{Wedding Wednesday} Choosing a Photographer

Choosing a photographer for your wedding can be extremely nerve wracking! I mean, who you choose will be documenting the most important day of your life and you definitely don't want to miss anything! I've already been through that mess so here are my tips so you have an easier time! 

These cherry blossoms had bloomed just in time for our wedding. Beautiful!

Be Picky!

Man oh man I can't stress this one enough. I wish I had been more picky because I definitely learned the hard way. I met countless photographers at bridal shows and looked through countless more online. We only ended up meeting with two of them but after we got our photos back, I regretted not being pickier. "Why?" you ask? For starters, and this is a doozy, there is not ONE posed formal or creative formal photo of Brian and I! Not one!! Sure there are pictures of us saying our vows and dancing but not one of just the two of us after the ceremony. It was something very obvious that should have been done but my photographer insisted on rushing the posed formals so we could get to the reception quickly. He also neglected to get any pictures of my family and I together. In the very beginning I wanted to do a "reveal" with Brian and I so we could do our posed/creative formals BEFORE the ceremony (we had more than enough time for it!) but our photographer basically told us no. 

Gracious...I need an entire post to rant about all this mess! 

Me getting my dress out!

Meet With Multiple Photographers

As I mentioned before, I wish we had met with more than just two. I thought that would be enough. I would recommend talking to (whether meeting in person, phone conversation or e-mail) as many photographers as you can. When you go to bridal shows (and go to several of those!) try and speak with every photographer and take business cards, price lists, and brochures. If you just plain don't like their style, then move on. If you meet with multiple photographers, you'll be able to see how well you get along with them and if your styles mesh together. This is important! You want to have a good working relationship with them.

I can tell you right now these pictures were my idea!

My traditional photographer would have never thought to highlight our TOMS! 

Pick Your Style - Traditional vs Artistic vs Blend

Usually photographers are one or the other. There are several different styles but usually photographers tend to be traditional or artistic. Traditional style is very posed and formal. There's not a lot of room for creativity. It's more rigid and planned than anything else. A photographer that is more artistic will do cool angles, soft focus, creative poses and more. I must've thought that was too "yuppie" for me at the time or maybe I just wasn't paying attention. I wanted more of a blend but my photographer ended up being very traditional. We literally took three photos outside. Everything else was under the unforgiving sanctuary lights standing up straight and smiling pretty. There were actually three photographers shooting our wedding and I can always tell when one of the two younger, creative interns took the shot! Either that or it was something creative that I suggested. 

Check out this article for the other styles and their descriptions.

Brian, his groomsmen and our pastor who officiated.

Have Multiple Photographers

Like I said, I had three photographers shooting our wedding. My original plan was to have at least two. The third was no extra charge because she was an intern in training. The way I saw/see it is that one photographer won't be able to capture every moment. Case in point: When the bride walks down the isle, you want a picture of the groom's face as he sees his bride and the bride's face as she sees her groom. (Yet another thing my photographers didn't catch even though I specified wanting it.) 

Another example is that maybe a friend starts break dancing at the reception but the photographer is capturing you hugging your Great Aunt Edna. You want to capture every moment! Multiple photographers can be expensive though so keep that in mind. But don't nix the idea simply because of money. Keep your eye out for things like "free second photographer with 8 hours of shooting" or maybe a more novice photographer that will be willing to be a second shooter for free. It's best if they've worked together before though. That way they know how the other works and everything will go smoothly.

Oh and a male/female team works great too. The male photographer can shoot the men getting ready pre-ceremony and the female can shoot the ladies getting ready and no one feels awkward or embarrassed! It's easy to overlook something like that too.

The bridal party being goofy. This picture ALWAYS makes me smile!

Make a List

Make a list of the shots you want. Everything from creative to posed formals. If you really want a picture with Great Aunt Edna then write that down. And don't just wright "Bride and aunt," be sure to write down names and titles. Your photographer won't know that "Jenny" is your 5th bridesmaid. This is also another area where Pinterest comes in handy. Make a pinboard for poses and shots you like. Change the caption so that it's specific to you. You can give the url to your photographer ahead of time so they will have a good idea of what you want and don't want your wedding photos to look like. 

First dance - one of my favorites

Plan Plenty of Time

When you're making your wedding day timeline, estimate the time for pictures, then add 30 minutes. I promise it will take longer than you think. I know many people still want to stick with tradition and not have the bride and groom see each other until she walks down the isle but if you're OK with breaking tradition, do it! I so wish that we had. I wish we had planned a reveal before the ceremony. We ended up having so much extra time, it would have been perfect. I think it would have helped with jitters walking down the isle too. And it still would have been special! I don't think it would have taken away from seeing each other from down the isle at all. Plus, we would've had more beautiful pictures together! We could have also done all of our bridal photos together. The way we did it, we had us girls go into the sanctuary and take pictures and then swapped with the guys. So at least we had a good amount of formals done beforehand. If you want to stick with tradition, that's totally fine! Just be sure you plan extra time for posed formals after the ceremony and before the reception. You don't want to keep your guests waiting, bored, and hungry so keep that in mind as well. 

I'm so glad my photographer caught this moment! I didn't even know it happened until I looked through the pictures!

And remember: The photographer runs the ceremony...the DJ/band/MC runs the reception.

All in all, the wedding photographer that you choose will be very important but as I've said before and I will say again, it doesn't HAVE to be a stressful thing! Hopefully Wedding Wednesdays will help you plan your wedding with ease!

What's your favorite wedding photography style? What are some of your wedding photographer questions that need answers?

Till next time,

Catherine

If you're a fellow blogger and are interested in guest posting for this series, shoot me an e-mail at CatherinePageWood@gmail.com! Or, even if you're not a blogger and would like to share your wedding story or advice, send me an e-mail! I would LOVE to share your stories!

If you liked this post, be sure to check out the other editions of Wedding Wednesday!

• Getting Started on Wedding Planning
• My Tips for Less Stressful Wedding Planning
• Choosing a Photographer
• How to Survive a Wedding Expo
• Mirror, Mirror - Why Big Mirrors Are a Must!

Etsy Shop Announcement!

I just love sharing such fun announcements with you all!! 

I announced it on the blog's Facebook page but not here yet and not everyone has Facebook so I thought I'd announce it here as well! 

After talking about doing it for so long now, my husband and I finally opened up our very own Etsy shop!! 

There is not a lot listed at the moment but keep checking back because I'll be adding more items as time goes on! 

We've got lovely little button bracelets and embroidery floss earrings as well as a few other things on there now. If you see a style you like but in the wrong color (or vice versa) then please let me know! I am more than happy to provide custom items! I even crochet the most adorable little plush monster toys for children! My niece absolutely loves them!

Like I said before, keep an eye out because more will be added! I'll be adding listings for crocheted hats, scarves, cosmetic bags and custom pencil art by my husband. And who knows what else! I'm up for anything! I'll probably start making reusable dryer sheets again soon and try to sell those as well. What do you think?

If you have an account on Etsy, be sure to click the little red heart to "favorite" my shop! 

Oh and don't mind the "z" at the end of Happily Ever Crafter. I didn't have a choice, Happily Ever Crafter is taken as a shop name even though the shop has not been active in a very long time! Unfortunate but that's ok. 

What types of things would you like to see being sold in my Etsy shop? 

Till next time,

Catherine

DIY: Melted Crayon Art

Happy Monday, everyone! What? You're not happy it's Monday? Well, smile anyways!

Today I thought I'd bring out a project I did BEFORE I started my blog, which is why there aren't any pictures of the DIY process in action. But I'll tell you, it's easy to do!

Supplies:

• Crayons (whichever colors you prefer)
• Canvas (size is up to you)
• Hair dryer
• Tape

Directions:

Pick out the color crayons you want in your project. I chose greens, a few yellows, and oranges. I wanted this to go in my kitchen and green/orange are my current kitchen colors.

Now line them up on the canvas in whatever pattern you'd like. I've seen all sorts of cool variations like wavey patterns, flower patterns and other neat ideas. For the first one, I decide to just go straight across the top. One good friend of mine picked colors that matched her favorite wedding photo from the Bahamas. It turned out beautifully and sits on her fireplace mantel next to the photo. Seeing hers is what made me say, "Ok, enough is enough...I'm making one of those!"

I would recommend removing the labels from the crayons before taping them down. That way they won't slip out of the wrapper right away.

Now bust out that hair dryer and get to work!

Melt the crayons until you get the look you want!

Voila! Simple, cheap, and fun art! It even matched the fruit! We've since moved the canvas over top of a little metal baker's rack and replaced it with these awesome free kitchen printables. 

For this one I taped off a small area so that I can put a picture in there and the melted crayons act like a frame. I think it's cool! I also cut the crayons into 1" pieces so it wouldn't overflow the canvas. I haven't picked a photo yet so it's not hung up yet but I'm getting there!

My husband made this one on his own. He just really wanted to play and melt more wax. He likes it, though so we may still hang it somewhere! 

Helpful hints: 

• Keep the hair dryer on low heat. If it's going too fast it will knock the crayon pieces off the canvas.
• Full size crayons produces a lot of melted wax. Remember that if you're using a smaller canvas. 
• If you have white or light colored walls where you're going to hang the canvas, you may want to cover the back where the crayon ran the wrong way so it doesn't "draw" on your wall. 
• Lay down newspaper or something so you don't get melted wax everywhere!
• Prop the canvas at an angle so the wax melts and drips nicely but the crayons don't slip and fall down the canvas, messing up your design. 
• Take your time! It's not a race. 
• Point your hair dryer down at the crayons. That way you don't blow them off to the sides and the crayons melt and drip downwards nicely. Unless you want a different effect then go for it! 

Have you made melted crayon art before? What sort of pattern did you use? Send me a photo of how it turned out, whether it's good, bad or ugly! I'd love to see your versions!

Till next time,

Catherine

DIY: FREE Printable Kitchen Art

While perusing the wonders of Pinterest one day, I came across this post from Over The Big Moon with these adorable FREE printables for cute kitchen art! I pinned the link of course and kept the idea in the back of my mind for when I found some cute 8x10 frames. 

I searched at a few thrift stores and Goodwill hoping to find something good but I didn't see any two that matches and still had their glass. 

Fortunately I found these lovely white frames at Michael's on sale for about $4 each! They were 50% off and then I had a coupon! Score! The original "Be Grateful" print was sort of a blue-green but I wanted a shade of orange that matched the "Roll With It" picture. I like to stick with a green/orange theme to our kitchen. My husband in all his graphic design wisdom, showed me how to fix it on Photoshop and I got the exact color I wanted! Then all I did was print these pictures out on regular printer paper and slipped them into the frames. 

With the help of the ever wonderful Command strips we got them up! 

Cute, right? I can't get over how much I love them! Total I probably spent $12. $4 for each frame and I believe the Command strips were about $4 as well. I think it was a $12 well spent. Every time I walk into the kitchen it makes me smile. It's sweet and simple and it's a nice touch of color to brighten those plain walls!

What color(s) do you like for your kitchen?

Till next time,

Catherine