For the last several years, the popularity of photo booths have been on the rise. They are so much fun at a wedding reception for the guests, as well as the bride and groom.  Locally, I know of several DJs that have them - JAMM Entertainment, Feel the Beat, Total Entertainment, Amerson Events - and more I am sure.  Some photographers even supply them - Gresham Photography, The Foto Atelier - off the top of my head.  It gives the wedding guests something to do when the band takes a break or if they just need a break from dancing.  

But what I love more than photo booths are the PROPS!!!  Signs, chalkboards, mustaches, silly hats, yes, YES, please!

Here is fun wedding photo taken from The Wedding Chicks!  Photo credit goes to True Photography.

What do you get when you open a bag of Fritos or Doritos, and add meat, lettuce, sour cream, cheese and salsa in it?  You get the most tastiness EVER!  B & A Catering here in Birmingham offers this on their catering menu.  I love it at a wedding!

This is a great wedding trend that I hope we continue to see in 2012 and years to come!

Thanks to Picky Palate for their photo!

I have always had a passion for wild and crazy socks.  Sadly, I still possess and wear some of the same socks that I had in high school. They are just too cute to get rid of!  I even wear fun wedding socks on Saturdays!  Needless to say, when the trend started for guys to wear wild socks on the wedding day, I was thrilled!  It never gets old to me!  Stripes, plaids, solid, but fun colors!  I love them all!

Thanks to Pretty Chicky for their photo!  

Now that the long anticipated magazine release is out, you can see the beautiful photo shoot of Norton's Weddings & Events.  Sure it is a long day filled with lots of hard work, but you do get to hang out with your "work friends" so it makes it all worth it!  

For this shoot, J Ross with Norton's trasforrmed the venue into a garden oasis.  You can see all of the pictues in the 2012 Alabama Weddings Magazine.  Here is the behind the scenes video that we did of all of the fun that goes along with a photo shoot!  A special thanks to Jerrod Brown Studios, Olexa's, Bella Couture, Mr. Burch Formal Wear, Melissa Moore Bogardus (makeup), Bromberg's, Andy Tolar with Design Productions and The Garage.  

from Vimeo:

 from YouTube:

I love when we do an out of town or destination wedding.  When we arrive to our room and there is a wonderful welcome kit or basket waiting for us.  Sometimes we find personalized goodies, sometimes little bottles of wine, but we always find yummy treats!  And let me tell you that after you have been working at the wedding for 12 hours or so and you get back to your room after midnight, those goodies are a God-send!  I know your guests will feel the same way!  

Our favorite welcome kit had homemade buscuits and jam!  I never tasted anything as good at 2:00 a.m. when the wedding ended.  Gifts that are unique to the city are great for out of town guests too!  Here in Birmingham we have a lot of neat options - have fun with it.   

Here is one example I found of welcome kits.  It is from Martha Stewart Weddings, by Olivia Leigh Photographie.  

Details, details, details! Every location topped the one before giving Jerrod Brown great images for the magazine (Alabama Weddings Magazine) and us fantastic behind the scenes footage. Elegant ideas for a wedding throughout and a little "Good ol' boys" thrown in for fun at the end during the credits so watch the entire thing!

Beverly Andrews with Engaging Celebrations kept the day organized and on track, while Carol Riley of Lillie's created beautiful works of art. Andy Tolar with Design Productions added touches of light creating just the right atmosphere.

Other vendors included:

Sweet Spot Confections
The White Room
Misty Smith
Bama Balloons
Double Oak Community Church
The Historic Pumping Station
Hart & Soul Cafe

And here is the youtube link, for those who prefer.

Yesterday was our official 1st wedding of the year.  I say official because when you have a December 31st wedding, it really is like your last one of the year, but the first one too.  
 
Everything about the day was absolutely beautiful for bride Tiffany and her beau Craig. She couldn't have asked for better weather and a more perfect day.  Greg Hawkins with Studio G was in his element to say the least.  
 
We just fell in love with these two families.   I think when we get to film the rehearsal dinner it gives us a terrific insight into the family.  They were a very tight knit group with lots of babies everywhere!  I was in heaven.  
 
But it just wasn't because there were babies around that the wedding weekend was so great, it really was a combination of everything.  I have to give credit to Beverly Andrews with Engaging Celebrations.  Her weddings truly are amazing!  I don't think people realize how much they are missing out on when they don't hire an experienced wedding planner.  From the vendor side, it couldn't be a better day and to see (and film) the relaxed expressions on the bride and her mother, then I know how much better the wedding day is for them too.  
 
After a beautiful wedding ceremony at Palisades Church of Christ, the guests made their way over to one of our new favorite venues, Ted's Gargage.  Happy Catering had set up stations after stations of yummy food for the guests.  I loved how the band started the evening off with a dance for all of the fathers and daughters.  It really helped to get people to the dance floor and they stayed!
 
So the end of the night comes, the couple leaves in the bride's dad's restored Thunderbird.  Right after we run back in and get into a hiding spot.  No, we were not trying to stay at Ted's Garage all night, we were getting into place for a romantic proposal that was about to happen!!!  It was so exciting!  Take a look at the footage below.  The guitarist was the lead singer in the band, a groomsman, and the brother of the gal that is about to start planning her wedding! 
 
 

So last week we noticed a little activity on one of our vimeo-posted videos.  No, I am not talking about another Hungarian blog that picked up the "Bridesmaid Jill" link again.  Always entertaining though.
 
But seriously, it was great fun watching the numbers grow all day long.  If you know me, you know that having a viral video is my ultimate goal in life and I had hopes and dreams of it happening right then!  The numbers were growing by the hundreds every few minutes.  I could just see myself on The Today Show - with our beautiful bride talking about her amazing wedding video.  I might have even given John the day off to come with me!
 
Well, my hopes and dreams crashed when the video that was raking in the numbers was not a wedding-related video, but a video of Christmas lights.  Christmas lights?  Really, that is what will make me famous????  Sure, they are cool lights set to music and it is very tastefully done.  But nothing about weddings.  Oh well, I guess you have to take it when you can get it.  
 
Please take a moment to watch this very awesome video of a local couple that goes to the extreme when putting up their Christmas lights!  You must drive by and take a look for yourself!  1030 Millstone Road, Leeds, AL 35094.

 

I'm telling you - I am loving these afternoon weddings!  When you have a beautiful venue with a beautiful couple, you just can't go wrong.  Oh wait, add in fantastic photographers, and you really have it made!  Now of course, these screen shots can't compare to the Gresham's (Gresham Photography), but I hope that it will give you a glimpse into Abbie and Chris's wonderful wedding day!

A special thanks to Neillie Butler with Mairee Ami Wedding Planning on a job well done, Feel the Beat, Barb's Cakes, KG Designs and Kathy G Catering!  What a great team!

People often say, "It seems like just yesterday" when talking about important events from the past, but it doesn't feel that way to me.  It seems like FOREVER ago!  I thought I was going to throw up.  

 

Nine years ago today, a couple trusted us to film their wedding.  It was John's cousin getting married and someone thought that it would be a good idea for us to record it.  So we did.  It didn't win any awards for cinematography.  But if was life changing for us.  It was from that wedding that we decided to start Main Street Productions.  

 

In an industry that changes as fast as this one, nine years can be a lifetime.  Over this next year, ending with the most amazing party celebrating our 10 year, you will see many changes with Main Street.  We joke that we are throwing everything up in the air and seeing where it lands.  We have met a lot of great couples and wedding friends along the way, and we look forward to an exciting future.