think that snow days were the best when I was in high school. I got to stay home, miss school and watch TV.  It was awesome. However, what I didn’t realize was just how amazing snow days are at college! You’re already with all of your friends! And when 40+ college kids get excited about snow, there is NO WAY you won’t have a good time! We waited and waited for the snow to come last night and finally, at 3 am, it started to fall! We woke up this morning and I knew it was just a matter of time before the crowds would start to gather.  Everyone started to trickle in and before we knew it, there were 40+ people involved in a massive snowball fight.

a quick post, as I will be spending ALL day at Panera working on a lit review.  Ugh. I really, and I mean REALLYYY cannot wait to be done with theorists and research and school in general.  It’s going to be glorious!

So the beginning of the semester I did something I should have done a LONG time age! I rearranged my room/office.  That’s right, my office and my bedroom are the same place and have been since the start of Inspired Designs. If you are new to the blog, you must know that I am still a full time college student and that one day I WILL have a real studio-style office! It’s going to be amazing!! I’m already thinking of colors and new sample canvases to order! But for now I will be content with my newly arranged room at school.

Who says your centerpieces need to cost an arm and leg?! There are SO many ways to cut costs but still have  beautiful and unique wedding decor.

The credit of this whole post should go to my roommate Mandy who brought home a ton of apples yesterday from the dining hall! I saw them sitting on her desk and my mind started wondering.  How cute would it be to decorate with apples?! I’ve seen so many cute ideas on some of the wedding blogs I mentioned on last week’s post.  Normally at weddings, especially large budget weddings, the centerpieces are large vases overflowing with masses of fresh flowers. While these displays are beautiful, they involve huge amounts of $$$! Why not use some not-so-normal ideas that are cheap and make your centerpieces unique!

It’s easy to plan a centerpiece idea when you have a theme to build off of.  If this display existed at a real wedding, the theme would most likely be “Country Apple”.  Doesn’t that have a cute ring to it? Any 2010 brides that are looking for wedding theme ideas, feel free to steal this one! So, I started with the apples as my dominant piece of the whole display.  Everything else worked around them!

Here are the ingredients:

- Twigs from the driveway!

- Vase from our living room

- 7 apples

- 2 vintage frames from the Thrift Store ($3 each)

The awesome thing about apples is that you could re-do this whole display with green apples! It would have a TOTALLY different look!

As much as a bride may try, the wedding day will always be a little hectic.  Sometimes we are rushed during portraits and other times we have have all the time in the world! But it was during those first few weddings that were a little rushed that I learned how important it is to be CONSTANTLY shooting.  Now I’m not encouraging photographers to shoot recklessly in hopes to just get one good shot.  I am simply saying that sometimes, if you are constantly looking for composition, you can get some awesome shots during your transitions.  When you are crunched for time and moving fast, be sure to take advantage of your transitions instead of just trying to get to the next location.  It’s hard! Believe me, I know! I remember shooting my first solo wedding (I second shot before doing a wedding on my own, don’t EVER do your first wedding alone! There is WAY too much to learn) and I was so overwhelmed.  Not only do you have to be constantly talking and reassuring your clients, you have to be adjusting your settings and WB for the changing light and you have to ALSO have to be thinking of exactly where you are going to shoot next! To top it off, you are normally fighting the clock too!

It’s A LOT to learn and I am STILL learning something new EVERY wedding I shoot.  I will never stop learning how to do this job better but I am getting more comfortable.  Now, instead of fumbling over my settings and frantically looking for locations, it’s a natural process and I can pay more attention to documenting the transitions! Use your transitions! If the bride and groom are walking to the reception, have them hold hands and shoot from behind.  If you are crossing the street, have them give you a quick smile as they cross.  You never know, sometimes transition shots can be some of your favorites!

Here are some of my favorite transitions!