What to give for Valentines Day?

What to give for Valentines Day?  Valentines Day is one of those holidays in my family where we really don't exchange gifts, just give or do little things that say "I love you" what a better way To do that than a Book that says just that "Why i love you!"  Check them out http://www.couturephotocreations.com/ Link to the HM website and sign in for your Free account!  there is also a Video on the Sign up page that  will tell you all about Heritage Makers!  as an incentive to get you started we are offering a FREE premier Weekend!  Which Means you get all our Premier templates and embellishments for FREE!! 

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectId=1594168&productId=5&projectSponsor=505662

Fixed the Problem!!!

I have been getting some really great feedback from my new webiste http://www.couturephotocreations.com/ but couldnt figure out why my leads were stoping there?  Well I figured it out.  My landing Page on my webiste wasnt quite working prperly.  It is now so go check it out and see what this company is all about!

Make it Match!!

One of my favorite parts of planning weddings and designing events is the attention to detail that needs to be given.  Everything that you create for a single event needs to have at least one thing in common, an aspect that makes everything fluid.  One way of making sure this happens when planning your own wedding is creating your stationary to match.  Everything from Invitations to seating charts, thank you cards, save the date cards, wedding ablums, centerpieces and programs.  Heritage Makers is a great company that lets you pick and choose the products and create them yourself!  This is a great tool for all thoes DIY brides out there who need to have their hand in their wedding!  Check you the website and feel free to contact me if you have any questions!!
http://www.couturephotocreations..com/

Formal Wedding Album
12x12 Storybook
View this project

Formal Parent’s Album
8x8 Storybook
View this project

Wedding Story
8x8 Storybook
View this project

Formal Sign In Book
11.5x8.5 Storybook
View this project

Formal Family Fold
5 Panel Family Fold
View this project

Change of Address Cards
Playing Card Deck
View this project

Wedding Poster
18x24 Poster
View this project

Click here to go to the template gallery.

http://support.heritagemakers.com/comm/promo/2009/wedding/index.htm

Photography Trends in 2011

A wedding photo is meant to preserve your fabulous day for the rest of your life -- it's not just your new profile pic on Facebook after all! But nuptial shots can look stiff and boring if you're not careful -- or worse, just like everyone else's. How can you make them unique? Here are new wedding photography ideas that'll take you from pre- to post- "I do."

Before the Reception...

1. Become the Center of Attention
Instead of flowers, fill photo cubes with different shots from your dating history or world travels and then use them as table centerpieces. It's a great conversation-starter and a nice way for guests to learn more about the early stages of your relationship. And unlike fresh blooms, you can decorate your home with these afterward. Make a deck of playing cards with your pictures on them and leave them on the table for your guests to play with an aww over! Use a photo tile as your certer piece they are cheap and you can make them as large or as small as you want.  Check out http://www.couturephotocreations.com/ for more tips on making yourself the center of attention. 

2. Be the Favors
Have your photo imprinted on cookies and leave one at each place setting. Opt for a black-and-white, vintage-looking image so it doesn't come out cheesy. Wrap the cookie in wax paper and tie with a ribbon. Then let guests eat their hearts out -- and your faces off!

3. Head to the City
Engagement cityscape shoots are popular because of the iconic quality of posing by recognizable landmarks. No skyline? Shooting against an urban brick wall can convey the same message. Use your favorite image in your save-the-dates or, use Heritage Makers to create a one of a kind guest book with your pictures from your engagement shoot. You can display it in your home for years to come and its not just a bunch of names on paper.  http://www.couturephotocreations.com/ 




During the Reception...
4. Ditch the Formality
Try some casual shots, like the bride sitting on a staircase right after the ceremony breathing a sigh of relief, with champagne at her feet. Or consider finding an "unofficial" setting. If your reception is at a country club, take pics on the golf course. Ask your photographer to get candids of your group making their way there. It's those between-the-moments photos that always turn out best.



5. Go Behind the Curtain
Rent a photo booth and a technician to troubleshoot. Have guests tape wacky shots next to their messages in the guest book. Or create a DIY photo studio in a section of the reception room. Hang a nine-foot-wide seamless paper for a backdrop and bring a printer so guests can take photos home.

6. Let it Slide
Run a slideshow of images from the ceremony and cocktail hour from your photographer's laptop and project them on a screen during dinner. Guests will love looking at what they just experienced, and they'll have plenty to talk about at the tables. 

After the Reception...

7. Go Digital
Instead of mounting a few photos on a wall in traditional frames, display a bunch in a single digital frame. Upload multiple images from a memory card or your computer and watch a slideshow of your day. You can even add music. It makes a great gift too.

8. Book 'Em
Skip the traditional album (the one with thick-as-cardboard, single-photo pages) in favor of high-quality coffee table books, like Heritage Makers.   The images are printed on paper, and the layout is more like what you'd see in a magazine. You can add embelshements and even make douplicates for parents.  Its a much more classic look and less stuffy than a traditional album.


9. Learn to Preserve
Enlarging some final prints on Heritage Makers website and making some great galley wrapped canvanses is a great touch to your home!   When archiving your photos and negatives, choose acid-free boxes, negative-sleeves, and binders. They're pricey, but the absence of acid prevents your photos from yellowing or deteriorating.

Photos from top: Almasy Photo; Modern Wedding Photography; Kristin Spencer Photography
 Stephanie Emma Pfeffer
http://www.theknot.com/

Come Check out what Heritage Makers is all about!  Check out the YouTube video!

Heritage Makers’ unique concept of storybooking continues to grab attention from people everywhere. With over 6,000 consultants, more than 100,000 clients, and 40,000 plus pieces of art, Heritage Makers meets the demands of a fast growing business while providing treasured keepsakes that preserve family stories and legacies.

Founded in 2005 by Doug Cloward, President of Heritage Makers, and Sharon Murdoch, Heritage Makers Co-founder and board member, Heritage Makers has become the leader in personal publishing. This direct-selling based company teaches others how to preserve their heritage through storybooking. Heritage Makers’ online program allows clients to personally design books, cards, calendars, posters and more that highlight their families and friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-VN9uRk23c

Shannon Oakley
Personal Consultant
509-723-3970
http://www.couturephotocreations.com/

Digitize your Photos

Photographs can be lost due to catastrophic events, improper care and environmental damage. They can become faded, scratched or torn. Even stored photos may deteriorate over time. Restoring, preserving and digitizing old photographs can save them for future generations to enjoy.

Photographs capture our memories, as well as our histories. Old photographs are often passed from generation to generation, creating an informal family history.
Because of the importance of photographs to memory and history, restoring photographs has become important for many. However, although restoring photographs was once a tedious task, advances in photo technology and digital media make preserving photos a much easier process (Photography.com).

For the upcoming new year make it one of your resoultions to
organize your old photos and digitize them.  Take your mothers or fathers photos and digitize them and make copies for all the children and grandchildren.  No more fighting over photo memories when a loved one passes you can douplicate them. 
For as low as 19 cents a picture I can make them on to a CD for you with a professional Kodak scanner. 
Dont put it off any more.  Even if you don't or can't inlist my help do it.  Make the time, the money is minimal (100 photos is less than 20$).  You won't be disapointed!

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to all my Blogger friends. I hope all your holidays were as great as ours was.  Santa was quite good to all of us this year.  We are so thankful for all those friends and family we were able to spend the season with.  To me that's what holidays are about, friends and family. 

  As another year passes and we begin to look forward to 2011 I am reminded of what a great year 2010 was.  Moving to a new city and being able to branch out on my own and Couture Events came to be. I went from a Dreamer to a Doer. 

2011 will prove to be better and more inspiring than 2010.  I am not only growing Couture Events and Designs but I have recently joined forces with Heritage Makers in an efforts to support and grow my business, but also to bring my passion of pictures and the joy they bring to others.  I believe pictures are what we have.  Memories are subject to memory but pictures, if preserved properly, can live on once our memory has failed us.  If we take the steps now to preserve what we have the generations to come can have a sense of who  their ancestors are and where they came from. In turn understanding where one comes from lends a hand to knowing who you are.

I am looking forward to this adventure and hopefully you will follow along with me.