So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu

February 17th, 2011

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu.  It’s with some sadness that I have to report that after 10 years of production, Adesso Albums have taken the decision to discontinue operations.

“Since 2002, Adesso Albums‟ Instant Photo Guest Books have been a part of over 50,000 events,” said Lesley Mattos, Founder and President of Adesso Albums. “We began our relationship with most of our customers at their wedding, and their Adesso Albums became such a treasured keepsake that they made one part of all of their celebrations – baby showers, parents‟ anniversaries, siblings‟ graduations, birthday parties, retirements, even memorial services.”

“That said, events and economic conditions over the past three years which were out of our control – Polaroid‟s exit from the instant camera and film market, the transition to the little known Fuji Instax instant cameras and film, and the economy in general – have resulted in declining revenues,” Mattos continued. “It is with great sadness that we must now discontinue operations.”

Instant Forever Closing Down Sale

Here at Instant Forever we’ve taken the decision to discontinue operations ourselves over coming months or until stock runs out – all our albums, including fujifilm albums, polaroid albums, pogo / instax mini albums, and digital albums will be available at discounted prices during this period.

In addition, we’re selling off our range of Party Poppers, Table Trivia & Dinner Party Distractions, Confetti & Confetti Launchers and Table Confetti at bargain prices starting from just £1!

But if you have a new baby – this is what we’re up to next

That being said we’re not resting on our laurels as we’ve just revamped and relaunched our washable baby wipes kit for cloth or disposable nappy users over at Cheeky Wipes.

Cheeky Baby Wipes can be used with cloth or disposable nappies.  They’re better for the environment, your pocket and your baby as they use just water and essential oils.

We’re taking delivery of our fantastic new kits soon and as a good-bye from us, you can pre-order them for just £35 including postage, a saving of £6.90: http://www.cheekywipes.com/baby_wipes_kit_new_offer

Thanks so much everyone for your support over the last 5 years.  We’ve had some good times and I’ll really miss helping people capture their special event in an Instant, saving it Forever.

Stay happy and healthy.

Helen

FAQ: How many guests is an instant photo guest book package suitable for?

February 10th, 2011

I thought I’d do an update on this question following a lively chat I had with a customer during the week.  Our standard instant photo guest book packages hold 30 photos and are suitable for up to 75 guests. If that seems strange, we know from experience that most people will complete the book in pairs or small groups of three or four. You can take a look at my wedding guest book to see how this worked in real-life – we had 70 guests.

The package includes Fuji instant camera (or camera hire), guest book and 40 shots of film. This is 10 more than you need for the book, but gives you some extras for ‘re-do’s etc.

For 75 – 150 guests
We recommend upgrading to our ‘package 2′. This gives you 2 guest books (holding 60 photos in total), plus camera or camera hire and 80 shots of film. This gives you 20 spare shots of film – 10 per book.

For 150 – 225 guests
Package 3 is the one you’ll need, containing 3 guest books (holding 90 photos in total), plus camera or camera hire and 120 shots of film in total. Again, this will provide you with 30 spare shots of film.

Why do the books only hold 30 photos? Don’t they come in a larger size?
Logistically it’s much quicker and easier to have multiple books which can all be completed at the same time. If you can imagine most people take 5 minutes to have their picture taken and then write something, completing one guest book with 30 photos will take about 2 1/2 hours….but doing two concurrently would take 5 hours! You can always use one of our slipcases to give you the ‘look’ of one book on your bookshelf.

February Special Offer – Digital Photo Guest Books as Baby Keepsakes

February 3rd, 2011

As you may have guessed from some of my previous posts, we’ve got a new baby arriving here at Instant Forever towards the end of March.  As such, all things baby are very much at the forefront of our minds which is great as it gives us a focus for this month!

We’re thinking ‘Baby’ and whether you’ve just found out you’re pregnant and want to keep a pregnancy photo journal, or are planning a baby shower or naming ceremony then you’ll want to know about our fabulous digital photo guest books.

We’re offering £15 off our digital photo guest books in either baby blue, baby pink or white colours.

All our guest books can be gift-wrapped in coloured tissue and ribbon, just let us know in the special instructions on the order form and we’ll do that for FREE!

Newly Pregnant? Remember it always with a photo journal

January 28th, 2011

Mike Nowill Photography

As soon as you see that faint pink line on the pregnancy test, you know your life is about to change forever.

Even now that I’m pregnant with my 4th child, the wonder of pregnancy astounds and delights me (when I’m not too tired to enjoy it obviously!)  40 weeks seems like such a long time, but it flies by and before you know it, you’ve reached 32 weeks without even a bump picture to show for it.

Why now remember these Instants Forever, with an Adesso photo album, allowing you to capture and document every instant, from finding out the good news through scans and your growing bump.

The front cover can feature the 12 week scan pic, and you can follow it up with all those milestone events: getting the nursery ready, finding out the sex (or not?), starting maternity leave and of course the gorgeous moment when you meet your beautiful child for the first time.

An Instant Photo Guest Book from Instant Forever is something you can capture spontanaeously throughout your pregnancy, creating a wonderful personal keepsake for both you and your baby.

Looking for a unique Bar / Bat Mitzvah idea?

January 20th, 2011

If you’ve got your child’s Bar / Bat Mitzvah coming up and are looking for some ideas to help celebrate their coming of age in style, then we’ve got a few ideas for you.

One of our favourite themes had got to be ‘Red Carpet Glam’. Ask guests to dress up in their fanciest clothing and then literally roll out the red carpet (you can pick them up online for a very reasonable price!). Add move themed posters and props, complete with silver and gold accessories and you’re sorted. You could even have an ‘awards ceremony’ showing a DVD montage of clips or photos from your childs life.

If that’s not for you, how about a Las Vegas themed party? Casino tables and wandering magicians can provide the entertainment with decorations ranging from playing cards to roulette wheels.

Or how about a Carnival theme?  Kick off with some rousing beats (we particularly like Carnival Collective, a Brighton based band who’ll really get your party started!)  Decorate with lots of colour, think yellow, green red, the more vibrant, the better.  Food can be your standard ‘Carnie’ fare, so think hot dogs, pop corn, slush puppies and ice cream – yum!

Bat Mitzvah Image - www.orchidevents.co.uk

If all that seems too much like hard work, then just keep it simple by picking a colour theme.  For girls you can never go wrong with pink (be that fairy lights, feathers, butterflies or flowers) and having pink treats to match – candy-floss, sugared almonds, candy canes just for starters.

Whatever theme you decide upon, don’t forget to capture the Instant, Forever with an Instant Photo Guest Book….allowing you to capture your guests feelings alongside their pictures and treasure them always as a cherished memento.

January Special Offer – Free Protective Photo Guest Book Cover

January 6th, 2011

Happy New year to one and all!

Although VAT prices have increased we’ve kept our Fuji Instax Photo Guest Book hire packages at the same price of just £90, plus £35 refundable deposit.  That’s for our basic package which is suitable for up to 75 guests and includes guest book, camera hire and film.

As if that wasn’t enough, if you order one of our packages before the end of January, you can add a free protective cover (worth £5) for your guest book, protecting it from grubby fingers marks and stains whilst it’s being completed.

To find out more about our Fuji camera hire packages, visit our website.

Fuji Instax is just a different brand of ‘Polaroid’ type instant camera and you just point, click and out pops the photo!  We’re recommending Fuji Instax for all spring / summer 2011 weddings (see our previous blog post to find out why.)

Merry Christmas! Festive Delivery Details and Special Offer

December 21st, 2010

Merry Christmas from Instant Forever!

All this snow is making us feel very festive at Instant Forever, although it isn’t doing much for us logistically!

UPS have advised us that they are not accepting any further parcels for delivery until they clear the existing backlog, so the next collection from them will be 29th December (for delivery on 30th December).  As a result we’re holding all orders placed between 21st & 28th December and they will be sent with UPS / 1st class delivery on 29th, so hopefully won’t be too much delayed.

Of course, if you need your order urgently, please let us know and we’ll work on an alternative method of dispatch (sleigh and reindeer anyone?)

As a ‘Thank you’ for your custom and patience, please accept 10% off any orders placed until 31st December by quoting the coupon code ‘merrychristmas’.

Have a fantastic holiday!

Instant Photo Guest Books – fabulous birthday present!

December 14th, 2010

I’ve just spoken with a lady who wants to have one of our Instant Photo Guest Books to celebrate her Mother’s 80th birthday – fantastic idea we say!

At the other end of the spectrum, this lovely little video captures the fun you can have with an Adesso Instant Photo Guest Book for the other end of the spectrum at a 2nd birthday party….Not to mention christmas, anniversaries, retirement parties.  In fact any occasion where you want to capture the Instant, Forever!

10 things you should never to do at your office Christmas Party

December 9th, 2010

Image courtesy of www.brainboxcandy.com

It’s that time of year again…Christmas Party season. I look back on my Christmas parties with fondness, not least because 10 years ago (yesterday) was when I got together with my husband at out office christmas party. It was an occasion fuelled by Jack Daniels and brought about because the NHS had to reschedule his knee operation….and here we are 10 years later, expecting no4 child together.

Anyway, this anniversary reminded me of all the inappropriate behaviour that I’d witnessed over the years so I thought I’d make a list for anyone about to enjoy their first office christmas ‘do’. Here’s how NOT to behave (they weren’t me, honest!)

  • Pulling your skirt up to prove to your bank manager boss that you are actually wearing suspenders and stockings (especially when you’re the assistant manager)
  • Flashing your boobs / bum at anyone
  • Playing ‘chasey’s’ on the desks of the office in and around the PC’s
  • Being married and found in compromising position with a junior in the toilets…
  • Being sick at your directors feet on her Christian Louboutin shoes!
  • Crying. Someone always cries, for some reason or another
  • Thinking it’s amusing to wee in a wine glass and put it back on a table in the hope that someone unsuspecting person will drink it by mistake
  • Tell your boss what you really think of them/ your colleagues / their management style…no, no, no!
  • Falling asleep in the toilets
  • Telling anyone that you love them

One thing that we can of course recommend is using an instant photo guest book to capture every inappropriate comment & picture for posterity (or legal action as the case may be…)

If you’ve got an office christmas party tale that you’d like to share, please feel free to leave a comment…

Why do I need an instant photo guest book at my wedding?

November 30th, 2010

Why do I need an instant photo guest book for my wedding?

We’ve just taken delivery of this lovely little video which shows what a fabulous idea our photo guest books are, just see for yourself!