It's the first Friday of November, what?! Cannot believe we are here already, although it certainly feels like it in Chicago. I took down all of our Halloween decorations yesterday and almost pulled out our Christmas bins (you know, since I was already in the storage room) BUT decided I should show a tiny bit of restraint...at least for another week or two, ha. I can see my husband rolling his eyes right now. :)
Excited to have Meg Hamilton, of Rodeo & Co Photography joining me today for the Friday Five series. She describes her photo style as 'honest & happy' and I have to agree. I shared a few of my favorite photos that I found of hers but there are SO MANY I could've gone on and on. Do yourself a favor and take a peek at her blog & instagram.
Thanks for taking time to chat with me today, Meg. First, can you share a little bit more about Rodeo & Co and how you got started in wedding photography? I know I’ve read that you were an arson investigator & police officer. Please don’t skimp on details. :)
I had my heart & mind set on becoming an arson investigator & really broke the glass ceiling in that field to get my position. Once I attended a conference with over 200 men, and me. It was like real-life CSI, but also very depressing work…. I was also shooting weddings part time & was thriving…. then I was laid off from my fire investigator position… I sat down and did a pro & con list…. knowing that I wanted to eventually be a mom & have flexibility in my career AND do work that gave me JOY…. 15 years ago {today!} I shot my first wedding…. now I’m honored to be named one of Martha Stewart Weddings top photographers & my husband and I have the sweetest boys in New Hampshire…. I feel so blessed each time I connect with my couples to document their days & that {almost} every night I get to make a homemade meal for my family…. These two things are what makes my heart happy.
2. What do you enjoy most about living and working in New England?
I live in an itty bitty small town- and we have backyard chickens, honey bees, make our own maple syrup. My parents live a few miles down the street where we have horses, black angus cows & together with my dad we raise Berkshire pigs. Mornings, I get to go to the barn & take care of the animals….it’s a special, quiet, peaceful way to start my day. Photographing weddings in New England is a true blessing- ferry rides to Martha’s Vineyard, the coast of Maine, in the heart of Boston, the preppy perfectness of Providence, Rhode Island...and the bulk of my work in the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. Each place is unique and at the same time, still New England. And, like all New Englanders, I love the seasons, the Red Sox, and Tom Brady.
3. Do you have a tip or two for couples who are looking for their perfect wedding photographer?
Make sure you love the work that your photographer shows….sounds really basic, but if you don’t love the style that your photographer shoots, they won’t be a good fit. {I’ve had people contact me looking for dark & moody portraits, and I happily refer them to my friends that shoot in this style}. Look through a few complete wedding galleries to get an idea of how they document an entire day -rather than just scrolling the instagram highlight reel.
4. Who would win in a fight: Spiderman or Batman, and why? (I’d like to know Marcus & Hank’s answers as well) :)
I’m a longtime Batman fan {because, I always had a crush on Robin!}... Hank {age 6} says SPIDERMAN- because he'd shoot his webs around Batman and stick him to a wall…. Marcus {9} says it’s impossible because Marvel & D.C. are two separate entities….BUT...he would vote for Batman. (Beckett said Batman too)
5. What’s in your apron?
Extra camera batteries, cell phone, light meter, film, memory cards, a ring box, bits of ribbon, business cards, a lighter for candles, and who knows what else! Thank you again for sharing, Meg! You have such a unique background and the attention to detail you had to possess with the arson work definitely shines through in your photography. You can see more of Meg's work, her travels & life in New England below. Happy Friday, guys!
I'm so excited to start this new series, you guys. The plan is that every Friday (or every other, depending on whether or not I can get people to participate) :) I'll be sharing with you a lovely person I've had the pleasure of working with since we started offering our vendor aprons in the shop.
First up is the insanely talented Jacin Fitzgerald. You guys can all thank her for the creation of our apron line since she was the first person to ask if we could make her a custom apron with her logo embroidered. You're welcome. :) Jacin was also one of the first people I connected with in this online world, through the #TWIPS group on Twitter, way back in 2010. Feel honored to call her one of my best 'real life' friends now too.
{L: original apron, R: version 2}
SO without further ado, heeeeeere's Jacin:
Tell us a little bit about Jacin Fitzgerald and the evolution of your business - from where it started to where it is now.
For the past 14+ years, I have worked and traveled my way across the United States and abroad – I’m a big “you only live once” kind of person and take every opportunity I can to travel and gain new experiences. I grew up working for my family’s hardware store (but my favorite part was designing the front window displays seasonally) and that instilled a strong work ethic in me from a young age. Watching other family members manage their own businesses was always really inspiring to me as well, and helped me to learn the importance of a healthy work/life balance. I landed my first official job in the events industry straight out of college in 2003 assisting with weddings and large-scale festivals for an oceanside venue in Newport, Rhode Island and from there I continued on my path in events management, from coordinating a national regatta series for Sailing World Magazine to functions for a private school in Sydney, Australia, to strategically-placed marketing events of all kinds across the United States for a pharmaceutical agency. Through all of my work and travels, though, I felt like something was missing and realized it was the creativity and personalization that went into the weddings that I started out with in the very beginning. I went on to open my company (initially called lovely little details) in 2009 and have not stopped working since then in order to build the reputable and seasoned wedding planning company that it has become today. An eternal optimist at heart, I’ve always been a “glass half full” type of gal and take this view into every event – I really and truly love my job and will never stop feeling thankful for each client who trusts me to join them on their journey to “I do”.
Let’s talk about your floral design skills (incredible). Have flowers always been a part of your life? Do you have an all time favorite arrangement you’ve designed?
I feel like this is the most cliche answer ever but as a kid, my grandmother (Mimi) had the most incredible garden. It was full of wildflowers and it was always so beautiful. I remember going out to the garden with her to help with the watering or weeding and just really enjoying that time together. My family on my dad’s side has always been really into gardening and I guess I’ve just always been around flowers. When I started my company in late 2009 I was only doing the planning/design side of things but I always gravitated towards the blooms. I started attending flower workshops and (we lived in San Francisco at the time) would head to the flower mart 3-4 mornings a week at 4:00am to walk the market and see what was in season, how much flowers cost, etc. I wanted to learn anything and everything I could about the flowers before I started offering floral design to my clients. I had one client trust me with their wedding flowers and from there all of my clients started asking me to include this as an add-on service and basically haven’t looked back from there! As for a favorite…. I don’t think I do - they are all so different and special based on the client we were working with, but I can say my favorite kind of arrangement is the one where the client trusts me 100% to do my thing - I love to use foraged vegetables / fruit whenever I can because I really feel like it adds interest and life to the centerpiece.
If you could redesign the food pyramid without any dire health consequences how would it look?
I’m probably a bad person to ask because my version of “whole” 30 is the “half” 30 - so I eat healthy during the week and enjoy my favorite foods on the weekends (or Thursdays… or Wednesdays…). I love love love to cook - my favorite magazines are Bon Appetit over Us Weekly so that kind of translates into my eating habits, I guess :).
What is your favorite 90’s jam? (Sorry if I just dated you)
You didn’t date me haha - it’s just impossible to choose! Let’s put it this way - 90s song most likely to show up on a playlist? “It Was A Good Day” - Ice Cube - ha! :)
What’s in your apron?
Pens (including a nice one in case the client forgets it for her sign-in book), safety pins, bouquet ribbon pins pinned to the outer pocket, a timeline, backup cell phone charger, and a little tape measure. Depending on the day of course.
Thanks so much for kicking off our 'Friday Five' series, Jacin. Looking forward to sharing more of my favorites with you in the coming weeks. Have a great weekend, everyone!
I'm so excited to start this new series, you guys. The plan is that every Friday (or every other, depending on whether or not I can get people to participate) :) I'll be sharing with you a lovely person I've had the pleasure of working with since we started offering our vendor aprons in the shop.
First up is the insanely talented Jacin Fitzgerald. You guys can all thank her for the creation of our apron line since she was the first person to ask if we could make her a custom apron with her logo embroidered. You're welcome. :) Jacin was also one of the first people I connected with in this online world, through the #TWIPS group on Twitter, way back in 2010. Feel honored to call her one of my best 'real life' friends now too.
{L: original apron, R: version 2}
SO without further ado, heeeeeere's Jacin:
Tell us a little bit about Jacin Fitzgerald and the evolution of your business - from where it started to where it is now.
For the past 14+ years, I have worked and traveled my way across the United States and abroad – I’m a big “you only live once” kind of person and take every opportunity I can to travel and gain new experiences. I grew up working for my family’s hardware store (but my favorite part was designing the front window displays seasonally) and that instilled a strong work ethic in me from a young age. Watching other family members manage their own businesses was always really inspiring to me as well, and helped me to learn the importance of a healthy work/life balance. I landed my first official job in the events industry straight out of college in 2003 assisting with weddings and large-scale festivals for an oceanside venue in Newport, Rhode Island and from there I continued on my path in events management, from coordinating a national regatta series for Sailing World Magazine to functions for a private school in Sydney, Australia, to strategically-placed marketing events of all kinds across the United States for a pharmaceutical agency. Through all of my work and travels, though, I felt like something was missing and realized it was the creativity and personalization that went into the weddings that I started out with in the very beginning. I went on to open my company (initially called lovely little details) in 2009 and have not stopped working since then in order to build the reputable and seasoned wedding planning company that it has become today. An eternal optimist at heart, I’ve always been a “glass half full” type of gal and take this view into every event – I really and truly love my job and will never stop feeling thankful for each client who trusts me to join them on their journey to “I do”.
Let’s talk about your floral design skills (incredible). Have flowers always been a part of your life? Do you have an all time favorite arrangement you’ve designed?
I feel like this is the most cliche answer ever but as a kid, my grandmother (Mimi) had the most incredible garden. It was full of wildflowers and it was always so beautiful. I remember going out to the garden with her to help with the watering or weeding and just really enjoying that time together. My family on my dad’s side has always been really into gardening and I guess I’ve just always been around flowers. When I started my company in late 2009 I was only doing the planning/design side of things but I always gravitated towards the blooms. I started attending flower workshops and (we lived in San Francisco at the time) would head to the flower mart 3-4 mornings a week at 4:00am to walk the market and see what was in season, how much flowers cost, etc. I wanted to learn anything and everything I could about the flowers before I started offering floral design to my clients. I had one client trust me with their wedding flowers and from there all of my clients started asking me to include this as an add-on service and basically haven’t looked back from there! As for a favorite…. I don’t think I do - they are all so different and special based on the client we were working with, but I can say my favorite kind of arrangement is the one where the client trusts me 100% to do my thing - I love to use foraged vegetables / fruit whenever I can because I really feel like it adds interest and life to the centerpiece.
If you could redesign the food pyramid without any dire health consequences how would it look?
I’m probably a bad person to ask because my version of “whole” 30 is the “half” 30 - so I eat healthy during the week and enjoy my favorite foods on the weekends (or Thursdays… or Wednesdays…). I love love love to cook - my favorite magazines are Bon Appetit over Us Weekly so that kind of translates into my eating habits, I guess :).
What is your favorite 90’s jam? (Sorry if I just dated you)
You didn’t date me haha - it’s just impossible to choose! Let’s put it this way - 90s song most likely to show up on a playlist? “It Was A Good Day” - Ice Cube - ha! :)
What’s in your apron?
Pens (including a nice one in case the client forgets it for her sign-in book), safety pins, bouquet ribbon pins pinned to the outer pocket, a timeline, backup cell phone charger, and a little tape measure. Depending on the day of course.
Thanks so much for kicking off our 'Friday Five' series, Jacin. Looking forward to sharing more of my favorites with you in the coming weeks. Have a great weekend, everyone!