Imaginations Photography - GET REAL with Alabama Wedding Vendors - 3/8/2010

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On this episode, we talked with Gale Kirkpatrick of Imaginations Photography about the do's and dont's of hiring a wedding photographer.

Unplugged Photography - GET REAL with Alabama Wedding Vendors - 3/19/10

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David Shirk of Unplugged Photography talked with us about finding the perfect wedding photo.

Photo Lounge for Cammie & Chris

This past weekend we had the honor of having the Cool Shots PhotoLounge at Cammie & Chris's wedding reception at Avon Theatre.  It was a beautiful venue and everything was so romantic with candles and red roses everywhere!

For the event, all of the flowers and catering were handled by Beth Meadows of eMe Catering.  Tables were decorated with crimson linens, rose petals and candles, and tall centerpieces scattered throughout to bring height to the room.  There was a spread of all different kinds of yummy cheesecakes for the groom's table and a beautiful buttercream cake from Dreamcakes for the wedding cake!

And of course, there was the Photo Lounge!  We were so excited because the PhotoLounge got to be front and center on the stage!!  It looked so cool up there with the lamp inside making the whole lounge glow.  There was a line for pictures the whole night, and every guest got to go home with their own photostrip and a frame.  Each strip had Cammie & Chris's name and wedding date on it, so they'll always remember what fun they had a the reception!

And for Cammie & Chris, each guest put a duplicate copy of their own pictures in a scrapbook and left special messages for the happy couple!  By the end of the night, we had tons of pages filled with fun pictures and lots of encouraging words, advice, and well wishes.  They got to take the scrapbook home with them as they made their exit, which I think is the best part!  Once Cammie gets home and realizes that all of the planning for the last several months, all of the coordinating and details has finally come to an end - first I'm sure she'll be relieved but maybe feel a little bit of sadness that it's all over - and that's when she'll have the keepsake scrapbook to enjoy!  At least until their photographs from Spindle Photography with Kelly Cummings and Emily Kicklighter and their video from Claus Martel are ready!

Repost: Great Bridal Show Tips by Wedding Planner M. Elizabeth!

It's Bridal Show Season!

Posted by Meghan E. Cease

For all the newly engaged brides and grooms out there, you do not want to miss The Bridal Market presented by Perfect Wedding Guide on Sunday, February 28 from 1pm - 5pm at The Wynfrey Hotel.  This will be an incredible event with some fantastic vendors (including yours truly!)

It's a known fact that in the wedding world that the period between THanksgiving and Valentine's Day is known as engagement season.  Due to all the holidays and love in the air, 19% of engagements happen during this time.  And with engagement season comes bridal show season!

Most of the year's biggest and best shows and bridal events happen early in the year, so even if your guy just slipped a ring on your finger, go check out a show to get tons of great information and ideas.

Click below to read our tips on what to do at a bridal show!

What can you do at a bridal show?

- Learn what colors and trends are going to be hot this year.

- Meet a variety of vendors and put names with faces of those vendors you've already started researching.

- Stay for the fashion show to see what dress styles are in and to get a feel for which designers you love.

- Sample a variety of cakes all in one location, then pick your top two favorite to set up a consulation with.

- Meet other recently engaged brides.

Here are some other tips on how to make the most out of your bridal show experience:

- Know your budget before you go!  You do not want to fall in love with a particular vendor only to realize later you can't afford them.  Bring a list of which vendors and services you need and how much you've budgeted for them.

- Bring a camera and notebook to capture your favorite ideas and to take notes on which vendors you spoke with and what you learned.  You may meet 6 photographers, 4 bakers, 5 florists, 7 DJ's, etc.  It's helpful to write things down or you won't remember who's who.

- Print labels with your name, wedding date, email, and mailing address to enter contests or attach to vendor information forms.  It's much faster than writing his information 30 times.

- Don't book vendors on the spot at a show!  A five minute conversation with them is not enough.  After visiting the booths, pick 2 or 3 in each category to set consultations with.  Do more research or hire a wedding coordinator (hint, hint) to find out if that vendor is reputable.

- Wear comfortable shoes and bring water.  There's a lot of food and cake offered but rarely do vendors offer anything to drink.

- Relax and enjoy yourself!  You'll probably feel completely overwhelmed especially if you're just starting the planning process but try to just take it all in.  You don't need to make any decision right away, just learn as much as you can and have fun!

Re-Post from Memorable Events : Tears from Heaven

Tears from Heaven: "I am in love with this photo. It was taken this past fall at Apple Blossom Chapel & Gardens. The downpour arrived just as the couple was being pronounced husband and wife. What a great story to have from your wedding day!

The reactions from everyone are just priceless. The guys are clapping and laughing, the girls are worried about their hair and make up and the couple is just in love.

*Photographer unknown, let me know if it's yours

"

Cool Shots PhotoLounge heads to a Bar Mitzvah

Well, 2009 was a very cool year for the Cool Shots PhotoLounge and it's off to a great start in 2010 as well!  One of the first events of the year was a Bar Mitzvah for a really cool guy named Charlie.  Charlie and his family worked very hard on all the details and it showed!  The theme of the event was karate, since Charlie is a black belt, and the colors were black, red, & white.  They had a DJ for entertainment, the PhotoLounge, an airbrush artist, a sorbet & ice cart, yummy food including a candy rollup that looked like sushi, and then a "take-out" candy counter where the guests chose their favorite candies to take home and enjoy!  So many cute details are sure to make an event feel special and really show the time and effort that was put into the planning.  It was this attention to detail that inspired the next 'upgrade' for the Cool Shots PhotoLounge.

Now,  if you're not familiar with the "PhotoLounge" concept yet - I'll catch you up :)  We take the Photo Booth and create a lounge by surrounding it in drape and then add in a bench and lamp for a swanky effect.  Add in some silly props plus the happy party-goers and you have hours of entertainment!  Typically with an event with a guest of honor, like a birthday, bar/bat mitzvah, or a wedding, we also put together a scrapbook for them to keep.  The Photo Booth prints out two identical prints - one goes home with the guest as a keepsake and the other goes into the scrapbook.  Well, for this event, we had the help of a professional scrapbooker, Dina Glass with Close to My Heart Scrapbooks, and boy did she make a difference!  Her cool scrapbook pages were just another element of planning that really added some "Wow" factor to the final product!  Here is a picture of a couple of the finished pages (the kids got to add on the photostrips & stickers themselves).

The next week, I grabbed up some colored paper and a few scrapbooking supplies and tried to recreate the look myself!  It was much more challenging than I had expected but also a lot of fun.  It inspired me to pay more attention to this aspect of the PhotoLounge. Putting together the scrapbook at an event is just another cool activity to engage your guests.  It lets them be spontaneous and creative, while also giving them a chance to leave special messages to the guest(s) of honor.   I get chill bumps thinking about how twenty years from now, Charlie will find that scrapbook and look back through it, and have such a great record of everyone that was there and all of the fun they had.  To be able to be a part of someone's biggest life events like that is truly one of the greatest rewards of my job.  Thanks to Charlie & his family for having us out, and special thanks for letting me make a few choices from the candy counter :)  Also, here are a few of the scrapbook pages that I did -

The First Bride of 2010!

Happy New Year!!                  I  am so happy to share some pictures with you all from the first wedding of 2010, although Feel the Beat was not involved with the event.  My long-time friend and former college roommate got married to her high school sweetheart on January 1, 2010!  The event was held at Jester's Florist in downtown Tuscaloosa.   The setting was casual and intimate, with only the bride & groom's closest friends and family in attendance, which fit this couple perfectly.  The entire occasion was filled with unique & personal touches that really spoke to the couple's personalities and proved that even on a smaller budget, you can still create an event that reflects your style.

The venue was a unique space in historic downtown with an open, lofty feel and more space outside to mingle by the fire pits.  The food served was a twist on typical New Year's Day fare with black-eye peas, ham sandwich sliders, and spanakopita to reflect the groom's Greek heritage, but made with greens so that we can all look forward to a prosperous new year! In lieu of the traditional wedding cake, we had bridal cookies from Celebrations Bakery and a Little Debbie groom's cake from Mary's Cakes!   I have to admit, I was nervous about Swiss Rolls on a cake but one bite and I was a believer! Yummy!

Tables were decorated in silver and white to create a simple and elegant background.   Carnations, packed tight in large, low silver urns, took on an elegant air surrounded by candlelight in the center of the tables.  Even the music was hand-picked by the bride & groom and had all of their favorites including Band of Horses' beautiful ode "No One's Going to Love You" (which seems like an unromantic title until you hear the next line - "more than I do").  It was a beautiful event with special touches everywhere and I was happy to be a part of it!  Here's to more beautiful weddings in 2010!!