Our theme for our 2103 issue of clutch, the bride’s guide to have and to hold was “the day a little girl dreams about”, and our photo shoots all centered around this theme. Our Three Little Kittens shoot is just that. If you missed the first part of this shoot (the tea party!), be sure to click here to see.

Modern flower girls are cuter than ever with all of the dress and styling choices. Here we present our rendition of the Three Little Kittens showcasing hair, makeup and dress selections for today’s little girls.

Based on the popular children’s poem, our three little kittens love to laugh and play together, which sometimes gathers them into trouble. From an elegant tea party complete with pie to playing with yarn, these kittens had a fun day, which ended with washing their mittens and masquerading in a photo booth made just for them.

Lovely vintage mittens were worn by kittens whose tea party was nigh, from mason jars of milk to pitchers of tea, their festivities included fruit pie.

The celebration ensued, they ate their food, and then set out to play. With balls of yarn being tossed in the air, they laughed and frolicked all day.

The kittens were spoiled, but when their mittens were soiled, they then began to cry. Through bubbles and scrubbing and rub-a-dub-dubbing they were finally hung out to dry.

When mother found out, they gave such a pout, but the kittens told her the truth. They shouted with glee for she loved those three and rewarded them with a kitty photo booth.

Here is the traditional Three Little Kittens poem along with our vendor credits. Enjoy!

Three little kittens, they lost their mittens, and they began to cry, “Oh mother dear, we sadly fear that we have lost our mittens.” “What! Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens! Then you shall have no pie.” “Meow, meow, meow.” “Now you shall have no pie.”

The three little kittens, they found their mittens, and they began to cry, “Oh mother dear, see here, see here, for we have found our mittens.” “Put on your mittens, you silly kittens, and you shall have some pie.” “Purr, purr, purr, oh let us have some pie.”

The three little kittens put on their mittens, and soon ate up the pie, “Oh mother dear, we greatly fear that we have soiled our mittens.” “What! Soiled your mittens, you naughty kittens!” They began to sigh, “Meow, meow, meow”. Then they began to sigh.

The three little kittens, they washed their mittens, and hung them out to dry, “Oh mother dear, do you not hear, that we have washed our mittens?” “What, washed your mittens, you are good kittens, but I smell a rat close by.” “Meow, meow, meow, we smell a rat close by.” ~Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme

Art Director – Jennifer Prince

Photographer/Set Stylist – Crystal George of Crystal George Studios

Hair/Makeup – Emily Garbee Harris of Bodyworks Day Spa & Salon

Flower Girl Dresses – Church Street Bridal

Venue – Sierra Vista, Forest VA

Mini Pies – Jennifer England of La Bella Torta

Again, don’t forget to take a peek at the tea party for our kittens by clicking here.

If you have a copy of our 2013 wedding issue of clutch, the bride’s guide to have and to hold, chances are you caught a glimpse of this “everyday wedding” in print. When I first laid eyes on these photos, I knew that we had to feature them in our magazine! I love the fact that the wedding takes place at a beautiful residence, has amazing florals and includes chandeliers hanging from trees. The colors are beautiful and the bride is stunning. I adore the fact that she chose her grandmother’s vintage dress as her exit outfit … that is one of my favorite parts (I am a vintage clothing junkie!).

Here are some of Elizabeth’s own words about her wedding. We didn’t have room for her full story in print, so I am excited to include it here:

Our wedding day was a perfect representation of who we are individually and as a couple. Capron and I are both non-traditional people from traditional background,s and we really love our families and friends, so we wanted our wedding to not only reflect our love but express our love to the people we care about.

Having the wedding in my parents’ backyard seemed like an obvious choice. I have so many memories in that yard. Capron proposed to me on the back porch that overlooks the beautiful with terraces, gardens, and fountains – it is really perfect for entertaining. We wanted the whole thing to be relaxed and beautiful, like a candlelit garden party.

The dresses that my bridesmaids wore were their own choices. My sister wore a dress that belonged to my late grandmother, Mary. We were looking through a bunch of her old dresses from the 40′s, 50′s, and 60′s, and she found a gorgeous blue cocktail dress. We both thought that it would be perfect for the wedding, and she tried it on and I thought it looked gorgeous on her. I felt like it would be a great way to honor Granny’s spirit.

Since it was a blue dress (and blues are my favorite), I asked my bridesmaids to choose their own. They all have different styles and personalities, and it wouldn’t have felt right having them all wear the same thing. By allowing them to choose I knew they could find something to fit their different bodies, personalities, and budgets. The dresses ended up showing off their unique personalities, which is something I love about all of them, so it worked really well. Originally, I wanted to wear blue but eventually decided to wear white.

When my Memaw (mom’s mother) heard I was doing blue bridesmaid dresses she offered her wedding dress, which was a beautiful baby blue tea-length dress from the 50′s. As soon as I saw it I thought, “Nope, this can’t be a bridesmaid dress – this is for me!” It fit like a glove, and I ended up wearing it at the reception.

Capron and I made our own iPod playlist for the reception. It was a really fun thing for us to do together, and we knew the type of music that our family and friends would want to hear that was still in line with the ambiance we wanted. That worked out really well.

Everything just felt so laid back and warm. The ceremony was definitely my favorite part. We had an amazing officiant, and you could just feel the love radiating from the people around us. Capron and I went into the whole experience with the feeling that as long as we were married to one another at the end of the day and we got to share that day with everyone we loved, then our wedding would be perfect – everything else was just details. That made the planning feel fun and stress-free and it did turn out to be truly perfect. My mother was an incredible help in planning. She has incredible taste and I relied on her for many things. It was truly the best day of our lives.

Thank you so much, Elizabeth, for sharing your heart. Again, I adore the story of the dresses! Enjoy these photos of the wedding, which were taken by Jeremiah of Stone Blue Productions. Elizabeth and Capron, I wish you the best in your life together!

Photography – Stone Blue Productions

Catering – Avenue Foods

Cake – Montana Plains Bakery

Wedding Dress – Church Street Bridal (Pnina Tornai) (Alterations by Grace at Sew What)

Chair/Table Rental – True Value Hardware

Officiant – Rev. Anne Gibbons (Lynchburg College Chaplain)

Flowers/Decor – Rod Meek & Company

If you would like to view more of the work of Stone Blue Productions, click here to view another posting.

Marie Antoinette was fairly eccentric and is known for her playful ways. The time period she lived in was filled with high hairdos and impecable styling. The girls of the Marie photo shoot that was featured in our wedding issue of clutch may not be wearing wigs and lightening their skin, but their look is reminiscent of the time period … even when it comes to their slightly corseted waists. Enjoy a peek into the ladies of Marie Antoinette.

Art Director and Décor – Amanda Gray of Ashley Baber Weddings

Hair, Makeup and Concept Design – Emily Garbee of Bodyworks Day Spa & Salon

Photography and Resources – Allegra of Allegra’s Studio

Bridesmaids’ Dresses and Vera Wang Bridal Skirt – Church Street Bridal

Venue – Oakridge Estate

Florals – Amy Webb of Blue Ridge Floral Design

Petit Fours – Jennifer England of La Bella Torta

Alterations, Styling and Neck Florals – Carissa Suter of The Gilded Thimble

Paper – Rock, Paper, Scissors

Rentals – Festive Fare

Calligraphy – Linda Hall of Love Is in the Air

Models – Anna, Ashley (Marie), Jenni, Marisol, Sarah, Reagan

Our theme for our 2103 issue of clutch, the bride’s guide to have and to hold was “the day a little girl dreams about”, and our photo shoots all centered around this theme. Our Three Little Kittens shoot is just that.

Modern flower girls are cuter than ever with all of the dress and styling choices. Here we present our rendition of the Three Little Kittens showcasing hair, makeup and dress selections for today’s little girls.

Based on the popular children’s poem, our three little kittens love to laugh and play together, which sometimes gathers them into trouble. From an elegant tea party complete with pie to playing with yarn, these kittens had a fun day, which ended with washing their mittens and masquerading in a photo booth made just for them.

Lovely vintage mittens were worn by kittens whose tea party was nigh, from mason jars of milk to pitchers of tea, their festivities included fruit pie.

The celebration ensued, they ate their food, and then set out to play. With balls of yarn being tossed in the air, they laughed and frolicked all day.

The kittens were spoiled, but when their mittens were soiled, they then began to cry. Through bubbles and scrubbing and rub-a-dub-dubbing they were finally hung out to dry.

When mother found out, they gave such a pout, but the kittens told her the truth. They shouted with glee for she loved those three and rewarded them with a kitty photo booth. ~J

Here is the traditional Three Little Kittens poem along with our vendor credits. Enjoy!

Three little kittens, they lost their mittens, and they began to cry, “Oh mother dear, we sadly fear that we have lost our mittens.” “What! Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens! Then you shall have no pie.” “Meow, meow, meow.” “Now you shall have no pie.”

The three little kittens, they found their mittens, and they began to cry, “Oh mother dear, see here, see here, for we have found our mittens.” “Put on your mittens, you silly kittens, and you shall have some pie.” “Purr, purr, purr, oh let us have some pie.”

The three little kittens put on their mittens, and soon ate up the pie, “Oh mother dear, we greatly fear that we have soiled our mittens.” “What! Soiled your mittens, you naughty kittens!” They began to sigh, “Meow, meow, meow”. Then they began to sigh.

The three little kittens, they washed their mittens, and hung them out to dry, “Oh mother dear, do you not hear, that we have washed our mittens?” “What, washed your mittens, you are good kittens, but I smell a rat close by.” “Meow, meow, meow, we smell a rat close by.” ~Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme

Art Director – Jennifer Prince

Photographer/Set Stylist – Crystal George of Crystal George Studios

Hair/Makeup – Emily Garbee Harris of Bodyworks Day Spa & Salon

Flower Girl Dresses – Church Street Bridal

Venue – Sierra Vista, Forest VA

Mini Pies – Jennifer England of La Bella Torta

Tucked into a corner stretch in Altavista sits a beautiful, hip hair salon, Mitchell’s Salon on 7th. It’s fun style and unique surroundings totally reflects the owner, Gwen, who is sweet along with being so talented. Normally they perform beauty makeovers, but recently they gave the salon itself a face lift and celebrated with an open house. Enjoy some photos of the open house with taken by Jennifer of Studio 1 Photography along with a little question and answer with Gwen herself. Oh, and those refreshments you see are by none other than the great duo of Love Is in the Air. So much talent in one posting!

HCB – Tell us a little bit about how you came to be Altavista’s hair guru.

Gwen – I moved to Altavista in ’07, but still worked in Lynchburg. I hated the drive, and I was encouraged to find something local, or start a new salon, which scared me to death… partly because it was a small town and also because I wasn’t sure I wanted to be an owner again.

So, I came up with some ridiculous stipulations: I’d work in Altavista if I could find a small salon that would allow me to rent a booth one or two days a week while I still worked in Lynchburg, and they had to be willing to sell it to me if I decided I like it. Most importantly, it had to be within walking distance of my house. One day I was flipping through the yellow pages looking for something, and I found this salon number.

I found out Monica (the owner then) had been looking for over a month for someone to join her. Tada… here I am! At first, I was here only one day a week. I got booked FAST, so I added a second day. At that point, I’d decided I’d stay and transfer all my clients here, so Monica and I began negotiating my taking over. 

HCB – What is the history of the salon itself?

Gwen – The salon has been here more than 50 years. Monica had started working here in ’72, and she and her former partner bought it from the original owner, Mildred Mitchell sometime after that.

The last time it had been renovated was some time in the 60′s. It had brown paneling throughout, orange floors, and yellowed dropped ceilings, but the natural light was FANTASTIC! In the 50′s this space had been an artist’s studio and gallery.

HCB – You recently underwent major updates and renovations. Can you tell us a little about those?

Gwen – I loved it and decided to paint it “lipstick colors”. I bought the salon in April 2011 and started the heavy duty renovations–pulled up floors, tore down 2 partial walls, and put in new equipment and lighting. It’s even better than I’d envisioned. It’s beautiful, and retro!

The building itself is over 100 years old, and I wanted to preserve as much of the original as possible, hence the absolutely beautiful floors. So, it took a year and way too much money, but it’s beautiful, so we decided to throw a big party to celebrate.

The downtown merchants had decided to do a big open house on March 31st, so I joined in with mine. The girls that work with me and I agreed we needed to make it super fancy and slightly prissy, and as you see from the pics, it worked!

HCB – Has the salon itself received any accolades?

Gwen – Oh, we were voted Altavista’s Best Salon this year (second year in a row), and I was voted the town’s Best Hairstylist! This little town has been SO good to me. I definitely stay booked. I specialize in color, but my cuts are famous, and of course, I love up-style. I do weddings just to get me out of the salon for fun!

HCB – What about the future? Besides the beautiful new digs for the space, is anything else coming up for Mitchell’s Salon on 7th?

Gwen – We are partnering with a new product line (to be announced) along with Neuma, both of which are exclusive to us. I just returned from a class with Beth Minardi, THE “high priestess” of hair color, and I’m planning more classes with her in the future. (If you’re not learning, you’re not growing!)

I have a vision of turning this entire building into a beauty and wellness center with massage, skin care, nail care and yoga… we’ll see what the future brings!

As you can see, Gwen is filled with ideas and boundless energy. Whether you need a cut or color or you are looking for a beautiful style for your wedding day, be sure to give Mitchell’s Salon on 7th a try! Oh and as far as the photo below? It shows Linda and Mary of Love Is in the Air along with Gwen… three wonderfully sweet and talented ladies!