Pictures Are Worth a Thousand Words So Give Many Thank Yous With Photo Album and Wedding Cameras

Wedding favors are a popular way to say thank you to the friends and family that attend your big event. There are many types of gifts to choose from and one is to give your guests a photo album to keep their pictures of the day’s event in or give them a camera to record their own view of the day’s event. This gives them their own set of pictures to enjoy and show to those friends and family when they remember your special day.

When your hire a photographer to take photos of your wedding he will miss some of the best and funniest moments because he focuses in on the happy couple not the flower girl giving the ring bearer a kiss or mom dancing with your nephew. Then there are the moments when your friend meets the best man and falls madly in love as does he. These pictures are priceless and are quite often missed by the professional.

Give the guests a camera as a wedding favor and let them catch the funny and priceless moments that others might miss. These moments are a once in a life time, they can never be caught again the way they happen when no one is looking. These are the type of moments that will stand out in the years to come, not the pictures that everyone posed for. Those are the pictures worth a thousand words and can never be topped, even at your next big family event.

Photo albums are also a nice thank you gift given the guests to keep their copies of the day’s events that were taken. They are a small but nice, thoughtful gift allowing your guests their own special photo book of memories. This allows them to have their own visual aid when describing the event and the fun they had after at the celebration. This also gives them a small gift to look at and remember this time of love caring and fun with the opening of the little photo album.

Photo albums and cameras can really give your guests a thank you that will last and may even give you a few more special moments on film that can make the day even more special. Every one takes pictures that they see. This can give you a special look at the whole event, not just where the photographer is standing and looking. Giving a camera is a wonderful fun way to say thank you. Photo albums also say a wonderful thank you to your guests, giving them a visual book of memories of your special day they were invited to share. Give gifts that are worth a thousand words and even more in the future.

If you are looking for Photo Album Favors or Wedding Cameras, visit e-weddingfavors who by far I have found has the best prices and the biggest selection of photo album favors & wedding cameras plus shipping is free.

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Wedding Photography – Family Pictures – Where, When, How

Your ceremony has just wrapped up. You are dazed and euphoric. You exit the scene. Hugs and kisses all around – maybe even a Receiving Line. Usual first order of business after all that – the Family Pictures.

Yet, while the Family Pictures are important, you should keep in mind that there are bigger fish to fry, namely the Bride & Groom’s Shots (with the Wedding Party Photography sandwiched in between). So, my goal as the Wedding Photographer is to get the Family Shots done as quickly as possible. Under the best circumstances, they are a breeze. Conversely, they can be maddening (mostly for the Couple).

Firstly, you have to decide where to do the Family Shots. If your ceremony and reception are in one location, it’s a non-issue. If not, then you usually have a couple of choices: (1) doing them at the ceremony site; (2) doing them at the park.

If there is a spot at the ceremony site, that is ideal because (1) everyone, including and especially the elderly members of the families, are already there. Some elderly family members cannot make the trek into a park; (2) if the pix are to be taken at another location, such as a park, everyone is required to find their way there – which can take a lot of time and can result in some people getting lost – which can be a real problem if a missing or late person is someone important, like the Groom’s father.

If the Family Pix only include the immediate families it should be a simple endeavor. If there are large families, including cousins and aunts and uncles, then there is one item that in my books is essential for the Family Pix to not become annoying and prolonged: A List with all the shots. Why is this important? You’ll have 25-40 people standing around waiting for their turn. If you don’t have a list you’ll have any number of people giving suggestions as to what picture to take next (and it’s amazing how often the most irritating member of the family – irritating to the family itself – chimes in with their opinions, which stresses everybody out – especially the Bride and Groom). Meanwhile, it ends up taking too much time, which makes the waiting people restless. That’s when people disappear – to go to the bathroom, to have a cigarette, to go and get something from the car, to get out of the heat, etc. All of this can be a serious waste of time, which can affect the amount of time there is to get the Bride and Groom’s shots – by far the most important shots. In addition, any occasion on the Wedding Day that the schedule is running late is a cause for stress, which the Bride usually seems to take on more than anyone else. Remember, “Happy Bride, Happy Day”.

Now you might be wondering if having the List somehow limits the scope of the pictures. Absolutely not. The List is not carved in stone, but having it as a foundation to work from, there is always room for additional spontaneous shots that had not been thought of earlier.

With respect to the List itself, I recommend starting with one side of the family, let’s say the Groom’s side, ending with his parents. With his parents still there, we segue to the other side of the family, starting with the Bride’s parents – for the dual parents shot – then move into her side of the family.

One final note about the List. It must be in the hands of a trusted and capable person. This person is preferably someone who knows almost everyone (like the Bride’s sister) and who is not timid. They need to be even-keeled, yet bold, because it can be quite chaotic with so many people milling about.

And that’s the story for Family Pictures.

Bard Azima is a Professional Photographer specializing in Wedding and Portrait Photography. He established Livingface Photography in 2001. You can see his work at: http://www.livingface.com

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Signature Platter, Picture Card Box, and Sparkler Send Off – 3 Unique Wedding Ideas

Both my wife and I work in the wedding industry. She is the event coordinator for a banquette facility and I run a website creating hand painted wedding gifts. Both of us have traveled to a number of bridal shows throughout the New England area. We have seen many of the same old ideas used over and over again at weddings. We were married this past August 2008 and during the planning of our wedding we wanted to make sure we added some unique and fresh ideas to our day. We wanted personal touches that made our day stand out in the minds of our guests. I want to share with you our three favorite fresh ideas that we used on our wedding day. I hope these ideas help inspire you to create a great wedding your guests will not soon forget.

1.) Our card box – The card box is often an after thought for many brides and grooms when they are planning their wedding. We made our box stand out and our guests loved it. The best part of our card box was that both my wife and I created it together. We purchased a wooden lazy Suzan from IKEA, four wooden 5″x7″ picture frames from the Christmas Tree Shops, and some metal L brackets from our local hardware store. Using the lazy Suzan as the base, we attached the four pictures frames to the lazy Suzan using the metal L brackets. The frames were also attached to each other using the L brackets. A top to the box was made from two pieces of wood. The wood was screwed in to the top of the frames. We made sure to leave a gap between the two wood pieces on the top for the cards to go in. We created a box with four sides being picture frames that we then filled with our favorite pictures of the two of us. Our guests all went up and spent time spinning the box and looking at all the pictures. Our card box created an interactive display that was unique to our wedding. One tip I would give you is to make sure you put the pictures in before you screw on the top. You will have to unscrew the top to get the cards out later.

2.) Our guest book – Just like our card box, we wanted our guest book to stand out from other weddings our guests had attended. We ordered a wedding signature platter as our guest book. The platter was hand painted and made to order just for our wedding day. We selected the shape, colors, and design on our signature platter. Our names and wedding date were added to the platter. The day of our wedding the signature platter was signed by the attending guests using a special ceramic pen. After the wedding we baked our signature platter in our home oven to seal on the signatures. We now have a great display piece on our mantel. When we have company over they are always asking about the platter. We also use our platter for special occasions such as birthdays and holidays. The platter is food safe and usable. We ordered our platter from The Signature Place by Naked Plates.

3.) Our end of the evening send off – Again we wanted our send off to be special. This is the last chance you have to make sure your guests will remember your wedding day. We made sure our guests remembered ours! We had a sparkler send off. We purchased extra large sparklers from The Fireworks Company. These sparklers burned for five minutes each. At the end of the evening our guests went outside and lined both sides of the walk way. Using smaller sparklers the event staff went around and lit the extra large sparklers. Once they were all lit, we made our grand finale. My wife and I took a slow walk down the walk way. The lit many sparklers against the evening sky made for some of our best wedding photographs. Everyone had smiles on their faces and enjoyed playing with the sparklers. I do have one tip for you and that is to make sure you have a large 5 gallon bucket full of water near by to dispose of the sparklers. To this day my wife and I can not go to a family event without someone bringing up the sparklers.

I hope these three ideas have helped to inspire you to create a wedding day that will be both special and unique. There are many areas you can add something new to your wedding day. Feel free to use these ideas or come up with your own. Have a great time planning your wedding day.

Matthew Wood is owner of Naked Plates, LLC a paint your own pottery studio in Dover, NH. He has been part of the ceramic industry for more the ten years specializing in creating hand painted signature platters and plates for weddings, anniversaries, bridal, and baby showers. Matthew’s complete line of signature platters and plates can be found on his website http://www.thesignatureplace.com Information on Naked Plates can be found at http://www.nakedplatespottery.com

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5 Great Reasons to Choose Virginia Beach For Wedding Pictures

A wedding is such a special time, most couples want it photographed professionally. After all, hopefully it is a once in a lifetime event so preserving it right is important! Some couples prefer to have their wedding pictures taken in a church or home or hall where the weather is not a factor. Others want the backdrop to depict the beauty of nature and, perhaps, their own personal interests as well.

Those choosing to get married in the Virginia Beach area could have no more beautiful backdrop against which to have their wonderful event photographed with nature. This area of eastern Virginia is replete with a wide variety of locations that would be ideal for such a special day.

People living in the Virginia Beach area have probably developed a love for its multitude of beaches. Located right on the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, the area borders both the Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. This means miles of beaches, such as Baylake Beach, North Virginia Beach, and Sandbridge Beach provide plenty of places for a wedding party to get some classic shots against the ocean. Other backdrops might include piers and sand dunes.

Since Virginia Beach is on the ocean, it is no surprise that no less than twelve lighthouses don its horizon. Many of these make unique backdrops for wedding pictures. For example, the original Cape Henry Lighthouse was built in 1792 but in 1881 was replaced with an iron one. Both are still standing erect at the ocean’s edge where they guide ships to and from the ocean and bay.

Lynnhaven Bay intersects the city leaving much waterfront property with many beautiful homes along it. Hundreds of alcoves and dead end roads lead to forested waterfront and natural beauty. Some homeowners are even flattered when a couple asks if their wedding pictures could be taken in their yard. Lake Smith reservoir further to the west also provides such opportune locations.

Virginia Beach also has a number of beautiful city parks. They are well kept and the natural setting may be just what a couple is looking for as a background. If your wedding is in the early spring, the dazzling beauty of the flowering fruit trees at Brookdale Farm, matching the chosen colors of the wedding might cause wedding magazines to come begging for copies of your pictures.

History buffs may enjoy incorporating the historicity of Virginia Beach with their wedding theme. For example, Lynnhaven House in Virginia Beach was built in 1725 by Francis Thelaball II. Today it looks much the same as when it was constructed, even furnished with costumed interpreters. The Old Coast Guard Station, a 100 year-old building on the beach, also adds a unique flavor to the wedding pictures.

These are just a few of the multitude of locations perfect for capturing your wedding in the context of the city where it is held. Instead of stale, indoor pictures, why not consider incorporating the beauty in and around Virginia Beach to the record of your special day?

Del Haven Studio is the location of a proven Virginia Beach Photographer who is experienced in expertly capturing all the amazing memories of weddings. Click the links to visit their website today and see slideshows of their work as a Virginia Beach wedding photographer, in corporate settings, and with personal or family portraits.

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