There are so many things that I'd like to cover in today's post, and they all kind of connect.  Thus, they are going to be sandwiched together like a delicious whoopie pie.  A whoopie pie?  Did we just take a jump back to grandma's childhood, you might ask? Hold on, folks.  I'll explain...

I've posted recently about how engagement pictures were on our upcoming radar and how I didn't want our pictures to look like we were painfully stiff or awkwardly poised.  We also started making that running list of places in the QCA and themes that you could use to make a really fun engagement shoot.  Lots of you contributed to our list, and I definitely made use of it!  We decided that we would do a picnic themed photo shoot.  I also wanted to incorporate a vintage-esque vibe to it as I love all things vintage.  I scoured the web to find some inspiration pictures that I could show our photographer.  Here are the ones that I sent him:

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photo by Adrienne Gunde

 

photo by Caroline Tran

 

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photo by Sloan Photographers 

Our engagement shoot was set for a Saturday afternoon, and Friday at work I realized that I didn't really have anything to wear.  Seriously...nothing.  I literally only had the clothes on my back.  Okay, not really, but I had a vision of wearing a yellow cardigan in the shoot.  I went to Target thinking surely they will have a yellow cardigan!  And they did!  They also had a million things that we ended up using as props for our photo shoot.  After looking at my bill from running around the store like a mad woman with a cart full of anything blue or yellow and had to do with eating, I wondered if this investment was worth it.  In the end, I decided yes!  We received our photo proofs back last week, and they are lovely!  Stephen and Elaine really loved the props that we brought and helped to arrange them and incorporated them into every picture!  Here are some of my favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

All photos are by our amazing photographer: Giraffe Photography

 

So we really love our pictures! I felt like Stephen and Elaine listened to everything that I rambled on about when I was trying to describe the look that I wanted. They loved our vintage props, and apparently it was providence as Stephen is a big fan of vintage candy. As a tiny token of our thanks, we sent Stephen home with the lemon drops and Elaine got her paws on the whoopie pies!

The other key element of this blog post is that I wanted to point out that we have the copyrights to our images. THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT! When you book your photographer, you will want to make sure that you can eventually have the copyrights to your photos. In this age when we all like to post our pictures on our social networking sites and make copies for cheapy cheap, you will be stopped dead in your tracks if you don't have the copyrights to the high resolution images. On top of that, what would happen if there was a devastating fire and your wedding album was gone forever? If you have the images, you can have replacements made even if it's 20 years down the road. GET THE COPYRIGHTS! So important...

Some photographers build this service into their standard photography package while others will charge you an additional fee. Either way, the investment will literally pay for itself as ordering prints directly from your photographer can really add up if it is an a la carte service. I'm talking $25 for a 4x6. Think about how quickly this can add up when you have even just ten relatives that you'd like to send a picture.

So I hope you've enjoyed our pictures! I'd love to see other couple's pictures posted in the message board! Tell us about your photo shoot experiences!

CORRECTION:  Donna Blundel, QCWeddings.com Boss Lady and Photographer Extraordinaire pointed out that....

"Actually this is a key mis-conception about Copyright.  Copyright only belongs to the artist/creator.  It is there to protect the artist.  What is granted to the photographed is Print Rights.  It gives you full control over the images for personal use.  If you want to publish your images in a magazine or sell them for stock use……. You need a commercial release from the photographer.  In cases where copyright  is given with commercial images.  Each images goes for a very high fee, and the photographer relinquishes his rights for thousands."  

Thank you, Donna!  With all the legal craziness in our country, it is very important to get the wording down correctly, so get the PRINT RIGHTS from your photographer if at all possible, and you will be set for making copies for yourself, your friends, and your family!  :)

Our lives are all about The To-Do Lists.  I have sticky notes, emails to myself, a bulging day planner, and a crack-berry, and while all these contraptions were designed to make life more organized and thus easier, I find that it makes my head spin eventually. 

On today's to-do list are two things.  The first job is to sand, prime, and paint all the trim in our house.  I am marrying into a very handy family.  My fiance can fix just about anything, and with the help of his mom and dad, they completely flipped the house that we currently live in from a shack o' disgusting shambles to a charming craftsman that we are proud to call home.  I'd like to say that I am handy too, though that would be a lie.  I'm really good at cleaning up after jobs, and if someone gives me a task that doesn't include the possibility of cutting my fingers off, I'm a good sport.  I tend to get bored, however, and sneak away when no one is looking.  Just ten minutes ago, I was cleaning the windows up after my fiance had come by with his sander, when he mentioned that I may want to wait to clean until all the dust had settled.  He started to tell me about other odd jobs that I could do in the meantime, when I pulled a road-runner and PING I was gone.  Now I am hiding in the bedroom typing this blog post.  :)  

The second agenda item on today's to-do list is to figure out where we want our engagement pictures to be taken.  We are kind of late on getting this whole ball rolling as we are getting married in September and have been engaged since August of 2008, but I want our engagement pictures back in time to incorporate into our wedding website and at the actual wedding.  Our photographer is Stephen from Giraffe Photography who is amazing not only in his craft but also in his creativity.  He's really fun and super flexible, and I know that our wedding and engagement photography is going to be off the hook!  

The good thing about having a flexible photographer is that they are totally open to ideas for things to do in pictures and where to take said pictures.  I told Stephen that we are pretty open to locations and whatever, but he and I have already talked about how cliche  pictures make me gag.  (They make Stephen gag, too!)  

The last thing I want is a picture with my hand on my fiance's chest and my head leaning in to him.  Here are just a spackling of the millions of pictures of engaged couples that I found on a Google search:

 

 

Do you see what I mean?  Girl's hand on chest to (artfully?) show of the engagement ring, head tilted, awkward smiles fixed.  No thank you.  I blurred out their poor, unfortunate heads as I mean no disrespect to the gazillions of people who have this shot in their wedding photography repertoire.  It's just that there are so many other options out there!  I rest my case. 

The REAL purpose of today's post is not to bash (classic?) photography, but rather to start a list of cool places that all of us engaged people can go to have our pictures taken.  I'm going to start the list, but if anyone wants to chime in on the message board, I'll add your ideas here and give you smarty-farties credit!

Quad City Places (in no particular order):

 

• The Botanical Center
• The Figge Museum
• Vandaveer Rose Gardens, Ponds, Greenhouse
• The Putnam
• Niabi Zoo
• Brady Street Stadium
• on the Riverfront
• Benbutterworth Parkway
• Lagomarcino's
• The Grand Stand
• Modern Woodmen Park
• on one of the bridges
• at one of the golf courses
• at one of our locally owned restaurants
• at the Mississippi Valley Fair
• at the Air Show
• on the John Deere Commons
• in a downtown abandoned building or old hotel (if you can sneak in)
• at Scott County Park
• at the iWireless Center
• at one of our casinos 
• at the Quad City Downs
• on one of our riverboats
• on the Wapsi River
• John Deere Headquarters - submitted by hz80408 
• District of Rock Island - submitted by srtrist

Once upon a time (aka Thursday last week), I was writing a blog post on photo booths when along came a virus which crippled any and all programs and applications on my computer.  After sometime in the computer hospital, we are back in business, so it is with trepidation that I continue where I left off.  Hopefully it isn't the term "photo booth" that my computer hates...  From my memory...here's how the original post was written...

I'm not a brat.  I'm not really!  There are very few things that I dwell on, whine about, or am able to produce tears about wanting and not having.  The topic of photo booths has been a tumultuous one around this household, but I am holding out till the end.  I want a photo booth at our reception.  I need a photo booth at our reception.  You want our marriage to start off on the right foot with me happy, right?  (Picture me smiling with clenched fists.)

I just can't help myself.  There are so many great things about having a photo booth at a wedding reception.  Photo booth, how I love thee.  Let me count the ways...

1)  A photo booth can serve as your favor to your guests!  Not every one loves all the different things that we engaged couples come up with to give out at weddings.  I fear to name some of the more atrocious wedding favors that I've received for fear of stepping on someone's toes, but you all know what I'm talking about.  A photo booth, however, is awesome because everyone loves pictures!  

2)  A photo booth can serve as your guestbook!  Many times, the photo booth can be set up to print out two copies of each film strip; one is for your guests to take with them, and the other can be put into a guest book where people can pen a little message next to their wacky poses.  Fun!  That way in forty years when you are trying to remember which girlfriend your cousin Dave brought with him, you can flip on through your guest book and see Dave and Julia (what ever happened to her anyway) smiling right back atcha.

3)  A photo booth can set the tone of a really fun wedding!  A photo booth is like an open invitation that tells your guests to let loose, have fun, and that your wedding is for them to "experience" and not to "endure".  

My fiance has been hesitant to the idea of a photo booth so far.  Money is tight with everyone these days, so it's no doubt that a photo booth is something that could be trimmed from the budget (I suppose).  But I don't give up easily.  I am fully prepared to place all my valid points of this blog entry into a formal presentation complete with projector slides, diagrams, and a pointer stick.  Here are some pictures that will highlight my presentation:

picture via PhotoBoothCa.com

 

photo via CIPhotobooth.net

photo via thenicholsblog.com

I mean really, when you look at all things purchased, rented, invested in for a wedding, what IS realistic?  The truth is that everyone could save thousands of dollars by not buying the vast majority of items that are present on a wedding day, but we do it to a degree.  Come on, folks!  Back me up!

If you have gotten past your significant other in the battle of a photo booth, you are in luck!  We have Joe's Photo Booth company that rents photo booths for special occasions serving the Quad Cities Area!  Check out his website here!  If you're also foaming at the mouth, you can request information right on his website!  

With V'day just hiding around the corner, no doubt you've been bombarded with subtle and not-so-subtle messages from media and friends that you need to buy the perfect gift which could include but not be limited to flowers, candy, and jewelry. These gifts are lovely, but I'm here today to propose a unique gift that only the brass of a siren of a woman could pull off....boudoir photography!  Hold on to your quiver and arrows, my cupids!  

If you're not familiar with this term then lets fill in a little background info.  For starters, the pronunciation is boo-dwahr. The word means a lady's private room, and it derives from the French verb bouder which means to pout.  Essentially it boils down to taking sexy pictures clothed, partially clothed, or nude.  You may have just grabbed your face with both hands as it turned a lovely shade of red.  Did I dare say "sexy" and "nude" in a tasteful QCWeddings.com blog post??  Yes, ladies and gents, I did.  

image courtesy of claris photography

 

Boudoir photography can be what you want it to be.  If a woman decides to take boudoir pictures, the results can range from sweet and demure to full on centerfold material, if she pleases.  The pictures are a unique and fun present to give to a significant other that captures some fun sexy moments that were made just for that person.  

Here are three links to some photographers that specifically specialize in boudoir.  They have lots of examples on their websites for you to peruse...

http://www.lboudoir.com/boudoir-portrait-showcase/

http://vavoompinups.com/?load=flash

http://intimates.leahstaffordphotography.com/?tag=chicago-boudoir-photographers

Boudoir photography can often created in your photographer's studio, where it has become very fashionable to create a set of sensual images for ladies of all ages, shapes, and sizes in the "boudoir style".  Does your photog do boudoir photography?  Many don't outright advertise it, but just go ahead and ask them about it!  

The important thing to keep in mind is that a professional photographer who does boudoir will never share or release your pictures without your consent.  Deciding to do boudoir does not mean that you moonlight as a lady of the evening or that your morals have flown the coop.  While boudoir does reverberate sexual messages, it IS meant to be something that a woman can share with her lover and no one else unless she pleases.  

This really has become more than just a passing fad, and there is a whole industry of photographers who are happy to help you create this one of a kind present. So what do you think, ladies? Is boudoir on the horizon or not? I bet your fiance wouldn't mind. :)

On the last post we talked about the possibility of winning an amazing dress. Today I'd like to focus on brides who can't wait to trash an amazing dress.  Trash The Dress sessions have been a growing phenomenon lately, and I can't quit scratching my head over it.  If you're thinking to yourself, "Surely she can't mean that they trash their dresses...", then I will tell you that 1) Yes, they trash as in destroy their dresses, and 2) don't call me surely...  :)

Here are some examples:

 

photo from chugach peaks blog

 

photo by nine photography

 

photo by rachel richter photography

 

photo by rick johnson photo

I have good feelings and bad feelings about this. Let's do some pros and cons.

Pros: Those pictures are interesting, thought provoking, and unique. It would be very liberating to go crazy in a dress that you've been fairly cooped up in during the wedding day. I've heard that dry cleaning can get out just about any stains other than motor oil, and you might have to dry clean your dress even if you didn't trash it..

Cons: You will quite possibly ruin your dress forever. If you ruin your dress you won't be able to pass it on to a daughter or donate it, so it's pretty eco-unfriendly. Your mother would kill you. (Hint: If you do this, dry clean your dress, and show it to your mother before you show her your Trash the Dress pictures. Less chance of a heart attack for her or a slap in the face for you.)

So what do you think? I think...the jury's still out...