If you don't want your life to be boring, then get yourself a geek boyfriend. And if you want that your wedding guests never forget your wedding, then let him go crazy!
I love "geekness", whatever kind of it. I think it brings at the top the creative side of the people. That is why, when my friend Tadej shared this video with me, I knew I had to share it with all of you. Check out how the wedding of Adam Bohn, CEO of Artix Entertainment/creator of AdventureQuest Worlds, and his fiancée Michelle Chang looked like. Awesome, ha?
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Letter press invitations
Some people takes the wedding invitation as just the first necessary step to give on the wedding preparations. In my opinion something comes first than the invitation, and that is the plan of the whole wedding as a unique event. To select the theme, or color scheme will guide us then through all of the individual elements of the wedding, including the invitations.
Some other time I will talk more about this, but I think a good way to introduce the topic and warm up is to show you a great tool that today we have for designing the stationery of our wedding: letter press. I present you here some samples of wedding invitations, but in reality you can apply it to whatever paper element you have: thank you notes, menus, wedding guides...
Letter press is great because you don't need much to make your invitation look elegant and cool at the same time. Just a nice typography and some touch of color and there you have it.
Get inspired!
Some other time I will talk more about this, but I think a good way to introduce the topic and warm up is to show you a great tool that today we have for designing the stationery of our wedding: letter press. I present you here some samples of wedding invitations, but in reality you can apply it to whatever paper element you have: thank you notes, menus, wedding guides...
Letter press is great because you don't need much to make your invitation look elegant and cool at the same time. Just a nice typography and some touch of color and there you have it.
Get inspired!
Seen in:
invitationcrush.com
amazonaws.com
papercrave.com
weddbook.com
blushpublishing.co.uk
beastpieces.com
papercrave.com
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Diy Christmas trees
Christmas is getting close! I love this time. This is by far the most magical time in the year. The time where is allowed to be a child again, to get excited with the color lights, to eat candies like a pig... I am so anxious about Christmas time that I usually start planning what presents I am going to give, how will I decorate the house and the table, what will I prepare for dinner... almost two months in advance!
I love this event, so of course, I have to talk about it.
Today I am bringing you some fresh ideas about how to make a different Christmas tree. It is quite hard to renounce to the classic natural tree and ornaments, but the reasons that makes you choose a different option can be wide as the ocean, so here you have a bit of inspiration if you decide to "go wild" this year.
Wine cork, wooden planks, books... every possible object can become a Christmas tree. Basically you just have to respect the shape and add some "hanging" elements here and there and voilá!
The last one I did last year to decorate the class where I was teaching spanish. It is the most simple thing. You just need a piece of carton, an old book and some red felt. But the tool that you need for everyone of them is your imagination. So, use it!
I love this event, so of course, I have to talk about it.
Today I am bringing you some fresh ideas about how to make a different Christmas tree. It is quite hard to renounce to the classic natural tree and ornaments, but the reasons that makes you choose a different option can be wide as the ocean, so here you have a bit of inspiration if you decide to "go wild" this year.
Wine cork, wooden planks, books... every possible object can become a Christmas tree. Basically you just have to respect the shape and add some "hanging" elements here and there and voilá!
The last one I did last year to decorate the class where I was teaching spanish. It is the most simple thing. You just need a piece of carton, an old book and some red felt. But the tool that you need for everyone of them is your imagination. So, use it!
Friday, November 29, 2013
More of my work: photobooks
Sometimes we end up with one or two Dvd's full of wedding photos. Two or three thousand photos. What to do with them?
The classic is to order a wedding album. Today you can find very beautiful ones, but this option does not offer a lot of flexibility for how to present the important thing: the photos.
Nowadays we have he option of photo books, and a lot of platforms that make it very easy and cheap. You can of course, do it yourself, or even some photographers offer it two in stead of the wedding album. But not all of the photographers are graphic designers and there is where I come. If you would like to have your photo book "pimped up", contact me and let's see what is your idea and taste.
I present you today the one I did for Adiurelkis&Rok, an exotic couple that had their wedding last december, in tons of blue and white. I wanted their photo book to reflect that day, so I designed it simple and in the same colours of the wedding theme. I also took the time to write them a story, the story of their day, as I had the chance to be there, so they will always remember their own love story.
The photographers of the wedding where Ars Fotografija for the special photo shooting and my husband and me covered the preparations and ceremony.
So, no more talk, here they are:
The classic is to order a wedding album. Today you can find very beautiful ones, but this option does not offer a lot of flexibility for how to present the important thing: the photos.
Nowadays we have he option of photo books, and a lot of platforms that make it very easy and cheap. You can of course, do it yourself, or even some photographers offer it two in stead of the wedding album. But not all of the photographers are graphic designers and there is where I come. If you would like to have your photo book "pimped up", contact me and let's see what is your idea and taste.
I present you today the one I did for Adiurelkis&Rok, an exotic couple that had their wedding last december, in tons of blue and white. I wanted their photo book to reflect that day, so I designed it simple and in the same colours of the wedding theme. I also took the time to write them a story, the story of their day, as I had the chance to be there, so they will always remember their own love story.
The photographers of the wedding where Ars Fotografija for the special photo shooting and my husband and me covered the preparations and ceremony.
So, no more talk, here they are:
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Let's be fetish: shoes
If there is an accessory that women love, that are shoes. In the last year the brides have become brave and it's more common to see them experimenting with new colours. Here you have some amazing examples of different wedding shoes.
Found in figgy shoes, emmy shoes, loveitsomuch.com, Freya Rose and Lilikoi.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Why are wedding photographers so "expensive"?
If you have ever wondered why the prices of wedding photography, or how much can you expect to pay (of course, talking about Slovenia), take a bit of time and read forward.
I have heard a lot of times exclamations of surprise about the prices of wedding photography. Almost the same number of times I have met couples that "show off" the fact of being able to find a photographer that made their wedding photos for 500 Euros. Then they show me the wedding album and that is where the awkward moment starts.
Yes, you can find a photographer willing to work for 500, even 300 euros. Is this a real price? No. Of course, all depends of what are you expecting to get, not just talking about the quantity but specially about the quality. Here is a visual example:
Cheap wedding photography:
If you want a professional wedding photographer, you should expect to pay around 1000 to 3000 Euros. You may think that this price is exaggerated. I think I can talk about it because, as graphic designers, my husband and me find often the same problem: people thinking that we are trying to fool them and steal their money. But, did you ever saw your wedding photographer coming in a Mercedes? Here a bit of explanation that may clear your doubts. Let's see:
Most of the wedding photographers in Slovenia (at least the ones I know) are self-employed (what it's called s.p.). That means that they have to pay around 300 Euros per month just to be able to work and put out bills. Let's imagine that they work at home (at the parents' home), so they don't need to pay extra money for a rent or a credit, as most of you do. S.p. are having the highest taxes in Slovenia, so a great deal of the price goes directly to the state (around 30% if I am right, if not, please correct me, my husband is the one taking care of the finances). Having a s.p. also means that you don't have paid vacations, and if you get ill, you have to be ill more than 1,5 months to start getting some payment from the state. That means, one day you don't work (whatever the reason is), one day you won't get paid.
A photographer cannot work without a good camera. This are not the cameras that you can find in offer in Big Bang for 699 Euros. A good camera for professional work can cost around 1500 - 3000 Euros. Then add:
- objectives, 80 -2700 Euros
- tripods, 10-650 Euros
- filters, 10-300 Euros
- memory cards, 25- 100 Euros (depending on GB)
- batteries 70-150 Euros / battery
- bag 15-75 Euros
- and others (underwater covers, adapters, website, cables, flash...) 1000-2000 Euros.
I wrote two prices, but the cheaper is the one that average users could buy. A professional needs the best of the market if he wants to deliver the best.
Thank God that we are in the digital world and they don't need to add films to their expenses. But that is not all. Now a days everything is digital, which automatically means for you as a photographer that you need to have a computer to process the photos, and the right programs. This are very heavy photos (speaking of MB), so you need a good computer, probably you need it to be portable (laptop). Let's say 1500 euros (not the best, but a good one). Then let's add the licences of the programs that they need to polish your wedding photos. A licence of Adobe (Photoshop, Lightroom...) can be around 2000 Euros.
To photograph your wedding they must be able to move, so they will need to have a car + fuel. Let's imagine they got it on second hand for 4000 Euros.
So far, we found out that to be able to work, a good photographer needs to invest around 10 to 15.000 Euros in expendable material. To this, you will have to add the photo paper, fuel and album which will depend of every work.
Let's keep a middle number: 12000 Euros of expenses. If we divide this by the number of months in one year, this gives us an equivalent of a 1000 Euros monthly salary, which is higher than the average of Slovenia.
We also must have in account that the wedding season is mainly from april to september. The rest of the year the number of weddings to photograph is much smaller, so a lot of photographers must have other jobs to survive (inside or outside photography world).
If your photographer charges 1000 euros for 8 hours of work, what does this include?
- 6-10 hours of in-situ work.
- photo paper & album
- the time preparing photos and CD. (If they retouch around 100 photos to make the album, it could take them around a week of work just to copy, select, retouch, print and save the photos)
- the percentage for the expenses of the tools (Camera, filters, and so on)
- Fuel & other expenses
I think I just have left the academic formation. Everyone has a brother, cousin or uncle that "knows how to take photos". What this actually means is that this relative likes photography and has a semi-professional camera, like the Canon D5000 or D7000 or so on. But that does not means that he is a professional. The photographers study photography. They train to see through the camera, they learn about how to use the light, and they understand the language of visuals. They pay for it, and you have the advantage of their knowledge. With them, you will never have to wonder if the photos will be good. They will be great. I have heard so many brides complaining and regretting about their photographers...
I hope this gave you a more close view of the profession.
If you are going to marry and you are looking for a photographer, you can pay 500 Euros, or you can pay 1500. You will get what you pay. At least now you know what are you paying. But choose good, because there won't be a second chance. =)
I have heard a lot of times exclamations of surprise about the prices of wedding photography. Almost the same number of times I have met couples that "show off" the fact of being able to find a photographer that made their wedding photos for 500 Euros. Then they show me the wedding album and that is where the awkward moment starts.
Yes, you can find a photographer willing to work for 500, even 300 euros. Is this a real price? No. Of course, all depends of what are you expecting to get, not just talking about the quantity but specially about the quality. Here is a visual example:
Cheap wedding photography:
photos by google
"Expensive" Wedding photography
photos by Aljoša Videtić
If you want a professional wedding photographer, you should expect to pay around 1000 to 3000 Euros. You may think that this price is exaggerated. I think I can talk about it because, as graphic designers, my husband and me find often the same problem: people thinking that we are trying to fool them and steal their money. But, did you ever saw your wedding photographer coming in a Mercedes? Here a bit of explanation that may clear your doubts. Let's see:
Most of the wedding photographers in Slovenia (at least the ones I know) are self-employed (what it's called s.p.). That means that they have to pay around 300 Euros per month just to be able to work and put out bills. Let's imagine that they work at home (at the parents' home), so they don't need to pay extra money for a rent or a credit, as most of you do. S.p. are having the highest taxes in Slovenia, so a great deal of the price goes directly to the state (around 30% if I am right, if not, please correct me, my husband is the one taking care of the finances). Having a s.p. also means that you don't have paid vacations, and if you get ill, you have to be ill more than 1,5 months to start getting some payment from the state. That means, one day you don't work (whatever the reason is), one day you won't get paid.
A photographer cannot work without a good camera. This are not the cameras that you can find in offer in Big Bang for 699 Euros. A good camera for professional work can cost around 1500 - 3000 Euros. Then add:
- objectives, 80 -2700 Euros
- tripods, 10-650 Euros
- filters, 10-300 Euros
- memory cards, 25- 100 Euros (depending on GB)
- batteries 70-150 Euros / battery
- bag 15-75 Euros
- and others (underwater covers, adapters, website, cables, flash...) 1000-2000 Euros.
I wrote two prices, but the cheaper is the one that average users could buy. A professional needs the best of the market if he wants to deliver the best.
Thank God that we are in the digital world and they don't need to add films to their expenses. But that is not all. Now a days everything is digital, which automatically means for you as a photographer that you need to have a computer to process the photos, and the right programs. This are very heavy photos (speaking of MB), so you need a good computer, probably you need it to be portable (laptop). Let's say 1500 euros (not the best, but a good one). Then let's add the licences of the programs that they need to polish your wedding photos. A licence of Adobe (Photoshop, Lightroom...) can be around 2000 Euros.
To photograph your wedding they must be able to move, so they will need to have a car + fuel. Let's imagine they got it on second hand for 4000 Euros.
So far, we found out that to be able to work, a good photographer needs to invest around 10 to 15.000 Euros in expendable material. To this, you will have to add the photo paper, fuel and album which will depend of every work.
Let's keep a middle number: 12000 Euros of expenses. If we divide this by the number of months in one year, this gives us an equivalent of a 1000 Euros monthly salary, which is higher than the average of Slovenia.
We also must have in account that the wedding season is mainly from april to september. The rest of the year the number of weddings to photograph is much smaller, so a lot of photographers must have other jobs to survive (inside or outside photography world).
If your photographer charges 1000 euros for 8 hours of work, what does this include?
- 6-10 hours of in-situ work.
- photo paper & album
- the time preparing photos and CD. (If they retouch around 100 photos to make the album, it could take them around a week of work just to copy, select, retouch, print and save the photos)
- the percentage for the expenses of the tools (Camera, filters, and so on)
- Fuel & other expenses
I think I just have left the academic formation. Everyone has a brother, cousin or uncle that "knows how to take photos". What this actually means is that this relative likes photography and has a semi-professional camera, like the Canon D5000 or D7000 or so on. But that does not means that he is a professional. The photographers study photography. They train to see through the camera, they learn about how to use the light, and they understand the language of visuals. They pay for it, and you have the advantage of their knowledge. With them, you will never have to wonder if the photos will be good. They will be great. I have heard so many brides complaining and regretting about their photographers...
I hope this gave you a more close view of the profession.
If you are going to marry and you are looking for a photographer, you can pay 500 Euros, or you can pay 1500. You will get what you pay. At least now you know what are you paying. But choose good, because there won't be a second chance. =)
Friday, November 22, 2013
Extreme sensuality: backless dresses
The back is one of the most sensual parts of our body, women or men. I don't think I have to explain much about how much sensuality and yet elegance this dresses provoque.
Designers: Galia Lahav, Inbal Dror, Monique Lhuillier, Wanda Borges and Jane Yeh
Designers: Galia Lahav, Inbal Dror, Monique Lhuillier, Wanda Borges and Jane Yeh
What do we have in Slovenia? Here some dresses that I was able to find:
Penelopa (Murska Sobota)
Porocni Koticek (Ljubljana)
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Chevron Inspiration Board
I don't know what chevron has that I really love. Somehow I see on it a kind of a mixture between old and modern that it makes a perfect blend. Here you have a small example of the infinite possibilities that this simple graphic offers. I hope you find some inspiration!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Winter is coming!
Yes! Winter is coming and to the winter I dedicate the post today.
Most of the couples don't want to hear about winter when they choose their wedding dates. It is understandable that everyone wants a sunny and warm day, specially the brides, so they can really show off on their wedding gown. But I think autumn and winter weddings have an added romanticism that makes them very special. Winter weddings can be a great decision if you are planning an intimate wedding. There is a lot of cute and romantic venues when the number of guests is smaller. Here you have a small inspiration board to give you some perspective.
Most of the couples don't want to hear about winter when they choose their wedding dates. It is understandable that everyone wants a sunny and warm day, specially the brides, so they can really show off on their wedding gown. But I think autumn and winter weddings have an added romanticism that makes them very special. Winter weddings can be a great decision if you are planning an intimate wedding. There is a lot of cute and romantic venues when the number of guests is smaller. Here you have a small inspiration board to give you some perspective.
Seen in:
thehousethatlarsbuilt.com
theweddingcompany.co.uk
...
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Rustic wedding: Mirjam and Rok
Hi everyone!
This is a post that I was wishing to publish for a long time. My first official "work" as Wedding planner!
When my sister in law got engaged and asked me for help, I got very excited. I could design and craft a lot of things on my own wedding, but there is a lot to details that you cannot handle because you are the bride and you just don't have the time or moment. At Mirjam's I could really challenge myself. Together with my husband (who happens to be one of the best graphic designers in Slovenia and a great teacher for me), we designed the wedding invitations. Then I continued by myself to make the wedding menus, wedding guides, seating plan, rice cones, boutonnieres, labels for gifts and table decoration... Here you have the result.
I don't have a photo of the invitation yet, which is a story by itself (it was a radio show!!), but I will share it soon enough.
This is a post that I was wishing to publish for a long time. My first official "work" as Wedding planner!
When my sister in law got engaged and asked me for help, I got very excited. I could design and craft a lot of things on my own wedding, but there is a lot to details that you cannot handle because you are the bride and you just don't have the time or moment. At Mirjam's I could really challenge myself. Together with my husband (who happens to be one of the best graphic designers in Slovenia and a great teacher for me), we designed the wedding invitations. Then I continued by myself to make the wedding menus, wedding guides, seating plan, rice cones, boutonnieres, labels for gifts and table decoration... Here you have the result.
I don't have a photo of the invitation yet, which is a story by itself (it was a radio show!!), but I will share it soon enough.
As a surprise for the bride and groom, we decorated the way to their ceremony with instant photos of their relationship, so they would remember all that beautiful moments that lead them to that they on their last steps as boyfriend and girlfriend. Hanging between the photos were some markers, so people could write their wishes to the couple on them.
The cones for the rice were made in kraft paper and decorated with the same stamps that we use to decorate the invitations.
The venue of the wedding was the Touristic farm Dular, near Brežice. The place is just perfect for a rustic wedding. The service is really nice and the food delicious. I must thank Barbara from here, the woman in charge, that was very open to all of my requests.
The boutonnieres were done in a day of family crafting. They are made of rosemary, lavanda, thyme and an unknown herb that my mother in law had at the entrance and gave a beautiful silver touch. The smell was so inspiring...
At the door of the restaurant I placed an old wooden ladder with the seating plan. I framed every table on a different frame.
The restaurante decoration was pretty simple. I used jars decorated with burlap and lace to hold candles. I made two table runners out of burlap and lace stripes with the R and M from the bride and the groom. I used old vinils as table numbers and we put one-use cameras on every table, so the guests could go crazy and make funny pictures. The decoration was completed with pink and lila hydrangeas, the bride's favourites, that we picked from the mother's garden.
On their place, every guest had a hand fan with their names and a dedicated quote that the bride&groom chose specially for them. The other side of the hand fan gave the information of the menu. That violet-green hearth that you see, is made one by one with their fingerprints. It was a 3 in 1, menu, seating point and fan (It was the middle of july and it was very hot)
Behind the fan, you can se the Wedding guide, a small help to know every detail that was prepared for them, so everyone could enjoy the day 100%.
On the left, over a hydrangea's leaf, the honey jar that every guest got as a present to take home.
The amazing photos were by Dejan Bulut, an awesome photographer that made the day really funny. You can see the more from their wedding HERE
Wasn't a beautiful wedding? And unbelievable cheap!
All photos belong to Dejan Bulut (under copyright)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)