Gimme the pics!
From the time I saw Mrs. Cream Puff’s post on the photo sharing cards she had printed up for her wedding, I knew I would do this. I had heard of the idea before–set up an online account with a photo hosting web site like Snapfish or flickr, then give your guests instructions on how to dump their digital photos from the wedding into that site for all to see! But Cream Puff’s instruction cards were particularly thorough and well done, in my opinion AND she provided the text she used for people like me to lift!
I thought about having someone design a card for me to print, but with time running out I decided to just use a standard template from Vista Print. This is what I ordered on their standard glossy postcards to let outr guests know about the photo sharing. The cards (100 of them) were free using Vista’s weekly *free” promotions. (This is the front. Step by step instructions on how to upload on back)
Hey–you can never have enough photos! See Mrs. Cream Puff’s post on Weddingbee for the detailed wording.
Our Photographer!
So…I’ve blogged about what I like in photography but I haven’t blogged much about the photographer we chose.
This is mostly because I had gone back and forth with choosing a photographer for some time.
I appreciate great photos and I know the importance of photography on the ‘where do you spend your money’ scale of wedding planning.
For most people, the photo investment is near the top of the importance scale.
After all, it is all you will have left of that day besides your own memories!
Unfortunately, we greatly underestimated the kind of investment we were going to have to make for a great photographer.
We booked someone right after we became engaged only to look back with a more critical eye and to feel like…well…that person kind of sucked!
So, the search resumed. But still with financial restrictions. I found some really great photographers who were out of our budget. And I even came across several photgraphers who, in the course of a few months, had doubled or tripled there fees after building awesome portfolios. And I felt like such a dummy for not booking them earlier….
Months of frustration led to a gem, though, Corey Ann Photography.
Corey Ann, based in Canton, Ohio, is fairly new on the photo scene. She was second-shooting for a while and has photgraphed only a few complete weddings.
So understandably one would be hesitant to book her because of a perceived lack of experience…
Well, I didn’t need to see volumes of Corey’s work to know she’d be a great fit for us! There was just something about the photos she did have that just ‘felt good’ to me and told a story. Fiance felt the same way. So, we booked her, thinking we still were taking a risk.
Corey has several weddings she’ll be shooting this summer before ours in August. But I have been following her blog and I am just in love with everything she shoots and it is has me SO excited about working with her in August!
I guess I said all of that to say that there are great photographers out there who are building their portfolios and who are incredibly talented (and reasonably priced because they are building their portfolio). Everyone has to start somewhere!
Here are some photos Corey Ann shot recently in Vegas:
Best View in the City?
Second and perhaps most interesting info was the subject of the Plain Dealer article I found, “The best view of Cleveland.” Useful mainly when thinking about where to take cool pictures that will really capture the city for me and fiance’s wedding and day-after photos, and my bridals.
The article talks about how the Terminal Tower used to have a 42nd-floor observation deck that was by far the city’s best view. But now that space is used as storage and inaccesible to the public…Boooo!
It then mentions the Key Tower and our venue (the former) BP Tower as having great views–but neither has an observation deck!
So now, apparently the best view in the city is: (drum roll) the deck of the Superior Viaduct, the remaining seven arches of the 1878 bridge that spanned the Cuyahoga River, connecting downtown to the West Side.
**shot from the Viaduct**
There is also a restaurant, Ponte Vecchio Ristorante Italiano, on the viaduct that has a patio and offers a stunning city view.
**parking at Ponte Vecchio** (Geez, that’d make for some amazing photos)
Also, I have seen photos shot from Edgewater Park that provide a great panoramic view. Like these:
MY CLEVELAND WEDDING 
