Weddings, printers, and foolish pride

So. This time last weekend I was in a wedding. And not just any wedding, but the wedding of one of my closest friends. And it was awesome. I think, if it's possible, I was actually more excited for Leah's wedding than I was for my own...because now I know just a little bit more about what marriage is and what it means than I did...well, before I was married. You get the idea.

I wanted to do something special for Leah and Ty, particularly because I had such an attentive and spectacular matron of honor and because Leah added quite a few personal touches to my own wedding. The bar had been set high, and I was going to do everything I could to rise to the challenge.

When I first saw letter photography, I was pretty well entranced by it, and I always thought that Leah, as an architect, would appreciate it as well. Granted, it's a little more "trendy" now than it was when I first saw it a few years ago (trendy=not an architect thing), but I decided to make a name collage as a wedding gift. And now that I had my own fancy camera, I wanted to take all my own pictures. Well, the whole thing ended up being quite a bit more of a production than I had imagined, especially since I didn't always know (and still don't) how to use Photoshop efficiently and also because to accommodate seven letters I ended up going with a 10x30 print (which ain't exactly small!), but in the end I was a little too pleased with myself and how it came out. I know if I knew anything more about photography, I would not have been as prideful. Know what I mean? (But I'm still ignorant, so it's all good for now.)

Here's the final product:

Leah and Ty are triathletes, which explains the bike rack (W) and running trail (S) pictures. (You can't tell very well because this image is so small, but my running shoes are in the foreground of the trail picture.) Because they live on the Gulf, the A is a pier and the first T is a fleur de lis. The second T is the steeple of the church where they were married (also the church Leah helped rebuild as the lead architect after Katrina), and the E is part of the American flag as a nod to Ty's service in the Navy. The R is just a random arm of a bench because there aren't a lot of picture options for that letter, but it might actually be my favorite picture. I really like the texture from the grain of the wood.

I don't know if you're aware of this, but you can't really just order a 10x30 print from Wal-Mart. I actually considered several options for the print, including canvas. One idea I saw online and wanted to steal was to print each letter to its own canvas so the letters could be set on a mantle or a shelf as separate tiles. But I couldn't find a printer that would print canvases that small.

I ended up going with Color, Inc., and I was quite pleased with them. I hope I have a reason to give them more business again! They actually send you 5 free 5x7 prints before you place an order with them so you can be sure their prints match what you see on your computer. If not, you can make adjustments, which I didn't need to do. In addition to that, their shipping is free, unless you get something over 40 inches, I think it is. The print came via Priority Mail in just a couple of days. I couldn't believe it was that fast and free!

Plus they seem to be a Christian (family-run?) business, and they sent me this little "Thanks for signing up" note in the mail that I thought was a pretty cool little touch. So simple, and yet quite original. Look 'em up the next time you need a printer.