Your Wedding Photos and Videos: Make Them Eternal, Artistic Keepsakes

If the rule of thumb for planning a wedding is to start a year ahead of time, hiring a photographer and a videographer or at least asking for their input should be close to the same date. Acquiring a good relationship with your photographer early on is important because you want him to attend your wedding from the beginning to the end, so he can capture every memorable moment for you to reminisce many years afterwards.

With fancy and elaborate weddings, as well as with impromptu weddings or weddings on small budgets, a good photographer will be the most important person to hire. Most photographers, since they have an eye for color and design, can give precious tips in the planning stage before the couple and their parents start spending money.

After the wedding of a daughter of a friend when the wedding photos arrived, the newlywed bride burst in tears. She thought, when in print, the pansy motif background and the purple and pink bridesmaid gowns mixed and clashed with each other, making the bride and the groom look cheap against a ridiculous background. Had they consulted with the photographer beforehand about the colors and designs of the flowers, the decorations, the background, and the bridesmaids' outfits, her heartache could be avoided.

My daughter-in-law hired a very apt photographer who gave her a good deal by including the videography in the overall price. Moreover, when he found out that the beach with the sun coming up meant a lot to the couple, he made an appointment with them to have their photos taken at a local beach deserted at dawn. He had them dress in formal wear and enlarged the best photo to 16''x 20'' in size. He put a huge white border around the photo and everyone in the wedding signed on the border, scribbling a wish or two. Now, this is one of the most cherished possessions for the couple. It is truly priceless.

If you are on a budget and can't afford the fancy touches the photographer suggests, you might decide to put up big poster board on an easel for all the wedding guests' thoughts, wishes and signatures. Make sure you leave enough space in the middle of the board for a wedding photo. It will make a wonderful memento, not just for you but for your great grandchildren to come.

Giving the photographer freedom in creating spontaneous photos and letting him practice his or her artistic style always works for the couple's benefit. A qualified photographer will take the couple's wishes into account and work from there. Involving the photographer in every step of the way makes it possible for him to interact better with the couple and their families in order to see and learn their best angles before the wedding.

The alert photographer who took my nephew's wedding photos counseled the couple against holding their outdoor wedding at midday when it is the worst possible time to take photos. They decided on a late afternoon wedding and an early to late evening reception. Everyone was happy with the results because the photos and the video were spectacular.

A good photographer will let all wedding attendees into the photos. With closest relatives and friends of the couple taking the front row, every person who has attended the wedding deserves to be at least in a group picture. Giving the photographer a list and introducing him to the guests as they arrive is a good idea. Who wouldn't want to exhibit a magnificent album of wedding photos and a recorded video many years after when the wedding becomes a hazy image in most anyone's mind?

If you have a different videographer other than your photographer, it is a good idea to let him know, several weeks before the wedding, how you prefer things. Before you hire a videographer always ask to see samples of his work. For the videography, filming with a soft-box light turns out better than the flash or the video light. Audio quality is just as important as the video quality. Choosing a DVD recording instead of a VHS is always a good idea, since the DVDs can be divided into chapters and scene selections. Also a DVD will give you superior quality pictures and images.

Yet, the most important tip is this: You, the bride or the groom, when that great day comes, remember to be yourself while looking at the camera. Your photographer wants to capture you as a human being, not just a beautiful image.

May you and all the brides and grooms enjoy exceptional photo and video keepsakes to cherish for the rest of your lives.

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Creating a Cool Dorm Room

Shopping for college dorm room supplies can be really exciting. You want to get the essentials, but you also want your room to be cool. Your unique taste and personality can be showcased through the items that you pick and help turn a boring dorm room into a stylish pad that beckons friends to come hang out. Here are some ideas to make your college dorm room functional, fun and the envy of your fellow students.

The first thing to pick out is bedding. Check with the dormitory to see what size bedding you will need. A lot of dorms have "Twin XL" mattresses and you will have to find special dorm room sheets. When you are picking out your comforters, blankets and pillows, make sure that you purchase fabrics that are easy to clean. You may want to buy some extra pillows or cushions for your bed. These can double as extra seating when you have friends over to watch the game or have a pizza.

Next, you will need dorm room furniture. In college, bean bag chairs and Futons are staples. You have got to have comfortable places for you and your friends to crash. Don't forget, Futons double as beds when you have overnight guests. Check with your dormitory to see if you will need a desk to study at. Most dorm rooms have built-in desks and they may or may not provide the chair as well. If you have a comfortable computer chair, you may want to bring it because you will likely be spending a lot of time in it.

Studying is a lot easier if you have an organized work space designed to meet the unique needs of the college student. Dry erase boards and calendars make it easy to keep yourself informed of upcoming tests, parties and study dates. Bulletin boards can help you keep your keepsakes and pictures out on display where you can enjoy them. Getting a charging station for all of your electronics is also a good idea. This keeps things like your laptop, cell phone, camera and MP3 player all together and charging so that they are ready to go when you are.

Ask your school for a supply list of things that most students need when moving into the dorms. Most dorms provide closet space and drawers for your things, but you will need to remember the little things like hangers, lamps and cooking supplies. If you know who your room mate is going to be, you can get together and figure out what items you can share and which ones you will need to purchase.

Finally a room that you can decorate however you want! Posters, dorm bedding and signage are an important part of making your dorm room your own. You can do almost all of your college dorm room shopping online. This can help you to avoid having to ask your parents for questionable items, like a dart board, shot glasses and, of course, the coveted inflatable beer pong table. When your dorm room is stocked with party essentials, a workable study space and lots of seating for friends, you will be ready to make your dorm room your home.

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CHA-S Spellbinders Demo

Megan Hoeppner, Creating Keepsakes creative editor, joins Kazan of Spellbinders to learn fun inking techniques using the Wizard die cut machine.

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Creating a Home Office is a Great Way to Get Organized

Some people assume that keeping a household in order is easy, you do the dishes, mow the lawn, pay the bills and everything runs smoothly. The problem is; there is a lot more involved in having a home and a family than these three things. Even more so, a household can generate a great deal of paperwork. In addition to paying monthly bills, you will need to organize tax documents, warranties for items you purchased and health documents concerning each family member. There are also items like insurance policies, schoolwork, licenses, and keepsakes. All of these items can create a big mess if not properly stored and organized. The best way to do this is to create a home office that gives you a place to store the items, and to take care of the tasks that keep a home ticking. This way, everyone will know where to look for important papers when they are needed. Even if you are not around, others in the home will be able to make sense of the office and narrow down their search to a drawer or cabinet within the room which is less stressful when dealing with daily tasks and family emergencies.

Creating a home office does not take a lot of work. The hardest part is determining where the space will be. If you have an entire room in which to work, consider yourself lucky. You can move a desk into the space, install some Pendant lighting or Vaxcel lighting, get a comfy office chair and you are practically set. In other cases, you may need to improvise and use a space that is part of another room. Either way, there are a few must have items to make your home office all it can be.

Once you have found your space, you need to make sure you have all of the materials to keep things organized. Design a system that not only makes sense to you, but is simple to understand. Buy file folders or boxes and store documents by subject and year. This way, everyone will know to look for a paper under its name from the appropriate year. Masterfiles make it easy to find policies that do not get updated or warranties that stay the same throughout their lives. Next, stock up on envelopes, stamps, and anything else you may need to work and organize. Locate a large family calendar in a central location in the space so everyone knows what is on the agenda. You can also use this to organize due dates for bills and other deadlines.

After the organizing is done, you can begin to accessorize and make the space personal. No one wants to spend time in a drab room that could belong to everyone. Personalizing your home office is a lot of fun to do, and it makes working in the space a lot more fun as the years pass by. A home office is a great way to get clutter under control and give a sense of organization to your entire home.

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