What's in my camera bag? As seen on Shotkit...

It's Friday evening and I'm prepping for my weekend of shooting at Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake - have I mentioned that this is quite possibly the best wedding venue in Maine? I'm cleaning sensors, charging and changing batteries and formatting memory cards and other exciting tasks. And then I'm packing it all up into various lighting bags and camera bags.

Waaaaay back in January I received this email:
Hi Leah

I work for a website due to be released in a few weeks called Shotkit, and am a fan of your work.

Shotkit will feature the work of photographers around the world, and in particular, information on what they carry in their camera bags. Photographers such as Jonas Peterson, Fer Juaristi, Jeff Newsom and others from various genres will also be featured.

As a successful photographer yourself, I was wondering whether you would like to contribute and possibly be one of the featured photographers on the site?

If so, I will need from you:
1. A photo of the contents of your bag, neatly laid out. Taken from above in daylight would be best.
2. A write up about your photography, gear, and anything else you may find relevant.
3. A selection of 5 of your best photos which will be featured as well as a link to your site.
4. Your hometown and country.

It took me forever to find the time to actually get everything out of my various camera bags and lay it out (and even then I skipped the non-photography items like tissues, blotting papers, hairpins, scissors, Advil, Band-Aids, electrical tape) but I finally did it! Should you be at all curious about what's in my camera bag then check out the little article on Shotkit 

It's a great site that gives you a peek into the camera bags of professional photographers.

Next up on the blog will be an adorable newborn baby boy followed by a fabulous wedding at the Boston Public Library, an engagement shoot in Ogunquit, Maine and then a weekend of weddings at Migis Lodge in South Casco, ME

Helpful Wedding Information Week

Wedding Season is well underway here at Leah Haydock Photography. Many of my 2013 couples are scheduling engagement sessions, working on their wedding photography homework, confirming timelines and other fun activities. My 2014 couples are booking vendors and confirming plans and wondering how time is speeding along so quickly!
So you know how the Discovery Channel has Shark Week? I thought it might be fun to have "Helpful Wedding Information Week" on the blog next week. What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? Just stick to pictures Leah!?

I have a TON of different blog post ideas but I want them to be useful to you - yes you, my lovely yet mostly anonymous blog readers - so I'm looking for comments here on the blog (click on "view comments for this post", type your comment in the box and choose "name/url" or "anonymous" from the drop down box. If you choose "name/url" you can type your name and leave "url" blank or just go to my facebook page Leah Haydock Photography and comment there)

So here are the possible topics - remember there are only 5 days so you have to vote for your favorites:
1. Tips on how to choose your wedding photographer. Questions to ask. Things to look for
2. Everything Engagement. Why get engagement pictures? What to wear. How to choose your location
3. The top ten mistakes couples make on their wedding day and how to avoid them
4. Top ten tips to get better wedding pictures
5. Frequently asked questions about wedding photography
6. Shot lists. Do we need them? What should be on them? Can we send you our Pinterest board?
7. Family formals. How many do we take? What groups should we list? When's the best time to take them?
8. Timeline troubles. How to enjoy every second of your wedding day and still find time to take the pictures you want. Planning the best timeline.
9. You can Photoshop that right? Tips to look your best without Photoshop
10. Wedding Albums. Do we need one? Why? How does the design process work?

And because every blog post is better with a picture here are our dogs. They were assisting me when I photographed a TON of chocolate a few weeks ago [rest assured - I know chocolate is deadly for dogs - the chocolate was nowhere near their reach]

Shot Lists - must have wedding pictures and family formals

Day 3 of Royal Wedding Week on the blog. Today we're talking about shot lists and family formals. I'm wondering if the official photographer will have a list from William and Kate saying things like:
- Grammy isn't too keen on Camilla so make sure they're on opposite ends of the family pictures
- The tiara I'll be wearing has been in the family for 600 years so I'd really like a close up shot of it
- At some point during the wedding I'll be told whether I'll be a princess or a duchess and I'd love it if you can get my reaction when I find out
- Jay Z and Beyonce might be singing between courses and we'd like a picture with them after our first dance

Ha ha but there are usually some must-have shots for each wedding. Some of the crazier bridal magazines take it to extremes publishing lists they suggest printing and giving to your photographer "500 must-have pictures your photographer MUST get!"

To me, this is kind of like deciding to have dinner at an Italian restaurant but insisting the chef uses a French recipe that you've found online. Most couples do a lot of research into choosing their wedding photographer and although personality and budget must be considered, you usually choose a photographer because you love the images they make. And if you love their pictures and trust their vision, you probably don't want to make them spend the day hunting for and checking off moments that happened at someone elses wedding.

Now of course a good chef will want to know that you have an absolute passion for say...capers or that you can't abide...tarragon and they'll tailor your dinner accordingly. So by all means tell your photographer if the handkerchief wrapped around your bouquet belonged to your great grandmother or that you can't stand your cousin's new boyfriend and you want a family picture without him in it. But you probably don't need to email your photographer a list that reads:
- Bride walking down aisle
- Vows
- Rings
- Groom kissing bride
- Bride and Groom cutting cake
- And 495 other critical images
(or if you do , you should probably think about hiring another photographer!)

Thanks to my couples letting me know about truly personal and unique elements of their wedding I made sure to capture the wooden soldier and book of messages for Corey's brother who was serving in Iraq at her wedding:


And the moment when Lunda surprised Jonathan by having a watch delivered as a gift moments before their wedding ceremony:


I am sure I would have photographed these pictures anyway but if there's something very special/important to you then it's always a good idea to mention it to your photographer and I can make sure I'm in the right place at the right time. Likewise, if there's any kind of surprise happening at your wedding, it's also good to let me in on the secret! Usually when people sit down to their salads and appetizers this is a good time for me to change out memory cards, refresh batteries etc as not much happens. However I was forewarned that Rene Rancourt would be making a surprise appearance to sing the National Anthem at Danielle & Kevin's wedding so I was ready:


The other kind of shot list is a helpful reminder of family pictures that are important to you both. What you don't want to do is go crazy with this list and turn your wedding into a 4 hour portrait session. Luckily, in the world of Leah Haydock Photography, the family formal shot list is a brief but very important document that gives me important information I wouldn't ordinarily be aware of to make sure I get any critical pictures for you.

About 2-4 weeks before each wedding I send out a homework document to my clients, they confirm all of the times and locations, note any unusual moments planned/items of significance they'd like photographed and fill in those must-have family pictures.

When it comes to family pictures, as you start making your list you should ask yourself:
- Who actually wants this picture? Am I including this picture because I think I should?
- What will happen to it? Will it be framed? Be included in our album?
- How much time do we want to spend doing family pictures?

For example, you'll probably want a picture of the Bride & Groom with the Bride's Parents and then a picture of the Bride & Groom with the Groom's parents. There's a good chance they'll be framed on your parent's mantelpiece and in your wedding album. Therefore a good picture to take.

And then you might list out picture of bride and uncle, picture of bride and aunt, picture of bride and uncle and aunt, picture of bride and groom and uncle and aunt. This would be worth thinking about a little harder. If you wouldn't dream of putting all four images in your wedding album but you're close to your uncle and aunt and want to give them this picture for Christmas then maybe instead of four pictures we just do the last one of the four of you thus saving you 15-20 minutes.

Each family combination/group you add to your list can take 3-5 minutes. You have to call the people, get them all in position, make sure we have the guy's jackets buttoned or open, fix flowers that have fallen off, wait for your brother who ran to the bar to get a drink and wait for your sister to come back from the restroom!

My usual recommendation is something like this:
Bride & Groom with Grandparents (we take this one first so elderly/unsteady Grandparents aren't waiting for too long)
Bride & Groom with Bride's immediate family (parents, siblings, significant others of siblings)
Bride & Groom with Bride's parents and siblings
Bride & Groom with Bride's parents
Bride with Bride's parents
Bride with Mom, Bride with Dad
I then repeat this list with the Groom's family and in around 20-30 minutes we have documented the important family members in relaxed but totally frame-worthy images and everyone can go and relax at cocktail hour. Of course this list may be extended if we have divorced/remarried parents and couples might add in additional images of say Godparents or close nieces/nephews. Here's a screen shot of a couple of shot lists we just finalized for April/May upcoming weddings:


Once we have the family picture shot list finalized, the couple must give copies of the list to someone who actually knows who the people are! These family or wedding party members can then find the people quickly and check the group off the list. I remember one wedding I assisted at maybe 5 years ago where family pictures took 2 hours as no one knew where they should be, I was wondering through cocktail hour asking random guests to point out family relatives. Essentially, you want your photographer photographing not looking for people!

All of my couples get the high-res images after the wedding so it's helpful if family members don't stand behind me and try to take duplicate pictures. Your eyes can't help but move when they see movement and it's sad when I have family pictures with everyone looking in different directions due to the "paparazzi" behind me!

And of course it isn't a blog post without some examples of lovely relaxed family pictures. I always suggest finding a nice shady spot for images so people aren't squinting in the sun with a plain darker background as the focus is on the people!

Perfectly relaxed pictures of Alison & Matt with both sets of parents and individually with their siblings. We took these in the Public Gardens and you MUST get a permit if you're planning on pictures there!


At winter weddings sometimes you have to take family pictures indoors, I love these relaxed images with Becky's family:


Keeping it simple with Stephanie's parents at her wedding to Tim:


All of these pictures with Lori's family at her wedding to Kris ended up in the album or framed:


And if your schedule allows then it can be fun to put a note in your program asking ALL of your family and friends to join you after the ceremony for a giant group picture:


I try to learn names for family pictures but I'll often end up saying "OK, Mom, we'll have you here next to your daughter. And Dad, you're going to stand just here" I'm guessing you can't do that with the Queen is the Grandmother of the Bride & Groom ;) That's it for today! Useful? Informative? Too long?

Planning your wedding timeline just like Prince William and Kate at the Royal Wedding!

So I'm declaring it ROYAL WEDDING WEEK on the blog in honor of the upcoming wedding of HRH Price William and Kate Middleton. I love me a good royal wedding. I was 4 years old for Charles & Diana's wedding and still remember watching it on TV. Being a little older now ;) I plan on getting up early on Friday morning and watching with a Mimosa perhaps...

So the schedule for this week:

Monday: Let's talk about wedding timelines

Tuesday: Engagement pictures

Wednesday: Family formals and shotlists

Thursday: The difference between weddings in the UK and the US (for new readers, I'm originally from the UK but I've lived in the US for 9 years and been photographing weddings for 4 of them)

Friday: General wedding observations and a picture of me in my best wedding hat :)

Sound good? Would you like something different? Will you be watching the Royal Wedding? Let's talk in the comments!

So - for today - let's talk timelines. The official timeline for the Royal Wedding was recently released (it's at the end of this blog - remember to take off 5 hours if you're watching on the East Coast to account for the time difference) and literally every minute is accounted for e.g:

10:51am Bride departs for Westminster Abbey with her father

10:58am Bride arrives at Westminster Abbey

11:00am Marriage service commences

Now if you're marrying the future King of England, your wedding is being planned by a slew of royal advisors, all roads are closed to traffic, you have an entire police force at your disposal AND approximately 3 billion people will be watching your wedding then you can have this kind of timeline. Should things get off track there will be a cry off "Off with their heads!"

But for the majority of couples planning their wedding timeline, it's probably wise not to try to plan your day with this insane level of detail.

Once a couple book me to photograph their wedding I love giving them advice on how to best plan their timeline with a focus on finding the optimum time for photographs - making sure we have enough time, the best time of day for the sun, figuring out if they want to do a first look etc - whilst remembering that this is a wedding and not a photoshoot!

And we come up with nice simple documents like these below which are helpful for figuring times for transportation, hair and make up, flower deliveries etc

Usually we'll start with the time of the ceremony (as this is usually somewhat set in stone) and then work our way backwards (travel time to ceremony? will we do a first look? family pictures before the ceremony? what time do I need to arrive for getting ready coverage?) and then forwards (receiving line? travel time to reception? different locations for portraits? sunset time for beautiful twilight pictures?) and it'll all come together. Sometimes we'll chat on the phone to figure all of this out, sometimes we'll meet in person over a glass of wine :)

Ten top tips for planning your wedding timeline:

1. Allow more time than you think you need. Seriously - no one is ever upset because there is a little extra time. Conversely if you run out of time and have to miss cocktail hour or cut your pictures short then it's such a shame.

2. Be generous when allocating travel time - unless you're royalty there will be traffic on the road! I like using google maps to get the basic travel time and then adding on at least 20% extra time.

3. Consider the time that the sun will be setting. A good photographer will be able to find good light/shade throughout the day but if you can try to avoid pictures between 11am and 2pm then it saves everyone squinting in the harsh midday sun

4. If your dress is corset-style lace up or you have lots of teeny tiny buttons to fasten with a crochet hook you should allow at least 20-30 minutes to get dressed!

5. It's nice if you can both get ready in the same location (different floors of the hotel for example) as then you can have pre-wedding pictures of both of you

6. Consider doing a first look so that you get a beautiful private moment between the two of you (I use very long zoom lenses so I get your reactions but I can't hear what you're saying), you'll still feel all of the emotion of the ceremony and we can do a bunch of pictures before so that you get to enjoy the champagne and hor d'oeuvres of cocktail hour - mmm

7. Don't go last for hair and make up if you're the bride. It's usually good to be second-to-last so that someone else can be done whilst you're getting dressed/putting on a veil. If you want your maid/matron of honor/sister/mom to help you get dressed make sure she's ahead of you in the hair and make up line and dressed so they look lovely in the pictures vs. being in sweats with wet hair ;)

8. For a receiving line after your ceremony you should plan on greeting guests for 30-90 minutes depending on numbers (approx 10-15 seconds per guest - Hug! "Congratulations! You look beautiful! How are you?! This is my new husband/wife!" Kiss!) - and bring hand sanitizer so you don't get sick on your honeymoon after kissing/hugging 200 of your closest friends and family ;)

9. Think carefully about your must-have list of pictures for family formals. Each picture can take 3-5 minutes to gather the people, set up the shot, take a number of pictures in case of blinking. More about this on Wednesday...

10. Let me know if you'd like me to steal you outside just after sunset for some lovely twilight pictures (weather permitting!). Give me 5 minutes and I'll wield my little video light for some magical pictures like these:

At Neeta & Rich's wedding at the Hyatt Hotel in Cambridge we went outside to make some images with the Boston skyline in the background:


Here's Stephanie and Tim out on the balcony at their wedding reception at Hillview Country Club in North Reading:


If I'm photographing a wedding in Boston and the limo happens to drive along Commonwealth Ave I can't resist some wedding photos at night like this one of Becky and Duke:


Erin & Jeffrey took advantage and sneak out and celebrate being married at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA


I photographed Lori & Kris outside at Groveland Fairways in maybe 3 minutes and this picture was actually used as part of a background for Train's performance of "Marry Me" at the 2010 American Music Awards on ABC last year :)

Are you convinced about sneaking outside just after sunset now?

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it for today. As promised, here's the official timeline for the Royal Wedding - will you be watching?

8.15am and 9.45am: The general congregation will arrive at the Great North Door of Westminster Abbey.
9.50am: Governors-general and prime ministers of realm countries, the diplomatic corps and other distinguished guests arrive at the Abbey.
10.10am: The bridegroom and best man Prince Harry leave Clarence House for Westminster Abbey.
10.20am: Members of foreign royal families arrive at the Abbey from Buckingham Palace.
10.20am: Carole Middleton and son James leave the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey. They arrive at the Abbey at 10.27am.
10.25am: Members of the Royal Family (except those listed below) leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey. They arrive at the Abbey at 10.30am.
10.35am: The following members of the Royal Family leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey. They arrive at the Abbey at 10.40am: The Duke of York, Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Eugenie of York, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence
10.38am: The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall leave Clarence House for Westminster Abbey. They arrive at the Abbey at 10.42am.
10.40am: The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey.
10.48am: The bridesmaids and pages leave the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey. They arrive at the Abbey at 10.55am.
10.51am: Kate Middleton, accompanied by her father, Michael, leaves the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey
11.00am: The marriage service begins
12.15pm: The carriage procession of the bride and groom with a captain’s escort of the Household Cavalry, followed by the Queen’s procession with a sovereign’s escort of the Household Cavalry, leaves Westminster Abbey for Buckingham Palace.
12.30pm: The bride’s carriage procession arrives at Buckingham Palace.
12.40pm: Members of the Royal Family and members of foreign royal families arrive at Buckingham Palace.
1.25pm: The Queen and the bride and groom, together with their families, appear on the balcony.
1.30pm: Fly past by the Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain memorial flight.

Did you like this post? Here's an older post on planning your wedding timeline with some sample wedding schedules http://leahhaydock.blogspot.com/2010/06/planning-your-wedding-day-timeline.html

Escaping the dirty snow of New England...

I have a few more weeks before the official New England wedding season starts so I thought I'd sneak out to Florida for some sunshine with my parents who are visiting from the UK. The above picture was taken with my cell phone so excuse the quality ;)

Check out my pedicure - 3 weeks and still counting from my trip to Las Vegas. I am also now an official Gelish manicure addict. I've never been one for manicures; my nails always chip in a day or two so it's always seems like a waste of time/money, but after my Gelish manicure lasted for 3 weeks with perfect red nails I was pretty impressed. I got back to NH and found that there's a salon in Newburyport offering Gelish http://thepolishednail.net/

I imagine it'd be awesome on your honeymoon. Call and make an appointment with Debbi who just did my manicure and was awesome 978 465 0400

Musings on wedding albums. Part I

Yup - part one because if you're a regular blog reader (are you? say hello!) you know I'm not so good at keeping it concise and I have SO much to say about wedding albums :)

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin...

"We're spending so much on the wedding, maybe we'll skip a wedding album?"...."My friend makes these great albums on shutterfly or blurb"..... "I'm really into scrapbooking"...."We really just need a disc"...

All things I often hear and I totally understand. When you're planning your wedding it can sometimes feel like your budget is spiraling out of control. You think well, maybe we can skip the wedding album for now, we can always do it later. Here's a little confession for you - I actually did the same thing myself. 4 years later we still don't have a professional wedding album. And it sucks. I need to stop procrastinating and just put it on my to-do list! Here's what I have when people ask to see our wedding pictures:

Let's be honest, if someone asks to see your wedding pictures they probably don't want to sit and wait whilst you find the discs, load them up and try to find some favorites in the thumbnails.

My other concern about just having your pictures on disc? Media storage can corrupt - who even knows if discs or USB memory sticks will exist in a thirty years? Remember the floppy disc? And the VHS video? I back up everything like a fiend on hard drives and with online storage but I wonder if there'll be a whole generation of couples who won't be able to share their wedding pictures with their grandchildren one day because they don't have a wedding album and they've lost their USB flash drive :(

After we got married in Las Vegas and had our reception party at Atkinson Country Club I was totally happy that I had the discs of pictures. I had major plans (after all, unlike most brides I have access to the most amazing albums only available to professional photographers) but album design takes time. A lot of time. I spend hours and hours each custom design and subtly retouching the images in the album until they're perfect and there was always a client album in front of mine in the line.

So here's another confession - we were going back to the UK for another post-wedding party and I wanted to be able to share my pictures - I went online and made two consumer photo books. I won't say which companies I used, there are a ton of them out there offering consumer albums - shutterfly, snapfish, blurb. You upload your pictures, hit autofill or use the templates they have and voila! Instant wedding album for less than $100.

I made those photo books in 2007. Let's take a look at them today in 2011:

Consumer photo books don't have lay-flat or hinged pages so you have to push down hard on the pages to try to see the part of the image in the gutter. The printer calibration can also lead to strange color casts on the page which isn't even a photograph. And some of the templates offered are so busy like this image-on-image:

Each time you open and close your album you put pressure on the spine - especially if you're pushing on the pages to hold the book flat. And eventually this tends to happen, which makes for sad panda face:


I love including black and white images in the wedding album - so elegant and timeless. I use a specific technique for black and white conversions to get flattering skin tones and keep the contrast of the image just right. The image below is beautiful in real life but came out really muddy-looking and dull in the consumer book.


And even worse than the orange/pink skin tones, the thin paper and the spine breaking is that the thin pages have started to stick together. I pulled them apart super carefully but you can see the damage :(


So that's my test experience with do-it-yourself consumer photo books for wedding albums. Not spectacular! You probably wouldn't think about designing and sewing your wedding dress yourself or contemplate baking all of the hors d'oeuvres for cocktail hour so why design your own wedding album...?

If you think about it, your album is kind of like the final piece of your wedding puzzle. It documents the details, records your friends and families and most important it holds your memories. It should be designed, printed and bound with this in mind so that it will last generations.

So now I've shared with you my experience of not really having a wedding album, let's take a look at one of the professional wedding albums I just made for one of my couples!

Here's a spectacular 12x12 leather bound flushmount panoramic professional wedding album upgraded with a crystal clear image cover. The cover photograph is bonded to a thick layer of acrylic which looks just like glass (but without the risk of shattering), it also makes for a very heavy album!


You can see how thick the acrylic is in the image below. The pages can also be gilded on the outside - for this album I went with a gorgeous silver gilding for a very subtle sparkle. Most couples choose 20 or 30 page albums with their initial collection but we inevitably have so many beautiful pictures to include that they'll end up adding pages. It's a great problem to have! This album ended up at around 40 pages:


Each page is an actual photograph. The photographic paper used is archival quality and lasts for hundreds of years if stored and treated correctly (albums don't belong in damp basements or humid attics!). Photographic pages gives you accurate colors, realistic saturation, excellent neutral skin tones and great intensity. Each print is then flush mounted (i.e. all the way to the edge) to a substrate for wonderfully thick pages of around 1.5mm.


In terms of design I love a clean and modern approach. I have another post coming up about the process of album design...


Wedding albums are "panoramic" which means photographs can spread right across two pages with no break at the spine, I love taking a beautiful couples portrait or a wide-angle shot in the church and running it right across two pages:


Here's another design from the album:


Here's cocktail hour, it's great to have a record of your guests and family (another good reason to not cram family pictures into cocktail hour):


One more design:


I love series of pictures, here we have some reception fun and then a sweet kiss on the dance floor:


There's a good chance your proud parents will want to share the day with their friends too so I offer exact duplicates of your wedding album in affordable press-print books. The pages are regular paper vs. super thick photographic pages and they're hinged to lie flat. The image below right shows the wedding album next to a hinged press-print parent album. These make wonderful thank you or holiday gifts for your parents.


Your wedding album will be opened and closed and opened and closed and opened and closed. And you don't want to be the sad panda with a broken album so the binding is super sturdy. Here are some shots of another album so you can see how the pages lie completely flat:

OK, you're probably all albumed out now! Too much info? Not enough? Useful? Do you want part two? Oh - and make sure you come by on Sunday as I'll be posting the info about my annual boudoir marathon which will take place on April 16/17 in Boston. Perfect groom's gift before the wedding, awesome idea for your first year "paper" anniversary or just to document how awesome you look right now!

Vendor Spotlight :: Flair Bridesmaid, Boston, MA :: Bridesmaid dresses

Cast your mind back to last winter...do you remember the Vendor Spotlight posts I used to do on the blog? I'd pick a vendor I've enjoyed working with at a recent wedding and then I'd interview them so you got to know them too? In the wedding craziness of Summer and Fall the vendor spotlights kind of fell off the to-do list but they're back!

Coming up in the near future I have interviews planned with a wonderful calligrapher, make up artist, florist, wedding planner and much more. They're all talented professionals in the wedding industry who my couples have loved working with and who I want to spread the word about. I don't post about anyone I haven't worked with/met personally (I've had some vendors ask to be interviewed but it doesn't work like that!)

So for your reading delight today I have the Vendor Spotlight trained on...FLAIR Bridesmaid Boutique in Boston, MA

Yes, just a couple of doors down from the Burberry store in Boston is a little discrete sign at 10 Newbury Street announcing Flair Bridesmaid Boutique:


You step out of the elevator on the fourth floor to be greeted by a veritable bounty of bridesmaid dresses in every possible style and color:


I spent an hour interviewing Lindsay and Stacey about Flair Bridesmaid Boutique and they shared all sorts of tips and secrets for bridesmaid dress shopping which I'm delighted to now share with you. And I'll intersperse this blog post with pictures of the stunning dresses in the store:


Leah: So tell me about Flair and how it came to be?
Lindsay and Stacey: Christine is the owner of Flair and when she was planning her own wedding she struggled to find a great selection of bridesmaid dresses all in one place and so in 2003 Flair Bridesmaid Boutique was born. We aim to offer brides a collection of modern sophisticated and original dresses in all sorts of styles and colors in an unparalleled bridal shopping experience.

Leah: When should brides start thinking about bridesmaid dresses?

Lindsay and Stacey: It's never too early!!! Bridesmaid dresses often set the color and compliment the theme of the wedding so it's a great decision to make early in the process. Also, it can take more time than you think for your girls to get their measurements, visit the store if they're local or fill in the paperwork if they're not and get fitted etc. Don't feel like you have to wait until it's exactly 6 months before your wedding! We probably dress around 400 weddings each year and so the boutique can get really busy! We only see brides and their bridesmaids by appointments for a truly personal service so we recommend booking earlier rather than later. Having said that we have helped out girls with last-minute dress needs, as late as 6 weeks before the wedding but some of the designers will charge a rush-fee.

Leah: Which designers do you stock?
Lindsay and Stacey: Coren Moore, Jenny Yoo, Badgley Mischka, Anna Elyse, Siri, Lynn Lugo, Dessy and Seams which is local to Boston. Some designers start at size 00 and others go up to a size 28-30 so we have dresses for all sizes and shapes!

Leah: What about accessories?

Lindsay and Stacey: Absolutely, we offer custom sashes by a.b. Ellie. Sashes are a perfect way to customize each dress and they're also wonderful for adding a unique element to your wedding dress. You can almost think of the dress as a shell or a blank canvas and your sash as the perfect finishing touch.


Leah: So, what's different about the Flair experience?

Lindsay and Stacey: Well, first of all we have such a great selection of dresses for girls to choose from in one place, everything from modern minimalist dresses to more glamourous sophisticated styles. And the dresses aren't like a standard dress off-the-rack in a clothing store. Many of them are boned for support, the beautiful fabrics are lined and they'll fit so much better.

We also have a selection for all budgets with some dresses starting at around $150 and others coming in at $400 plus. We only see brides and their bridesmaids by appointment so it's a very personal service and we can advise on colors, trends, and styles to suit all shapes. We've worked with bridesmaids with just one or two bridesmaids and we've also dressed a bridal party of 14 girls all in different dresses!

Leah: Is that a wedding dress I see in the window? So Flair isn't just about bridesmaid dresses?

Lindsay and Stacey: Flair has always focused on bridesmaid dresses but as our designers have added bridal gowns to their collections we've been happy to offer them too. We don't tend to have many of the heavy, beaded more formal dresses instead we have beautifully light and modern wedding dresses:


Leah: What trends are you seeing for 2011?

Lindsay and Stacey: We're seeing a lot of gray dresses; darker grays, lighter silvers and platinum as it's a great alternative to black and still a very elegant neutral. [Note from Leah: Love gray! It looks beautiful with a pop of color in your flowers - yellows or oranges and wonderful with spring green and whites]

A lot of girls are going for short-short too this year. Dresses in mini or cocktail length. These are also some of the easiest dresses to re-wear to parties or to dinner with a cute little jacket. One-shoulder dresses have also been popular so far. It's probably split about 50:50 into weddings where all of the girls are in identical dresses/color and those where they have a choice of style or color.

Leah: I imagine you have some bridesmaid groups where all of the girls have different body sizes and shapes...

Lindsay and Stacey: Oh, all the time. We have SO many dress styles that we really have something for everyone. One of our favorite dresses is the Nolan dress by Coren Moore. The sweetheart neckline is super flattering for everyone and the full skirt also looks amazing on all shapes. It's one of our favorite dresses for a group with different body types and it comes in size 0 to 22. We also have some beautiful one-shoulder dresses that work well with all sizes.

Meet Nolan:


Leah: So what should a bride know before making her appointment to come in?

Lindsay and Stacey: Don't feel that you need to bring ALL of your bridesmaids! In fact, it's best to bring just 2 or 3 girls with you. If you have a group of 10 it'll be almost impossible to settle on just one dress or color with everyone having a different opinion!

It's great to do a little homework before you come in to make the most of your appointment, do a little research online or with bridal magazines and perhaps have some ideas on styles and colors as a starting point. Tell your bridesmaids to wear a strapless bra and/or their shapers/Spanx if they plan on wearing them so they can see how the dresses will look.

Leah: Excellent advice! What about other information would you share for choosing bridesmaid dresses:

Lindsay and Stacey: OK, here's our top ten tips:

1. Consider color before style. Your bridesmaids will almost act as decor at your wedding and especially if you have a larger bridal party you'll see the color you choose almost everywhere!

2. Don't get hung up on numbers! Just because you're a size 6 in Banana Republic doesn't mean you'll be a size 6 in all dresses! Dress sizes vary with styles and with designers and it's so much better to choose a well-fitting size rather than obsessing over numbers! [Note from Leah: Amen!!! And this goes for brides too. If your dress fits well you'll feel more comfortable and confident at your wedding. Even the teeny-tiny bride can have back fat and underarm bulges if her dress doesn't fit well!]

3. Do a little homework before coming into the store but keep an open mind! Sometimes we'll have a bridesmaid who will insist that she'll only wear a v-neck style or can't do strapless and they'll be pleasantly surprised when they try on a dress that we recommend.

4. Neutral colors - grey, black, navy, nude - look sophisticated and can often be worn again as they're the least "bridesmaid-y"

5. It's best to have each bridesmaid do their alterations locally as it's easier for them to handle the logistics. For Boston-based girls, we recommend Newbury Tailor at 116 Newbury St.

6. Set a budget and be careful about trying on dresses out of your budget! We're happy to only show you dresses that fit your budget but if you decide to try on some of the more expensive dresses there's a good chance you'll be tempted to splurge!

7. Don't be scared of strapless! They can often provide more coverage than some of the deeper cut v-necklines. Most of the designers will also offer optional spaghetti straps that can be attached later in the day for dancing. Some girls have had custom wider straps made from sashes for a really unique look.

8. Consider Flair if you're looking for a fresh wedding gown! We have beautiful lightweight modern wedding dresses that are perfect for a more informal wedding or beach wedding.

9. You can change things up with bridemaid dresses in one style/complimentary colors or one color/different styles if your girls don't want to look identical.

10. It's never too early to start the process especially if you have a larger group! So make your appointments as soon as possible.

And I bet by now you're thinking "Who ARE Lindsay and Stacey?" and "How do they know SO much about bridesmaid dress shopping?" Well here they are, I made them pose for a little "action" shot checking the Flair appointment book. They're super friendly and knowledgeable about the dresses in-store and they're actually both getting married this year so they 're going through the whole wedding planning themselves!

And here's the all-important details:

Flair Bridesmaid Boutique is at 10 Newbury Street, Floor 4, Boston, MA

Website: www.flairbridesmaid.com

Blog: http://flairbridesmaid.blogspot.com/ check it out for great ideas on how to re-wear your bridesmaid dresses

Call for your appointment at 617-247-2828 or email boston@flairbridesmaid.com
Flair is closed on Monday, open 11 - 7 Tuesday - Thursday, 11 - 6 Friday, 10 - 6 Saturday and open two Sundays each month.

I actually heard about Flair Bridesmaid Boutique from one of my wonderful 2010 brides, Erin. Her bridesmaid dresses came from Flair and they were a beautiful blue/green silk design by Dessy:


So that's it from me for today! If you don't have your bridesmaid dresses yet, call up the Flair ladies and make your appointment tout de suite! And tell them you read about them here. And if you don't have a photographer for your wedding then email me at leah@leahhaydock.com or call me at 603-571-LEAH

If you'd like to catch up on some oldie but goodie vendor spotlight interviews from last year you can read about:
Eyelash extensions **here**
Uplighting and lighting design **here**

Video **here**

Make up **here** and an older one but still great recommendation **here**

Let me know your suggestions for other vendor spotlight interviews, I can't guarantee I'll have someone to interview (I only like to feature vendors I'd be happy to recommend) but I'll try!

Wedding Planners and Cakes and Make Up and Stationary and Flowers...

Last night I pootled up to Portsmouth, NH to take advantage of my networking membership of my Kate Parker Wedding which is "the ultimate wedding resource and vendor directory developed and designed by a wedding planner for chic and savvy brides and grooms". Kate had planned a NH get-together hosted by the fabulous Samantha and Whitney of Gus & Ruby Letterpress on Congress St, I got to enjoy Burgers & Fries by the amazing Jessica that were really cupcakes and sugar cookies and chat with local wedding planners, florists, letterpress artists, bespoke paper designers, bakers, website designers.

I'm sure you're reading this with baited breath waiting for the pictures of said cupcakes and delicious stationary. I did take my camera, but then I was too busy chatting to take pictures. Instead, I think I'll just mention a couple of the most interesting and lovely people I met last night:

I only chatted briefly with Kate but she was just as chillaxed in person as when we first spoke on the phone a few weeks back. Kate is a wedding planner extraordinaire and creative mastermind, check out her site **here** . I'm looking forward to getting to know the myKPW network so I can bring you all lots of excellent wedding ideas and recommendations.

Jessica Parrott was the baker behind the Burger & Fries cakes and they were divine. We talked about craisins vs. cranberrys, orange-infused carrot cake and the joys of dessert tables and should you be looking for something spectacular for your guests to end dinner with then check out her blog **here**. Jessica is based in Portland, ME but does travel.

I then had a delightful conversation with Joanne of Joya Beauty in Dover, NH (but she travels EVERYWHERE) about Latisse vs. Eyelash Extensions, the wonders of airbrush make-up, the value of having a licensed aesthetician and much more. I'm going to visit Joya soon and may even have Joanne do a little make over on me...coming soon to a blog near you. Joanne books up insanely fast, she doesn't have a single Saturday left until November I think. So if you're thinking airbrushing for that flawless finish is in your plans then get in touch quickly!

The business cards were flying last night along with the introductions and I got the chance to see some designed and made by Gus & Ruby Letterpress and I am in love. Goodbye my old business cards, your regular paper looks so sad now. Samantha and Whitney specialise in wedding stationary and carry all sorts of artisan designers. I am planning a trip back to Portsmouth to work on some new business cards and notecards with them. And you should go too if you're looking for some beautiful wedding stationary.

So alas, no pictures to share with you from last night. Instead, I will show you the mice shoes I wore. Squeak. Squeak.