On to the photos! We started at West Side Park & ended at the Idea Garden by the Arboretum. Thanks to my friends Stef & Sheila for tagging along with us too.

One last thing — leave a comment below for Hannah + Chris, and after 50 comments, they’ll receive a complimentary 10×15″ mounted print of their choice!

Vendors:
Ceremony: Sangamon Valley Christian Center, Mahomet
Reception: 88 Broadway, Urbana
Cake: Kelly Dewitt
Florist: Village Garden Shop, Mahomet
Caterer: Cater Me (Leah Pettit)
Officiant: Pastor Brent Roberson
Dress: David’s Bridal
Bridesmaids: Express
Tuxes: Men’s Warehouse
Photographer: Holly Birch Photography

The first shot here is actually my first successful Brenizer method shot (for the photogs out there!), and I’m happy with how it turned out, but know I have a lot more practice to do. Using Brett Maxwell’s calculator, this image is the equivalent to a 24mm f.52. Amazing!!

1. How long has Blossom Basket been serving the Champaign-Urbana area?
Blossom Basket Florist has been serving the floral needs of the Champaign-Urbana since 1956. We have several full-time and part-time floral designers that comprise our wedding design team. I (Brittany) currently meet and consult with each bride (and her fiancé or mother or sister or who ever she brings to the consultation) and then work along side the rest of the team conveying the vision developed with the bride and working hands-on in the design process.

2. How many couples did you work with in 2011? How about 2012?
In 2011, we designed custom wedding flowers for 136 central Illinois weddings. In 2012, we have already designed 18 weddings and have 66 already booked for the remainder of the year. We still have many weekends with availability and anticipate serving over 150 weddings in 2012.

3. What is your favorite type of flower or plant to work with?
Oh, don’t make me pick a favorite – that’s like choosing a favorite child or pet. I just love them all! But my personal favorite flower is an orange spray rose called Mambo. In general I really enjoy using spray roses.They have the same shape and beauty of a rose but are smaller in size and come in a cluster and really enhance the texture of a bouquet. Orchids are another flower that can bring additional interest to a bouquet. Orchids are very versatile, fitting in with many different styles.

4. Do you have a favorite color combination or scheme?
Holly, you’re killing me. ; ) …It really doesn’t matter what my favorite is, it is my job to help each bride choose a beautiful combination in her favorite color palate. When brides ask me this question I tell them, “I already got to choose my favorite for my wedding, now it’s your turn.” I am generally a fan of a analogous color palates (shades of the same color or colors near it on the color wheel) and I chose shades of hot pink and orange with touches of burgundy, peach, and medium pink for my own wedding. I’m definitely a color lover, but have recently felt my heart pitter-patter over white and shades of white bouquets.

5. Why should couples choose Blossom Basket as their wedding florist?
Our entire Blossom Basket team is dedicate to customer service. My goal is to understand and then create a bouquet that matches the style and vision of each bride. “From Simple to Simply Magnificent” has been a tag line we use and we truly mean it! Any budget, any style, and colors our team will work with each couple to figure out their preferences and priorities.

6. What current wedding trend do you enjoy the most?
Vintage-inspired details are fun! They can add style or sentiment or sometimes both. From a simple token like Grandma’s broach on the handle of a bride’s bouquet to a collection of antique teapots and cups as containers for centerpieces reminders of the past can bring a hint of emotion or carry the whole theme for the wedding.

7. What is one fun fact about you (or Blossom Basket) that brides might like to know?
The Blossom Basket Florist is a Christian-based business. Our core value and chief aim is to spread the love of Jesus through our service to our customers and the community. We feel blessed to be chosen to serve the floral needs of each couple that selects Blossom Basket to be their wedding florist.

Below are a few of my favorite bouquets from Blossom Basket that I’ve photographed.

1. How long has Illini Photo Booth been in business?
We have been in business a little over 3 years. We started in February of 2009 and have been successful way beyond our expectations.

2. How did your business come about, and what got you started?
We attended a friend’s wedding in the St. Louis area, and they had a photo booth at their reception. We had so much fun taking pictures throughout the night and thought that Central Illinois needed a local photo booth business. A lot of people were hiring photo booth companies out of Chicago. We wanted to provide Central Illinois with an affordable and high-quality product! We built the booth ourselves, and every detail took a lot of work and research. We hope guests notice that when they step in the booth and view their pictures afterward.

3. Why should couples hire Illini Photo Booth for their wedding?
We are a small business and we care about our clients. We don’t have franchise fees or a high overhead costs, so we won’t talk you into something you don’t want. We are low pressure and want your wedding to be amazing. I personally spend a great deal of time working on each wedding to make sure the graphics on the pictures are exactly how the bride and groom want them. I’ve spent a good 5-6 hours on one layout before. So whether your wedding is simple & elegant, or over the top, we make sure you’re happy with what we provide.

4. What do you enjoy most about working at wedding receptions?
When the reception first starts, everyone is on their best behavior. I like it when people start to get comfortable and do silly pictures in the photo booth and really get out on the dance floor. I love seeing guests have fun–which is probably why I love our business so much!

5. What sets you apart from other local photo booth companies?
I think we’re all trying to do the same thing; however, I think our physical booth really sets us apart. It is a sturdy structure and is not made out of curtains. This is especially good if there is an open bar at the reception and people have been partaking heavily! Our photo quality is amazing, too. We use a professional printer, so the prints you receive (in only 16 seconds) look like prints you would get from the store. As I mentioned before, I also spend a lot of time perfecting the design on each picture. I do some graphic design in my spare time, so I love that part of my job!

6. What current wedding trend do you enjoy the most?
Besides having a photo booth? Hmm. It seems like there are a lot of themed weddings lately. When I got married, which wasn’t incredibly long ago, we picked colors and everything revolved around those colors. Now, it seems like a lot of people are choosing a theme first and the colors sort of follow. I love walking into a wedding reception and knowing exactly what the bride and groom were going for. Sometimes it even feels like you’ve been whisked away out of Central Illinois. Since I have a one-year old, I don’t mind feeling like I’m getting a vacation every once in a while!

7. What is one fun fact about you that brides might like to know?
I spent more time planning my daughter’s first birthday than I did our wedding. We planned our wedding in only 6 months. At the time, it didn’t seem that strange, but after being in the wedding business a few years, I realize that was a very short amount of time. I planned my daughter’s wedding for about 8 months, which I realize is a bit ridiculous. It turned out perfectly, though. My husband is surprised I haven’t started planning her wedding already–how does he know I haven’t?!

Thanks, Lauren, for answering my questions!
And here’s a photo from a wedding that Holly Birch Photography & Illini Photo Booth did together.

And here’s a sample of what you’ll get from Illini Photo Booth at your wedding.

Please leave a comment below, and after 50 comments, Lauren + Ryan will receive a complimentary 10×15″ mounted print of their choice.

Ceremony & Reception: St. Matthews Catholic Church
Cake: Cakes by Lori
Florist: Jarro Designs
Caterer: Biaggi’s
DJ, Uplighting & Linens: Elite Entertainment
Officiant: Fr. John Zilimu
Dress, suits & Bridesmaids: Michelle’s
Transportation: Starr Limo
Photographer: Holly Birch Photography
Second photographer: Darrell Hoemann Photography

1) Rather than DVDs for wedding images, I will now be putting images onto either a 4- or 8GB USB thumb drive. I believe this will be better and easier for everyone in the long run — especially me who often forgets to burn the print release onto the disc!

2) Beginning May 1, online proofing for portrait sessions will not be available until after you complete an in-studio (or in-home) ordering session. Also, rather than offering print credits with portrait sessions, you will instead get 10% off anything you order during the ordering session.

3) The pricing structure for prints and canvases will be changing slightly as well. Actual prices are staying the same, but I have simplified everything by removing some less popular items, and changing to non-crop photo ratios (this will make more sense at your ordering session, but basically means you will get an 8×12” print rather than an 8×10” print, for example).

And, since every post is better with an image, here is a sneak peek at Catherine & Brian’s maternity session from yesterday. Best of luck to the parents-to-be as they near their due date!

What got you interested in being a wedding videographer?
One of my biggest passions and hobbies is design and video editing. Being newly married, my wife was always very interested in weddings and really loved the process of planning ours. A friend of ours said that we should go into wedding videography, and we thought it was a fantastic idea. It allowed both of us work together in a business that incorporated interests from both of us. It didn’t take long for me to catch the wedding bug, and fall in love with the wedding industry. So far, Kortny hasn’t tried her hand at editing, but I’m holding onto hope!

When did you start Park Life Videography?
We were married in July 2004, and we filmed our first wedding on New Years Eve, 2005.

What is one reason you would give couples to hire a videographer over having a friend video their wedding day?
We have no doubt that someone’s Uncle Rick would have all the good intentions of filming a quality wedding video, but when you hire someone, it’s that person’s sole job to film your wedding and nothing else. Even if a couple has a friend who works with video and film, that person will most likely want to hang out with everyone at some point and may otherwise miss out on some of the action. When you hire us to film, we’re there to serve the clients and nothing else. Okay – maybe have a slice of cake, but that’s about it. (Holly note: YES! Cake! You all know how I love cake too!)

What makes you different from other videographers in the Champaign area?
We take great pride in the fact that we love to help tell the couple’s story. Yes, we feel like our style in which we shoot and edit is very modern and relevant. However, you can take all the cool shots you want, and do some really great editing, but if the couple’s story isn’t the first and foremost thing in the film, it’s not going to matter. We really care about our clients, and a huge part of what we do is find out their story, what makes them tick, why they love each other, and let that be the driving force behind everything we do when we serve them.

What is your favorite thing about filming weddings?
No wedding is the same. We’re obsessed with telling each couple’s unique story through our highlight films, engagement trailers, and same-day edits. We also love serving people, and we’re honored we get to serve people on one of the most important days of their lives.

Did you have a videographer at your own wedding? Would you make the same choice now?
My wife wanted a videographer, but I didn’t see the point! It’s safe to say that my view has changed since then. Luckily, I yielded to her wishes and we had one. I’m thankful that in 50 years, we’ll have our video to show our kids. And our out of date hair.

Name one fun fact about you and your family that would help couples to understand you a bit more.
One fun fact. Hmmm. Kortny loves shows like The Bachelor and sappy love movies (you can tell who’s writing this), and Jeremiah loves film and editing. That’s why ParkLife is such a perfect fit for us. We get to take part in the most important day of people’s lives, and we get to be creative and capture it on film.

Are you completely booked for 2012 yet? How about 2013?
We’re not completely booked for 2012 yet, but we are filling up at a faster pace than any other year. So if someone’s interested in booking us for this year, contact us quick! We’ve booked more weddings for next year than we’ve ever had at this point before, but we have plenty of dates open for ’13.

Here’s one of my favorite videos from ParkLife to date:

Chad + Brynn [highlight film] from ParkLife Wedding Films on Vimeo.

And here’s another favorite, and actually from a wedding that we worked on together. It’s so neat being a part of something, and then seeing Jeremiah & Kortny’s take on it a few weeks later. Great job guys!

Joe + Jeanice [highlight film] from ParkLife Wedding Films on Vimeo.