Laura & Drew: NEPA Wedding Preview

Custom LayFlat Guest Books

One option I offer for couples who do their engagement photos with me is a custom LayFlat Guest Book. Basically, I take the couple's favorite images from their engagement session and design a book showcasing them. It's an individualized & purposeful way for couples to share their engagement photos with their wedding guests!

It's hard to tell in these photos, but the paper used in these LayFlay Guest Books is a "pearl" paper, so it has a slight pearlescent sheen. I personally think this adds an extra touch of class over matte paper! 

Notice that I leave plenty of space for guests to sign. The LayFlat Guest Book doesn't have to be used as a guest book- it can also be used purely as a photo book! I guess in this case it would simply be a "LayFlat Press Book." I can design a book around any session, not just an engagement session. The LayFlat Press Book option is more affordable than the wedding albums I offer because the materials aren't as high quality or durable, but the LayFlat Books are still a beautiful product that will showcase your images in a unique way. 

The pages of the LayFlat Guest Books are printed on a thin and flexible paper, as you can see above. The printing process used is press printing, which is less expensive process than that used for the higher quality wedding albums I offer. However the press printing is perfect for a guest book since it's going to get written on, and the photos still look vibrant and crisp. 

The LayFlat Guest Books can be personalized with one of 13 leather cover options, so each couple can choose a color that suits their taste or fits their color scheme the best. The book in these examples features a leather cover in "espresso."

All LayFlat Press Books are 20 pages long, and the book in these photos is 12x12 in size and $150. Smaller sizes may be ordered-- pricing for these smaller sizes will be given upon request! 

Easy & Delicious Homemade Tomato Soup

Easy. Delicious. Those are two key words in my cooking vocabulary, since I tend to mess things up when something is too complicated and because I HATE spending time on something that ends up being mediocre or terrible. Now, hopefully if you take the time to make this, you'll like it. Joey ate four cups of it the other night, and I personally really like it... so the "delicious" part is coming from us :)

I cannot find the original recipe that I used and I feel really bad about it. I'm also kind of sad because it was from a really fun blog that I had bookmarked on my old computer, and now I have a new computer... and you know how that goes. So here is the recipe, borrowed and altered, which makes enough for two normal people or one Joey Johnson-- I usually double it :)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons chopped onion
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
DASH EACH: garlic powder, basil, oregano, thyme
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (I highly recommend MUIR GLEN ORGANICS brand; their cans are BPA-free. You can find them even at Super Walmart!)
2 cups milk

1) Cook onions in butter until soft. I use low heat and a lid and stir them occasionally so they don't burn!
2) Mix flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and other seasonings in a bowl. Add to butter & onion mixture and stir to form a paste.
3) As soon as the above ingredients are mixed, add the can of tomatoes, and bring to a boil. (I think it has to boil so the tomatoes get soft?) The other day I substituted the can of tomatoes for 2 cups of fresh diced tomatoes and it worked out really well. I also added a bunch of fresh basil. This is a good basic recipe to experiment with.
4) Add milk to mixture. Heat & stir until bubbly and thickened.
5) ENJOY! So easy. So foolproof. I hope you never buy canned tomato soup again :)

P.S. I made that bread too... but that's a recipe for another day!

Genesee Country Village and Museum Wedding

When I arrived, the girls were at the salon being pampered- gorgeous hairstyles & coffee from a local shop that is said to be like Starbucks... only better! 

Christina's bridesmaids were super excited- it was adorable and so fun to see.

The details were waiting for me at Christina's childhood home. The bride also happens to be a talented graphic designer. She created the entire invitation suite, which was beautiful letterpress in shades of white, pale rose, and gray. To top it off, she MADE James' wedding band in a metalworking class she took in college. How's that for skill? 

When Christina broke out those distinctive mint green boxes, every face in the room lit up!

While the girls finished getting ready, James waited patiently at the church, looking dapper in a suit, ironed to perfection. Seriously, look at those pleats. They're a beautiful thing! 

After the ceremony, it was time to head to the reception at the Genesee Country Village and Museum, which was a charming historic village with plenty of fantastic locations for unique photos. 

And finally, it was time to party! The reception was in a vintage barn, and every detail had been carefully though out and attended to. It was certainly worth every moment of effort- everything looked stunning.