Studio Grand Opening Party!

Thanks to everyone who came to the opening and showed your support or wrote with well wishes! I had no idea that this many people would turn out, on a cold and rainy night with absolutely no parking in the downtown area- I feel the love!

I want to say thank you so much to all of the wonderful vendors who participated in the studio grand opening event. First, I have to say thank you to my family (who supported me as I moved into the studio during wedding season! Obviously I did not want this move to interfere with my work, so my family pitched in to help ready the studio for the event). Thanks to Johnny, Wendy, Liz and Hannah, who have all been my awesome second photographers, friends and confidants this past year (I can’t believe wedding season is almost over!). Wow, over 40 weddings guys and lots of travel, which was a blast, thanks to you all. Johnny and I are amping up the portraiture business this year with some great deals and new products, stay tuned in for  those announcements soon. A few photos from the event are below (taken by Hannah).

Chris & Brian of  Triad DJ (check out this link for more photos from the studio opening party and a Q & A session Chris did with me about wedding photography) did an awesome job with the music for the party. Chris, the owner of Triad DJ is one of the most outgoing (but not cheesy or obtrusive) and professional DJ’s I have ever worked with, he really cares about his clients and I would never hesitate to recommend him or his staff (he meets even my high standards!).

Renee the owner of  Sweet Basil’s and  Basil’s & Co. (wedding catering, bistro, wine bar and dessertery) provided the delectable food for the party. Julie, owner of  Simply Scrumptious, www.simplyscrumptiousbakeshop.com provided the lovely wedding cake (see a photo of her cake below). Julie also works with Renee and Basil’s & Co. wedding catering, so you can book them together for your event in a one stop shop. Guests were raving about Julie’s cake at the party and everyone knows that the food at Basil’s is just phenomenal.

Cindy the owner of Botanica Flowers and Gifts provided all of the gorgeous flower arrangements for the party! I heard about Cindy and her excellent customer service through a client of mine who used Botanica for her wedding day florist. Now I see lots of wedding day flowers, these flowers were so unique. Hydrangeas had been flown in from Holland just because Cindy wanted to make sure this client had the most vibrant and beautiful shade of blue that hydrangeas had to offer, love it! Cindy also provided a gift certificate for the door prize raffle at the party and one lucky bride is going to impress her wedding guests with some  beautiful flowers.

A friend of mine and fellow professional in the industry, Jenni Essa of  Coordinating Visions was at the party to talk with guests about wedding and event planning. I met Jenny when I moved back to Greensboro from Los Angeles a few years ago, she was the wedding coordinator for the Kress Terrace at that time (which was right next door to my downtown loft). Jenny is not only one of the kindest people, she takes care of every wedding day task you could ever imagine, with no drama and just enough control to have the event run without a hitch while still being inconspicuous.  Hope that makes sense, she rocks and I recommend her to my brides who want a drama free event. Jenni also provided a gift certificate for the door prize raffle.

I met Stacie when I first moved back from L.A., we were both applying makeup for Laura Mercier (the brand I still use exclusively for my clients- they get only the best of course!). Stacie is a professional freelance makeup artist in addition to her other endeavors and has lots of experience with makeup for movies and photography. I love to brag about Stacie, she is Maya Angelou’s personal makeup artist whenever Maya does a photo shoot or  speaking engagement (I have to mess with Stacie because she understand the “celebrity hype” that comes with working with celebrities). When I am booked for makeup, Stacie is the only artist that I send my clients to and Stacie also helps me out with bridal party makeup applications.

Susan Sassman a longtime family friend, fellow artist and a truly unique and talented diva (Susan has started and helped to start several non-profit organizations and businesses. She has also been a women’s rights activist for many years and has started and done the PR for many local events including the “Summer Solstice Festival” and “Hat Attacks” where she helps women who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy treatments to feel pretty by adorning them with hats & wigs) took care of the press release for the event.  Susan introduced me to Faye, who is her friend and owner of At The Ritz Costumes(1831 Spring Garden Street). First of all, Faye has this presence, like someone you have always known and can always make you laugh and feel loved. I visited At the Ritz for the first time right before the event (and after halloween her busiest day of the year!) and was just like a kid in a candy shop.  I have absolutely no idea how I have never stepped foot in this store before, I was in costume heaven. I hate to even call them costumes, the 1920′ nouveau dresses she provided for Faith and K.C (the gorgeous cocktail waitresses for the event) were just stunning. Thank you Faye, Susan, K.C. and Faith! Because the event was so crowded, unfortunately there was no room to set up my vintage “photo booth.” However, we did manage to take a few snapshots of  Faith and K.C. at the end of the night in their costumes (below).

The media support from Janie at The Brides Cafe (click this link to see her lovely post with many featured images from Katie Klein Photography) is just amazing. The Winston-Salem Journal celebrations featured me as their photographer of the week (for the week of the event) and Go Triad in Greensboro gave me a shout out as well. Thanks guys! Okay enough talk, I just needed to express my gratitude….