Registries - The Art of the Thank You Note

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a Batman-themed baby carriage.

We've all heard that one before.

In the midst of registry discussions, you'll inevitably find yourself going - 'first comes scanning, then comes buying, then comes... the thank you note!'

I've made a personal vow to stay on top of thank you notes throughout our engagement and wedding. One way I'm organizing things is by keeping a shared document on Google that lists the gifts we've received, when we got them, and when we sent the thank you note.

If you're looking for tips on how to write a great registry thank you note (or a great thank you note in general) - Martha Stewart is delivering that to you here, today. Basically, personalize your note to reflect not only that you're grateful for the gift but also the thought that was put into it and your relationship to the other person.

Gus and I also recommend a less popular but far more entertaining version of a Thank You Note: the YouTube Box Opening Video. My amazing girlfriends from Duke sent us a gift and since they couldn't be there with us to open it and see our reaction - we filmed it and then posted it unlisted to YouTube and sent them the link.

I'm tempted to link it here but we're both so incredibly dorky in it that I'll leave it to your imagination. Regardless, it ended up being a fun way to include our loved ones that were far away.

Happy note writing all!

The Great Venue Search

Gus and I are narrowing down our wedding venue currently (which I'll share as soon as we confirm it- yay!) Til then, here's a suitable backup.

Apparently, McDonald's offers wedding packages now! Oy. At least we like the fries and there's no real question about the liquor options.

The Photography "Kiss of Death"

Gus and I are planning to get married in North Carolina (my most excellent home state that is also within 200 miles of the nearly everyone in my extended family). As we've started to research various vendors, I've become an expert on one that's a major wedding priority to us: photography.

I've probably seen every website for every photographer that looks remotely interesting in the entire state.

In this research, as you might imagine, I've been able to quickly deduce whether I love the photos, if the pricing's on par, and really - if this is someone I might trust to shoot our wedding.

In this experience, I've developed a strange skill as part of the process- I can, in under 60 seconds, peruse a photographers' blog or site and determine if they sink or swim. And most usually, they sink.

Here my friends, is what I like to call - the photography "Kiss of Death" (for me anyway):

I'll leave the photographer's name out of this. Black and white with one thing in color. Okay, this was kind of cool circa 1997 when "Pleasantville" came out. And maybe some of you remember a little movie called "Schindler's List" that employed this technique? Not exactly something I'd like my wedding photos to be reminiscent of.

Another photography pet peeve? Out of focus and poorly exposed images! While the composition might be great, there's nothing worse than a photographer with a great eye but a blurry or grainy photo. You really need to look closely at this cause many photographers who do it are just as pricey as those that know how to retouch and to photograph crystal clear and wonderfully lit images.

I'm still in the midst of the whole process but I'm sure these lessons will come in handy.

I'll leave you on this last tip: once I find a photographer I like, I add their blog to my RSS feeds in Google Reader. I've created a "Photographers" group and I rename the blog subscription with info about the photographer, i.e. "Annies Awesome Photography - Wilmington - Starts at 2500." Easy peasy to go back and find when we're ready to pull the trigger (or click the shutter, mwaha) on our photographer.