Introducing..

Yudu... the new Gocco...

excited yet?

Photo Booth Love

via Manolo for the Brides

Delightfully surprised

Browsing etsy is a regular pass time of mine. I tend to get antsy reallllly easily when nothing interesting happens at work. Especially during lunch when my peeps aren't getting together to chow down.. today is just one of those days..

I thought I'd keep myself busy by browsing etsy.. omg, I'm so glad I did.

I wasn't even looking for invites specifically which is why this comes as a delightful surprise..

cute, simplistic, to the point...

I LOVE IT.

Check out Nic and Kristen's work at Evapaul through etsy. Their range of style and attention detail is pretty amazing..

click here to see!

Photography: Do's and Don'ts

I don't have very much experience in shooting weddings just yet.. but after reading this article, you almost have to agree with it in some ways.. hopefully this will give you a few ideas on things to remember when you interview your photog for the first time..

also please remember.. some moments happen spontaneously and unplanned. If your photog has a flawless portfolio, chances are you'll be in good hands. Trust the artist and they will deliver.

Photography Expert Dan Creviston Shares Things to Avoid and Tips to Ensure Flawless Photographs on Your Special Day via Best Wedding Sites

Top 10 Mishaps of Wedding Photography:

1. Not carefully choosing your photographer
Before choosing your photographer, take time to review their portfolio. If you don’t have someone with experience and skill, your photos will pay the price. Studios should provide album examples to review before you make your choice. If the studio does not allow you to choose your photographer, quickly move on!

2. Not chatting with your photographer a week in advance
It is important to discuss everything in detail with your photographer prior to the wedding day - don’t be afraid to be up-front about your expectations. Do your check in one week prior to the wedding so all instructions are fresh in the photographer’s memory. If you have specific requests, ideas to explore, or important don’ts to cover, express them. This is especially important because churches, synagogues, mosques and chapels may have specific areas that cannot be photographed. You don’t want any unwelcome surprises!

3. Not creating a photo "wish list"
Have you always dreamed of a romantic photo on top of a hill, in the middle of a field, or on a median along a busy street? Show pictures in magazines, old family photos, or any other visual to convey this to your photographer. From there, your wedding photographer should make your “wish list” happen.

4. Taking only stiff, posed pictures
Every album must have formal photos of the wedding party, but don’t let it stop there. It is important to have shots in a more relaxed setting – whether on the dance floor doing the electric slide or strolling around the reception.

5. Shooting at high noon
The sun is shining, the sky is bright, but what you may think is a perfect time to shoot is far from it. High noon sunlight creates harsh shadows on the face and doesn’t cast you in the best light – wait until the afternoon.

6. Sweaty, shiny photos
Of course it will happen - standing close together in full formal gear can turn up the body temperature. But don’t let shiny faces and (eek!) sweaty armpits take away from the special occasion. Be prepared with powder, anti-perspirant deodorant and paper towels!

7. Not scheduling enough time for the photo sessions and driving time
It takes time to shoot pictures of the entire family, arrive at several different shoot locations and get all of those perfect shots with you and your hubby. Make your life easier – allot extra time for photography! As a plan of attack, get the large group shots finished first, starting with children and the elderly. Next, take pictures with the families and bridal party. Lastly, spend some alone time with your man and the camera, while the impatient herd heads towards the cocktail hour. After all, it is your day!

8. Badly positioned hands and feet
After several shots, you and your wedding party may become antsy – tapping fingers, leaning on one foot and fidgeting. It is important that your photographer works with you to keep everyone photogenic, focused and above everything else – comfortable.

9. Missing the small moments
There are signature special moments in a wedding – the bride and groom’s first kiss, the first dance between a father and new bride, the garter ceremony and cutting of the cake. But small moments - such as the flower girl smiling from the pew, a proud moment between the mother and father, grandma on the dance floor – cannot be missed!

10. Stopping photographs before the reception is over
Many couples want to turn the cameras off at 9 p.m., but some of the most memorable and interesting photos happen when the party really gets going. Keep shooting!

Happy Sunday: cutie pie edition

Natalie Moser Photography

in honor of a loved one...

Stephanie {star} via flickr

Releasing Balloons in honor of a loved one is quite symbolic in our family. It's such a beautiful display when each person lets his/her balloon go at the same time and see them all rise up together. 

Somerlea's sister passed away before the wedding, and the she and esteban and her parents signed some balloons and let them go into the sky before the wedding. -Erik Clausen, flickr

Balloons of different colors and sizes and shapes are quite a sight when released together into the air. There are a multitude of ways you can release balloons.. let your imagination run with it. Because most areas will not allow you to release the balloons into the open, an idea that is more eco-friendly is to release balloons in an indoor setting. The guests may also attach a personal message for the bride and groom to the balloon so that they can later enjoy the sentiments from their well wishers.

If you are planning on releasing balloons in the open air, consider purchasing biodegradable balloons. Also be sure to verify with by-law officials that you can release balloons; not all cities allow releasing of balloons into the atmosphere because some balloons are harmful to the environment. have fun with it..

Brooklyn Love..

photography by Robin Roemer

Absolute perfection... 

Reasons I {heart} itunes

Genius is the word. It's a fairly new automated do-hicky used to gather information about your likes listed in your itunes library. It sorts playlists you might like depending on the genre of music you listen to. How amazing is that?? All you have to do is select a song, and this genius figures the rest out for you. 

This is also a fantastic way to find new faves for your wedding playlists! Check it out, you might be pleasantly surprised with the results!

Genius picked out my first playlist based on my DMB selection and I'm LOVING it..

Here are a couple tunes selected for the playlist

DMB - Stay (wasting time)

Counting Crows - Hanginaround

John Mayer - Why Georgia

Jack Johnson -Flake

G.Love & Tristan Prettyman - Beautiful

David Gray - Babylon

Goo Goo Dolls - Here is Gone

Ray Lamontagne - Three more days

Space Hog - in the meantime

Fleetwood Mac - Go your own way

Jack Johnson - Broken

Jason Mraz - you and I both

{...}

I could see myself busting a few moves to these...

DIY night: The Photoshop Edition

So while everyone else in the world is out partying their friday night pants off, I like to stay at home and be a stick in the mud with the pupster.. I know.. riveting.

But, tonight the boy is out of the house, so I have to find ways to keep my mind pre-occupado. It's only friday night.. I'm already bored.. hmmm.. anyways I'm so glad I started playing around with photoshop tonight. I was inspired by a great invitation idea with photobooth images on flickr.. Unfortunately, the images were taken down..

so I thought I'd create something fun.. a little friday night DIY if you will.

4 photo booth shots (on a magnet strip with a red backing)

laid over marigold card stock

wrapped with a band of light green cello/clear paper

(with monogram maybe?)

Flip the card over to view invitation details It's still a work in progress..

j'adore...

photography by Jonathan Canlas

Should have..

Johnathan Canlas via Snippet & ink

Martha Friday: Save the dates

Martha always leaves me some what perplexed... there are always some really fantastic ideas on her site. But the problem with most of them is if you try to create them in mass quantities, you might not make it past item #3 in the working line.

Don't get me wrong. The projects dreamed up by these people are pretty impressive.. I just don't see myself sitting down and spending weeks working on hand painted papermache party favors that will most likely end up being tossed in the trash (unless your mom hangs on to it)

But out of the hundreds of thousands of great looking ideas, there are a few doables you can make and will be much less expensive to do than getting it done professionally..

I can totally see this being doable...

Sticker save the dates. Maybe with a photobooth photo sticker instead?

via Martha Stewart

what do you think?

Inspiring

photography by Twin Lens via Style me pretty

It's amazing how friends and family can come together and create something magical. It puts my mind at ease to know that they are there for us no matter what.

This story almost brought me to tears... god, I'm such a girl.

Just a peek..

After a long journey, we are finally back home from sunny Cayo Coco, Cuba. We couldn't have been happier for our friends, and we were blessed with such beautiful weather. It was pretty awesome to witness such a spectacle.

Before I go into more details about this wedding (save that for another post), I thought I'd leave you with a little taste of things to come.

**side note for the bride**

don't worry, I'll save the best for this weekend, friend.

This is love..

Soldier's Goodbye by Sam Hood via Flickr

Out of office?

Alrighty, I'm off to sunny Cuba for a week!!

Stay tuned for some beautiful wedding shots from the beach!!