What makes a great photo...?

Today I came to a realisation. Great photography doesn’t always depend on the photographer. Sometimes it depends on how beautiful the subject is. Well that is how I found myself perceiving great photography today.
And that is a little scary because if my wedding or I don’t turn out as beautiful as I imagined, does that mean my photos won’t be either?
I’m really hoping that I don’t see my wedding photos and rather than the gorgeous wedding I expected to see I just see plain ole’ me and a few pretty things.

Vintage finds...

There is probably quite a bit of stuff that I have now organised for the big day but forgotten to tell you about so I’ve had a little look through my colossal “To Do” list and see what I have checked off.

- Book videographer
- Order of Service designed
- Bridesmaid dresses ordered
- Save the Dates printed and sent
- Honeymoon flights and hotel booked

And of course not only are they added to the “Done” list they are struck off the “To Do” list. Double listing. Love it. It’s amazing how this list has changed my outlook on planning for our wedding. I feel so much more in control now that I have it all written down.

(Note to self: Actually you’ve something more to add to the “To Do” list – Update wedding planning scrapbook.)

The cutest shop opened closeby to where we live, the first of its kind in these parts – It’s Vintage Darling. I went along last week and scooped up this gorgeous china tea set and gold photo frame.
I’ll be using both in the wedding décor in some way. I’m thinking maybe teacup centrepieces with strings of pearls tumbling out of them.

The frame I want to use as a sign for our guest book. I was giving this some thought the other day and think I have decided that rather than a traditional guestbook we may have 4x6 sheets of card, printed similar to our other stationery, where guests can write us a message/wish and then insert them into a pretty photo album and we’ll add photos from the day at a later stage. Of course the idea of wedding wish trees etc are very appealing but more DIY than I can manage at the minute. My mum is starting to worry about all the work I am giving myself but I think it will be worth it in the end. That’s what it’s all about after all – making it personal to us.

In the meantime the frame has pride of place in my dining room with my favourite quote from Mary Jean Iron in:

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return."

Still loving those normal days.

Getting busy with the digi...

In the early days of this blog most of my readers were scrapbookers who came to visit through Shimelle's Blogging For Scrapbookers class. Sadly I think most, if not all, of these people are now gone and now I don't know who my readers are.

(By the way, I know you are out there, I've seen you visit, but no-one says hello. Don't be shy.)

In case there are any scrapbookers still out there, I want to show you what I have been up to today. Digi scrapping!

I read on Donna's blog - Button Garden - that she was taking part in a course by Jessica Sprague called Up & Running With Photoshop - Beginning Digital Scrapbooking. At first I was considering taking part myself and then I realised that over the last few months I have probably already picked up the skills to digi scrap but hadn't realised. So today I downloaded two kits - one free from Shabby Princess and one from Jessica Sprague - and got to business. It was much easier than I thought and a year a go there is no way I would have contemplated even trying this.

These are definitely created in my favourite graphic look (I'm going back to my roots here!) and it felt great to be doing simple pages again with no fuss or pressure to use all the latest trendy bits and pieces. I think digi scrapping may be the way forward for me if I could find a printer to do them justice. (As a side, I know drop shadows would be wonderful here but I seem to have lost them from my menu in Photoshop.)

Are there any scrapbooking friends still out there?

Wish it luck...

There’s been some more progress on the wedding front in so far as the bridesmaid dresses have now been ordered. I searched bridal shops high and low to find a stockist of the designer I wanted who had a dress in the colour I wanted but alas, to no avail. Therefore I have taken a huge leap of faith and ordered dresses that I have no idea how they will look. (Such bad English I know.) This is major for a control freak like me. I had a little swatch of course but it could look completely different when the dresses arrive. In the end I decided that it was the colour I wanted all along and so no other would do.
I’m dying to show you all what they look like but know that some guests do/may read from time to time and so I’m keeping it under my hat. You’ll have to wait until April to find out what they are like!

Mr M announced the other night that, for want of better words, it is not my business to accompany him to get his and his attendants’ suits! Needless to say at first I wasn’t best pleased with this as the best man had planted this idea in his head but after some thought I came around to the idea. After all I know what kind of suit he is looking for and so trust him completely that they will look good. I’m just a little nervous about the fact that he doesn’t know what we will look like and now I don’t know what they will look like so what if it all looks like a dog’s dinner when its put together. Ok, breathe… Choose your battles Angela.

I stumbled across a new-to-me wedding blog today – a UK one! I’m sure some of you more savvy brides-to-be might already be aware of the fab Rock My Wedding but I ended up searching through 29 pages before I decided that was enough stalking done for the day. I just couldn’t help myself clicking on “Older Entries”. Fabulous photography to be found over there as well as good detailed information to accompany it so I was able to find out where everyone got their gorgeous shoes etc.

In other news I bought a gym ball. I don’t mind admitting I’m on the “meaty” side. I like to reassure myself that if we all get diseased I’ll last the longest. But I was introduced to someone the other day – I came across The Cherry Blossom Girl (who recently got married and posted her wedding photo) and she has been the thorn in my side ever since. You see, she made me realise that I want to be a wife that Mr M is proud of. And right now even I’m not proud of me, so I have to start somewhere and so the gym ball is going to get it.

Wish it luck…