Priority #1: Photography!

When it came time to prioritize the aspects of our wedding and how we would divide the budget, I knew that for me photography was key. I've always been obsessed with photos. Although I'm no professional, I'm the girl who always carries her camera and plays paparazzi when we're out on the town with friends.

Photo via Florida Political Press

Naturally this obsession carried over to wedding planning. Mr. Hawk didn't quite understand the importance, but after seeing me in action the past couple years, he wasn't about to dispute it. I wanted timeless images of the engagement and wedding that would last a lifetime.

Being an extensive researcher, I started searching the typical avenues: Weddingbee, The Knot, photo blogs. But I also came across these sites: the Wedding Photojournalist Association, the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association, and Professional Photographers of America. These resources really introduced me to a new set of photographers that I had not necessary come across before. In fact, without them, I'm not sure if I ever would have come across the awesome-ness that is Valerie Demo Photography.

Now I know y'all might be thinking I'm putting the cart before the horse with all this gushing, but we were lucky enough to meet up with Valerie around the end of September for our engagement session. And if her preview pics are any indication, the wedding will definitely be captured in a timeless fashion!

I'll leave you with one preview picture, but don't worry, much more to come on our engagement session later...

Was there an aspect of the wedding that most important to you? Was it food/photography/flowers/something else?

The Ampersand

If you’ve spend as much time as I trolling the internet for wedding inspiration, you’d be hard-pressed not to come across photos of engagement sessions and weddings using the illustrious ampersand. Whether the couple was holding one like in this photo from my A-MA-ZING photographer, Valerie Demo, or it was hanging between the bride and groom chair at the reception, I just knew this was one detail I couldn’t live without. 

Image via Heart Love Weddings, Photo by Valerie Demo Photography

After making a few trips out to the local craft stores, I noticed that this little symbol was hard to come by. None of the stores seemed to carry them and the ones I found on etsy were perfect, but kinda expensive. I figured there must be a way to make one DIY-style. After some extensive googling, I came across a tutorial from Chelsea at Two Twenty One.

Photo via Two Twenty One

Although I really didn’t want a mossy ampersand per se, I used Chelsea’s tutorial as my inspiration. I didn’t have access to a projector, so I knew that part would have to be amended. I tried printing the largest ampersand I could on 11” x 17” through Word. My first attempt was not large enough (around 10 inches). After some more googling, I quickly learned that “poster print” was not really an option for Word or Publisher 2010, but Excel would work just fine. The only problem there was that to import into Excel, the ampersand file now had to be an image. I read some instructions on converting my Word file to an image file, but I found them confusing and didn’t feel like wasting the time. (Hello impatience!) Back to google I went and I found an image of an ampersand in Georgia font that fit the look I wanted (See Web Designer Depot).

I opened Excel, went to “Insert” on my toolbar and selected “Picture”. From there it was a piece of cake. By trial and error I resized until I was ready to print. (Print preview was my friend.) Once printed at my ideal size, I cut out the template and taped it together.

Personal Photo

Since this was a last-minute DIY (ahem, the day before our e-session), I just decided to use some on-hand foam board instead of styrofoam. (Sidenote: I may go back later and tack on styrofoam to my foam board to add width and allow my ampersand to stand on his own). I traced in pencil and cut out with an xacto knife. (I recommend cutting the holes in the center prior to the outside to prevent bending and creasing of the board.) Since my cutting wasn’t exactly smooth, I then rubbed down the edges with medium-grade sandpaper.

Personal photos

I was very pleased with the results, and we were able to use them it in our shoot the next day. My ampersand project isn’t quite complete though. I plan on doctoring him up for the actual wedding. I’ll definitely let y'all know what I decide to do with him next.

Personal Photo

Have you fallen prey to the ampersand? Or is there another wedding detail that has captured your attention?