I’m often asked “What’s the difference between the prints I get from my one-hour or online lab and the professionally made portraits from our studio and why do professional portraits cost more?”

You’ll find printing machines in drug stores, discount shops like Wal-Mart and Walgreens, even many online sources like snapfish, but there are big differences between them and the professional photo finishing labs.

1. The portraits you receive from Imbeault go through many different steps before it’s printed. First we spend hours in preparation and post-production services for your final portraits. The raw images are edited, color corrected, defogged, retouched and digitally mastered to perfection.

Before and After our post production~

2. It’s not the same paper: There are two main types of archival paper categories, the professional and the consumer types. The professional papers have twice the silver content, giving them a deeper and richer look when you print a high quality file on them.  Also, the consumer papers have more contrast and tend to be glossy instead of the fine lustre finish of professional paper.

3. It’s not the same software and printer driver: In order to run the professional papers, a lab needs to move up to the premium software that drives the Frontier, or your labs’ Kodak printer.  On the Fuji side, it’s a $47,000 upgrade to the pro version of the “PIC” software that is the color and “rezzing up” brains of the Frontier. There are a few major differences but if we cut to the chase we discover that the consumer level PIC printer driver is designed to take crappy files and make them better by changing color and exposure values, reducing red-eye on the fly and trying to make skin tones look “most pleasant.” These are great for snapshots but will inadvertently shift color carefully set by the pros.  The PIC Pro version will take good files and make them great.  It spends all its energy interpreting the sRGB input and making it smooth and rich and it does a stupendous job in rezzing up files into really great prints onto professional paper.

Get Married’s national wedding program is looking for passionate brides to appear on its television show.  Throughout the half-hour program which airs every Saturday at 9:30am ET/PT on WE tv, host Stacie Francombe—Get Married’s CEO and founder—helps brides identify and match their personality with their unique bridal style.  Brides are guided through an array of bridal experiences and participate in inspiring challenges with wedding professionals and experts. 

Interested brides-to-be are encouraged to apply by visiting www.getmarried.com/omg where additional details are posted.  Brides across the country could be saying “OMG! I’m going to be on TV!”
“Get Married’s show is all about the bride. By incorporating real brides in every episode we make a connection with our audience, showing them that every wedding element is attainable regardless of your style,” said Stacie Francombe, CEO and founder of Get Married Media. “Get Married’s show helps brides create the ultimate wedding that reflects their unique and personal style.”
Get Married’s television show on WE tv, a women-centric network dedicated to the wedding genre, is among an audience of brides seeking bright, innovative ideas and inspirations.  Available in nearly 74 million homes, WE tv is the premier source for women looking to satisfy their curiosity with fascinating, original stories and entertaining content.  The series will also simulcast to an additional three million on Wedding Central, a 24/7 multiplatform, interactive programming service devoted to weddings, dating and romance.  

Closely integrated with the TV show and Get Married magazine, the online portal at http://wedding.getmarried.com/ offers brides an interactive experience, including a wedding shop that sells wedding invitations, wedding favors, accessories and products as seen in the magazine, as well as a wedding blog (bloggerbrides.com), video segments from the show, articles, image galleries and wedding planning tools.

One of the big decisions that comes with getting married is whether or not to change your last name. Lots of women do and lots of women don’t, but one thing is certain, the paperwork that goes along with changing it is no fun! That’s why we love MissNowMrs Online Name Change Service. They’ve made the whole process so much easier by supplying you with all the forms you need for your state, an auto-fill feature so you only have to enter in your information once, specific instructions for proper filing, and fantastic personal customer service to help you through it all. Sweet!!!

Tell us about your new last name and how you’re feeling about changing to it. Do you love it like crazy? Are you nervous, excited or still debating? Is it hilariously hard to spell or is it a wonderful change from your own hard to pronounce moniker? Share your thoughts with all of us and help other brides come to their own decision along the way.