How to get the best from your photo guest book

July 27th, 2010

OK, you’ve decided that having a photo guest book is a great way to commemorate your wedding or special event (after all, how else can you capture your guests messages and photos together – instantly?)

You’ve decided on your format (we’re mostly recommending Fuji Instax because there are problems sourcing polaroid film, however Digital photo guest books are great for smaller weddings.

You’ve got your camera, film and guest book in front of you. What now?

Test & check your camera – BEFORE you’re going to use it

Even if your camera is brand new, test and familiarise yourself or whoever is taking the pics with the camera.  If you’ll be using it in the evening, test it in the evening to make sure that the flash works.  Please don’t leave this until the day of the event – at that stage if there is a problem it will be too late to rectify it.

Make sure that you’ve got enough film

We always allow 10 extra shots per guest book for people who don’t like the first pic they take – or like it so much that they take it home.

Have spare batteries on hand

Especially if you’re going to be using the flash on the Instax camera – it’s quite greedy on the battery front and takes 4 x AA batteries at a time.

Get yourself a nice pen

Any pen will do as long as it doesn’t leave blobs of ink (which may smudge or damage your pics).

Follow our top tips on How to make sure your guest book gets completed and you’re all set! Easy.

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Easy DIY Rose Petal Confetti

July 21st, 2010

My sister in law gets married very shortly and I’ve been making this rose petal confetti over recent weeks when I get a chance. It’s gorgeous, won’t stain and is completely natural and biodegradable. And it costs nothing to make (and how many great wedding ideas can you say that about?)

I had tried a number of ways of drying petals, including microwaving on sheets of tissue paper and kitchen roll, but that was really time-consuming. I came up with this other method after reading about a way of drying tomatoes to make sun-dried tomatoes and thought it was worth a go – and it was very successful. You just need to wait for a warm / hot day.

Step 1: Find someone with lots of roses and ask them if you can have their roses once they’re just about to lose their petals (they come off really easily then)

Step 2: Pick the rose petals (watch out for little insects) and place into a large roasting pan

Step 3: On a hot day, place the trays onto the back parcel shelf of your car. Mix up the petals at the end of the day to ensure that they’re drying evenly. After a day or two, the petals should be dried, depending on how warm it is.

And that’s you done. Just make little cones of paper and have one of your attendants give them out before your wedding ceremony for that all important ‘confetti shot’ for the front of your photo guest book.

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July Special Offer – Photo Note Cards FREE!

July 13th, 2010

Sorry we’re a little late in announcing this, however wedding season is now fully underway and life is VERY hectic as you can imagine.  This month, we’re offering 10 FREE photo note cards which make fantastic ‘Thank you’ cards for your wedding or party guests.

To take advantage of the offer, just purchase any Fuji Instax, Polaroid Pogo or Digital Photo guest book package and then add the notecards to your offer on the product page.

For more information, please visit this link:  http://www.instantforever.com/monthly-offer-page

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Wedding Planning Checklist- day before and day of your wedding

June 23rd, 2010

The Day before

  • Relax and take it as easy as possible.  We’re arranging an Indian Head Massage for the ladies on the day before my sister-in-laws wedding in August.
  • Make sure that the cake is where it needs to be –this is a great job to delegate!
  • Have a manicure (this applies to grooms also!)
  • Grooms have a hair trim if necessary and a good shave (if you’ve got a barber nearby it might be worthwhile to go for the whole hot towel treatment).
  • Grooms, consider a proper shave at the barbers shop.
  • If you’re staying overnight elsewhere on your wedding night, pack your overnight bag and either put it in the car or give to someone to take to where you’ll be staying.
  • Try and get an early night – and don’t make it too boozy, you really don’t want to be hungover on your wedding day.

Your big day!

08.00     Get up and have a relaxing shower or bath.  We recommend this lovely weleda rosemary bath milk, which smells great and promises to overcome excessive perspiration and improve the general circulation in the legs.  Got to be a winner on your wedding day!

08.30     Have a decent breakfast.   Probably best to avoid a fry-up which may sit like lead in your stomach all day!

09.30     Have your hair done.  Obviously it’s easier if the hairdresser will come to you, but you’ve got plenty of time.

11.00     Best man to collect any cards / telegrams etc

11.30     The bridesmaids, flowergirls and any pageboys arrive.

12.00     Have a quick bite of lunch, even a piece of toast will settle your tummy and any last minute nerves

12.45     Do your make-up (or have it professionally done)

13.00     Your photographer arrives to take any pre-arranged photographs of you getting ready (dress hanging up, shoes, make-up etc)

13.30     Bride, bridesmaids and flower-girls to get dressed.

14.30     The first wedding car arrives to take your mother , the bridesmaids and flower-girls to the venue for your ceremony

14.45     The second wedding car arrives to take you and your father to the ceremony venue. The bridesmaids, flowergirls and pageboys will be waiting outside to meet them.

14.55     The bride and her father enter the venue together, with the bridesmaids lined up behind.

15.00     Your wedding ceremony. Have an amazing day.  Relax and try to spend as much of it with your new husband/wife as possible and make sure to take your own photo for the front of your photo guest book.

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Wedding Planning checklist – 1 month and 1 week before your wedding

June 17th, 2010

Wedding checklistWedding season is well and truly upon us, with the majority of weddings taking place between now and mid-September. We thought it might be timely to share our checklist for the period shortly before your wedding, 1 month and 1 week beforehand.

1 month before

  • Arrange the final fitting of your wedding dress.
  • Have the hen and stag do (preferably 10 days ahead of time to allow for any bruises to fade!)
  • Finalise your seating plan and provide to whoever is creating your table plan for you (or make it yourself).  This also needs to be passed to the caterer.
  • Prepare table placenames and pass to stationer to prepare.
  • Arrange a date for your wedding rehearsal, if necessary.
  • Contact any guests who haven’t replied to your invitation (rude people!)
  • Organise a date to collect the wedding party outfits.
  • Write the wedding speeches  for the groom, best man and father of the bride.  Doing it well in advance gives you a little time to practice and get over any nerves.
  • If it isn’t giving anything away, wear-in your wedding shoes so you’re comfortable on your big day.
  • Reconfirm arrangements for:
    • your reception venue.
    • the caterer.
    • the florist.
    • the photographer.
    • any wedding transport.
    • your entertainment.
    • your honeymoon.
  • If you haven’t already done so, it’s not too late to sort out your photo guest book…

7 Days before

  • Have your wedding rehearsal.
  • Run through the order of the day with everyone involved.  Give the best man a list of contact details for everyone involved in your big day and ensure that they have his number also
  • Prepare your emergency brides handbag containing: makeup, tissues, paracetamol, blister plasters and cooling leg spray.  Chance are you won’t need all of this, but better to be prepared!
  • Give your ‘order of service’ sheets to the minister.
  • Pack for your honeymoon.  Most importantly put your passports and tickets in a safe place alongside your suitcases – you can replace anything else you might forget
  • Order any foreign currency you’ll need.
  • And remember, it’s STILL not too late to arrange your instant photo guest book as we can have a package with you in 48 hours!

Next week, we’ll update you with your final checklist for the day before and the big day itself!

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Free Instant Photo Guest Book Package worth £100

June 11th, 2010

Getting married between 23rd June and 10th July?

We’re looking to update the Instant Forever website shortly with a brand new real life photo guest book.

So if you’re getting married during that period and would like a FREE fuji instax photo guest book hire package please leave us a comment below, just letting us know when and where you’re getting married and how many guests you’re having.

All we ask in return is that after the wedding you return the guest book to us (postage paid) so that we can scan it in and create a new photo guest book for use on our website.  As soon as we’ve scanned it in, we’ll return it to you immediately, so it should be back with you before you’re even back from honeymoon!

The closing date is next Thursday, 17th June at 5pm and we’ll be in touch shortly afterwards to confirm delivery.

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World Cup Party Ideas

June 10th, 2010

However hard I’ve tried to ignore the fact that the World Cup is happening very shortly, I can’t ignore it any longer. Whether it’s St Georges Cross flags hanging from car windows (and the accompanying facebook / email jibes ‘Erectile dysfunction is on the increase. If you suffer from this, please put a white flag with a red cross on your car to show your support…….), or the fact that my darling husband has already booked his ‘pass-out’ for the evening to watch the first England game on Saturday, I’ve decided that it can no longer be ignored.

So, if like me, you’ve decided to embrace the World Cup by throwing a World Cup Party, here’s a few ideas for you.

Creating the right environment with a big TV

To really recreate that ‘bar-full of people’ atmosphere, you need a big TV or even better an overhead projector that can be linked to your TV. This particular one is HD ready, so it should give a great picture for those all-important goals.

Party Decorations

As with the food, you have a couple of clear options here.  Firstly go down the patrriotic 1966 replay route, supporting England all the way (can you guess how many times the 1966 England win will be mentioned within the opening match commentary.  My guess is 6).  To go with this theme you could consider St Georges Cross bunting, England flags and lots of red, white and blue plates, cups and napkins.

Or go for an African vibe, with lots of potted plants giving the impression of tropical forest and lots of green coloured plates etc.

Food

Again, you have a few choices here.  You could go for traditional football fare, with pork pies, burgers & hotdogs immediately springing to mind.  Or for something a bit more upmarket you could try traditional English grub, like mini fish and chips, or little Yorkshire puddings stuffed with roast beef (Yum!)

As a complete alternative why not try some South African themed food for a great talking point?  Rainbow Nation has some great recipes, including  frikkadels (hamburgers), klappertert (coconut pie) and bobotie (south african shepherds pies).

Drinks

For me, if it’s football, it’s got to be either lager or beer, with good old grufty ale being a favourite in our house.  Or why not try making that party favourite, Punch?  We like a version containing Southern Comfort, lemonade, orange juice, lemon juice and sugar to taste – with the obligatory cherries, orange and lemon slices on top.

Activities

If watching the match and the accompanying banter aren’t enough for you, you could consider face-painting with diffferent country flags.  Or a good old-fashioned sweepstake will add to the excitement – first to score a goal, which minute, final score etc.

Hopefully that will have given you some ideas to make your World Cup party go with a bang – don’t forget your instant photo guest book to record the fun though!

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FAQ’s: How can I make sure that my photo guest book gets completed??

June 8th, 2010

You’re all set for your big day (be that a wedding, birthday party or anniversary).  You’ve gone for an Adesso photo guest book, so you don’t have to worry about glue or tape for your photo guest book (which can get mucky!)  You’ve got your camera, film, spare batteries and photo guest book ready for use, but how can you make sure it gets completed and not left in a corner?

Complete your guest book

It’s easy. There’s two distinct ways that will work better depending on your type and size of event, and just a tiny bit of forward planning will make things run smoothly on the day.

Option 1: Show and tell
We call the first option ’show and tell’ and this option is what we used at our own wedding (you can view the result here). It’s perfect for smaller events, up to 75 guests or one guest book full!

What you need to do:

  • At the end of your wedding ceremony or when all your party guests have assembled, complete your photo guest book in front of all your guests (showing them how it works)
  • At this point, explain what you’re doing and tell them that you’d really like them to complete the guest book during your event.  We asked our celebrant to do this for us, but you could ask the registrar, your master of ceremonies, or your wedding planner / co-ordinator
  • Tell your guests where the guest book will be kept during the event
  • Remind your guests about the photo guest book later in the evening.  We did this during the best man speeches and that was fine as we only had 68 guests.  You could also do this before you call guests to supper.
  • At the end of the evening you should have a perfectly completed photo guest book, ready to take away with you.

Option 2: Job’s a good’un
As you can probably guess, this option involves putting someone in charge of the photo guest book. It doesn’t necessarily have to be one of the bridal party (and in fact it’s sometimes better if it isn’t as they may be needed for photo’s) but it should be someone you can rely on, who likes chatting to people and is responsible. If you’re using an event planner or wedding co-ordinator they’d be perfect for this – just don’t pick someone who is likely to get drunk and fall asleep under a table!

What you need to do:

  • As with the ’show and tell’ it’s always a good idea if you can complete the guest book yourselves so your guests know what they’re doing.
  • Put someone in charge of taking the pics at an appropriate time.  For example at a wedding this could be between the ceremony and dinner, or during a drinks reception
  • Having all the guests together in one place means that the photos can be taken quickly and easily and inserted into the book immediately
  • Show the guests where their picture is in the book, and let them know where the book will be available for completion
  • Alternatively, the guest book(s) can be passed around dinner tables and completed at that point (though if you’re doing this we strongly recommend a protective guest book cover in case of any spills)
  • Ask the person in charge to gently remind everyone later in the day.  I’ve done this by popping round to every table during the dessert, but you could also make a general announcement
  • And that should be it.  Just prepare to enjoy your fully completed guest book and enjoy your day!

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How to personalise your instant photo guest book tip#3 peaches and cream

June 1st, 2010

We’ve just submitted this gorgeous picture to Perfect Wedding Magazine who are doing a feature themed on the colour scheme ‘Peaches and Cream’.

Peaches and cream photo guest book

Peaches and cream photo guest book

We used a white Polaroid Guest Book however this would work just as well with a Fuji album or Digital Photo Guest Book.

We simply applied two rows of 10mm coloured satin ribbon, coloured in shades of peach. The first darker colour was applied with double sided tape, for a flat finish on the front cover. The second was left slightly longer and again applied with double sided tape. This one was tied in a neat bow which was taped underneath to hold it in place.

The finishing touch was inserting a wedding photo of the bride and groom on the front cover – perfect!

Finishing touches for this guest book would be an ivory presentation box or personalised nameplate which can engraved with the bride and groom names and wedding date etc.

As always, our unique design with slots on every page to slide the photo into means you never have to bother with glue or tape and have a professional finish.  And of course you can walk away from your event with photos of all your guests alongside their messages, perfect to enjoy for years to come.

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Instant Photo Guest Books – brilliant alternative to Photo Booth

May 18th, 2010

In terms of Guest Book Alternatives there’s no doubt that having photos of all your guests for you to look back on are a great way to commemorate your wedding or special event. Instant Photo Guest Books for Fuji Instax or Polaroid are one great way of capturing guests photos, alongside their messages, but how do they compare to the new kid on the block, the photo booth? Here’s our rundown:

Price
There’s no doubt that Instant Photo Guest Books are great value for money, with kits including Fuji Instax camera, film and guest book ranging from £125 for up to 75 guests to £285 for up to 250 guests.

Photo Booth hire costs start from £675, plus mileage which can be £100 plus. If you’d like a photo guest book to keep, then allow an additional £100+.

Entertainment
Photo Booths can be lots of fun, employing wigs and other props for guests where appropriate. However nothing really compares with the fun of taking an instant photo and watching it develop in your hand, whether you ’shake it like a Polaroid picture’ or not!

Convenience
To hire a Photo Booth you either need to be close to a hire centre, or be prepared to pay hefty travel expenses. You also need space to set up the booth, and easy, flat and stable access (no stairs involved).

Instant Photo Guest Books are a really convenient alternative. We post the kit out to you well in advance of your wedding, so you can have a play with the camera. The camera is easy to use, just point, click and out pops the photo. The guest books are cunningly put together so that you just slide the photo into the die-cut slot on each page, with no glue or tape required.  And it can be used in any venue, no worrying about accessibility issues.

Immediacy
One of the best things about an Instant Photo Guest Book is that at the end of your event, you can walk away with your completed book in hand, ready to relax and review just what your guests were up to.

By comparison, most photo booths provide your guest book two weeks after the event, so you can expect to receive it after your honeymoon (something to look forward to though!)

Picture Quality
Picture quality from a photo booth is good as they use digital cameras and dye-sublimation printing. Instant photo’s on the other hand have an atmospheric quality that is hard to beat. It’s a personal (and budgetary) preference as to which you choose.

We’ll be looking at other Guest Book Alternatives over coming weeks, so be sure to check back for updates!

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