Party at Hedge/Rock Paper Scissors

Planning a wedding? You’re in luck. This past Tuesday, October 28th, individuals from Rock, Paper, Scissors, Hedge Fine Blooms, Jason Keefer Photography, and Real Food, among others, gathered for the first time to talk wedding aesthetics, share professional styles, and of course, socialize – all in hopes of further preparing themselves to help Charlottesville’s brides-to-be.  

 

The event, held at Second St. NE’s Rock, Paper, Scissors and Hedge boutiques, read like a who’s who of the local boutique wedding industry.  Karen Walker, Karen Thorsey, Kathryn Goodson, Katie Sale, Sarah Deigl, and Jason and Tammy Keefer shared wedding stories as they sipped champaign, enjoyed Real Food’s almond butter frosted spice wedding cake and admired the refined, and often unconventional, work of their colleagues. 

Most significantly, it brought together a set of individuals who are truly passionate about what they do: “I love working with brides,” anounced Karen Walker, owner and business director of Hedge Fine Blooms, “Charlottesville’s youngest and liveliest custom florist.”  

“I’ve been working with really young brides.  I generally get first brides… This is their first wedding, and hopefully their last. They’re really excited and want really beautiful things.”

“Hedge is a boutique style flower shop which focuses on not five weddings, but one [at a time]… we have a more personal touch with an unusual style,” described Karen Thorsey, creative director of Hedge. ”We use fruits, flowers and ribbon from France, flowers, not fillers.”

This desire to individualize their work to each bride’s personal vision was a theme among the venders: “We try to offer something a little different from the mainstream,” said Katie Sale of the downtown paper boutique Rock, Paper, Scissors. ”We work with smaller companies, and love handmade things”- such as the products of Pica Press, “the affordable, laid back, but sophisticated” graphic design company of Southern Californian origin.

Kathryn Thorsey echoed this perspective: “We try to get the person’s personality [in the work], make their dream come true.” 

Coupling this fairy tale experience is a serious challenge, expressed fine art wedding photographer Jason Keefer. “Wedding photography is sort of taboo among photographers,” stated Jason. Because you are essentially charged with documenting someone’s special day- “capturing the most human and beautiful qualities of those moments”– there is a deep fear of disappointment.  

“If you can get over that fear of failure, the experience is so rewarding.” Case in point: the lovely images of this post, all taken by Jason and (his wife and business partner) Tammy Keefer.

The event was “an opportunity for local venders to get the word out, get to know each other, and get to know their [colleagues'] aesthetics,” voiced Katie Sale.  After all, Charlottesville’s wedding industry depends on referrals and word of mouth.  By meeting and greeting, the venders hoped to achieve “the ultimate goal:” “make our customers happy.”

Interested in learning more about the styles and services of the professionals mentioned above? Feel free to visit their websites, all of which are embedded within this story, or simply stop by the stores. Hedge is located at 416 West Main St., in addition to its Second St. NE location alongside Rock, Paper, Scissors, and Real Food can be reached at (540) 672-4862.  As stated before, the photography is the result of Jason Keefer, a local artist who combines documentary style and fine art technique to create, as described on his website, “a luxurious couture wedding album line.”