Introducing Wedding Album E-Books

All of my wedding clients and some of my engaged couples as well, are familiar with my custom designed wedding albums.  They are large 12x12 hardcover coffee table style books with your wedding pictures laid out and embedded onto the page.  They are a big hit, especially the designer flourishes I put onto many of the pages.

I'm happy to announce that E-Book versions of these books are now available.  I convert the designs into epub format that is readable by apps. such as iBooks for the iPad and iPhone.  Here's how it works: 

• After your designed book is finished in software, I send out to the printer and it's usually a 10 day turnaround after that.
• During this wait time (or anytime after) you may now purchase an E-Book version.  The E-Book will cost $9.99 and I will provide a link for download.
• You will need to download the free iBooks App. from the Apple App. Store.  It is compatible with iPad and iPhone.  Install on one or both devices.  You can also pass the book around to friends and family.
• Instead of turning physical pages, you will be turning the full color pages onscreen.  It's the ultimate portable brag book.

The Wedding Album E-Book works great on the iPad and equally well on iPhone.  You simply drag the file into iTunes for Mac or Windows and then sync your device with the iBooks Application already installed.  You will then have your wedding album on your virtual book shelf.

This is a great way to leave your actual physical book safe at home and take your wedding around town to show friends and co-workers.  The E-Book is an exact replica of your wedding album.

Here are a few examples of some recent client books.  The first image is the cover of Zach and Olivia's wedding book followed by a custum designed Henna themed page from Jay and Rupal.

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Next time you are at the hair salon, take out your iPhone and show your stylist your wedding right there on the spot....

For now, this new offering is only available on iPad and iPhone, but Android versions will be coming soon.  Take a moment to view this quick video promo all about Wedding album E-Books:

For a full screen version of this video, go here.

Photo Booths at the Wedding Reception

Every once in awhile I notice another vendor at a wedding that really stands out.  I usually get really busy with editing of the images and meeting new clients that sometimes I forget to point out these exceptional businesses.  I plan a few more of these spotlight posts, but today I will concentrate on a fun reception phenomenon that has really taken off this year - the Photo Booth.  Hey everything that is old is new again, right?!!

I have seen many of these in 2011 and I believe the best of the bunch is Memories in Minutes.  I like to take a peak at the images that come out of these machines both for the shock value (it's a private booth & supposed to be silly) and the print quality.  Now, none of these machines are going to produce images with great lighting that you can hang as a wall portrait.  That is not their purpose.  However, you do want to have photos that are at least on par with a small point and shoot.  Many times I see very low quality images getting spit out, but the Memories in Minutes folks had a higher quality.  They also are extremely friendly and are greeting and helping your guests in and out of the booth.  Visit their website for details as I'm only going off of memory here, but I have seen them filling a nice looking album with the images.  It appeared to me that it get's delivered to the bride and groom at the end of the night.  Very cool.

I imagine this could be one of those things that may be taken lightly, but as usual, quality does matter.  I can attest that they are professional and will do a good job for you on your reception night.  Oh, as bride and groom, don't forget to stop into the booth yourselves.  Have fun!!

It's All In The Details

My assistant and I love taking detail shots and seeing the unique things couples put out for their table decorations or even what they are wearing sometimes.  Everybody has their own flavor and I thought I'd show a few today.  Let's start off with the love note left behind on the hotel bed for the bride's soon to be husband to find later that night.  A romantic and fun gesture for sure!!

Certainly wedding cakes, like this spectacular one from Radisson Ballroom in Merrillville, are one of the standard things we are going to capture....

Cake toppers are always fun as well...

Not sure if you would call the next one "weeble wobbles" or "bobble heads", but they are fun nonetheless and quite the likeness of the newly married couple!!

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I think a wide shot of the reception hall or church also count as a detail shot.  Here is one of the Radisson Ballroom redecorated as a lounge area...

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Let's not forget about the bride herself as the veil and areas of the dress make for great detail shots and help to tell the story of the wedding day.  These type of wedding photos can make for a sexy addition to the album...

Ring shots would certainly fall under the category of details and make for a great layout in the album.  My favorite way of doing ring shots is to place them in the scene with another element of the wedding such as the bouquet or in the case of this wedding at the winery - amongst grapes and wine bottles.

The wedding dress itself can be a challenge sometimes.  It's always best to have a wide open area if possible.  We took this gorgeous dress up to the choir loft and used the church as our background.

Sometimes just an element of the dress can be so strking that it deserves it own photo...

Other times, the wedding dress itself can be the backdrop for the jewelry, garter and wedding shoes...

Table decorations are important to include as well.  Very often the bride's family will have a hand in creating these items on display...

Here is a detail collage of table decorations (including the bride and groom's own photo of their hands forming a heart) combined with one of my formal shots from right after the ceremony.

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Very often I will take some nondescript images knowing that I'm going to use them creatively later for either a collage or as background in the wedding album.

This first one has a tabloid magazine that I found laying around combined with some girls getting ready images.

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The "wedding belles" as they got their hair done...

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Flirty and fun best decribed one of the brides and made for a great background images for one of the pages in the wedding book.

Indian brides always have great color at their celebrations and these henna decorated hands make for striking wedding detail images...

Don't discount old family wedding pictures as a simple, but effective layout at the reception hall or in the church lobby before the ceremony.  A great conversation piece as well as decor for the album.