Emma & Sam | Wedding Album

Emma and Sam were married last summer in Madison. They were such a sweet couple. Emma carried herself in such a dignified way that she had this royal, elegant air about her. She really seemed like a princess on her wedding day. Their families were so nice and loving, it was wonderful to see them celebrate Emma and Sam's marriage. And the Greek dancing was entertaining and exciting to watch.

Emma and Sam's wedding album was finished up this week. I love wedding albums because they are a wonderful way to share your favorite images from the day, while telling the story of the wedding.

Emma sent me this note:
"Hi Becky,
We got the album today and it is BEAUTIFUL!!! We are so so happy!! We cannot wait to show it to everyone :).
Thank you so much for everything! You guys did such an amazing job and we are so happy to have these wonderful pictures to remember our wedding by!!
Thank you!!
Emma & Sam"

I'm thrilled to know they will enjoy reliving and sharing their wedding memories!

My Own "Urban Decay" | House Remodeling

I have always loved old buildings. That was why we picked an old, downtown location when we had the store-front for the studio in the "aughts." And I especially love run-down and neglected buildings, as anyone might know from my favorite photo locations. The photo essays of "urban decay" and abandoned buildings, in places like Detroit, are fascinating to me. The history and stories that they cling to holds my imagination.

So, as I strip wallpaper from my living room walls, finding rough, scarred walls that have to be repaired underneath, I can't help but see a little bit of beauty in the chaos around me. And, of course, my own "urban decay" just calls out to be documented.

Flowers to Help You Think "Spring"

I feel a little responsible for this weather. So, I'm sorry.

You know the thinking that if you wash your car, it will rain? Well, the sun had been shining and I tempted fate as I cleaned the kitchen. I put away all of our winter coats, snowpants, boots, hats, and mittens. I was so tired of having them clutter up my kitchen, where the kids come in from the garage.

I wanted to reclaim my space. I wanted to have order. I wanted winter to be done.

When the calendar says it's spring, it feels like a mean joke to see fresh snow on the ground. But I'm not going to let winter win. I'm just going to bury my head in the snow and pretend spring is already here....

Kiss Me- I'm Czech! (And pass the red beer!)

A fine beer may be judged with only one sip,
but it's better to be thoroughly sure.
- Czech Proverb

Now that your green beer is gone, are you ready to drink some red beer?

Having a Catholic Czech-Bohemian grandmother, it seemed natural to celebrate St. Joseph's Day, a prominent and predominately Czech holiday for those that lived in Cedar Rapids' Czech village area, on March 19th. It's now sometimes likened to a milder St. Patrick's Day. So, while we wore green on St. Patty's day, we also wore red two days later.

Our family has always enjoyed a party with food and drink, maybe from our Catholic-Czech heritage (Czech Republic has the highest beer consumption per person in the world). Far from being teetotalers, when my sisters and I were kids, we were allowed to drink Slow Screws (an alcoholic drink made with orange juice and Slow Gin) at family get-togethers with no one getting uppity. We always knew we were getting away with something, but it didn't feel like that big of a deal at grandma's house. That was our family culture.

As a kid, we didn't think too much about our Czech ancestry, even though I don't remember other kids wearing "Kiss Me- I'm Czech!" buttons. I do remember my father making kolaches, fruit-filled pastries, for my grandmother. I also remember my father flipping on the radio to a Sunday morning polka station to tease and annoy my mother. "You're Bohemian, you're suppose to love this," he would tell her as accordion notes filled the car. I was probably the only kid to secretly have a favorite polka song, Mickey Mouse Polka by Marv Herzog. And maybe that's why I now enjoy when a wedding reception dance starts up with "Beer Barrel Polka." I think it adds a festive atmosphere to the dance.

So, whether you plan to eat a kolache, drink red beer, dance a polka or just enjoy the St. Joseph's Day parade, feel free to claim the Czech title for the day. Cheers!

“Wherever beer is brewed, all is well-

wherever beer is drunk, life is good.”

— Czech proverb

Marriott Wedding Tasting Event

We were happy to be invited to Marriott's Wedding Tasting Event. The hotel was able to show off their space and food to their clients, while other wedding professionals, like us, were able to do a little showing off of our own.

When a reception hall has a large dinner menu to offer their bridal couples, it can be hard to decide what you want to serve to your guests at your wedding. The Marriott is no different, having a wide array of dinner options. They offer individual tastings for their brides and grooms, but since they can't serve every dish, the couple may still want to taste more. 

The Marriott offers a bi-annual event to the couples that have booked their receptions at the hotel. At these events, they cook and serve all the options on their catering menu. This is a great opportunity for couples to bring their parents and check out which dishes they might like to serve their wedding guests.

We took the Cheeky Booth photo booth to this tasting. The couples had fun using the props and checking out how the booth worked. The photo strips were a great way to remember their wedding-planning night, too!

It's a Wisconsin CHEESE cake- 1st grade style!

“A party without cake is just a meeting,” are wise words from Julia Child.

Henry, my Wisconsin-born 7-year-old, has always been a connoisseur of cheese. When offered a regular Kraft "sharp" cheddar cheese from the grocery store, he declined it since it wasn't aged at least 18 months. And right now, he says his favorite cheese is a 5-year smoked cheddar, followed by a fudge cheddar, which he says is "yummy."

So I wasn't surprised when he decided his first cake needed to look like cheese.

Henry made his very first cake for a Cub Scouts auction. Henry's Cub Scouts pack uses this cake auction as a fundraiser, with the proceeds to be used within the pack. Each boy makes a cake for the event and then they are able to bid on each others' cakes.

He discussed a few ideas, including using black frosting to make swiss-looking holes or writing around the edges, like a stamped cheese rind. In the end, we decided the cut wedge with some circle impressions looked best. Henry made a sign that read, "100% Wisconsin cheese" to put on top.

The vivid yellow frosting made us think of Green Bay Packers cheese head hats, which was totally a bonus for Henry.

Albums for Portraits: How to have them all and take them with you!

You probably wouldn't be surprised if I told you that I often hear parents gush over their child's images from the session with such phrases as, "I love them all!" And, I completely understand that it's so hard to say no to images you love.

Sometimes there are so many great images from a session that you don't know what to do with them all. You only have so many blank spaces on your walls or desk. And no matter how many portraits you hang up, it's not always the easiest way to show off your favorites from the session, unless you throw a big party to invite everyone you know to your house.

The answer to the "I-Love-Them-All!!!" dilemma  is to get an album. Portrait albums start with 20-30 images, so you are sure to have all the ones you can't live without. Also, the popular 8x8 album is a wonderful size to carry with you everywhere. It's easy to take to work, school, family get-togethers or anywhere you want to show off your beautiful photographs!

Featured above is Morgan, a high school senior session. These sessions are especially great for albums because we often use multiple locations and outfits, so there are many amazing shots to choose from! When you get an album, you don't have to say no to favorites just because you decided on a different image for your living room wall. It feels so much better to say yes to all the ones you love!

Collin | Senior Session

It's nice to have high school seniors that want to personalize their sessions. Collin, like his dad, is a car-enthusist. Including the restored Shelby Mustang in the session made perfect sense. Collin has been running cross country throughout high school. We used Wickiup Hill Natural Area, a location he often goes to run, for some of his session. The fall colors made a perfect backdrop!

Morgan | Senior Session

I had so much fun photographing Morgan for her high school senior session. She was excited to share some ideas she had and was up for any suggestions I had. Her enthusiasm for our locations delighted me! We had a beautiful day to walk around downtown and were able to use spots as we found them. Being able to discover neat, little areas to photograph without having a checklist of places we "had" to get to made the whole session laid back, easy and fun. And, best of all, we got some amazing shots!

Corridor Wedding Professionals

We spent the evening at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, mingling with area wedding professionals. We thought it was nice that they asked us to capture a few images from the night. Chris was obsessed with the chandelier. He was amazed that there haven't yet been any wedding couples to hold their dance out in the hall, under the chandelier. He's already hoping to photograph a "first dance" with it in the background.

Bre & Steve | Engagement Session

Bre and Steve had really been hoping for snow for their engagement session. But, as anyone who lives in the midwest knows, you can't really count on the weather to do what you want. We had a nice, warm January day for their session instead of snow. (Plenty of snow came later!)

Spring Flowers

"Three Rules of Work: 

Out of clutter find simplicity; 

From discord find harmony; 

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." 

~Albert Einstein

For the very first time, I got flower bulbs! I've always been a little jealous of other people's yards when I see pretty spring flowers pop up. Every spring I think I'll plant bulbs in the fall. But, every fall, I forget. 

Now I have no excuse! 

I'm a Kickstarter Backer! - How your iPhone will make magic

I'm sure you have heard of Kickstarter, the website that helps people with ideas get in touch with people that have money. The idea isn't for big corporations to throw money at these projects, but regular people like us that believe in the ideas to support them.

And after the success of that guy who was funded to make potato salad last year, I'm sure you were like me, wishing you had come up with your own Kickstarter, right?

Well, maybe better is to be able to tell people you are a Kickstarter backer. And you should start with the Prynt Kickstarter.

(And not just because I don't recommend you eat potato salad made by a guy named "Zack Danger Brown.")

Prynt is a cool little camera case that prints photos right from your phone. It's like turning your iPhone (or Android) into a Polaroid camera. You can print photos that you take with the case or from your camera roll saved on your phone. Go read up on the techy features, like no wifi, ink or batteries needed.

And then we can talk about the amazing "Harry Potter-style" moving images. Yes, Prynt will make your photos *magical*.

They plan to have these little camera/printer combos in stores in time for Christmas, so you can certainly wait til then to buy one. But, I'm a backer, so I'll have mine before you do. Unless you become a backer, too. Then in that case, we should go do a photo shoot together. :)

7 Fun DIY Wedding Photo Ideas

I know what you're thinking. "Photographers are telling me how to do it myself???"

And the answer is YES!

While we firmly believe a professional wedding photographer is essential for those key moments during the day, we also know there are some "happenings" better captured by your guests (and maybe left out of your wedding album).

Like most professional photographers, we stay long enough to get the beginning of the dance. A little DIY wedding reception photography will supplement your professional photographs and get your family and friends in on the action.

Most of your guests will have their smart phones at your wedding and will be using them to take photos. The quality of the photographs are sure to be better than those old “disposable” cameras couples used to leave on tables. Even better, photo-sharing apps will encourage your guests to share their photos with you. (No more chasing after photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!)

I have done a round-up of some DIY options that you should check out:

Wedpics and Eversnap are apps that allow your guests to upload photos from their phones or a website if they use a digital camera. Eversnap takes it a step further and offers a live moderated slideshow (to make sure that all the photos shown on the screen are appropriate-  a huge PLUS if you have crazy friends and grandma is still at the party!) that can be shown during your reception, even collecting hashtagged Twitter and Instagram photos to add to your album.

• Wedpics https://www.wedpics.com
• Eversnap (formerly Weddingsnap) http://www.geteversnap.com

Many couples like to create wedding websites. These are useful for sharing information that guests may need to know about before the wedding, such as area hotels, maps and registries. Both Appy Couple and Wedding Party combine the wedding website with a matching app for guests to share wedding photos.

• Appy Couple http://www.appycouple.com
• Wedding Party https://www.weddingpartyapp.com

Truly tech-savvy couples may prefer to fully customize their wedding app. Yapp will let you build your own, adding features that are important to you.

• Yapp https://www.yapp.us

Are you already on Instagram and want to keep all your photos together there? Create your own hashtag (check to make sure no one else is using it). Ask guests to use your hashtag when they post (but remember that they need an Instagram account, too). Using the website Evenstagram, you can create a slideshow to project all those hashtagged photos during the reception.

• Instagram http://instagram.com
• Evenstagram http://eventstagr.am

Once the wedding is done, you get to sit back and enjoy all the fun photos from the night. I'm sure there will be a few "blackmail" photos in there, too...

Jessica & Cody | Wedding Album

Another gorgeous album to show off, this one for Jessica & Cody! 

I love the full image that wraps around to the back of the cover.

Crutches...

Forced vacation from running.

I'm just glad it's not the heart of wedding season!

Happy Reviews Make Me Happy

I want to give huge hugs to my wedding couple, Tricia & Corey, for the amazing review! Thank you SO much for the kind words. We have the best clients!


New Review on The Knot:

"Chris and Becky are the absolute BEST at what they do! We could not have picked a better duo than these two.

From the planning process up to the big day, they were there every single step of the way. They always made us confident that we wouldn't have to worry on the wedding day. They are extremely organized, prompt, and professional. Having 2 photographers really is the best way to go- Becky was able to get amazing shots of the girls, while Chris was with the guys. They were also able to get many different camera angles that one photographer could not get alone.

They also did our engagement photos, which was the perfect "dress rehearsal". I am a control freak, so I imagined myself frantically running around on my wedding day, telling people what to do. It's something that just comes naturally to me. But when the big day came, I didn't even think about it! Chris and Becky were already 2 steps ahead of me, for every single shot. They knew exactly what I wanted, and made it a reality.

Thanks to them, my wedding was a dream come true. I highly recommend the Appleby's to anyone looking for the perfect dream team of photographers!"

Thank you, Tricia and Corey!!!

Tricia & Corey | Wedding Album

Tricia and Corey sent me this note, which made me very happy: "We received the album today, and we absolutely LOVE it! It is so beautiful and more perfect than we ever could have imagined. 

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!"

New Ad!

The new 2015 Wedding Guide is out! See our ad on pages 66 & 67. It's nice to see our images sprinkled throughout the rest of the pages, as well. Thanks Corridor Wedding Guide for a beautiful job!

More Brewery Love

We are happy to be featured on Corridor Wedding Guide’s blog! 

“Vicki & Matt’s Wisconsin Brewery Co. Wedding” | http://ow.ly/3vG8Vf