But, seeing as you won’t want to risk ruining the signatures on the quilt, it probably makes more sense to keep that for display only.

In comes the photo blanket.

Photo from thememoriesplace.com

This is a fantastic way to personalize the bedding that keeps you warm at night and have your loved ones close to protect you during a late night scary movie.

Use any of your wedding photos or engagement photos and this photo blanket will be one of the most special things in your house (aside from the people of course!).

There seems to be no shortage of places to get such a photo blanket and you can choose from woven, fleece, and even knitted.

A few online stores that seemed to have the best selection are: personalthrows.com , and thememoriesplace.com.

Also, photoweavers.com has a limited time offer on Groupon for more than 50% off. Check it out!

Photo from treasureknit.com

Here are 7 questions to think about as your prepare for our meeting:

Are you ready for our meeting?

1. What does having a professional photographer for your wedding mean to you personally?

Think about the benefits of hiring a photographer for your special day and what you specifically hope to get from our services.

2. What products/services are most important to you in a wedding photography package?

Tell us if you have a certain number of photos in mind or a preference as to how your photos are delivered to you. What about prints and an album? Think if there is anything you just have to have.

3. What style of photography is most appealing to you?

Is your heart moved by candid pictures? Do you just absolutely love black & white? Try to putting into words the sort of photography that makes you smile. Or, bring along some examples! (We’ll have a computer, so we can look at photos on a CD or flash drive and even on a web site).

4. If you have spoken with other photographers, what did you like/dislike about what they had to offer?

This is especially helpful to think about if you don’t have any previous experience with professional photography. It’s good to know all your options!

5. How many hours of photography will you need?

We’ve put together a little wedding time app that make it easy for you to calculate your time simply even from your mobile device. Click here to read more and use the app.

6. How many dollar signs are your photos worth?

We know it’s hard to put a pricetag on the priceless wedding memories you will cherish the rest of your lives, but we all have a limit to our budget. We don’t need an exact number, just a ballpark, so we can find a package that fits into your budget nicely.

7. Can we help you with anything else?

We don’t claim to be official wedding planners, but we’ve seen a lot of things that work and don’t work. In fact, you’d be surprised how much of it all is connected to photography. Bring any wedding questions you have and we’ll help you out or connect you to someone who has a better answer than we do.

Okay, I love cake more than Joana does.

And… the thing about meeting new couples is really A LOT more special to us.

That’s why we’re inviting you to join us this Sunday from 11am to 3pm at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles!

Here is the flier:

And, you can click here for more details.

All in all, it will really be a great time for us to begin some dialog about your wedding (even if you haven’t set a date yet).

Plus, we’ll have some really cool prizes to give away!

(and free mints!)

The thing is, as many collections of signatures I have like this, I think the closest think I’ve ever received to an actual guestbook was my high school yearbook.

I have gathered signatures of the special people in my life on posters, collages, t-shirts, hats, and even a frisbee.

But, a guestbook itself just is too traditional for me. Not to mention that if it’s lucky enough to make it onto the precious shelf space I have, it probably will never leave it.

I prefer something that is cool enough to leave out in the open for someone to see.

Enter, the photo signature quilt

Photo from orangepandadesigns.com

This example above, from Orange Panda Designs shows just how cool it can be to have your wedding guests sign a quilt and then add your wedding photos to the quilt after the wedding!

The cool people at Orange Panda Designs claim to be the first to come up with this idea and give you lots of customization options for your quilt.

But, if you are looking for a cheaper option, check out weddingshowergifts.com or try your hand at doing it yourself.

You won’t regret having a beautiful way to cherish your wedding guests’ signatures along side some of the most precious photos of your wedding!

What are the most special signatures that you have collected? Celebrities? Friends? Family? Tell us your stories in the comments!

Recently, Joana and I began replacing coffee in the mornings for something that makes us less caffeinated.

She drinks tea. I drink hot cocoa.

Yes, I still get lots of sugar, but I’m not nearly as skakey!

So, when I saw this fantastically designed DIY winter wedding idea from Bijoux Bride, I was ecstatic!

A hot chocolate bar for your wedding!

Photo from bijouxbride.com

Head on over to bijouxbride.com to see how to put together this amazing and simple hot chocolate bar. But, don’t stop there…

Make this hot chocolate bar special to you!

Just put your engagement photos on the cookies you serve with it!

And, the fabulous California bakery, Sweets La Petite has the perfect edible image gingerbread cookies for the occasion.

Two Simple Steps

1) Hire us to capture your amazing engagement photos for you use for this project and many other creative parts of your wedding.

2) Fill out Sweets La Petite’s cookie order form and send them the photos you want on the cookies. They’ll ship the cookies to you anywhere in the U.S.!

Or, try out these DIY edible photo cookie instructions on eHow.

In the comments, tell us your favorite kind of hot cocoa! (with… dark, white, or milk chocolate; milk or water; syrup or powder; marshmallows or peppermint flavoring… so many great choices!)

Check out how beautiful this is!

Photo from posheventplanning.com

I highly suggest you head on over to posteventplanning.com to read the full article. But, I especially wanted to share this here as an example of yet another creative way to spruce up your wedding with your engagement photos.

Wouldn’t it be really cool to put small photo on a skewer and stick it in the grass of this centerpiece??

There are a few different ways you could do this

1. Print the photo one-sided as usual and simply tape it to the top of the skewer before sticking it in the dirt. Hide the back of the photo with one of the trees.

2. Print 2 one-sided photos and use double stick tape or glue to stick them to the top of the skewer. Make sure you have a good view of both photos when you stick the skewer in the dirt.

3. Print a double-sided photo (card stock is recommended for this). Use a razor blade to cut a small slit in the top of the skewer. Stick the photo in the slit and place the skewer in the dirt such that both sides of the photo are in sight.

Do you have an other cool ideas for sharing your photos with this centerpiece? Share them in the comments!

Or, maybe you are a guest and stumbled upon the wedding photography page for your newly wed family or friends and are wondering what this proof gallery is all about.

Well, simply put, the “proofs” or “proof images” are the original images straight from the camera. The proofs differ only slightly from the “digital negatives“, which are also the original images straight from the camera, but are in full-resolution format without a logo, for the clients to use however they please.

The proofs are merely smaller, online copies of the original images and are marked as unfinished to separate them from the higher quality photos that have been edited to perfection.

Proof images, just like any photo in our online galleries, can be ordered as a print or on various types of merchandise. But first, a few key changes (mostly minor, sometimes major) must be made to the photo before it is “finished” and ready to be printed. So, the selection process for ordering images from a proof gallery is slightly different from ordering images from a finished photo gallery.

How to Order a Proof if You are NOT a Client

UPDATE: We are in the process of upgrading our online galleries to a new system that will make it a whole lot more simple to order proofs. Keep your eyes open for the details!

If you are a wedding guest, friend of a client, or simply a fan of our photography and would like to order an image in a proof gallery as a print or as a finished image to have on your computer or print on your own, here’s how:

1. Go the main event page where you were originally directed and check to see if the photo you want is already in one of the finished photo galleries.

   Identify the finished photo galleries by the brackets { } around the gallery name:
   

   If you find the photo you want in a finished images gallery, just order the print, photo merchandise, or finished digital download straight from there!

   If not, continue to step 2…

2. Return to the “proof” gallery, select the photo you want, and order the digital download of the photo from this gallery.

   

   Once your order is complete, the selected photo will be added to the photographer’s cue to be edited. You will immediately have the opportunity to download the original, watermarked copy for your records, but the finished photo will be emailed to you within 7 days of your purchase.

3. In addition to the photo being emailed to you, the finished photo will be placed in the related finished images gallery on the client’s event page and the email you receive will contain a link to the photo in this gallery.
   
   Just click on that link in your email to order any prints or photo merchandise you would like from that gallery.

   Note: Ordering digital downloads from a finished images gallery is only necessary if you have not already ordered a digital download of that photo from a proof gallery and you would like a full-resolution copy of the image without our logo to have for use on your computer or for ordering prints elsewhere.

How to Order a Proof if You ARE a Client

Clients are special in the sense that they always receive a certain number of professionally edited images included with their wedding photography package. So, it is not necessary for clients to order finished images initially. Instead, clients simply visit their event page using the Special Access Link we provide for them.

As you are browsing through the galleries using your Special Access Link, you will see two little links below the image that others will not see.

Simply click “Add to Favorites” on any proof that you would like a finished copy of and click “View My Favorites” to see all of the photos you have added as favorites.

Remember: You will need to limit your selection of favorite photos to the number of professionally edited images that came with the photography package you purchased.

If you find yourself wanting more professionally edit images than what came with your package, you can simply follow the instructions in the “How to Order a Proof if You are NOT a Client” section. Or, call us anytime {888.640.4167} and we’ll set you up.

No, I’m talking about fancy food trucks like The Border Grill Truck, which are becoming huge trends at weddings and special events.

Image from http://bordergrill.com

I must admit I’m singling out The Border Grill Truck mostly because it is one my favorite, but also because they are definitely one of the classiest in the bunch. Plus, they’re showing up in a lot of awesome places and it’s my understanding that weddings and special events make up about 60% of their business! Not to mention, their menu, with everything from Carne Asada Quesadillas to Pervian Ceviches, is perfect for any wedding or special occasion!

But, in the end, there are so many awesome food trucks to choose from.

The idea is that the truck comes to your wedding and serves up dishes right from their truck. Or, as in the example below, if the truck won’t fit, some companies will the step outside the truck and serve it from a normal grill and table.

For more information about The Border Grill, check out the Book the Truck page on their web site and be sure to get in touch with their friendly catering specialist, Libby Dearing, if you have any questions!

Sadly left out of these shows is a very beautiful beach just south of Balboa that has the most amazing rocks, houses incredible sea life, and is enclosed with impressive 50 foot tall bluffs.

Corona del Mar, Spanish for Crown of the Sea, is a great place for beach lovers of all sorts. There are decent waves for surfing, unique creatures swimming in the tidepools, a fresh water creek running that run through the beach and is dammed up to make pretty wetlands between the bluffs. Of course, it is also a VERY stunning landscape for your wedding photos!

Imagine a romantic pose of the two of you in the water here against one of the rocks. Wouldn’t that make for an awesome wedding portrait to hang on your wall?

A crabby sea creature, having a bite to eat. You don’t have to invite him to your wedding…

This place would definitely make a breathtaking backdrop for your wedding photography portraits, such as your engagement session and day-after session (in your wedding attire).