[Girlie Scream] We Met Jasmine Star!!

Photo by theFIX crew

For those of you NOT in the wedding industry, this may not seem exciting...but we basically met one of our idols! Jasmine Star has been a huge influence in how we've shaped our business model so when we heard her speaking tour theFIX was coming to Boston, there was no way we were missing it! She's kind of a big deal.

We expected to meet Jasmine and hear her talk and pick up copies of Exposed, her magazine-format mini book about her story and how she came to be so friggen fabulous. We did all of those things, we even got our magazines signed like the squealing fangirl/boy that we are.

What we didn't expect were the new friends! We met SO MANY amazing photographers! We made sure to follow Jasmine's advice and leave with two new contacts and we've grown quite attached to our little Facebook group that has now become the J* Alumni Boston group.

Too often in this and I imagine other industries, competition puts people against each other. Jasmine was among the first to stand up and say FUNK DAT...we need to stick together. We need to lift this industry up together. When Jasmine was starting out, she teamed up with a couple other photographers similar to her style and pricing and shared a Google calendar (girl after my own Google-run heart) with them so that when she was already booked, she could send clients to these other trusted friends. Brilliant! We love that stuff.

Instagram by Pam

So anyway, theFIXers put together a photo walk that James and I desperately tried to make but we arrived in Boston too late and couldn't find them. Doh! So we decided to be early to dinner at Upper Crust, a delicious pizza place on Tremont St. We arrived to find a single FIXer, the hilarious and exuberant Teresa Porter who hails from North Carolina, y'all! My VYS (that's Very Yankee Self) was thoroughly delighted to be called "y'all". Teresa made for excellent (and hilarious...she is a riot!) company and as other FIXers streamed in, we all waved frantically...the universal sign for "over here, photogs!"

Instagram by Pam

 We ate, we drank, we made merry. Hands were shaken, cards exchanged and there was a lot of laughter. It was lovely. But it was time to go!

After a long walk to fetch James a notebook, we hopped in line and waited. We spotted JD taking he and Jasmine's furbaby, Polo for a walk. We watched the door. We waited some more!

Photo by Pam

And then it was time. theFIX crew caught this hilarious photo of James walking in as if he were 8 years old and penetrating the gates of Disneyworld for the first time.

Photo by theFIX crew

Jasmine began the evening with an open bar (bless her sweet soul) and mingling. We got our adult bevvies and stood around awkwardly because we are...well, awkward. We chatted with some ladies sitting next to us, one of which was Megan Dandeles, who is not only cute as a button but has some serious skills! We hopped in line to get our photos snapped with J* by theFIX crew.

Flashy instagram by Pam

James got to shake JD's hand and share some mutual "phew, there are guys here" relief. Not that James minded being lost in a sea of beautiful and talented women or anything...

It was right about then that I yelled "AHA! CAKE LADY!" and ran over to the startled and smiling Alicia Candelora and handed her our cake donation money. Alicia was the brains behind the coolest group surprise of theFIX tour. Yeah I just said that. Forget it other cities, only Boston is real! A group of us threw in to get Polo his very own doggy cake from Polka Dog and then a doggy cake in the shape of Polo for Jasmine and JD from Cake For Occasions! This thing was off the chain. Look at this!

Jasmine with Polo's cake

Jasmine getting the cake in the shape of Polo!

She may have cried a little...

The presentation was amazing, inspiring and many other "ing" adjectives. Jasmine spoke about her journey to where she was now, how she learned her skills (she's of the School of Orange Tree in Backyard it turns out) and how she tailored her business to exactly what she wanted it to be. She spoke about helping your peers and being kind. She took questions, I asked one...

Photo by theFIX crew

During the break we chatted with by far the best dressed gal in the joint, Sarah from Sarah Vanessa Photography. She was wondering about working with her fiance as a partner and we agreed to chat again. Turns out Sarah and I share many interests including but not limited to heavy metal music and sequins.

We got our books signed after and took a couple more photos.

James was apparently drunk on J* because this is how my photo with Jasmine came out!

Instagram by James

His was better, we'll just blame the ambien.

Instagram by Pam

theFIX was a GREAT experience! If you get the chance to catch Jasmine in person, we highly recommend you do so. She's inspiring and funny and everything our industry needs right now! Thanks Jasmine, JD, Polo and the whole FIX crew for a wonderful night!

Oh By The Way...NEW WEBSITE NEW WEBSITE!!

Can you tell I'm excited? After two months of long hours and colorful language I finally finished our new website. We left our old host and migrated to Showit sites, which are pretty fantastic! They allow you to build websites by literally dragging and dropping photos, text and widgets wherever you want. We love it!

We'll also be able to give our couples their own "plus sites" for their weddings or sessions with us that they can share with friends. It also integrates into Facebook! I'll have a sample one up soon on the blog, I'm still figuring that part out!

So if you haven't checked it out already, do so! http://altaredvisions.com

Guest Blogging Over at Wedding Lovely!

One of my goals this year was to guest blog (and blog in general) more and often and Wedding Lovely was kind enough to allow me my second go!

http://weddinglovely.com/blog/what-to-expect-from-your-photographer-on-your-wedding-day

Never visited Wedding Lovely? It's a fantastic wedding planning site founded by Tracy Osborn, who contacted us last year about being listed on her new website. That website is now full of vendor directories and an insane amount of information for planning everything from wedding invitations to selecting a wedding photographer. There are sister sites for every realm of wedding coordination, it's a great resource for the engaged couple in the midst of the whirlwind that is planning a wedding. Here's our listing on the photography sister site, Wedding Photo Love and our interview with them last year.