Improve Your Scrapbook With These Wedding Scrapbook Layout Ideas

Among all life occasions, a wedding can be considered as women's favorite. Whether you're the bridesmaid, or the bride, weddings just give this giddy feeling especially if those getting married are your close friends. All the excitement and fun rubs off all your female friends, making the wedding better than you expected. Of course, you also have to plan for everything, and that is the tricky part. But once everything is done, you and your spouse would have to sort through all the gifts and pictures that you have accumulated during your wedding. One good way to keep your pictures is to make a wedding scrapbook, and make your scrapbook standout with these wedding scrapbook layout ideas.

Before working on your project, it would be better if you sort your pictures first. Not all pictures are the same; there might be some candid shots, some professional shots, and some wacky shots that can be grouped together. Think of a theme for your scrapbook. Will this scrapbook just focus on your wedding day, or will it tell your personal love story? Will you be adding more pages in the future? Once you've figured out what you want to do, then you can go out and buy some supplies. Visit the nearest craft store and look for scrapbooking materials. Most stores have an aisle especially for scrapbooking, and you can surely find everything that you need: from scrapbook paper to twine to stickers to flowers and other ornaments for your scrapbook. You can even use materials like magazines and newspapers. It all depends on your creativity, and of course, your wedding scrapbook layout ideas.

Deciding on the layout of your scrapbook can be tricky, but there are a lot of websites that can help you in deciding on the look that you want. The most common and highly customizable wedding scrapbook layout idea is to create a collage of your pictures and post different pictures as one picture. There are different photo editing websites that you can use for your pictures. Use the online applications to edit and create your collage, and then download them or print them directly from the website. Another option, if you have more time, is to create the collage on your own. This can be a bit tricky, but with enough time and patience, you can surely get it done. Once you have finished with your scrapbook, put it somewhere where your visitor can admire your work. Who knows, you might even get requested to make your friends' wedding scrapbooks.

10 Brilliant Personalized 1st Wedding Anniversary Gifts

The 1st wedding anniversary is, without doubt, one of the most significant of all anniversaries. Like any first-time event, this anniversary is super special. It is the first time after marriage that the two of you are celebrating such a momentous occasion (not counting the birthdays). Expectations on her part run high -- naturally. She is eager to know just what lovely surprises you have planned for her on this important day.

One of the ways to ensure that you capture her heart all over again on your 1st anniversary is by completely avoiding run-of-the-mill stuff. In other words, don't present her with a faux leather handbag bought off a shelf in high street. You're headed for the dog house if she happens to run into the neighbour across the street who is sporting the same bag!

To avoid such disasters, plan your first anniversary gifts in a manner that make them exclusive - and that means, personalised. What are the top 10 personalised gifts that you can give her on your first wedding anniversary? Read on...

1. Handmade card or a handwritten letter. There's little that can beat a letter or card written in the giver's own hand. It makes the gift so very personal and meaningful. While a store-bought card may be more extravagantly worded, it lacks your personal signature. If you are writing a letter, use good quality paper, take time over the words as you highlight all the big and small moments that have become cherished memories of the past one year. You can affix your wedding photograph on the card cover to make it really exclusive and personal.

2. A personalised piece of jewellery. Jewellery is the number one choice of both, men and women, when it comes to anniversary gifts. But, make it personal by choosing the gemstone that corresponds to the 1st anniversary year (freshwater pearl). Have her name or both your names engraved on a heart-shaped pendant, or a bracelet.

3. A personalised memory book. If you have planned to give this as a gift, then start preparations from day one! Create a memorable memory book for her in which you stick favourite photographs -- wedding, honeymoon, other holidays and significant events - jot down romantic memories, verbalise your thoughts and feelings. Make her go all goose-bumpy when she gets hit by all that passion and romance that leaps out from every page.

4. A bespoke photo collage. Never underestimate the power of visual appeal. Decide the size of the montage you want to create -- huge or medium or something that she can comfortably place on her bedside table. Let your wedding photograph dominate centrestage and fill in the rest of the space with other photos of the two of you.

5. Personalised apparel and crockery. For a newly-married couple (after one year, you still feel newly-married, right?), cute and romantic gifts continue to be charming. So, monogrammed tees, dressing gowns, coffee mugs or even personalised photo quilts and pillow cases with motifs of hearts and heartbeats make for wonderful first anniversary gifts.

6. A gift basket of all her favourite things. This tells her something truly heart-warming -- that you are cued in to her likes and dislikes and have taken enough effort to assemble her favourites in one delightful hamper. Fill a gift basket with her favourite author's hardback edition, her favourite bubbly, chocolates, bath and beauty products -- and, of course, the mandatory red roses.

7. A song composed just for her! Have professional song-writers create a song just for her. Have the CD ready and waiting to be played when she wakes up in the morning of the big day. It will be your declaration of love to her that few gestures can match.

8. Personalised champagne flutes. Raise a toast to your love for each other with champagne flutes bearing your names on each glass, with your wedding date and year printed at the bottom. Don't forget a bottle of sparkling bubbly!

9. Let your latent talent woo her! If you have a talent for painting, carpentry, or if you are a wizard with high-tech gadgetry, why not create something unique and exclusive just for her? You could paint her portrait (or, alternatively, get both of you painted in oil on canvas) or make her a table, a bookcase, a shelf, just anything that she'll like and enjoy.

10. A bespoke poem. Have a poem written just for her. Add flourish by adding a special photograph alongside it. Have the whole thing framed attractively. It's your ode to all her many wonderful qualities that made you fall in love with her.

If you have put in a little thought and advanced planning into your gift, be sure she'll be over the moon. Nothing says, 'You are special' like a personalised gift.

Surprise Yourself - Try Personalised Photo Frames: The Easy Gift Everyone Loves

A Personalised Photo Frame is an ideal way to elevate a present into a gift that makes someone smile and feel special, it's wonderful to gift a gift that means something and is a joy to receive as well as to give.

Personalising a gift especially a photo frame creates a gift that's both memorable and shows the recipient is special, yet engraved gifts can be some of the simplest to order and give.

Children and teenagers love to receive gifts with their name engraved but Personalised Photo Frames are universally loved because it's such a thoughtful gift. A present that can be enjoyed and also used to display a photo the person who receives it really enjoys, it's a double gift suitable for all occasions.

Selecting a present for family or friends is always challenging, but it's hard to go wrong if you choose a frame as the central gift and ask for it to be engraved to suit the person or occasion.

For instance there are wonderful Wedding Photo Frames available but if those are not in the range of your budget a simple silver plated frame engraved to wish the happy couple well, is equally as welcomed and loved as any other gift.

The range of frame choices, especially online has grown so that it not only includes engraved text but engraved images alongside to add to the photo frame to create a special gift. If you are able to stretch to these slightly more expensive frames, they have some magnificent ranges online to suit Weddings, Birthdays, Graduation, and special family members such as frames for a sister, mum, dad, or grandma.

Professionally if you want a gift for a client a personalised photo frame is ideal, unlike many gifts a frame is an item the client will use and remember your company every time they look at the photo it contains. In fact for an extra fee many online engraving companies will engrave your business logo for corporate gifts, the extra expense is well worthwhile if you would like the client to appreciate your company and impress them.

Personalised gifts are loved so much that once you begin and see how easy it is to have your greetings, special message, or well wishes engraved on the wide and beautiful range of photo frame designs it will be easy to see that giving presents will never be difficult again. There is a frame for every occasion, Wedding Birthday, Graduation, Christening, New Baby, Anniversary, retirement, moving home, the list of occasions is endless.

Also you can find a frame material to suit the style of the person and their home, from stylish silver or gold to flattering woods like Oak and Walnut, to the stunning new designs like Layered Black Glass Photo Frames, there is a style, design and personalisation to suit everyone.

Wedding Photography - Traditional Or Trendy?

Wedding photography offers styles to choose from. Professional wedding photographers provide help for the bride and groom which wedding photography style they think would be appropriate for their taste. It is always time consuming and confusing for every bride and groom to decide on and pick a photographer with the precision in visual style, expertise, ethics and professionalism.

Professional wedding photographers employs the latest techniques in photography to keep up with the trend but one style doesn't fit all. The best thing to do is to focus on how you would want the images captured to create a prized possession. Have a detailed discussion and bare what's in your wish list to your photographer and come up with the best photography design appropriate and acceptable to you. These days' photographers boast of and rely on their sophisticated digital cameras to get the best shots. Providing quick and easy reviewing of the photos and probably retakes if need be.

There are two types of wedding photography styles to choose from: traditional and photo journalistic. Most couples need to understand the difference and it will help in decision making as to what style they would want for their wedding mementos.

Traditional Wedding Photography

Traditional wedding photography captures pictures of course, the traditional way with traditional poses. This is when all family members from different generation are present and has to be in the pictures. From the side of the groom's to the bride's family plus the combination of family, friends and the entourage take turns posing with the bride and groom for posterity. Not as pretty as the photo journalistic style but for those who value family from one generation to the next typically go for this style. It is the style that dictates the setting.

Photo Journalistic Wedding Photography

This is a very trendy approach and is ideally chosen by young and hip couples. It is more like taking pictures for a magazine and is like telling a story as it unfolds, a story of how it all began laid out in order. Wedding photojournalism "is characterized by its candid, creative and natural results spanning serious to humorous scenes as your wedding photojournalist documents the moment as it naturally happens." Photographer tries to take candid snapshots and capture best moments as well. This style usually devotes a day before the actual wedding to take photos of activities the bride and groom are into and captures images.

The most important decision in choosing a wedding photographer is to understand and identify what and how you want the images to come out. It would be helpful to allot more time when choosing and not regret on the decisions made. Remember, there is no way to fix the style of your photos once they are taken. It isn't something that you can return and exchange. You and your groom need to make sure their style is in sync with yours. The outcome will be a lifetime keepsake so make sure to go for the best flowers to the food and the gardens. Your wedding pictures will be a lifelong keepsake, so the wedding photography must be top-notch.

4 Things to Know Before You Book a Photo Booth Rental Company for Your Wedding

The big thing these days to have at a wedding reception, birthday party, reunion, or really any event is to have a photo booth. But if you have never rented a photo booth before what should you know?

The first thing you should ask is what type of camera does your photo booth use? Why is this important? Some photo booths use a "web cam" camera, these produce a lower resolution than normal cameras, they are cheaper for the photo booth operator to have in their booth and can cause blurry pictures. What you want in a photo booth is a DSLR camera, these are the cameras that the professional photographers use and provide the best photos.

The next thing you want to know is what type of printer they use. The worst case is a regular computer printer not made for photos, then there are "photo printers" that use the same type of ink cartridge as the regular printer. These printers do not give a good result and use the printer paper that you can buy at best buy or staples. You want a company that use the "sub dye" printers, these are more expensive printers (usually cost the operator about $1000) and uses a ribbon type of ink which provides the same prints as you would get at a photo store.

Does it cost for setup? Believe it or not some booth rental companies charge for setup. If you need them to setup hours before the event ask for a rate that would include "down time" which is time that the booth is not running.

What type of features does each package really contain? Ask about what you get with each of their packages. Plus if your event is not on a Saturday, ask if there is a discount for your date and what is their deposit.

Photo booths are a great way to wow your guest with custom photo strips with your information on them. It also gives a great conversation piece for all of your guest and something they can trade between each other. It is now a must have for every event for everyone. Also make sure to let your rental company know if your reception is on anything but the ground floor as some photo booths cannot go upstairs. One nice thing to do is if your photo booth operator is treating you good is to offer them food or even a tip.

If you want to spice things up a little bit you can ask about prop rentals or ask if you can use your own props for your event. This will make your photos more funny and interesting. One item you might want is a photo book if you are using it for a wedding, this way your will receive a copy of the strips to put into your book and everyone writes comments to you and you get to keep it as a present and is a perfect memory for your wedding. I highly suggest this as part of your package.

Also ask if you get the photos on a flash drive or CD for you to keep all the photos also that way or if they upload it to their web site or Facebook so all the guest can get a copy of other photos as well. This will make it more fun for all of your guests.

Digital Photo Wedding Album

For a contemporary, unique and highly personal wedding album, have you considered a digital wedding album created by you with the help of your wedding guests? The result is a wonderful collection of intimate, personal pictures presented as a top quality album in the style of your choice.

The days when wedding albums were heavy leather-bound paper tomes, inevitably stuck in the back of a closet gathering dust are long gone. A digital photo album is a fantastic coffee table book that you will want to show off and look through again and again.

Obviously professionally taken photographs are fabulous, but you cannot underestimate the variety and spontaneity of photographs taken by your friends and family. So many couples spend their wedding day in a whirl of excitement, with little time to draw breath, and many admit that after the wedding, they felt as if they missed out on spending time with many of their guests, particularly if it is a large wedding. Imagine the joy of looking through your wedding photos, contributed by your guests, and seeing your wedding through their eyes. Wedding guests often capture moments that are missed by the official photographer, and using a collection of photographs from several different guests will increase your chances of having photographs of the majority of your guests.

If you know in advance of the wedding that this is the kind of album you want, you can let your guests know so that they can use their best photography skills on the big day! If you have a few guests who are keen amateur photographers, they will probably be snapping away all day anyway, but if they know what you are planning to do with the pictures, they can really make the most of their talent. Make sure you have all aspects of the day covered including of course the bride at home before leaving, guests arriving at the venue (e.g. church), the wedding party (bride and groom, bridesmaids, parents etc) after the ceremony, the meal and the reception.

You will undoubtedly find photos that you absolutely love, and you may decide to have these printed to be framed and displayed in your home.

The process is simple. Sign up for the service. Create your album by choosing what page size you'd like to have. A classic wedding album size is 12" x 12". Setup your album for sharing with your friends and family. Invite them in to upload their best photos and or just browse through the collection of digital photos. Begin creating your album's pages using the photos uploaded in to the gallery. Creating a page is as simple as selecting the page design, dragging photos on to the design and optionally adding text.

For a special touch, you could add other elements to the album by scanning and then uploading them to the gallery, such as the wedding invitation, the order of service and the menu.

Once you are done designing your album you then publish it making it ready for ordering. You can decide on what paper weight and finish you'd like (satin or glossy).

Because the album is created online, it is easy to try different layouts and experiment with alternative templates in a way that is not possible with a conventional bound album.

As well as being truly individual style of wedding album, a digital wedding album can be a cost-saving way of presenting your photographs. Once you have your first digital photo album, you may never go back to traditional albums! Digital albums are great not just for weddings but any special occasion; digital pictures of a newborn make a fantastic baby gift and a selection of party photos is a great way to remember birthdays and anniversaries.

Great Poses for Your Wedding Party Photos - 3 Popular Ideas

More often than not, brides forget about specific wedding party poses for their wedding pictures. Typically, the bride will spend a lot of time looking through bridal magazines to find some beautiful poses for her and her husband and never put a second thought into the poses for her wedding party. We have decided, it is time that brides across the globe stop neglecting their wedding party pictures. So, we have put together a few pose ideas to influence your creative juices.

Here are a few of the most popular staged, but natural looking wedding photography ideas for your wedding party:

1. The bride should be standing tall facing away from the camera with her body but looking over her shoulder and downwards in the direction of the ladies in the wedding. The ladies should be sitting on the ground/floor facing the bride with their flowers being held up towards the bride.

2. Another great pose for the ladies of the wedding would be a picture taken from above. The bride and all of the ladies should hold their flowers up towards the camera so the photographer can get a close up of the flowers with the ladies smiling brightly in the background.

3. Pictures with the entire wedding party need to be a little more creative. For example, try having the groomsmen lined up on their knees looking over their shoulders at the camera while the bridesmaids are looking down at the men.

Feel free to take advantage of all of your wedding magazines. Look at the pictures and imagine your wedding party in those poses to determine the basic feel for what you want. You can be as creative with your photographs as you want. Talk to your photographer and even show him or her the magazine photographs that you like. Your photographer will be able to help you figure out the best poses for your wedding party that will meet your needs and personality perfectly.

If you have ideas, express them to your photographer and he or she will be able to tell you what poses will work and which ones are not going to work. Keep in mind, not all pictures that you see in a bridal magazine are going to work with your wedding party or even the season you are getting married in. Your photographer will likely have some great ideas for you to consider once he or she has the basic idea of what you are looking for.