of the large windows, lined with candles, the aisle will be lined with candles as well.  The bride is coming down the seeded eucalyptus garland stairs.  The table will have to different design scape's.... The first design is tall candelabras with roses on silver linens.  The second design will be lower arrangements of roses with vintage candlesticks.  

Classic Blue wedding on the Coast of Maine....

Gotta  love those blue weddings... When people think about our stunning State of Maine, they think, blue ocean, blue berries, lobster... OK so the blue thing stops there, but you get the idea.  Since the beginning of time, and design, when one thinks nautical, one thinks BLUE! Amanda & Troy wanted a classic blue wedding and asked us to do her flowers.... and we said OF COURSE! So with blue and white hydrangeas, white snow berrys, white delicious David Austin roses, white callas, and white ranunculus, we made her bouquets and centerpieces, wrapped with blue ribbon and pins.  It was all photographed by our friend and colleague Russ Caron, who captured these stunning blooms one his blog.... Take a peek!

Here's our favorite picture..... of course taken my Russ Caron photography

National Taco Day

In case you didn't know it, October 4 is National Taco Day, and that is definitely a holiday worth celebrating. So, Kathryn and I got together with our crew (read 6 kids) and had a MANDATORY staff meeting.  On the agenda was finalizing the logistics for our October 21, Real Maine Wedding Giveaway AND Kathryn's AMAZING, KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF, SMACK YO' MOMMA, DANG GOOD TACOS and BEANS & RICE......  My kids who don't like ANYTHING new wolfed down these amazing tacos and beans & rice.  My neighbor Anne Schmidt, of Anne Schmidt Photography, and her crazy cute baby popped in to feast along with us.  I could give you Kathryn's recipe BUT.... I love her and want her to be forever my business partner so I won't.... and truthfully, I wasn't paying enough attention.  Shocking I know.  Let's just say that the staff meeting was an incredible success! The Real Maine Wedding of Laura & Nolan will be stunning and a fantastic success  (we plan on featuring all the vendors that are partnering in the project, so keep your eyes peeled!) AND we ate some dang good tacos.  Here are some photos of the evening events..... YUM!

prepping the tacos

prepping the tacos, shredded chicken in a corn tortilla

fry those pretty babies up..... mmmmmm

pinto beans rinsed & ready

ready to be filled with the fixings

mexican rice.... Yum!

homemade refried beans... soooo good!

my contribution... coconut rum & pineapple juice

sink full of dishes.... totally worth it!

Had to wave my white flag.... sooo full!

Say what?

This has got to be one of THE most beautiful bouquets sweetest thing has ever done!  We gave you a sneak peek on Thursday of last week, but here's the real thing.  Anne Schmidt of Anne Schmidt Photography just sent these to us, and we couldn't wait to share them with you!  Between Amber's amazing skill at creating gorgeous personal flowers, and Anne's phenomenal photographer's eye, I must say that these shots are the bomb-diggity.  Say what?  You heard me. 

Bridal Bouquet with coral roses, Billy Balls, red pincushion, peach Calla Lilies, Fiddlehead.  Photo Courtesy of  Anne Schmidt Photography.

Groom's Boutonniere with Billy Balls, peach Cala Lily, Fiddlehead.  Photo courtesy of Anne Schmidt Photography.

Bridal Bouquet on rocks.  Photo courtesy of Anne Schmidt Photography. 

Mama Beth's Big Day!

We know you're all eager to hear what's happening with the Real Maine Wedding of Laura and Nolan.  With only three weeks left until the Big Day, you can imagine that everyone's feeling pretty excited.  Laura and Nolan recently had the opportunity to make their wedding rings at Brown Goldsmiths in Freeport, and Laura had lots of fun picking out her wedding day jewelry at R.D. Allen Freeport Jewelers.  This weekend Laura is bachelorette-ing it up with her girlfriends, and I can only imagine what Nolan's brothers and soldier buddies have in store for him! 

But, what, you may ask, are Nolan & Laura's mothers up to?  Ready to hear the sweetest thing ever?  Nolan's mom, Beth, is actually preparing the ceremony she'll be using to marry the happy couple.  Can you even stand it?  I'm verklempt just thinking about it!  Here's a little from Beth about her experience getting the service together, and some details about the day she and Ellen, Laura's mom, spent together in Freeport while Laura & Nolan finished up some important and fun wedding details.  She sent this to us just last night, and you can almost "hear" the excitement in her voice:

Last night I sat down to begin trying to put together a wedding service. It was late and I kept thinking, I'll do a little more and then I'll finish it tomorrow. But I was on a roll and couldn't sleep until I finished it. (Funny, I found out today that Laura couldn't sleep either because she was excited about her bachelorette party this weekend!--I don't hold out much hope for sleep the week of October 21st!) I ran to my e-mail this morning to see if Nolan and Laura had written anything about the service--nothing! Uh-oh! I got nothing left! But bless their hearts, they approved it later on. So with a sense of relief, I left to meet Laura's mother, Ellen in Freeport. 

We strolled the sunfilled streets of Freeport very nearly in Laura's and Nolan's footsteps of the 24th, but not exactly. We met at Linda Bean's Maine Kitchen and Topside Tavern and sat down with her wonderful manager, Chris to finalize details of the Rehearsal Dinner! He was so gracious and it was hard to choose from all the delicious items on the menu. But we did and it is going to be a fabulous evening! Everyone had such a good time at the Welcome Home party for Nolan in July, I can hardly wait for October 20! Then we settled down to a great lunch of lobster roll and lemon meringue pie for Ellen and crabmeat roll and flourless chocolate cake with orange sauce for me! (We're contemplating very strict diets later!) Fortified by lunch and a sense of accomplishment, we went down to Brown Goldsmiths Jewelers on the off chance that we might see THE rings shhhhh! They are gorgeous and everyone there was so nice! After walking to the other end of Freeport looking for shoes for the big night, we walked back to R.D. Allen's. They are the jewelers who made Laura's spectacular earrings for the wedding. Again we felt so welcome. (And I must say, everywhere we went that Laura and Nolan had been, it was a mother's dream come true to hear such wonderful things about our children!) We finished off a busy day by finding the perfect gifts for our five little flower girls at R.D. Allen's. Tomorrow we can say, 'this month'! And everything is falling into place! 

But what will we do in November?

Beth and Nolan at the engagement party hosted by Linda Bean's Maine Kitchen.  Photo Credit: Audra Photography.

 

 

 Okay, who's crying now?