We were fortunate enough to be invited to yesterday’s Open House at the Chocksett Inn. With their new Laurelwood Ballroom and beautiful cocktail area, the Inn was full of excited brides and grooms and also some of our favorite professionals in the wedding industry:

First and foremost was Chocksett Inn’s manager, Paula. She helped make the afternoon a successful event, and she was there to answer questions and to meet with her 2008 and 2009 couples:

The room was decorated with different themed tables, but all had flowers provided by Holmes-Shusas, a well-known name in the wedding industry! Here is one of the many centerpieces:

…and a beautiful hand-tied bouquet:

Allan from A Perfect Limo was also part of the event. His newer vehicles were a big hit with the brides looking to shuttle guests from various locations:

A favorite spot of ours that afternoon was right beside our friend and cake professional Dianne Rockwell, The Cake Lady! Her samples were appreciated, and her work is beautiful! Stay tuned on our blog for a visit to Dianne’s kitchen!

Want a closer look at that gorgeous cake?

Those are white chocolate twists adorning the cake surrounded by edible sugar flowers:

The ladies at a salon called The Claw Shop out in Leominster were happy to pose for a photo. I was excited looking through their brochure and will soon be visiting for a manicure! They do travel for services on location, so keep that in mind for your bridal party!

Here is one of my new best friends, Frank. Frank is the Executive Chef at the Inn and is raved about often. Being vegan myself, I was very excited that Frank has wonderful vegan and vegetarian options!

We enjoyed being part of the Chocksett Inn’s Open House and even meeting up with couples whom we will soon be photographing! We thank Paula for inviting us to such a fun and elegant event. If you have not seen the new Laurelwood Ballroom and cocktail area, definitely call the Inn. Tell them that we sent you!

I believe I was the first person to register for the photography seminar offered by my favorite celebrity photographers: Mike Colon and Bob Davis. Their free-style photography and their fun personalities were obvious to me in their work and on their Websites. I jumped at the chance to sit with them for 9 hours in a conference called “Master Your Craft.”

The conference was more than expected. I enjoyed seeing and hearing about their celebrity photo shoots like Oprah’s galas and Eva Longoria’s wedding. They also provided some technical camera information that they use and also some beautiful lighting options for inside churches or in a dark reception area during the party. I loved seeing how much these two photographers truly enjoy what they do. If I were a bride (and happened to have $50,000 for my wedding photography…) I’d hire one of these two men. Beyond their amazing technical abilities, they are fun to be around, are humble, and genuinely nice.

Bob Davis, Candi Wolley, Mike Colon

Mike pointed out something very important to me: Pricing is important as it does equal quality, but choosing a photographer is more than that. Couples are choosing you because only *you* can provide your style, vision, and personality. These are unique to you, and in that regard, there is no true competition. If people connect with you and find something in your style and personality that they relate to, then it’s a great match. Our couples can also see that we love what we do, and that’s important to us.

It was definitely memorable to meet my favorite professional photographers at the seminar and learn from them. I even enjoyed meeting new photographers from Connecticut and Massachusetts and seeing familiar faces, like Scott Metzger from Boston. You can tell who truly loves what they do and wants to always improve and learn all the time. It was a great group to be part of, and I hope to join in on more of these conferences throughout 2008!

Thank you to Mark Willand, owner of Willand Video Productions, for including us on the BostonWeddingTV.com site! Steve and I happy to be featured Boston photographers, and we love the slideshow of our Hyatt Harborside wedding! (Please wait for the above video to load.)

It was a pleasure working with Mark at that wedding, and if you’re looking for a videographer for your day, we highly recommend that you contact MarkWillandVideo.com.

February’s Open House at Sterling National Country Club was full of beautiful flowers, great music, and elegant table settings. Also part of the night included many, many couples looking for ideas for their wedding day. It was a pleasure showing them our work, and we’re happy to have met so many couples!

Here are a few images from the evening:

All of the flowers were designed by Holmes-Shusas Florists, and had everybody talking about them!

Another table setting option:

With DJ Kevin Whitney providing the music for the evening, it was fun walking from table to table and seeing all the color and style options:

Another centerpiece by Holmes-Shusas of Worcester:

Steve checking out the new tuxedos from Bonardi’s, a place we highly recommend!

It was a wonderful evening to be part of, and if you missed it and would like a tour, please contact Lana Visbeck at 978-422-0275, ext. 31. Tell Lana we sent you! I’m sure you’ll love Sterling National and all the new changes!

Thank you Lana for inviting us to be part of Sterling National Country Club’s event!

“Hi Candi,

-Michele”

***

Thank you to Michele and Mario for choosing us for your wedding photographers. I’m so happy that their two “babies” could join us for the formal session! I loved designing their album, and Harding Allen requested it as a sample - so Michele and Mario can now be seen by future brides and grooms at the facility! Their day was gorgeous, and we appreciate Michele and all our couples taking the time to write to us about their experience with us.

Congratulations to Michele and Mario and thank you again for the nice note!!