Name: Kathryn Ludens & Whitney Reck

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Company Name: Hera Beauty

Number of Years in Business: 2 years- but over 10 years in the beauty industry!

Website: www.heralasvegas.com

Blog: www.heralasvegas.com/blog

Twitter: @herabeautykat

Facebook: www.facebook.com/herabeauty

How did you get started in beauty services for weddings? Whitney and I have been friends for years, and it just so happened that we both ended up in the field of cosmetology- myself in Makeup & Esthetics and Whitney in Hair Design.  With Las Vegas being such a popular wedding destination, it only made sense to be able to provide on-location beauty services for both the local and tourist bride.

What did you do prior to this? I started in the beauty industry over 10 years ago as a freelance makeup artist and counter manager for BeneFit Cosmetics and that eventually lead me towards the field of Esthetics.  I have been an Esthetician providing a full range of skin care therapy and head-to-toe waxing services since 2003.  I operate my own Esthetics business: www.dragonflyesthetics.com.  Whitney is a hairstylist at Hot Box Salon and offers the full range of men’s and women’s services for hair: cuts, color, highlights, and most recently, Keratin hair straightening, which is amazing!

If you didn’t do beauty services for weddings for a living what would you be doing instead? I’m not sure… Whitney and I have always wanted to be in the beauty industry and we’ve been in it for so long now, it’s really hard to say what else we’d be doing!  I can’t imagine we’d be doing anything we’d be as passionate about!

What are some of your hobbies? In a way, makeup is a hobby of mine- which is why my job is so much fun!  We’ve been so fortunate to have really expanded our portfolio since we partnered up with Stacie and Haute Shots Boudoir Photography.  With weddings, many brides have a look that they’ve envisioned for themselves for years, often times it’s a subtly beautiful glow that enhances their features and makes them feel like the most beautiful bride in the world.  And while it’s wonderful to have a bride who loves how we’ve made her look on her special day, it’s very often  a more limited color palette/style range.  With boudoir photography, we’re able to go a little more wild with our colors and stylings, which gets us outside the bridal box for a little while.  We help to bring out the sexy- the sensual siren, the pin-up, the goddess, whatever fantasy look our client desires.  However, for just plain fun, and I think Whitney would agree, we both love adventure, whether that’s a new activity, a new restaurant, or a new yoga class… anything that keeps life fresh!

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had? I’d have to say that most of our clients have shown a wonderful amount of grace-under-fire, but we have had a few who have had to deal with some outside drama here and there.  Luckily, nothing too Bridezilla-style yet!

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had? We’ve really had a lot of bridal parties that were a lot of fun- but we do specialize in vintage/retro style weddings and one of our past weddings was one of the most authentic vintage Vegas weddings ever!  The bride, groom, and much of the wedding party are wedding photographers (in Philadelphia) and were here for the wedding and the WPPI convention.  Elvis, obviously, was going to be performing the ceremony and the hair and makeup style that we created for the bride was straight from the 60′s… like Pricilla Presley on her wedding day.  It was perfect- even the bride’s dress, shoes, and veil were all vintage!  Not only did the  entire ensemble come together beautifully, but the pictures the bride sent us for our blog were just awesome and it looked like they had such a fun time!

What is your inspiration? We believe that every woman has an inner goddess… we’re just here to help women discover her!  Why should celebrities be the only ones to have a beauty team by their side?  We think that it’s a pampering and fun experience to have your hair and makeup done by professionals- so why not provide that for everyone?

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. Anywhere with a beach and an umbrella drink sounds good!

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors? We specialize in retro/vintage/pinup styles for the bride who is looking for a that throwback style (which we absolutely love!).  We also are familiar with styling for all ethnicities- we can do hair and makeup for any type of hair and skin tone.  Since I am Japanese, we do receive a lot of requests from Asian brides who are looking for someone who is very familiar with Asian facial features and hair.  Our entire team consists of hair and makeup artists that hold a current Nevada State Board of Cosmetology license so that our clients can rest assured that their services are being performed by a licensed professional.  We only use top of the line products like Paul Mitchell, Tigi, Temptu, and more.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day? Remember to have fun!  So many brides get so caught up in the weight of the day that they forget that it’s supposed to be a happy, joyous time!  If you get too caught up in the little things, you won’t see the big picture- you’re marrying the person you love surrounded by the people who love you.  That tiny pimple that is freaking you out, the slightly smudged manicure, or the crease at the bottom of your wedding dress may seem like a major emergency at the time, but those are not the things that anyone is going to remember.  They WILL remember a bride on a rampage and unhappy tears.  They will also remember a bridal party that IS the party, having fun and enjoying the day!  That’s a memory that is much nicer to look upon!

Anything else interesting you’d like to share? Because discovering and uncovering beauty is our profession, we try to provide our clients with information any time that we can.  Although we haven’t had a chance to lately, we do like to share fun tips, tricks and tutorials on our Twitter, Facebook page, and blog.  If you’ve got a beauty question, send us an email!

If you enjoyed this post, we’d love to read your comment! Also, please consider subscribing to the feed or receiving our articles in your email!

website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

On Project Wedding, Wedding Wire, Martha Stewart Weddings, and now Wedding Bee, you can read reviews of your vendors from past brides as well as review your wedding vendors after your wedding day!  These websites are ALL great wedding planning tools!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com


How did you get started in photography?

Ingrid had to take PHOTO 101 as a prerequisite for her BFA. Upon seeing her first black and white print magically appear in the developer tray, she immediately feel in love with photography. The next day she changed her fine art emphasis from painting to photography.

David helped assist Ingrid when Images by Ingrid was just beginning. He found a creative outlet for his unique eye of angles and composition. He enjoys capturing moments, shooting the must get traditional wedding pictures and the challenge of creating dramatic effects with off camera flash.

What did you do prior to this?

Ingrid went to school and worked in food and beverage. It took 8 years and three colleges in three states to get her BA in fine art.

David was a custom picture framer and currently is a bar/wine manager for a fine dining restaurant here in Vegas in which has  served for 13 years. He is also part of the 9% of the Vegas population who was born and raised here

How do you describe your style?

Documentary coverage is an entirely different approach to wedding photography. Ingrid believes her photographs represent much more that just a tired fad, but as documentarian,  it is her responsibility to capture each moment exactly as it happened. She does not intervene or interrupt  the moment already taking place.
She feels the mastery of this style is very easy to claim and advertise, but rarely is it achieved.

Her lighting preference is soft natural light. Her portraits of her couples reflect fun, happy moments at times and others a deeper revealing side. Her passion is to create an emotional response from the viewer through her images.

David is more a traditionalist. He enjoys capturing the must get images at weddings.  He is a master of off camera flash and captures the most amazing pictures of  the bride and groom with Vegas sunsets. He sees angles and photographs them differently then anyone else. Clients and venders love his detail shots of rings, food, locations,

If you didn’t do photography for a living what would you be doing instead?

Ingrid would be a life coach or chef/restaurateur. She has  created  the life of her dreams and would love to help others achieve their dream life too. Also, Ingrid is too good of a cook, this is why they have to go to the gym regularly. She feels with 14 years in F&B and cooking skills she could create an amazing  restaurant.

David would be wine & food critic. David has been in F&B for 13 years and is currently a bar manager during the week at a fine dining restaurant in Vegas. Ironically every time they go dining he is already playing the part.

What are some of your hobbies? Attending live sporting events, concerts, traveling, sailing dining out, spending quality time with family, plus any activities that create memories and experiences.

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had? For Ingrid and David each wedding is crazy, fun and unique.

A crazy wedding memory for Ingrid was a wedding at Lake Mead. The ceremony and reception was on an island in the middle of the lake. All the guests, food, décor, had to be boated to the location. The ceremony was under a beautifully decorated tent and the reception was held on top of the houseboats.  There were Hawaiian dancers, fire breathers, and a late night bon fire. Since night travel on the lake is dangerous all the guests and venders had to stay on the island and spend the night in houseboats. It was a blast.

David’s craziest wedding memory was a helicopter wedding to Grand Canyon. They were both terrified, and excited about the prospect. This was when helicopter crashes at the Grand Canyon seemed to be a monthly event. The plan was for Ingrid and David to fly with the couple to the Grand Canyon for the ceremony. Unfortunately, on the ride out, a thunderstorm came in and they had to turn back. It was defiantly an experience being airborne with thunder and lighting following you back to the airport. The best part was David and Ingrid met up with the couple the next day and once again flew to the Grand Canyon.

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had?

For David and Ingrid every wedding is the best experience. They love their couples and give their heart and soul at every wedding.

What is your inspiration? Ingrid’s and David inspiration is their clients and the fun, happy, and unexpected moments of the day.  Each wedding and couple is unique. To photograph the day with that important fact in mind is their inspiration.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. Tahiti, Greek Isles, Barcelona, Estonia, Serengeti, Thailand, Egypt, opening day at the new Marlins baseball bark in 2012, New Years eve in Times Square, 2012 Summer Olympics in London,  sail the Caribbean, race car driving lessons, drive the autobahn, wine tours in Italy and France,  and these are just to name a few.

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?

The blend of documentary and traditional photography. Ingrid and David create timeless images, not fads of the moment.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?

Hire professionals you are comfortable with, let them do their job, and just relax and enjoy your day.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?

In 2012 Ingrid and David plan on taking the year to photograph outside of Vegas as much as possible. Their goal is to not only shooting weddings all over the world but visit and photograph past couples.  They hope to create a fine art series their 2012 adventures.

They love their job and hopefully it shows in their images.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Name: Allyson Stagg

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Company Name: The Las Vegas Style Sirens LLC

Number of Years in Business: 1!!!

Website: www.LVStyleSirens.com

Blog: www.LVStyleSirens.Blogspot.com

Twitter: @LVStyleSirens

How did you get started in makeup/hair?

I was majoring in Musical Theater and it required me to take a stage makeup class. I fell in love with it the first day.  I knew that was what I wanted to do. That was the one class I never missed!

What did you do prior to this?

I worked at the Stratosphere as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator.

How do you describe your makeup style?

For me personally, it is very vintage/retro/pin-up. I LOVE soft eye makeup with a bold lip. However, I am always willing to try something new! As far as my clients go, it really just depends on the woman. From the second I first see her, I already have two makeup looks in mind that I would like to do on her. Then once I start talking to her and get to know more about her and her personality, I make adjustments in my mind to fit her comfort zone, wants and needs.

If you didn’t do makeup/hair for a living what would you be doing instead?

I would want to be on Broadway for sure! That was always my dream as a little girl. I would also love to be an attorney.

What are some of your hobbies?

I love ballroom dancing (especially Salsa!), making my own custom hair accessories, being a mommy, going to school (I’m studying Business Law and Marketing… huge adjustment from Musical Theater , cooking, baking, and finding new hobbies. I am such a busy body. I love to learn new things. I have a new hobby every week!

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had?

One of the first weddings I ever did make up for was quite a different experience. It was for a couple who flew into town from a small town in the Midwest. When I first arrived to do the brides makeup, I asked for the style and theme of the wedding. She proceeded to tell me it was a “Vegas Style” wedding complete with Elvis and all. Then I asked if I could see her dress for some inspiration. She took out her dress and it was hand tie dyed by her and her mother. I was certainly in shock. What was funny was she actually wanted really natural makeup. That was the first and last time (so far) I have ever seen a bride in a tie dyed dress.

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had?

We had a couple fly in from Australia a few months back to elope herein Las Vegas. We were in contact with them several months before they came out, and when they got here we just adored them! We had so much fun with them on their wedding day and we wanted to spend more time getting to know them. We took them around Las Vegas, had dinner with them, and showed them some cool things about Sin City. After they left, we stayed in good contact with them. A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from my blushing bride that her groom had passed away in a car accident a few days earlier. They were only married a few months. I was heartbroken. Although this was hard news to hear, I was so happy that we got to be part of their wedding and share that special time with them. That couple will always have a special place in my heart.

What is your inspiration?

Makeup is such a personal form of art. I seem to find my inspiration in the most random things. A pattern on an umbrella or the color scheme on a book cover might strike a mood or image that I use as inspiration in my work. I also look to other makeup artists for inspiration. I love to learn new techniques and ideas from all of the talented artists out there that share the same passion for makeup as I do.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon.

Tokyo, Rome, and Spain are at the top of my list!

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?

In the beauty industry, it is all about a personal connection and trust that is built between the client and artist. You have to have a connection with your makeup artist and hair stylist because they are literally going to be in your face all day long! You also need to believe in their skill and knowledge of the service that they are providing. If they are styling your hair, you need to be sure that they can accomplish the style that you are looking for in a timely manner, place any veils, hairpieces, or flowers securely, and that they will have the ability to make your hair style last all day. As far as a makeup artist, you need to be sure that you have someone that is knowledgeable in the wear time and the product that they are using. You want someone who is familiar with different skin types, contouring and highlighting, lighting in photographs and video, and any special requests you might have such as airbrush makeup or tattoo covering. My staff is very talented, knowledgeable, friendly, and professional. We always welcome questions, comments and concerns!

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?

Don’t forget to eat!!!

Don’t stress out if every little detail doesn’t go just as you planned. No one else will notice except you. I promise. This day is far too important to let the fact that your napkins were folded into squares instead of triangles ruin it!

As far as your beauty needs go, if it is at all possible, you should have a hair and makeup trial done. This will make your wedding day go by so smooth! If you meet with your hair stylist and makeup artist beforehand, you will have plenty of time to make sure you connect with them, and that they can accomplish the look that you want. This will be one less thing you need to worry to about on your wedding day because you will already know exactly what you are going to look like. This also gives you an opportunity to wear the hair style and makeup all day to see if it will last. If it doesn’t you can either look into a trial with another company, or you can talk to your artist to discuss the problem that you had so that they are sure to fix it on your wedding day.

You should also be sure to listen to all of your wedding professionals. Most of them have been doing this for a very long time and are extremely knowledgeable. Trust their opinion, but be sure to do your own research so that you are well informed and know the right questions to ask when you hire them in the first place.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?

I am so blessed to be able to do what I love for a living and work with so many amazing wedding professionals here in Las Vegas. We are so lucky to have met all of the talented people and artists that we have and we look forward to meeting so many more!!

Juliet’s notes: Be sure to check out their most recent work featured in Style Me Pretty’s “From Inspiration to Reality” shoot.  Coordinated by the fabulous Tracey Kumer-Moore of Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge. Photos by Chelsea Nicole. And a team of other wonderful professionals.

Photo credit for Allyson’s photo: Jessi Alexis Photography

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Name: Ana de Roux
Location: McAllen, Texas
Company Name: Ana de Roux Invitations
Number of Years in Business: 2.5 years
Website: www.anaderoux.com and www.passportinvitations.com
Blog: anaderoux.blogspot.com
Twitter: @anaderoux

How did you get started in stationery? After designing my wedding and shower invitations everyone thought they were really unique and started asking me to make invitations for their events, I started working mostly with family until I built my website and started doing this for brides all over the US.

What did you do prior to this? I was working at the City Hall’s Technology area, was mostly working with computers, servers, software, etc..

If you didn’t do stationery for a living what would you be doing instead?
Probably some other online business, I love working from home and being able to work even when I’m out of town.

What are some of your hobbies? Designing is really a hobby for me, plus it’s also my job, that’s why I love it so much.

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had? I’ve been through everything from weddings being called off to brides who discover something is wrong when the order is ready. I used to stress about things like that but I’ve learned it’s not worth it, if it’s something that can be fixed, even if I have to redo the order then why stress right?

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had? I’ve had the pleasure to work with so many wonderful brides that I can’t name just one. The thing that always makes my day is when I receive an e-mail from a client saying how pleased they’re with their invites or how their guests are all commenting about them.

What is your inspiration? Flowers, wedding decor ideas, anything a bride has in mind for their wedding inspires me.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. Egypt.

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors? Originality of my designs and flexibility.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day? No matter how perfect you want your wedding to be, take a day off before the wedding (what has to be done should be done by then), enjoy the day of your wedding and don’t worry about little details.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?
I love to design new and different things, I love challenges, so if you have any idea in mind  I will put it in paper.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Name: Kristen Joy
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Company Name: Kristen Joy Photography
Number of Years in Business: 4 years
Website: www.kristenjoyphoto.com
Blog: www.kristenjoyphotoblog.com

How did you get started in photography? I started in high school when my Mom bought me a nice camera for a birthday, I didn’t put it down. I was blessed to meet an amazing photographer named David Burke in Pittsburgh, who took me under his wing and taught me everything I know. If I had not met Dave I would still be taking pictures, but without direction.

What did you do prior to this? I got paid the big bucks being a stay at home Mommy.

If you didn’t do photography for a living what would you be doing instead? I would be sliding down slides and running laps at the park with my two beautiful children.

What are some of your hobbies? I love being outside hiking, running, playing sports. I have a great time playing around with my kids, they think of the fun stuff and I get to play along.

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had? The craziest wedding I have experienced was one last August. In the beginning the group seemed very calm and far from wild, at the end of the night all the men in the room were in the boxers wearing their ties around their heads chanting some college mantra, I didn’t know whether to close my eyes or keep photographing… I kept photographing of course.

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had? The best wedding I have experienced was my twin sister Kim’s wedding, I took a few getting ready shots of her, but after that I was in the wedding. It was perfect and meant more then anything for me to be there.

What is your inspiration? Having been able to travel a lot with my family and see the world has really inspired me. Its one thing to see pictures in a magazine and its another to experience it.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. Greece, my parents just went there for their wedding anniversary, I edited all 2000 photos that my Mom took there, now I want to go there and experience it too.

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors? A majority of my clients choose me because we get along so good, they like my style of photography, but a lot of it comes down to our personalities matching more then anything else.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day? Always have enough time during the wedding day to take photos of just the two of you. Its a great time to relax and be alone and you will be pleased in the end with more options and great photos.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share? I’ve been blessed to photograph so many beautiful weddings and people. Thank you Juliet for your hard work and beautiful blog for not just brides and grooms but photographers too.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

To learn more about Ashley, check out her vendor spotlight interview here.
Website: www.ashleybartoletti.com
Blog: www.ashleybartoletti.com/blog
Twitter: @ashleybphoto

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

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Names: Kristen Wiese and Miranda Prince (owners/cake designers)
Location: Private cake studio located at 6360 McLeod Drive Las Vegas, NV 89120
Company Name: Gimme Some Sugar
Number of Years in Business: Still in first year
Website: www.gimmesomesugaronline.com
Blog: www.gimmesomesugaronline.blogspot.com – just started blogging!
Twitter: @gimmeesugar

How did you get started in cake baking and design?
K- Actually, I started baking about 6 years ago during my freshman year of college. I was intending to major in Elementary Education, when 3 years into my degree I realized it was no longer my passion and I had no drive to continue. I left the university and enrolled in Western Culinary Institute the following spring and graduated a year later .. best decision of my life! Cake Design is a skill I picked up along the way, and practiced on the side. It wasn’t until just 2 years ago that I really fell in love with the art, and wanted to make it the focus of my career.

M- I don’t know how it started really. I just know that baking is what I always wanted to do. At my 12th birthday party, I even had each of my friends bake and decorate their own personal cake. There was never anything specific that set it off, it’s just always been my dream.

What did you do prior to this?
K- I spent the last three years as a chocolatier at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino/Jean Philippe Patisserie.
M- I too was at Bellagio. It is where Kristen and I met!

If you didn’t do cake design for a living what would you be doing instead?
K - Honestly, I have no idea – there really is nothing else that I ever want to do. I’m completely obsessed.
M – If I weren’t doing cake design I would love to do photography….that or travel the world as a drifter. =)

What are some of your hobbies?
K - GSS consumes most of my time and energy… but outside of the kitchen, I really enjoy running (I’ve actually ran one marathon, and one half-marathon) and eating out at amazing Las Vegas restaurants.
M- Before I had my own business I really liked to scrapbook and travel. I also try to get to as many sporting events as possible.

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had?
This past November we had a fairly large 3-tiered sculpted Super Mario Brothers Wedding Cake which was ordered by the bride as a surprise for the groom! The Cake featured the Las Vegas desert, the Mario Galaxy Sphere with the winding rainbow road, and Princess Peach’s Castle on top.. Not to mention a total of about 50 detailed fondant/gumpaste figurines such as Yoshi, Mario, Princess, Luigi, mushrooms, goombas, you name it! We spent countless hours during that week working on this project, and had only a few hours of sleep the night before to get it all finished! The finished result though, was well worth it!

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had?
K- It’s so hard to pick just one. Every wedding cake is unique, and we really do enjoy each cake project.
M- I really enjoy being able to meet with the bride and groom and getting to know them so we can make a cake that is just for them!

What is your inspiration?
K- Inspiration can come from anything – and it’s much easier to create amazing designs when we’re inspired. Most of our ideas come from fashion.. designer gowns, jewelry, handbags, but also patterns and shapes we find in stationary, architecture, etc.
M- We draw inspiration from everyday life. I look to patterns mostly, it helps that I have a TON of scrapbook paper. Kristen and I are constantly taking pictures of things that we see but want to make in cake.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon.
K – I’m really looking forward to my trip to Hawaii this March. I’ll actually be making a wedding cake there, but extending the stay a bit to double it as a vacation!
M- I love to travel. Anywhere, anytime, with anyone. I want to visit Greece, go to the Amazon, see Easter Island, actually it doesn’t matter….it’s all an adventure!

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?
We’d like to think our clients, and especially brides & grooms, come to us looking for a truly unique wedding cake experience… from initial consultation to the reaction of guests coming back for seconds… and still talking about the cake weeks after!
Each stunning, one-of-a-kind custom wedding cake is designed especially for the bride & groom… we really don’t like to replicate cakes made by other bakeries/cake designers. When it comes to cakes, we like to think “off-the-rack”, non-traditional, and sophisticated.. yet sexy.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?
With so much time and money invested into one day… make it fun, laugh, and enjoy! Don’t sweat the small stuff, Wedding “bumps” just make for good stories to tell years after!

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?

We just want to thank all of our amazing family, friends, and clients who have been so sweet and supportive of us. We are incredibly blessed to do something that we love every day! …and thank-you Juliet for featuring an interview with us on her fabulous blog!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

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Name: Steven Fogarty
Location: Las Vegas, NV and Park City, Utah
Company Name: FogartyWeddings
Number of Years in Business: 3 as a wedding photographer
Website: www.FogartyWeddings.com
Blog: www.Facebook.com/FogartyFOTO
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FogartyFOTO

How did you get started in wedding photography?

After a successful career in computers and email, I decided to learn from the masters how they make such gorgeous photos. Since then I’ve studied with some of the most amazing photographers alive, including: Joe McNally and Matthew Jordan Smith and Denis Reggie, the father of wedding photojournalism. They’ve all influenced my style tremendously.

What did you do prior to this?

For the U.S Congress in Washington, DC, I designed and managed the LAN email system that replaced their 20 year-old mainframe email system. I then accepted a position with Novell / WordPerfect, which brought me to Utah. With 3 friends I co-founded an Internet email business, that we sold in 1999. We just moved to Vegas a couple of weeks ago.

If you didn’t do photography for a living what would you be doing instead?

I’m kind of a history geek. One of my great pleasures is listening to educational tapes on very long drives and discussing history with friends. I would love to teach history.

What are some of your hobbies?

I love to snowboard really fast and steep with my peers, and to ski with my children. Scuba diving is the easiest way to leave the planet. And I love to read, mostly geeky history and policy stuff. I love wrestling with my 4 boys.

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had?

It was snowing really hard the morning of Courtney’s wedding in Aspen. She was distraught, tearfully wondering why her mountain-top wedding was to be ruined. We reminded her that these morning mountain storms are often very short and pass quickly. The clouds broke, her wedding was full of sunshine. Everyone was happy (and very relieved!) Her photos are gorgeous!

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had?

I loved photographing Rachael & Evan’s simple Salt Lake City wedding just before he shipped off for a one year tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is the crew chief on an Apache helicopter. Photographing Nicole & Travis at the Paiute Golf Resort was such a blast because Nicole didn’t stop smiling the whole day – it was clearly one of the happiest days of her life. And photographing Jane and Seth at Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah was absolutely gorgeous on that stunning fall mountain day. Russians know how to party!

What is your inspiration?
While it sounds corny, I honestly believe that wedding photography is the most important, the most challenging, and the most rewarding photography I do. I am very grateful that in my work I am able to create things of such beauty that are so timelessly valuable to my brides.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon.

I’ve been fortunate enough to travel around the world more than once. Of the 17 countries I have visited, I still remember India for its rich, ancient culture, incredible cuisine, and extraordinary contrasts, like the 3 men walking arm-in-arm down the street, one shirtless and dressed in a traditional dhoti, one dressed in a western business suit, and the third wearing a fusion of the two. Emerging wealth juxtaposed next to striking poverty amid ancient culture, and sensory overload. I would love to return to India with my family.

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?

My clients want strikingly beautiful portraits to hang on their walls, plus lots of discreet photojournalism (PJ) of the day’s real moments, informal photos that will bring back a flood of warm memories with every look. They want a photographer who records the party, without becoming the party. They want the kind of amazing portraits that few photographers can make and are Can’t-Look-Away-GAWJUS. They want traditional portraits of the wedding party. And they want lots of quiet real-moment PJ – the photos I consider the most important of the day.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?

Don’t worry about the photography! Forget all of your cares for that one day, let the love and attention of everyone who has come so far to wish you well just sink in.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?

Thank you Juliet for giving me and my family such a warm welcome to Las Vegas!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Name: Megan Payne
Location: Las Vegas
Company Name: Makeup in the 702
Number of Years in Business: 20 years total- 6 years with Makeup in the 702
Website: www.lasvegaswedding-makeup.com
Blog and/or Twitter: no blog no twitter (as of yet)

How did you get started in wedding makeup and hair? My degree is in Fashion merchandising and Design. I thought I was going to be the next Donna Karen until I realized I can’t sew a zipper in he-he. So instead of changing my major completely I focused more on the art piece vs the design piece. Once I graduated my first job was with Lord & Taylor in Chicago. I was the accessories and handbag manager. The store manager quickly realized that I needed a bigger challenge- Cosmetic manager! He he now here’s a 21 year old kid running a department of 150+ employees plus counter managers, not to mention a hundred vendors. Well these ladies quickly embraced me and account executives from all the brands started to send me to their schools. So not only was I managing the process I was doing the process- fashion was history after that!!!! I fell in love with the idea that I could be so powerful to someone.  “I may not be a heart surgeon, but you would be amazed what the right shade of lipstick can do for someone’s day”. As I continued in the business opportunities came and Bloomingdale’s came knocking on my door- HELLO PEOPLE BLOOMIES!!!! It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

Then, the real change happened – I came to Vegas to visit a friend for New Years. As I stood on the strip bubbly from champagne and giddy with the excitement of the fireworks, I made my new’s years resolution – I’m moving to Vegas!!!!!! And here I am. Almost ten years later and that much wiser and stronger.

When I moved to Vegas, I worked behind the counter for a bit, but once again, opportunity came knocking- Hello Macy’s Cosmetic Manager. I did that for a few years until I realized that I need to find a new calling. Hmmmm let’s see, I’m in the wedding capital of the world and this is the biggest small town there ever was – and Makeup in the 702 was born. Now trust me I do miss the stores, but an even more rewarding experience was about to happen – I get to be part of someone’s most important day of their life- that’s huge!!!! And to this day I don’t take it lightly. I also understand that my client needs to be comfortable in her own skin and that it is my job is to ensure that “You look like you, just on your most beautiful day”. When I started with my first few clients I would always think of my grandma’s wedding picture that hangs on the wall in my moms house. Even though it’s black and white, it’s timeless and classic. I think of that each time a client sits in my chair. How can I make her look her best today- but more impotently how will her photos look in 50 plus years.

My personal style is very classic and not trendy at all. More of a CoCo Chanel look.

Gosh, what would I be doing if I wasn’t doing hair & makeup? That’s really tough to answer, because I can truly say that I have the best job on earth. But…. I would be a chef.

What’s is the craziest wedding experience I’ve had? Gee almost every client asks me this or about “bridezillas” and I have to say I just don;t think they exist. Of course I was raised in retail and the motto – “Give the lady what she want’s- Marshall Fields”. But this is so recent and I just can’t get it out of my head. We were hired to be part of the new TV show Happily Ever Faster on TLC. Well the “feature couple” was a bit odd. Keep in mind that clients whom hire me know me- we’ve built a relationship long before the wedding day ever comes. With this experience, we had never met the bride until the day of the wedding. Now most people have a pretty good idea of what they want, or at least what they don’t want. But this bride that sat in our chair said nothing. I mean nothing!!!! We would ask her questions and prob for a response but nothing or ok. Kind of strange because she had absolutely no input in on her wedding day look/style. Of course she turned out fab!!!!

Best wedding experience? Hate to sound cliche, but all of them!!!!

What is your inspiration? Thinking about the fact that I’m part of hundreds of couples wedding day history

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. My bed!!!! I’m a new mom so I’m sleep deprived.

Why do clients choose Makeup in the 702? At first I believe it’s because we are all inclusive. We bring everything including the chair the client sits in and we do not up charge or try and sell a client something on the spot. But I also believe it’s because a client can sense whether someone really cares or not, They know we are there for them from start to finish and then after.

Best piece of advice - “After the flowers have wilted and the food has been eaten, what do you have left? THE HISTORY OF YOUR PHOTOS”. Hire the best hair & makeup artist and photographer you can!!!!!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com