Great Gatsby Gala for Starlet Sessions

Many many many months ago, Starlet Session ladies, Kamila Harris and Emily Aznavourian, met with me over sushi and asked if I would be interested in helping them with their official studio opening in Chestnut Hill.

So, of course, I said yes!  I've admired Kamila Harris Photography for a while (she's always fully booked when I have a client interested!) and Emily of Cheekadee and I work together a few times a year with our shared brides.

Since their Starlet Sessions focuses on pinup style and beautiful ladies in era clothing, they thought it would be fitting to have a theme for their party.  They went with a Great Gatsby theme, which really played out well!

Here are some montage images Kamila put together:

We use the main back yard for our cocktail tables, DJ, and the cake.  The DJ (Dave from Synergetic Sounds) played 20's era music and really set the mood for the party.  The moment you walk down their driveway, you were greeted by my lovely intern, Sarah, who was all glammed up.  Immediately you felt like you walked into the roaring 20s.

Of course, everyone was looking for the bar!  Which we hid behind the studio.  It is the 1920's after all - the prohibition era.  So it was only fitting to create a speakeasy type bar.

Inside the studio, guests could get their eyes done and lashes did. :)

Also, there were clothes and jewelry and other accessories guests could help themselves with and take portraits taken by Kamila's assistant, Kat.

Special Thanks to Dar Clinton for providing hair to us prior to the party, and also thank you to Emily and Robin for doing our makeup!

The amazing Brittany of Petals Lane did our florals and she really hit the nail on our purple/lavendar and charcoal look.  A few tables also had the crystal candle holders which added some glam to our look.

The lavendar linens and all tables were provided by Bette Sanders and Dave Buckley at Select Event Rentals. 

And the adorably awesome table runners were hand crafted by the very talented Emily Aznavourian for that added touch.

Food was provided by Casual Catering of Glenside, and the passed hors d'oeuvres were based on bites that were reminiscent of the 20s period.  The bar aptheocary jars were mine, but filled with delicious white and red sangria by Emily.

We had a mock cake cutting by Emily and Kamila, with a beautiful fondant cake provided by Night Kitchen Bakery.

All signage for food and bar were created by the lovely and talented Erin Proud of Proud to Plan/Proud Paper.  But the whole party started with the beautiful letterpressed inviations designed by Brooke Forry of Curious and Company and printed by Clean Wash Letter Press.

But the Party is not a good party without wonderful guests.  Even if the food was delicious and the decor was impeccable, if the people stink, it's not really a good party.  Fortunately of us, the guests were AWESOME!  Almost everyone came dressed for the occasion and fun was had by all.

Brooke Forry and her husband

Angelique Buckley and Kamila Harris

Kamila and Jackie Bayne; Jackie and her husband Pat Simone

Pete Malone and Darrell Aubert

Jason, Erin, Robin, me, Kamila, and Emily

Sarah and myself

Thank you to all the sponsors who made this event happen, and special thanks to Emily and Kamila for giving me the opportunity to work with you for such a great party!

Day of Beauty - Kamila Harris Photography, Cheekadee, Hair by Natalie

A few months ago, Kamila Harris, Emily of Cheekadee, and Natalie of Hair by Natalie invite myself and a few other premier planners for a photo shoot. I think it was planned to be like a starlet session (which Kamila and Emily work on together), but we used it as an opportunity for head shots, starlet, and boudoir.

It was so much fun! Champagne and food, plus great company - it was a blast. You can read more about it on Kamila's blog: http://kamharrisphoto.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/day-of-beauty-and-photos/

These are two of my "starlet" session images. Emily had a rack FULL of vintage clothing of all different sizes, and accessories. Kamila had beautiful chandeliers and vintage furniture to make the setting work.

I can't wait until the spring because I can start wearing my heels again. With the ice and salt, I don't risk wearing anything high in the winter - for fear of slipping and falling and breaking my neck and not being able to work your wedding! So, if you see me in Ugg imitation boots from Target and a bulky sweater in the winter, it's because I'm freezing.

Words can't even express how beautiful I felt after Emily and Natalie were done with me. Emily and Natalie and I had the pleasure of doing a number of weddings together. I've always seen their beautiful work on my brides and their mothers/bridesmaids, but I never had the chance to indulge in this. Well, while Natalie put my hair into curls, we chatted and had a great time. Emily made my face pretty, while I complained about this huge zit that came up that morning (doesn't that always happen?!).

For Halloween, Emily did my makeup for 50's housewife costume, and then she got to experiment with my eyes and lips. This time, we went for a more natural look. I wish I looked like this every day!

However, the makeup and hair would have been pointless if the photography wasn't good, but that was definitely not the case here. Kamila is a pro with the camera, and really great about making you comfortable. I loved how she showed me the preview on her camera between shots and made sure I was happy. Uh yeah! I was more than happy! I was so happy to see that she somehow was able to skip over the "Christina is very unphotogenic" issue and make it work. Kamila was patient while we all changed outfits, fixed our makeup, and fooled around in between shoots. I was so happy and comfortable with her, I even put on a corset and tried to rock a boudoir shoot (those you will never see!).

The whole day was fun because I got to make new planner friends, see Keli, and hang with Em, Natalie, and Kamila.

I'm thinking of doing something like this again soon with my girlfriends. We'll see!