Escort cards

Why have your escort cards or place cards bare and plain? Make a tablescape of your escort cards or make them your favors. Creating that perfect escort card that plays along with your colors, theme, reception setting is all the more fun. Below are some ideas.

Mexican Fiesta Birthday Party

Last week I entered into the 30's, so I threw myself a party or rather a mexican fiesta. Ordered great food from Kerry Out in Severna Park, Flowers were from Bloomn' Blossoms, and the cake was from Sweet. Thanks also to Travis Lee-Moore for inspiration and ideas.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes.

Love is buzzing all around

Congratulations Emily and Dane!
This is an invitation we did for the two love bees. Just another example how we can custom design your wedding stationery.

Tea Party for any occasion

With the weather so nice lately, and summer in full swing. I can only think of warm summer evenings with my girlfriends. Some ideas for a tea party for any occasion.

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Perfect gift for your man

Okay ladies, who are getting married or have tied the knot, here's the perfect gift for your man. Balance Photography offers several services from wedding photography, head shots, glam the dress photo sessions and the one I want to hightlight is their bridal boudoir photography This is just one of their many services they offer. I can also recommend their "glam the dress" photo session as well....more to come on that.

Balance Photography is the combined talent of Rissa and Nathaniel, local photographers in the DC/Maryland area. I got a chance to chat with them about some of their services.

What makes you stand out among other companies in the area?
Balance is the combined talented of myself, Rissa Miller and my husband, Nathaniel Corn. Being a husband and wife team, we truly offer two perspectives on a wedding day. We are both college-trained photojournalists with real newspaper experience. We truly understand capturing moments and being unobtrusive. Photojournalism isn't just our "style" it's the way we create and see pictures. Beyond that, we both have other great loves that we add into the mix. I love fashion photography and have fun adding edgy, stylish poses into the portraits of the day or doing a boudoir session with the bride. Nathaniel studied fine art photography in Europe, and some of his incredible, creative pictures are beyond description. He is best-known for his assemblage, where he takes multiple pictures of the same scene and melds them together into one piece. Assemblage can combine both time and space in a very special way.



As a photographer, where do you pull your inspiration from?
We both work really differently, which is part of the beauty of our company. Nathaniel & I view the world as unique individuals. We both search for the new ways of seeing things we've seen before, we both seek out the exceptional in the ordinary details of life. But we always find different answers to the same questions. It's part of what makes our wedding photography so special. Neither of us ever take the same set of pictures, even though we see the same day unfold. We are both truly inspired by the beauty of everyday life and we are both incredibly grateful to be photographers ~ and have the honor of sharing our vision with everyone who sees and enjoys our pictures.

What qualities should a bride look for when searching for a photographer?
Many brides shop for photographer first by price or by asking a set of questions they tear out of a magazine. These are both approaches that can lead you down the wrong path. Before you look at fees or ask what kind of lenses the photographer uses, first look at the pictures! What do you feel when you go through the photographer's portfolio? Can you imagine yourself in the pictures? Is the emotion of the day evident? We think these are the most essential questions to ask. Really, it's so important to hire a photographer whose work you love, whose vision you share. Most wedding magazines state in polls done of married couples the one thing that they wish they had done was to go all-out on photography and hire the person they thought was "just out of the budget." Because at the end of your wedding day, your pictures are most of what will be left to remember this once-in-a-lifetime event.

What makes the perfect setting to photograph pictures?
Almost any setting can be beautiful for a wedding. We love it when couples have colorful linens, gorgeous flowers and professional lighting. However ~ the most important ingredient to any wedding picture is the couple themselves. If they are truly in love, smiling and having fun, all the pictures will be gorgeous ~ no matter if they are photographed in a ballroom or outdoors!

What is your favorite type of occasion to photograph? We both have backgrounds & degrees in photojournalism, so our love of actually photographing emotion makes this a challenging question to answer. Really, there is not one particular event or kind of shoot we like best. What we love about weddings is the depth of true emotion that comes out ~ so much in one short day. But we love creating portraits and other kinds of event photos, too ~ they can also be full of excitement, joy and every other element of the human experience.



Tell us some fun details about your home life. We were married on October 2nd, 2004 on Nathaniel's family farm in Tennessee. We live and work in Catonsville, and have for the past five years. Catonsville is the perfect little small town nestled in right next to the city ~ we have the beltway on one side and on the other, rolling hills with horse farms. It's a peaceful in-between. Nathaniel is an avid gardener and grows flowers, herbs and veggies of all kinds. His gardens are all organic and if you stop by at the right time of year, you'll definitely leave with tomatoes and fresh basil from the garden. We have a retired racing greyhound named Lochrima. She's kind of like our mascot, we say. Her extremely relaxed personality always puts everyone at ease. When I'm not working on photo-related stuff, I love reading and usually have at least 4 books going at one time. I also teach bellydance classes one night a week at Studio Edge in Mt. Washington, which is great fun. Nathaniel & I are both vegetarians. We love working together because there is always someone here who understands our job and can offer specific insight into the work. It's a wonderful life! We also have a full time assistant named Josie. She's a blossoming young photographer and we expect to see great things from her in years to come.

TalkingTree Creative: Enviroments that Communicate

I'd like to introduce to you in Craig Weisbaum, President of TalkingTree Creative, a marketing communications agency specializing in the turnkey design and production of corporate events. For over 15 years, they have worked with trusted brands to package their message and deliver it dynamically to an audience. The concerted application of their core competencies in event production, custom media creation, and live entertainment build message-centric environments that inspire and motivate.

Talking Tree Creative is based in Washington, DC. The agency was founded by Craig Weisbaum, life-long video producer and former keyboardist for Peaches & Herb (has also performed with Temptations, Ray Charles, Ben Vereen, etc.) In a recent conversation with Craig he told me "I was 19 years old and just by luck knew someone who told me about auditions that were being held for Peaches & Herb (a disco / soul group who was making a big comeback). I got the gig and went on the world tour. Over the next 2 years all the other groups were really part of that or one-time things that came out of being out on the road at the right time. It was a blast, very educational, amazing fun, and by the time I got married I never wanted to go on the road again!"

Southern California Beach Wedding

A little inspiration for the day.

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Top row from left: cake photo by Jude Mooney, bouquet by Artfool, photo by Karen Wise, photo by Claudia Cebrian
Row 2: seating card from Brides, photo by Kimberlee Miller, Whimsy Press gift wrap via Ritzy Bee, photo by Mel Barlow
Row 3: bamboo bar from Room Service Home, seating cards from Brides, invitation by Ceci NY, boutonniere from Brides
Row 4: photo by Timothy Lee, bouquet from Brides, photo by Karyn Iserman, lemonade caipirinha from Martha Stewart

Open House Invitation

Are you having a party, open house or throwing a bash? Custom invitations are always the perfect glimpse for that big day your planning. This is a peak at the invitation we designed for Historic Events in Annapolis Maryland. They just opened their new studio and it is so cute and trendy.

Introducing Travis-Lee Moore with Functions Creative Event Services LLC

Today I'd like to introduce you to a fabulous event planner, Travis-Lee Moore with Functions Creative Event Services. He is a creative, fun, and talented person. Below is an interview I had with him.

What services does your company offer?
Fashion-forward decorative installations and detailed event management

What makes you stand out among other companies in the area?
Our experience in the industry, unsurpassed spatial planning ability and amazing eye for great event design.


As a planner, where do you pull your inspiration from?
We draw on the energy of our clients as well as constantly stay abreast of (and set!) design industry trends. LOVE publications like Wallpaper, Diesel, Grace Ormond, My Day Weddings!!!


Why is it important to hire an event planner?
It’s important to hire a great event producer so that you have someone heading up your event team who is:
• There to ensure that YOUR best interests are tended to
• An amazing design entity
• A great source for all of the goods and services you’ll find necessary while planning

What qualities should a bride look for when searching for a planner?
An individual from whom they get a great “vibe” who has a great reputation in the industry for doing amazing work.

What are your favorite color palettes to plan the wedding decor around?
Anything bold!! White and/or ivory should only be used as accent colors and just about every color palette should incorporate some amount of chartreuse!

What is your favorite type of venue?
Wonderful, unique historic facilities.



What details of the wedding play an important part in the decor?
It’s always great to get to meet the client in their home. There you can learn a lot about their sense of style and their decorative goals.

Tell us some fun details about your home life.
I ADORE marathon long dinner parties and have a cat named PG



For more pictures and information about Functions Creative Event Services check out their website.

Contact Travie-Lee Moore