Kelly McCord Photography Blog

Guest Book Engagement Albums

 

I get asked by brides all the time if I do guest book engagement albums (or rather, if I can create a guest book using photos from their engagement shoot), and the answer to that is a resounding YES!!! In fact, I LOVE it!!  I think it's such a fun, creative way to feature your engagement photo session, in a way that you'll actually keep out, and look at.  Not only is it a unique way to display your engagement photos, (along with being archival; so it will last for your children's children to see), but it's something you can keep out and actually have on your coffee table, to look at and read your family and friend's wishes, blessing, and congratulations again and again.  It's such a dear thing to have, especially to be able to read the loving messages left by those family members who are no longer with you, years after the wedding day.

 

Ross and I did the (also fun) mat-to-sign around our favorite engagement picture (which is another fun, keepsake-y way to feature your engagement photo, but the only bummer is, you can only do one or a couple photos -- this way you get to have MANY favorites).  We've got our mat/photo framed in our bedroom, and I still (even almost 10-years past)  read people's messages to us all the time. Unfortunately, since the wedding, two of my grandmas have since passed, but I treasure and love looking at what they had to say, in their own hand. I think the guest book engagement album encourages your guests to do more than just sign their name (as you would with a regular guest book. It asks them to pause and write something (hopefully) meaningful or funny (or both), that you can look at again and again.  That's why I love these albums; because it turns into a dynamic memory from your wedding day. And like I said, instead of throwing it in a box, to rarely be seen again (as I would guess most traditional guest books are), it's a beautiful, photo-filled time-capsule from your wedding day.

I wanted to show you one of the more fun and whimsical guest book albums I've done recently. In fact, I just finished it and I'm so happy with it -- I can't wait to show my bride and groom, Shari and Austin.  They asked for something fun and artistic, with specific colors that will be featured on their wedding day. I tried to make it exactly what they asked for, and I'm thrilled with the results of this latest guest book engagement album.  If you'd like to see it in its entirety, you can do so by clicking here to be taken to their guest book album.

And I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful summer weather we've been having!!  I've been looking at it longingly out the window while I've been working at the computer!! =) (Also, if you'd like to see the pages I've included here a little larger, just click on them to see them bigger).

 

Kate and Matt's Isla de Mujeres Wedding Album

I've written before about how very blessed I was to be able to shoot Kate and Matt's wedding in Cancun, or more specifically, on the tiny little island of Isla de Mujeres, off the coast of Cancun. Where the island is so small most people get around by golf cart (including us, with all our photography gear!) -- it was an adventure, to say the least, and such an incredible pleasure and honor!! =)  And not only was it super-awesome to get to shoot a destination wedding (and I'm open and willing to do more destination weddings, people!! all you have to do is ask!!!).

ANYhow, I loved not only getting to shoot their wedding, but get to know Kate and Matt, along with their friends and family!  Really, it was one of the highlights of 2007!!  Definitely one of the highlights. My cousin Mia, is a flight attendant, for a private airplane, and Matt is one of the pilots she flies with, and she referred me to Kate and Matt, so again -- thanks Mia!! It was so fun, and I have you to thank!

So we just had the Bridal Expo, last weekend, and I made two new albums to show prospective clients; the one in the post below, of M'Kenzi and Jordan's wedding at (the incredible and fabulous) Rancho Soquel, but also of Kate and Matt's amazingly awesome Isla de Mujeres wedding, on Zama Beach (I'm not sure if it's 'on Zama Beach' or 'at Zama Beach Resort), but either way, that's where it was; Zama Beach Resort. Anyway, I wanted two very different albums, and so I did the local Rancho Soquel wedding (to see that album, it's the post below this one), and Kate and Matt's Isla de Mujeres, very Mexcian, very destination wedding-y wedding.  As I was with the Rancho Soquel album, I was really so excited and happy with how this album turned out. In fact, I can't decide which one I like the most, as they're both completely different and unique, both in style, and the look and feel of both.  If you'd like to check out the album I made to show clients Kate and Matt's destination wedding, you can click here, to go see the wedding album slideshow.

It's fun for me to see the wedding all together in an album (even if you're only seeing it online), as when I shoot, throughout the day, I am shooting with the final album in mind, and I think both of these wedding albums show that.  So go check out Kate and Matt's album, and then, if you want to see more wedding album goodness, click here, to read about M'Kenzi' and Jordan's Rancho  Soquel Wedding album.

Also, if you'd like a quick peek of how my booth looked at the wedding fair this year, here's how it looked (can you believe that none of my friends/fellow photographers brought their cameras? I'm not kidding, isn't that funny? I asked 3 other friends who were exhibiting there, and none of us had brought a camera with us. So please forgive the iPhone-esque nature of this photo!). =) But it at least gives you an idea of how it looked (I'm so embarrassed - these are literally the worst quality photos I've ever posted -- augh!)...click on 'continue reading' to see rest of the photos from the Bridal Expo! =)

And, many, many, many thanks goes to my dear friend Megs, for working the Bridal Expo with me -- Megs, you're the absolute BEST!!  And I can't forget my incredible Aunt Susi, who did all the super-fun,, whimsical flower arrangements for my booth -- she is ALSO the absolute BEST! =) (Click here to be taken to her website, and see some of her wedding work, it's amazing).

M'Kenzi and Jordan's Rancho Soquel Wedding Album

I recently finished an album for one of my favorite weddings of the year, Jordan and M'Kenzi's!  If you haven't seen their photos, please feel free to check their wedding photos and slideshow out by clicking here.  

If you would like to look at the album we designed for them, you can see their shiny-new album by clicking here. I'm thrilled with how it turned out, as I had my incredibly-talented-super-awesome-hubby design the whole album for me, and not only that, but my album company did an INCREDIBLE job with it; the colors are gorgeous and so saturated, and it's just one of my all-time faves!  You have to see it in person to really do it justice, but the web-version gives you a good feel for how the album looks! =) Stay tuned, I also created an album for my adorable Mexico couple, Matt and Kate, which I'll be posting here soon!   So check back in the next couple of days to see another new album! =)

Jill and Rob's Wedding Album

I've written before about Jill and Rob, when I posted their engagement photos,. They had a really fun wedding in Santa Cruz, with the reception at the Holy Cross hall, and it was so crazy at the time that I didn't post the photos, but I'm happy to finally be able to show you their album!

I absolutely love Jill and Rob, (their families are great too, in particular, I loved Jill's mom), and their wedding was such a great celebration.  I just finished their wedding album, which I'm thrilled with, (and coincidentally, so is Jill! Yay for that!).  And because I'm so happy with their album, I thought I'd post it here, for all of you to see.  To see the slideshow of their album, click here.

Designing the album, for me is the final step of the process.  It's actually surprising to me that not every bride wants an album, as to me, that's the ending of the wedding journey, and the keepsake that you have forever. Granted, I know it's great to have beautiful prints, but to me, the album is the peice de resistance, and what you show your children and grandchildren. The album is the final, (and beautiful) sentimental souvenir from the wedding. I mean, lets be honest, brides (and some grooms) =) put SO much time and effort into their weddings, yet at the end of it all, the cake gets eaten, the dress goes into a box, the bridesmaids dresses get thrown away immediately, are put in the back of the closet, ;) the tux goes back to the shop, and at the end of it you're left with your rings,  your spouse and your photos. That's what you have left to remember one of the most momentous days of your lives together.  And in my opinion, if you don't have an album, while you may have photos, you don't have a beautiful record of the story of THE day.

And because I'm a photojournalistic wedding photographer, I'm shooting with the album/story in mind, and when you don't get an album, you don't get to see the final product, or the whole vision. You definitely get peices of it, but getting prints is just not the same.  This is one of the reason I offer an album credit with my package now, because I want brides to have the final, beautiful story of their day, beacuse I want them to have it!  Anyhow, sorry for the slight rant. =)  If you want to see Jill and Rob's album, click here.

And if you'd like to see more albums, click here, and you'll get a list of the albums posted on this site.

Heather and Chris - The Album

One of my favorite weddings that I shot last year, with one of my favorite families, was Heather and Chris's at Villa Montalvo (one of my favorite wedding sites). And my favorite florists Susi (my Aunt), and Katie, of of Susi's Flowers did the beautiful flowers.  It was another one of those weddings where everything is perfect; the choices made, all the details, the people. It was not only beautiful, but it was fun.  I have hardly uploaded any of my 2006 weddings, because I've been so busy, but now that things are slowing down for the next couple months (okay 2 months), I'm going to be showing you guys a lot more from last year.  So to start, here's the album Ross designed for me, of Heather and Chris' wedding. 

I asked him to design this one.  It's a bit more arty than my standard albums, but I wanted to show a more artistic side, and we thought this wedding woud be the perfect one to design around. It's got a lot of artistic elements; swirls and flourishes --  I think the arty touches really add to the look and feel of the album.

If you'd like to see the album, you can do so by clicking here; Heather and Chris' Villa Montalvo Wedding Album.

There are a couple things to note, first of all, I didn't put the cover in the slideshow, so I included it here (the red cover, above), and the album is a horizontal layout, so it's longer horizontally than it is  vertically.  And because the album showcase software that I use doesn't have a horizontal layout, I put it in the square layout, so you can see how it looks, but there is a lot of white space on the top and bottom of the pages, which isn't how it looks in person.   I love the design of this album, and Ross did such a great job. I love how it turned out, and while it looks even better in person,  this at least gives an idea of what it looks like. 

I loved shooting Heather and Chris, not just their wedding, but their engagement shoot, as well.   And I'm so blessed to be shooting Heather's sister, Oriana, later this year, which will be, I'm sure, another great wedding

Jacey and Pat's Album

I've been in the trenches trying to catch up and finish editing the rest of the weddings from 2006. Because I was able to be with my grandma for the last few weeks of her life, I had to take a break from photo editing in order to be with her, in her last days. So while I'm incredibly grateful to have had that time with her, it has put me really behind in editing. I'm so grateful to the amazing clients I have, who have been more than understanding about the whole situation.

Not only am I frantically trying to catch up with finishing my weddings, but also trying to get ready for the wedding fair, which  means getting my albums together, to show my more recent work.  Ross has been really helping me put the albums together (what a lucky girl I am, to have such an incredible designer as a husband!!).  One of the albums we made, was from Jacey and Pat's wedding. I really love how it turned out. If you want to see this album, you can do so by clicking here.

Thanks again, to my clients for being so great, and SO understanding.  It really meant a lot to me to get to spend so much time with my dear grandma, in the last few weeks of her life.  So thank you for understanding that, and being so patient. I want you to k now I have (literally) been working around the clock trying to finish up your weddings. For example, I was up 'til 6a.m. this morning, slept from 6-11a.m., and then Ross woke me up with a Red Bull, and I'm off again. I've been keeping a nutty pace like that for the last 2 weeks, trying to get back on top of everything. I obviously can't keep up that pace for much longer, but if I can finish editing the rest of my 2006 weddings, I'll relax and go back to a not-insane schedule.

Album: Aaron and Shiloh's Wedding

As I talked about yesterday, here's Aaron and Shiloh's virtual wedding album. Set to The Cure's, Just Like Heaven.  This is the coffee-table, magazine-style, fine art book I made of Aaron and Shioh's wedding. I love how it turned out.  And last night, Marianne and Gary  asked me to make them an album from their wedding photos, so I get to design two books. I can't wait to see how they turn out, and once they're ready, I'll post them here.  To see Aaron and Shiloh's album, Click here.

Virtual Wedding Album Online

I'm offering my brides a modern take on the traditional album. They're coffee-table, magazine-style, fine art books. I just got software that lets me post them online, so if you're interested, you can check out the one I made for Ryan and Julie's wedding, by clicking here:

Ryan and Julie's virtual album.

If you think it looks good online, you should check it out in person, it's absolutely stunning. Brides couldn't put the books down at the recent Bridal Expo that I exhibited at.

I'm in the process of creating one for Chris and Aubri, and I've already made one for Shiloh and Aaron, which I'll post later on today, or tomorrow.