Today’s lovely guest in the Bloggers {Unveiled} series is the oh-so-inspirational Jen Campbell of Green Wedding Shoes!  Green Wedding Shoes is an amazing wedding blog bursting at the seams with lovely details, real weddings, advice and of course, lots of inspiration!  Please join me in welcoming Jen to the blog today.

Blogger {Unveiled}:

How did you get started in the wedding world?
I started in the wedding world with my blog back in October of 2008. I had just gotten married and thought there needed to be a blog that shared great wedding photography, pretty inspiration boards and creative weddings all in one place. A blog where brides could see there are so many ideas for what you can do with your wedding and showcasing some of the great Cali vendors since there are so many amazing photographers + designers here. It started off with just Cali photographers and weddings, but quickly grew to share weddings + ideas from all over the world.

What is your makeup staple?
Lip Gloss.

What’s one thing that others don’t know about you?
I ran 3 marathons!

What’s one piece of advice you would give to others trying to get started with their own business?
It’s a lot of hard work + long hours, but if it’s your dream + you are passionate about it, just keep doing it and it will work - plus it won’t feel like you are working if you are doing what you love.

What is your favorite part about weddings?
I love seeing how different + creative couples are with celebrating their day. There are intimate sweet elopements, gorgeous outdoor weddings, fun weddings in barns - when a couple really creates a day about them and their personalities shine thought, it just makes me smile.

What is your hobby outside of blogging {is there life outside blogging}?
I’m a foodie. I love trying new restaurants and making new recipes for my hubby.

To learn more about Jen, go here.  To see the entire lineup of lovely contributors to the Bloggers {Unveiled} series, click here and make sure to pop back in every Friday to get to know the people behind your favorite blogs!!

Happy Friday everyone!
~jacin

Today’s lovely guest in the Bloggers {Unveiled} series is someone I’m pretty sure we all know in this world of details and pretty events: Amy Atlas of Amy Atlas Events!  Amy needs no introduction but I must add, I am honored to have her visiting the blog today; she is a true inspiration to me and I’m happy to share some more about her with you!

About the Blogger:

Amy Atlas is a sought-after NYC based event designer and baking stylist, specializing in fabulous custom dessert tables and sweets displays. Amy is internationally known as the person who has reinvented how desserts can be dressed up.  World renowned pastry chefs and at-home bakers have lauded Amy’s work for her fresh and modern perspective of re-inventing America’s favorite course. She has garnered a wide appeal and cult-like following amongst celebrities and the do-it-yourself crowd for her modern designs and whimsical spirit and has distinguished herself from others in the field by strictly focusing on the dessert aspect of an event. Known for her talent in dressing up simple desserts and combining beautiful desserts with crafting, Atlas’ clients range from small to large private affairs, corporate events and product launches, as well as high profile social and celebrity events.  Most recently, Atlas has created custom dessert bars for Brooke Shields, Kelly Ripa and many others. Atlas is currently working to publish her first book with Hyperion books, titled Sweet Designs, a book about dressing up desserts which will debut Spring 2012 and will be Hyperion’s lead non-fiction title in the Spring of 2012. Atlas also has a well known daily blog, Sweet Designs, where she shares her baking and styling tips with bakers (both at-home and professional), entertainers, and moms.

Blogger {Unveiled}:

How did you get started in the wedding world?
I am a lawyer and tapped into my creative side after taking a break in my career to raise my kids.  I’ve always loved planning parties and often entertained for family and friends.  I started to create dessert tables for my own parties and for friends, and then the business organically grew. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for sweets. I grew up watching my grandmother bake, and my fondest memory from childhood is of sitting in her sunny kitchen, watching her pull homemade rocky road cake out of the oven.  As I got older, I started to see sweets as edible art I quickly realized that there isn’t a lot of fanfare around dessert, no matter how delicious it is.  Since dessert is the final vestige of a lovely gathering, I thought it should be the most memorable, especially at a wedding!  I decided to take my love for sweets and specialize in trendsetting dessert displays.  Now I team fabrics, crafts, and beautiful vessels with sugary confections to make gorgeous displays for my clients.

What is your makeup staple?
I do not leave home without my Nars ”Sunset Strip” Lip Gloss.

What’s one thing that others don’t know about you?
I had a chocolate peanut butter wedding cake at my own wedding!

What’s one piece of advice you would give to others trying to get started with their own business?
Follow your passion and don’t ever take no for an answer.

What is your favorite part about weddings?
My favorite part of every event is seeing the client’s face when they see their dessert table.  Our tables are so unique to the client that it always end the event on a “sweet” note.

What is your hobby outside of blogging and planning events?
Baking with my kids!

To learn more about Amy, go here.  To see the entire lineup of lovely contributors to the Bloggers {Unveiled} series, click here and make sure to pop back in every Friday to get to know the people behind your favorite blogs!!

Happy Friday everyone!
~jacin

Today’s lovely guest in the Bloggers {Unveiled} series is the sweetest little lady you’ll ever meet, Emma Arendoski of the fabulous handmade wedding blog, Emmaline Bride! Emma always provides the most unique ideas for her readers and her blog is a true daily must-read!

About the Blog:

Emmaline Bride was established in 2008 as a place to promote the best handmade wedding items across the globe. Our mission is to empower our readers to support independent artisans through the use of handmade items througout the wedding planning process.

Blogger {Unveiled}:

How did you get started in the wedding world?
I always loved weddings since I was a little girl, but my passion for the wedding industry grew while planning my own wedding.  I knew it was true love when I continued to buy and peruse wedding magazines and blogs long after the wedding was over.  I still manage to get lost in the beautiful imagery, DIY inspiration, décor, and most of all – the handmade elements.  There are so many talented artisans in the world that craft incredible wedding day accessories but many of them go unnoticed.  I launched Emmaline Bride as a place to promote the talents of artisans and encourage couples to incorporate handmade, personal details into their wedding day. The goal is to spread support for a handmade wedding day – and beyond.

What is your makeup staple?
My makeup staple is mascara.  There are few days during the year I’ll go without it and the more volume the better! And, is it just me or are makeup manufacturers always finding new ways to reinvent the stuff?

What’s one thing that others don’t know about you?
One thing others don’t know about me is that I am very tall – 5’11” – yet I have an obsession with high heels and I wear them every chance I get!

What’s one piece of advice you would give to others trying to get started with their own business?
If you’re looking to start your own business, start with something you love.  Take something you are passionate about and find a way to turn it into a business.  When you are truly passionate about what you do, you will continuously find new ways to improve upon it.  Work will no longer feel like just a job – it will become your hobby, too.

What is your favorite part about weddings?
My favorite part about weddings is how each captures a unique love story.  What could be better than a day centered on love between two people?  When I’m looking through real wedding images, my favorite is the groom’s face as the bride is making her way down the aisle.  It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.  Plus, you could go to a hundred weddings in a year and no two are ever the same.  When the couple spends time on personalized décor to tell their story, I love it even more.  It makes the event memorable and gives you a glimpse into how they fell in love.

What is your hobby outside of blogging {is there life outside blogging}?
Outside of blogging, I love spending time with my husband, writing, traveling, and crafting.  On the weekends I like to check out thrift stores for vintage/shabby chic décor to incorporate into new DIY projects. You can also find me at Pilates or yoga, two activities I enjoy.  I love music and every summer I like to go to outdoor concerts.  I am always excited to add new music to my playlist.

To learn more about Emma, go here.  To see the entire lineup of lovely contributors to the Bloggers {Unveiled} series, click here and make sure to pop back in every Friday to get to know the people behind your favorite blogs!!

Happy Friday everyone!
~jacin

Today’s lovely guest in the Bloggers {Unveiled} series is the lovely and stylish Summer Watkins of Grey Likes Weddings! Summer is an absolute sweetheart and I’m so thrilled to have her visiting today for our weekly segment.

About the Blogger:

Under the guise of her nom de plume, GREY, stylist and curator, Summer Watkins compiles and blogs stylishly handsome finds for voracious lovers of the good and pretty. She’s an advocate for the proper treatment of details and is over the moon for fierce creativity, brave color palettes, and fashion inspired motifs.

Blogger {Unveiled}:

How did you get started in the wedding world?
In college, I stumbled upon a part-time job at Conroy’s Flowers. I ended up falling head-over-heels in love with flowers and learned how to put arrangements together. Friends started asking me to do flowers for their weddings, so after college, I spent the next decade doing freelance floral design as a side job.

What is your makeup staple?
I can’t live without my Lorac concealer. It brightens up my face, gets rid of any dark circles, and it’s got the best color and staying power of any concealer I’ve ever used. I also adore my Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer. It keeps your makeup looking fresh all day!

What’s one thing that others don’t know about you?
I’ve got three really amazing sisters, each of whom is super talented, brilliant and absolutely hilarious. I feel so lucky that I ended up having them as siblings. It’s also a little known fact that I was once a college professor. I taught writing while I was in grad school, but it was one of the toughest jobs ever—grading papers was really tedious!

What’s one piece of advice you would give to others trying to get started with their own business?
Take it seriously. Starting a business isn’t about making money from a hobby. It’s really hard work and requires business savvy, dedication, and perseverance. Finding mentors and support is also really huge. You need to have people around you that can encourage you, bring you back to reality, keep you going, or reign you in. I’ve learned that you definitely can’t go it alone.

What is your favorite part about weddings?
It’s funny because I’m not married yet, so my perspective is completely from the observer’s point of view. But I love the idea that two families are becoming one. Each couple is bringing together their respective circles of friends and family. The idea is sometimes nerve wracking to me…what if Aunt Joan and cousin Bill don’t get along? But it’s such an amazing experience when you see people that are brought together because of a wedding. There is so much community and intimacy that results. It’s the reason I love the idea of having a small wedding—because that connection, not only between the bride and groom, but between this new “family” is so beautiful. Of course weddings are also the only excuse to bring together the best of fashion, music, food, and décor for a rocking party that’s meant to celebrate love. How can anything beat that?

What is your hobby outside of blogging {is there life outside blogging}?
I love to cook. I’m not a recipe kind of gal in the traditional sense. Usually if I want to make something new I’ll research lots of different recipes to see which techniques and ingredients I like. I end up picking and choosing my favorite elements from several recipes and make my own version. Forgoing an actual recipe makes it much easier to cook too. I’ll usually open a bottle of wine, turn on a pod cast, and really relax and be creative while I cook. There’s something so lovely about involving all of your senses in an activity. Cooking is really life giving—both metaphorically and literally.

To learn more about Summer, go here.  To see the entire lineup of lovely contributors to the Bloggers {Unveiled} series, click here and make sure to pop back in every Friday to get to know the people behind your favorite blogs!!

Happy Friday everyone!
~jacin

Today’s lovely guest in the Bloggers {Unveiled} series is none other than the lovely Kathryn Storke of Snippet & Ink! {And if you haven’t yet seen her wedding recaps, you must go take a look - they are oh, so stunning!}

About the Blog:

Snippet & Ink is a place where I get to bring together two of my favorite things: love and pretty details. I feel so lucky to look at gorgeous photographs everyday, and then to hear the love stories behind them. My hope for Snippet & Ink is to make it a place where brides and grooms can see that there’s no one right way to have a wedding, that simple can be beautiful, and that meaningful matters.

Blogger {Unveiled}:

How did you get started in the wedding world?
I guess you could say I got started in the wedding world as a bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding when I was 16. It was the first time I ever looked through a Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, and I totally fell in love.

What is your makeup staple?
Chanel Inimitable mascara in black – can’t live without it!

What’s one thing that others don’t know about you?
People might not know that I’ve lived in 5 states in the last ten years: New York, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Texas, and California.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to others trying to get started with their own business?
My best advice is to go into something that you truly love and care about. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with it, so it should be something you enjoy spending time doing!

What is your favorite part about weddings?
I love the stories. The story of the couple and what brought them to that day; the stories of funny, touching, unexpected things that happened the day of the wedding; the stories behind moments captured by exceptional (or lucky) photographers. The stories are by far my favorite thing about weddings.

What is your hobby outside of blogging {is there life outside blogging}?
I love baking, reading, dancing in my living room, spending time with my husband. Not sure if you can call those hobbies, but it’s the things I like to do when I’m not blogging.

To learn more about Kathryn, go here.  To see the entire lineup of lovely contributors to the Bloggers {Unveiled} series, click here and make sure to pop back in every Friday to get to know the people behind your favorite blogs!!

Happy Friday everyone!
~jacin

Today’s Bloggers {Unveiled} post features none other than Cathleya Schroeckenstein, editor-in-chief of WeddingBee.com!  If you’re new to the series, go here to learn more. Here’s Cathy!

The Blogger:

With a love of entertaining, Courtney Dial is quickly becoming a well-known stylist in the field of party design and décor. Growing up in the South, she attended Vanderbilt University earning both a bachelors in Communications and masters in Organizational Leadership. Since March 2010, she has grown Pizzazzerie.com into a go-to source for all things entertaining. Regularly appearing on Nashville news broadcasts, Courtney has also been published in several print publications including Nashville Lifestyles Magazine.

In addition to designing everything from children’s birthday celebrations to chic dinner parties, she is also a writer for several online food and lifestyle publications including Hostess with the Mostess, Oh My! Handmade Goodness, She Knows, and Fabulous Living {to name a few}.

{Unveiled} Questions:

How did you get started in the wedding world?
It wasn't necessarily something I started out to do but I love tablescapes and "crafty" things. My focus started out on parties but I have added in a bit of wedding design as well. Weddings are a time for designing elegant and gorgeous tablescapes that pull together the personalities of the happy couple. I love to find out a couple's favorite colors, memories, foods, etc. and combine all these for a gorgeous design!

What is your makeup staple?
Oooh, easy! Mascara! Hands down, Christian Dior Show Mascara. Amazing. Don't leave the house without it on.  {note from Jacin: a girl after my own heart!!  I LOVE diorshow and this is my staple as well!}

What is one thing that others don't know about you?
I was a career counselor prior to starting Pizzazzerie.com. I worked at my alma mater, Vanderbilt University, helping bring companies on campus and coaching the students on resumes, interviews, etc.

What is one piece of advice you would give to others trying to get started with their own business?
Take a long look at whether or not you can eat, breathe, live, love your job. I knew that Pizzazzerie could go full time (or that I had the drive for it to) when I realized I'd rather sacrifice sleep and pretty much everything else for it :) When you love something THAT much, it's a good sign.

What is your favorite part about weddings?
The tablescapes + favors + design details. It's how the couple brings out their personality whether that's through the location or the flowers, it doesn't matter. That's what I love about weddings, the truly unique parts to couple!

What is your hobby outside of blogging {is there life outside blogging} :)?
I don't think I have a life outside of blogging :) Kidding! I spend a lot of time with my boyfriend, watching movies, going shopping, dragging myself to the gym, regular things :) I'm a pretty average person I'd say. I'm very into my job, however, so I'm usually found with either laptop or blackberry in hand.

For more information, visit Pizzazzerie - and make sure to stop by next Friday for our next blogger :)

Thanks, Courtney!
~jacin

The Blogger:

Hi, I'm Amanda, I'm the editor of Ruffled. I started Ruffled in 2008 as a source of inspiration for vintage brides planning their weddings. In three years, the site has expanded into indie and intimate weddings with beautiful handcrafted details in addition to my love for all things vintage.

Thanks for inviting me to be a part of your column!

Best,
Amanda

{Unveiled} Questions:

How did you get started in the wedding world?
While planning my vintage-inspired wedding back in 2008, there were no resources easily available to brides. I combined my obsession with vintage with wedding planning withdrawal and then the rest is history.

What is your makeup staple? 
SPF 30 tinted moisturizer!

What's one thing that others don't know about you?
My husband would say that I'm very shy, but I beg to differ...

What's one piece of advice you would give to others trying to get started with their own business?
Keep a part-time job until your business is self-sufficient.

What is your favorite part about weddings? 
The love that is poured over from everyone involved in them. I pinch myself everyday to be in contact with couples who are madly in love and with vendors who love what they do.

What is your hobby outside of blogging {is there life outside blogging} :)?
I love making jewelry for myself...whenever I have a short break from Ruffled :)

To learn more about Amanda, go here.  To see the entire lineup of lovely contributors to the Bloggers {Unveiled} series, click here and make sure to pop back in every Friday to get to know the people behind your favorite blogs!!

Happy Friday everyone!
~jacin