elianavagh

[elianavagh]

Meaghan Rath on Instagram

[elianavagh]

"They did seem like those happy little accidents always turned out a little too well. I end up with a smudge and half my paint is going to be smeared across the board and it's not going to be fixable." Except maybe by someone who was an actual artist, and even then it was probably going to require painting over the smear in attempts to hide it. "I feel like if it's something that you are really passionate about the creativity comes to you in different ways. I'm not an artist but I like to think I'm creative, I work on weddings. I always thought there's gonna come a time I have no more ideas but you know... hasn't happened yet."

"Those happy accidents seemed like an easy fix for him. Not sure if it's because he had the mind of a creative," where she had a more logical mindset, and didn't think to make a cloud to fix a mistaken blob, or make a tree where there was a line that shouldn't have been. But it hadn't quite been the end of the world, she could always justify it being an abstract piece. "I'm just happy to learn art isn't a hidden talent of mine, since hoping for constant inspiration seems exhausting."

[elianavagh]

Was going to say if you mean actual royalty, you think too highly of me, but the idea of a royal wedding, or even in imitation after some of the royal weddings, a few actually. People love Kate Middleton's dress or the idea of something grand like Princess Diana, and who am I to judge if this is something they've been thinking about since they were five years old. This winter wasn't too bad, feels weird saying that but now that we're officially in spring, feels like the best chance to say it. I was thinking the winter was going to be much, much worse so far north, but I guess maybe we just lucked out or I can handle it better than I realized. One or the other. What was it like growing up on the Amalfi coast? Definitely the beignets were my favorite thing but that shouldn't be surprising at all to anyone. Anything sweet is always going to be my favorite but I did have some of that gumbo and it was delicious.

Be honest with me: how many "royal weddings" have you done in your career? And I very much so do not mean an actual royal couple, so much as those weddings that are inspired by the ones that the royals have, of course. But you're right, and it's better that they're honest about what they want and give you something to work with than just coming in with no ideas and expecting you to know based off of what's in their brain. Ah, good! Sometimes we need that in the middle of a very cold winter, right? Just a nice change of pace. It's not too bad here -- but. I'm also saying that as someone who grew up on the Amalfi Coast, and would get a lot of tourists in the summer time both from people who lived in Italy already and wanted to go to the coast, and also from international travelers, so I can absolutely agree with you that where we're at? A good place to stay! Unless we want to see prices skyrocket and the integrity challenged a bit. We should avoid the rioting as much as possible, I agree. It wouldn't have much of a place in this town. Mardi Gras was nice! I mostly took it easy -- enjoyed some chatter and jazz music with your business partner, actually. And food, of course. I love a good bowl of gumbo. What was your favorite thing that you ate?

[elianavagh]

I've only heard stories of when they're still on the ground, a person is giving the crew a hard time they can call out the pilot before calling security or the marshall depending. That makes sense if you flew smaller planes though, feel like there's so much pressure with passenger jets. Wow law and you were in the Navy, consider me impressed. The amount of dedication all that takes. It does help to know the good, bad, and the dos and don'ts for wedding and wedding planning in general. I've learned to deal with when people disagree and are arguing over this or that. At the end of the day it's the bride and grooms decisions. It is stressful but when you manage to pull it off especially with so many it feels like an amazing feeling.

I've only heard stories about those as well. Whatever it is that's going on in the cabin would have to be really bad for the pilots to leave the cockpit. They'll stay locked in there otherwise until they have to leave the aircraft. But, I have yet to have the opportunity to fly passenger jets. I don't think I ever will either but that's fine. I'll stick with smaller planes. I was a Navy pilot. And I could imagine that. You already know what's good, what's bad, what's not to do for a wedding. Then to have the people around you arguing that some other way is better but you already know that it's not better. I guess, sometimes, it's just more preferable not to have all the relevant information. I'm sorry, did you say 10 in a month? That sounds...a lot stressful.

[elianavagh]

Getting out and enjoying the night had been the goal. Getting drunk hadn't originally been in the plan. Here she was, several bars in, and multiple loads of green beer and irish whiskey deep, her body feeling overly warm from the amount of alcohol coursing through her body. Skin slightly damp from sweat that clung to her from moving in between so many stops. Onto the bus, off, dance, drink, back on the bus, rinse, repeat. Eliana really hoped she didn't have any meetings she was forgetting about the next day when she knew she'd be going into the office late, if at all. "I've come this far, I'm not a quitter."

Who: Open (4/5) When: March 17th Where: Tumbleweeds (Party Bus)

Was he a little drunk? Yes. The heady brew of beer and whiskey slipping pulse by pulse into his veins. He'd been tipsy by the third bar, drunk by the fifth, and encouraging the bus in a singalong by the seventh. Once he got back to the garden, he'd beg Elise or Clara to give him a lift home. He'd eat some crackers. He'd sleep it off. That was later though and this was now. The splendid now when he was spinning as he jumped off the bus and encouraging the person just behind him forward. "Last call," he said. "You think you have it in you?"

[elianavagh]

"You have kids?" When the woman mentions a mama bears heart, she figured that meant she had to have had children. So she could understand seeing a town come together gave a sense of peace and security. Reaching out she shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Monique. Having fun so far? Done anything fun or just kind of enjoying the drinks. Which is definitely what I'm doing."

”It really is! It warms this mamma bears heart, that’s for sure.” Monique wasn’t slurring her words per se, but her voice was blended together and humbled. Nodding after taking a sip from her drink, the brunette extended her hand with a smile. “Monique. My friends call me Moni, though.”

[elianavagh]

I'm all for spontaneous love, it's not like we haven't seen and heard stories of couples that married after a few months and been together 20+ years. Just think that isn't going to be what happens for every one when they go that route. Can't do this job without being a little cynical. It does help that we have our favorite times of the year, gives us each different perspectives when we're working on projects and need to tap into the other person's brilliant brain. A week sounds wonderful, I'm down. Never too big. I was thinking St. Lucia, Aruba, Hawaii, so we're running in the same vein. So we need to pick a place, and when we want to leave.

You would think they'd consider they were moving too fast, but I guess not. Young lovers really have rose-colored views on the whole thing. Wishing them the best, that's all I could say. The fall color palette is quite beautiful, but the blooming spring flowers as life comes back after a long winter? You really couldn't ask for a better time. But I suppose that's why we work best, each having an eye for specific seasons, definitely not going to rush anything though. A week sounds perfect. And Florida? I think we definitely could do better than that. I was thinking Hawaii, or if we want to go all out maybe Cancun. Am I thinking too big?

[elianavagh]

Eliana would be lying if she didn't admit she was at the color wine for ulterior motives. She wanted to meet with Mandy about a few things but figuring taking one of the classes wouldn't hurt anything either. Get an idea of everything. As she moved her brush across the canvas as the instructor gave them detailed directions on how to do a particular part of the scene she glanced over as Eliana took a break herself to take a sip of wine before chuckling. "Well he did preach happy little accidents right?" Given her own painting she didn't think was perfect, far from it actually.

who: jules & open (2/3)

where: the color wine

when: march, 2025

A few years back, Jules would never try something unless she knew she was good at it. It was the perfectionist mindset that followed with everything she did, something she was trying to rewire a bit, so she thought a painting class would've done the trick. Sitting in front of a canvas, she tried to focus on following along with the instructor. A pretty nature scene in hindsight, but she may have missed a step in between sips of wine. "Bob Ross made this seem so easy. How's yours coming along?"

[elianavagh]

"I would hope not! That's not really in the spirit of Mardi Gras!" Eliana pointed out because it was true, it wasn't like they were going looking for ways to end up in a position they couldn't get themselves out of. "Oh hilarious, so long as we can call hot EMTs or firemen to come rescue us from the beads of torture." Because that was the only way that she could see it really benefit them. "But okay let's see if we can get a few of these wrapped around us." Moving away she went to the prop table picking up some more of the beads, "At least we don't have to do anything nefarious for these." Eliana grinned, before picking up a few feather boas to affect. Finishing off her drink she set the container down before looking back to the blonde. "Don't worry I'm sure that we can make this more difficult so you won't have a sense of disappointment."

"Well, I wasn't really planning on one or both of us getting choked out," Livvy let out a loud laugh at Eliana's idea, shaking her head, "but now that you mention it, I think that would be kind of funny, wouldn't it? See if we can loop ourselves together for a few photos?" It might make for a unique strip of pictures that came out of the machine when they got done, at least. Nothing wrong with that. Stepping closer to the props table, she reached for a handful of beads, twirling them around her finger with a grin, "some of them are actually pretty long strands, though! It might not be as much of a challenge as I thought it was going to be, I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or not."

[elianavagh]

You're not wrong, it's the hopeless romantics or the people that have only been together for like two months and just need to be married right now. Which I'm all for that impulsive love moment just maybe wait another month and make it to three months before tying the knot. See I'm all about the late summer / fall weddings, those are always my favorite. Those rich, warm colors? Yes. But we have a few months before that and I don't want to rush summer away too fast when we are just about to hit spring. I am in, let's go away for a week, shut everything down. Drinks, bathing suits, toes in the sand. Just please don't say Florida.

Seems like it's mostly the hopeless romantics that want to get married on those days, not that I mind since it's good for business, but it's tiring. And the winter aesthetic can be nice, though I cannot look forward to the pretty spring weddings if I'm being honest. And I'm not one for many superstitions, but I can agree with that, making the exception for Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky, of course. And I know! Who would I be without my love for elaborate bouquets? And not toying with you, I promise. Somewhere warm and sunny sounds amazing right about now, so I think we should indulge, in bathing suits, and with daiquiris in hand. Have any ideas for our getaway?

[elianavagh]

You're not wrong, there have been several that bring inspo pics and videos from celebrities or royalty or any other type of wedding they find which I mean, we all have to have a jumping off point, right? Not everyone can be born knowing what they want because there's a lot to do with weddings. I don't mind changing up the destination, I like to travel, but I do believe we're leaning more tropical because of the cold weather we want to enjoy a little fun in the sun kind of time. So that was definitely the give away. Would be good to keep the small town feel and not bring any more tourism to the town, I get we don't get as much as other towns in Maine but you know for a fact we get a decent amount at different times and if we become a center of even one Lifetime movie we're done for. Or worse yet, it's summer time and you can't get onto the beach because they have taken it all over for some summer romance that is mostly filmed at the beach? The way people would riot?! I would be one of them. Have you been doing anything fun for Mardi Gras? At least eating all the good delicious food? My goal has been to eat a little of literally every food I can get my hands on.

I'd imagine that people want to follow the trends. If you have a celebrity getting married in the winter and making it look chic, there are probably many others who want to do the same thing. That's probably a good idea, getting to enjoy a little downtime before things get too hectic. Are you a tropical vacation kind of person, or do you like to change up your destination? I'm guessing that 'fun in the sun' is a bit of a giveaway there, but I know that sometimes people like to break the mold when it comes to vacation destinations, too! It could be a little bit of both, but I'm glad to keep it a secret if it means maintaining that small town feeling and actually loving it here. Oh God, that would be miserable -- people in this town love their cup of Cobblestone in the morning, or imagine if they were told in the middle of the summer that they couldn't go get gelato after a hot day at the beach? There would be riots in the street. We'd never hear the end of it. I can understand that -- those out of town being pickier, I mean. They don't understand the lifestyle as much, they just want the appeal of a small town, romantic wedding, right?

[elianavagh]

With everything going on, getting a bit of some down time at work, going out and celebrating was the best way to enjoy. The way the town was decorated, the music blaring from what felt like every corner really made everything come to life. Drink in hand Eliana moved through the crowds, twisting and turning in attempts not to bump into anyone and spill her drink onto the floor, or worse, onto anyone. Hearing the blonde's request, "You mean around both of us at the same time? Alright but if we end up stuck and needing to be saved or half strangling ourselves and needing medical attention I will be telling them this was your idea." she laughed.

WHO: Livvy & OPEN!

WHERE: Community Center, suburbs

WHEN: Mardi Gras (March 4, 2025)

The food was hot, the drinks were flowing, the jazz was loud, and Livvy almost felt like she was wandering through New Orleans as she slipped through a crowd of people near the bar to pick up her daiquiri (which wasn't the most creative drink, but definitely a favorite) with a smile. On her way to the photo booth, she caught a familiar person's eye, breaking into a bright smile. "You want to get in the booth together? See how many strands of beads we can get around our necks at once?"

[elianavagh]

It honestly depends on the year, there are some years where winter weddings are all the rage. The classics will always be summer weddings, a June wedding no less? So, we're definitely going into our busier time of year which means mentally preparing, I'm trying to convince Ken to go on a vacation, maybe get some fun in the sun prior to us getting all busy again. I've only been here a few years so I wasn't sure if I just missed out prior to moving here. Maybe it's a mix of both we're good at keeping it a secret and Hollywood doesn't know the wonderful little town they could have if they found it, but maybe that's a good thing. You're right being told areas of town are going to be shut down to general public to film, imagine the grumpy people when they can't go to their favorite coffee shop in the morning? Depends on the holiday, if there's a couple that wants to get married on say, New Years Eve, than yes because there's a lot more that goes into it. Time to get places to agree to even host weddings on a day like that, etc. Valentine's not so much, it's kind of expected. Thankfully I will admit a lot of the people we do get are wonderful, it's typically out of towners that want to get married in a small town that may or may not be the more difficult ones.

And winter is supposed to be the slower season -- imagine what it's going to be like when the warmer months are here, and you want to be outside on top of everything else that you're doing or supposed to be doing. But I wouldn't have it any other way, either. You know, I was going to say… I've been here a pretty long time, and I have yet to see a single movie filmed here. So either we're really, really good at keeping our town a little secret, or Hollywood just hasn't caught on yet. I think I prefer to not see the film crews, though, that might take away from the charm a little bit. I'm not much of a flower person, and even I know that -- but I guess people want the symbolism, so if it's special to them… do you by any chance charge more if you have to work on a holiday, though? Like a Valentine's Day wedding, or something very close to Christmas? I can understand that, though! I'm sure you are allowed to set some rules, but then there comes that line of… well, do I want to book the gig or not. And then, you have to do it whether you like it or not.

[elianavagh]

Sounds like you weren't banned for insufficient reason. At least from what I gathered, but I have known a few places to ban people for going overboard during weddings. I've had a few Bridezillas, thankfully not too many.

"Are a lot of places in habit of banning people without sufficient reason? What've you found? Where do I need to avoid— how many Bridezilla's top the lists?"

[elianavagh]

Attorney vs flying, those are two pretty impressive fields to choose between. Feel like there's some arguing with flying, I've heard passengers can get kind of rowdy and require the pilot to come out and put them in their place if they're not in the air. Which sounds like my nightmare -- but then again I deal with the ever affectionate named 'bridezillas' from time to time. Not often, but sometimes. That's is how it is, we have our complaints but if we really love our jobs we always put 110% into it because we love it. I do love wedding planning though, think the benefit is I've never had to plan my own. Would be a nightmare, not because I'd be a horrific bride but because I know far too much. Though sometimes our business had well over 10 wedding in a month depending on the month.

I am. I do, yeah. I mean, some days I wonder why I thought being an attorney is better than flying. At least then I don't have to argue with anyone. Or having to deal with anyone that feels like they're not using any logic to make their decisions. But, even then, no regrets. I suppose that's just how it is with most. We like what we do even if we complain about it. Although, I don't think I can handle preparing a wedding a few times a month. Once was enough.

[elianavagh]

No, I get it, the whole romantic time of year really gets to everyone but just think like out of all the other days in February maybe pick any other day but the 13, 14, or 15th. Think that it can be a beautiful month to get married if you want that possibly frosty icy wedding aesthetic. Just am not a fan of the whole marrying on a day of love when I feel like it's bad luck. No matter if Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky eloped on Valentine's Day. Gasp! Ken disliking flowers? Hell would have officially frozen over. A spring break, don't toy with me. If you're promising a vacation away, tell me when and where and I'll be there with my bathing suits.

I get it was the Season of Love, and it may have made things more special in their minds to get married around the holiday, but it was a lot. Any more bouquets I had to throw together I would've started disliking flowers altogether. We made it though! We earned our gold stars, in my opinion. Would you be up for a spring break? I feel like it's well deserved.

[elianavagh]

"There are a lot of people for a small town but it's nice to see them all get together and come out to show support isn't it?" Eliana had only been to a few events like this but she did enjoy seeing the whole town together. Plus it always gave her ideas on any events that she might host while in town for couples. "I'm sorry, you mentioned Ken, you know her?" she turned back to the woman. "I didn't catch your name."

She’d been so wrapped up in the incident that she’d completely forgotten to mention her own name, but the other woman seemed friendly enough that it didn’t bother her too much. “Yeah? It’s been getting more crazy by the hour in here. More people just keep flooding in! For a small town, there sure are a lot of us!”