I know I’ve written about how your guests will email you photos they took at your wedding, but what are you going to do with all of them?  Just store them in a file on your computer? 

How about making a digital scrapbook?  With digital photographs, creating an album online is easier than ever!

I recently learned about a fabulous digital scrapbooking company, Scrapblog, which will allow you to create beautiful pages for your wedding scrapbook, for free!   They have hundreds of templates to fit a variety of occasions, including dozens in the wedding category.  You can add text, graphics, audio and even video to it! 

Once you’ve designed your pages, print them out or have them bound into a book, or email them to your friends and family. 

I know the process sounds a little daunting, but I swear on Aggie, it’s really simple.  Click here to take a tour of the whole process!

I just got back from a luncheon hosted by Brides.com for wedding bloggers.  It was so lovely.  I finally got to meet the authors of some of my favorite blogs, including:  Always a Bridesmaid, Brooklyn Bride, Eco-Chic Weddings, It’s a Jamie Thing, NearlyWed, Perfect Bound, Wedding Bee and Wedding Dish.  And of course the editors of Brides.com's blog, Wedded Bits were there too.

Everyone talked about how they started their blog and what some of their popular features are.  I think the most surprising item was the boudoir photo trend, posted earlier this year on Always a Bridesmaid’s Always a Blogsmaid blog.

Would you surprise your fiance with a boudoir photo?

• Absolutely! He'd love them
• No, it's not my style
• Maybe, it might be fun

From all the weddings you’ve been to you’ve probably seen dozens of wedding guests snapping photos with their digital cameras.  I’ve even written about it in past posts.  Once everyone emails you their photos you’ll probably have a huge folder on your desktop filled with wedding pics.  (And I’m not even talking about engagement party, bridal shower, bachelorette party and rehearsal dinner pics.)

While your first instinct will probably be to share these photos with friends and family, before you open up your email account, attach a lot of large attachments and click send, there’s a better way for you to share your photos, without clogging their in-boxes. 

Flash Drives can hold hundreds of your photos and you can easily carry it with you to mom and dads, your sister’s or friend’s house.  Slip the drive into their USB port and in a few seconds all of your wedding photos will be downloaded onto their computer.

Now, where to get a flash drive.  I like SanDisk’s Cruzer, available in 3 sizes – 2GB ($24.99), 4GB($39.99) and 8GB($79.99).  I have to admit, the reason I love them is really the case it comes in – black, red or pink “alligator” skin.

And once you’ve finished sharing your wedding pics, you can use it for anything else you need to share.  Bring files to meetings, put a presentation on it, etc.

I found the three flash drives I mentioned above at a discounted rate on TigertDirect.com.

I don't know if I've shared this one with you before.  But it's very important.

When meeting with photographers ask to see a complete wedding album - from getting ready to the ceremony and formal portraits thru the reception.  You don't want to view a "greatest hits" album - the best pictures he or she has ever taken at various weddings.  You need to know that the photographer you hire can consistently capture beautiful photographs throughout the course of the day, and not just a few good ones here and there.

This tip also applies to videographers.

I went to a concert last night and as soon as the music started all these lights popped up on the ground level in front of the stage. I pointed them out to Dave and commented how weird I thought it was that so many people brought lighters with them to a concert – you know the image of waving the flame in the air – and he looked at me and said, “Those aren’t lighters. They’re camera phones.”

I guess I haven’t been to a concert in a while, unless you count Barry Manilow with my grandmothers earlier this year – which was awesome by the way.

And of course I thought of a great wedding tip – forgive me if you’ve heard this from me before – you do not need to buy disposable cameras for your wedding. Most of the pictures taken with a disposable camera are blurry or only show part of somone's face. 9 times out of 10 they are not useable in any album.

Your guests will come with their own cameras – or camera phones – and e-mail you a link to the pictures they take as soon as they upload them to snapfish, flickr or another photo service they use. The cost of buying disposable cameras and developing the film can be put to better use – favors, invites, your dress, food.

I received hundreds of photos that friends and family took with their digital cameras on my computer and they didn’t cost me a thing!

Once the wedding is over all you have left are your memories - and your photo album and wedding video. But what if you could capture those images in a new way?

FlipClips is an online service where you can create a flip book from your wedding video. Just upload a 30-second video clip, select your book's size and customize the cover. Prices start at $8.99 per book.

Anniversary Reminder - The traditional first anniversary gift is paper. Why not create a flip book of your first dance or cake cutting for your husband?

If you missed our series of tips by Adrienne Page on how to hire a wedding photographer, here are the links to each one:

Style
Personality
Packages
Digital vs. Film
Price Point

Photo Credit: Adrienne Page

I asked wedding photographer Adrienne Page for her tips on what to look for when hiring a photographer. Here's her fifth tip:

Price Point: Photographers can range significantly in their pricing. Some important things to consider are the photographer’s experience and whether they have been published. The rule of thumb is to spend about 10% of your budget on your photographer. However, depending on how important your wedding images are in relation to other expenses – the band, flowers, food - you should decide for yourself what percentage to spend.

Wedding Note: When getting a price quote from wedding photographers, find out exactly what’s included: number of shooters, hours, wedding albums, the negatives, and transportation to and from the wedding. If prints and albums are not included find out what those costs are. And make sure to get everything in writing before handing over the deposit.

Photo Credit: Adrienne Page

I asked wedding photographer Adrienne Page for her tips on what to look for when hiring a photographer. Here's her fourth tip on what to look for when hiring a wedding photographer.

Digital/Film: There are photographers that still shoot film while others shoot digital images. Know that there is a difference and decide which best fits your style.

Some photographers are not willing to give up the structure of the grain in film and its printing options. It may be a bit more expensive because you get the best of both worlds - digital capabilities (the negatives can be scanned), archiving images both digitally and with negatives, and you get to have custom darkroom prints or digital prints.

Digital is another option that creates a different look and it can allow photographers to be incredibly creative as well. You may also want to research the size of digital files the photographer shoots to see if that fits your needs.

Wedding Note: When you’re meeting with photographers, ask them whether they shoot in film or digital. Weigh the look of the pictures they shot and the cost of the photographer before making a decision.

If you hire someone who shoots in digital, ask them if they upload all of the images to a website or give you a CD with the images. If you opt for film, ask about the cost of development and if you own or can buy the negatives so you can develop pictures in the future on your own.

Photo Credit: Adrienne Page

I asked wedding photographer Adrienne Page for her tips on what to look for when hiring a photographer. Here's her third tip on what to look for when hiring a wedding photographer.

Package: Understand your photography package and how the elements of it affect both what you want and the price you pay. For instance, if you want a finished album and it is not included, check on how much will this add to your budget and if it is even an album that you like?

Find out how the images will be presented to you - would you rather a proof book or proof prints? Talk to the photographer about reworking the elements of the package to better fit your preferences.

Photo Credit: Adrienne Page

I asked wedding photographer Adrienne Page for her tips on what to look for when hiring a photographer. Here's her second tip on what to look for when hiring a wedding photographer.

Personality: The photographer is the one vendor you spend most of your wedding day with, so finding somebody that you are comfortable being with at this exciting (and stressful!) time is important. You need someone who can keep your spirits high and take control of situations while maintaining a gentle presence.

Photo Credit: Adrienne Page

Choosing the right photographer is very important. After your wedding, your photographs will be one of the few tangible items from your wedding day. Before signing a contract do a lot of research and hire someone whose work you love and whose personality you get along with.

I asked wedding photographer Adrienne Page for her tips on what to look for when hiring a photographer. Over the next few weeks I’ll post her advice, as well as some of the beautiful pictures she’s captured at recent weddings.

Style: There are many different styles of photographers and finding one that best fits your individual style can be daunting. Some may be described as soft & romantic, fun or funky while they all categorize themselves as a photojournalistic photographer. Even though he or she is categorized as “photojournalistic”, every photographer sees the world differently through their lens.

Always review a potential photographer’s portfolio and be sure that you love the feeling you get by looking at their images. Additionally, ask to see a complete wedding to get a better sense of their style once you have narrowed it down to a few photographers. Finding somebody that you trust to capture your event and to interpret the day is important.

Click one of the links below to read another tip from Adrienne:

Why the photographer's personality matters
Learn about different wedding packages
Digital vs. film photography
Working within your photography budget

And click here for more wedding planning tips.

Photo Credit: Adrienne Page

You can ask your wedding planner, photographer, videographer or bridesmaid to make sure that you and your groom have a few minutes to enjoy this once in a lifetime moment – either in private or in front of your bridal party.

As you can see from this photo from Roseanne and Josh’s wedding, the two of them saw each other and had a few minutes to speak before formal portraits began. They looked into each other’s eyes and said, “I love you” and “you look beautiful.” Not only did they get to share the moment, but also photographers – professional and friends- as well as the videographer captured it on film. So maybe it’s not private in the traditional sense, but from the look of it, the two of them don’t even realize that they are the center of attention. They’re in their own world and about to enjoy the happiest day of their lives.

When I got engaged Dave brought a camera (a disposable one) and took pics of me screaming and crying but we were by ourselves and didn’t have anyone to take a picture of the two of us.

I wish we did.

While it might not be in the budget to hire a professional photographer to snap pics of your guy getting down on bended knee, he can ask a friend or relative to take pictures – though if he does choose a friend he'll have to hide since you may recognize him.

This billboard went up last week in New York City. A very romantic guy had it installed for his proposal to a very lucky lady. The groom-to-be hired a professional photographer, Missy Grimm to capture the huge declaration of his love, the moment he proposed and her reaction. (In case you were wondering, she said yes.)

What do you think? Would you want someone taking pictures of your proposal, or would you rather it be a private moment?

Like most brides, the photos from my engagement party, shower and random planning stages are in bags and boxes in my closet. I have no time to organize them, let alone put them in an album – even though I bought one in lavender and had it stamped with our names and wedding date.

But now there is an easy solution for brides too busy to organize or put their photos in albums. Kolo, the photo album company, has two great options for busy brides and wives. First, the Kolo Album Bar with two locations – in New York City and Hartford, CT – lets you can take your pictures to a specialist who will either organize your photos or edit and put them in a Kolo album for you. The service starts at $30 and varies depending on the number of pictures you have.

If you don’t live in the tri-state area, you can go to My Kolo Album and upload your photos online and create an album using their new software program.

They offer a lot of options for couples looking to create their own wedding album and scrapbook as well as storage boxes for all your proofs.

Having trouble deciding on a videographer? You’re not alone. Memories of an older siblings' tape of Mickey and Minnie dancing across the screen or a huge video camera and bright light making its way around the dance floor keep many couples from hiring a videographer. But times have changed, and just as the traditional photographer has evolved into a photojournalist, videographers are now videojournalists.

I was recently introduced to Kristen, owner of Bliss* Video Productions based in California. I watched every sample clip on her website, and if you're getting married in LA, San Francisco, or somewhere nearby I suggest you take a look too.

Kristen's choice of music and editing techniques create a unique video reflecting the bride and groom’s personalities, style as well as the look and feel of the day.

Don't shy away from video. Yes, a picture says a thousand words, but there's something wonderful about seeing you and your husband reciting your vows, sharing your first dance and watching the faces of your parents, grandparents and friends.

For myself, I love that I can watch my grandfather smiling and laughing at my wedding and I know my kids will one day enjoy watching their parents on the small screen.

Are you thinking of getting video? Can't decide? What's keeping you on the fence?

Sorry for the tardy post, but today's my fourth wedding anniversary so Dave agreed to let me pick anything I wanted to do. So I dragged my groom to the Met for some culture. He is not a museum fan.

But being at the museum got me thinking about our wedding album, which I'm still working on. And it's looking good - well worth the wait.

Now that so many photographers shoot in digital, there are a variety of companies that you can go to to create your album. And if you complete it by your first anniversary, it can be your "paper" present to each other. (Paper is the traditional gift for the first anniversary.)

Picaboo, an online company, allows you to create your own album customizing the cover, layout and background of each page. Prices start at $9.99 for an album with 20 pages, and additional pages are 99-cents each. And while you're designing on for yourself, you can eaisly create books for your parents and grandparents or anyone else who may want your big day on their coffee table.

As for my fourth wedding anniversary gift, we skipped the presents and just gave each other a card and a big hug and kiss.

Well, here's a great one that can be a fun favor for guests, great additions to your wedding album or scrapbook, and a creative guestbook format.

You can rent an authentic photobooth from Photo Works Interactive. This nationwide rental service offers vintage '50s models as well as modern booths that can snap the well-known strip of 4 pictures and develop them in seconds.

Wedding Idea - Have a table set up near the booth and ask guests to cut off one of the images and paste them into your guestbook. Create a craft area with scissors, glue or double stick tape and colored pencils so guests can write you well wishes too.