Fun Project #1: Save the Dates!

As I keep finding more and more ideas for what to do with my Save the Dates, I'm almost overwhelmed. I have a general idea of what I want and I want to stay focused on the vision that I have. It's hard to feel unique when you see your idea translated and created by another bride. I'm so thankful, though, for all the of the wonderful resources online that brides have been sharing since the blog boom.

I love the idea of magnets, so your guests will have a constant reminder on their fridge of the upcoming nuptials. I also like the idea of including stickers for guests to mark in their other calendars. This may seem like overkill at times, but I think that if you send a Save the Date to someone and then an invitation, they have absolutely no excuse not to know when your wedding is. I would hope that this would cut out the "Oh I didn't knows" or "You should have told me sooner" or "I wish I knew ahead of time". That's the whole point of a Save the Date, right, to SAVE THE DATE.

Here's some inspiration from Melissa Jill, a Scottsdale-based photographer, who has a new line of Save the Date Cards:



Here is what I have come up with. I'm planning on maybe using these as the magnets and including another insert with information for our out of town guests. It's so hard to decide on just one idea, that I want to include everything! These are preliminary designs, with some others on the way.




Awesome engagement photos by our rad-tastic photographer, Travis Hoehne!

Mini-Vacation Here I Come

I luckily get to miss marketing planning, also known as "hours and hours of boring stuff". Very intellectual, I know.

I'm going down to San Diego to hang out with my cousins from Montana as well as the local San Diegans.

Thoughts on the future

I was reading archives from a wedding photographer's blog over the weekend, and her words just spoke to me so clearly. I was humbled to learn that she had the same fears and worries as I currently do about getting into the business. It's been a dream of mine for the past few years and the thought of working for myself has been very tempting. But it's hard to take that leap of faith and JUST DO IT. I don't think I'm quite at that point yet, but I'm getting there.

Speaking of a leap of faith, I decided to e-mail said photographer as an informational interview type thing. The worst that could happen is that she never responds. But my gut tells me that she probably will, because she seems like that type of person. I'm excited that I decided to just do it. The last time that I emailed a photographer was probably a year or so ago and I asked about how she started out, and she replied back, happy to be of help.

I still need to work on composition and lighting a lot. I've got a good hang on retouching and processing in Photoshop thanks to my class. I would definitely start out with this being a hobby/job on the side until I was able to take it on as a full time endeavor. I'm starting to looks a some lenses and thanks to borrowlenses.com can try some out before I buy. And they are located in San Mateo!

Jet Fuel is ruining my life.

If it wasn't bad enough that gas prices jump every single day (it's not even easing into this whole $4 thing), plane tickets are even more expensive thanks to uber-expensive jet fuel. What used to be $220 on a good day to fly to Dallas on American is now between $350-$400 if you're lucky. It would be fine if all these prices went up, and my salary went up with it in proportion. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

Hmmm, I feel the beginnings of an even wider poverty gap. Rich getting richer, poor getting poorer. I hope this economy starts to turn around come November.

I'm still for celebrity socialism. Those who spend $30,000 a month on gas can help.