Labor Day | Riverfest

A couple weeks ago we went to Riverfest on the Ohio River, otherwise known as the WEBN Fireworks. This is something I always look forward to, not because I have some fetish with crowds or traffic--quite the opposite--but because one of my brothers goes the day before to save the best seats in the house. I've never experienced fireworks as great as these.

This year we took both cameras with us. Dan mainly used our wide angle zoom lens because we thought it would look cool to have a shot with both bridges and a full view of the action. He also used our tripod. I used our 50mm 1.4 because it's my favorite lens and I wanted to see how it would do. I mainly shot from my knee or lap, depending on how I was sitting. You can only get so comfortable on a seat of concrete. It was really neat to sort through the images and see how we got completely different shots of the same fireworks.

Sitting on the Cincinnati side, looking toward the Kentucky side.


Here comes the barge full o' fireworks, around 8:00p.





























The wind was not in our favor this year, so there was some smoke and debris. While the fireworks weren't the sharpest in this shot, I thought they were neat coming from both bridges and the barge.


The infamous waterfall from the bridge, during a tribute to Michael Jackson. Dan's shot:


My shot:

Revealed: Sonya & Eddie's Save the Date

I always like to get permission before reveals like this, since invitations can be a very hush-hush matter for some couples. Since the STD's have been sent and received, and the bride is okay with sharing, all is good to go. :)

Sonya came to us pretty early in the summer, soon after Eddie proposed, asking if we could do her wedding invitations and some other pieces. Seriously?! We'd love to! I had a lot of questions to ask her so I could visualize her and Eddie's big day and the details of the stationery, but since they both live out of state (and in different states, mind you) I needed to whip up something she could fill out digitally. Sonya was fantastic with her feedback, giving us suggestions if things were confusing, etc., and that's something we're glad to hear so we can make things better.

I found out that the wedding décor would include cherry blossoms, the colors watermelon—which we matched with a paper called Pink Azalea—and black, and contemporary details. Sonya, Eddie, and I collaborated during the month of July to come up with a Save the Date that they both loved, and that the recipients enjoyed as well!

The color palette:
Photo by szeretlek_ma on flickr.


Sonya decided to do a magnet with flat backing card. I think these are really great because they're so versatile. Recipients can use the magnet to attach the entire card to their fridge, or just keep the magnet itself as a reminder. Even after the wedding is over, guests can keep the magnet as a memento. Since it doesn't say "Save the Date," it's timeless.



The hand-drawn cherry blossom branch was carried through the card and the magnet:








All wrapped and ready to be delivered to the bride:


Next, we'll be working on the formal invitation with response postcard and map card, rehearsal invitation, program, and other goodies that will pull Sonya and Eddie's wedding together and make it uniquely them. I'm really excited that they chose us to design and make their wedding stationery, but I'm even more excited to see how everything comes together.