Preparing for Future Memories (Guest Post)

In an era of instant gratification and an approach to big events
with a casual feel, it is easy to forget the days of dressing up for
a special occasion.
Families used to wear their Sunday church finest when boarding an
airplane to go to another city. Now you find people wearing anything
from T-shirts to flip-flops. Fancy restaurants used to require a coat
and tie for the gentlemen and a dress or skirt and blouse for the
ladies. Now, all but the fanciest of places say that dress is either
casual or business casual.

Whether the event is a large family reunion, a “Sweet 16”
party for a young girl, a quinceanera
for a Hispanic girl’s 15th birthday, or a wedding in an outdoor
setting (as opposed to a traditional church festivity with wedding
parties and matching bridesmaid dresses), there are ways to make
every occasion special.

In terms of putting the event to film for life, don’t trust this
event to a simple smartphone. You never know how well phone pictures
will turn out, although most phones can shoot good photos. Instead,
use a traditional
camera to shoot pictures of the event as it is going on. Hire a
photographer if you can afford one. Many photojournalists often take
freelance assignments on the side, and they know the best ways to
shoot a picture with the appropriate angles or settings to make it
memorable.

Camcorders are getting smaller these days, and most of them are
affordable to the point where a simple camcorder can record your
entire event without complications. Most camcorders are now “hard
drive” models, meaning all of the video is saved to memory. You can
download the video memory, save it to DVD and provide each of the
guests a prized memento of the special occasion.

Have a budget? Buy disposable cameras for each table. Tell your
family and friends you will develop these pictures, burn them to
discs and send them out for everybody.

Instead of shooting the actual occasion, shoot the leadup to it.
Your friends and family will get a kick out of watching you look
frazzled through the preparations, although you might not be
overjoyed yourself. After the event, even you might laugh at how much
hair you tore out while getting ready for the occasion.

Speaking of hair and preparations, tell your guests to put a
little thought into the dress-up process. Men and boys, this means
shirt and tie (if the occasion warrants) or perhaps a nice shirt and
pair of dress pants. For girls, sites as www.mygirldress.com provide
ideas like a nice dress for an Easter party, a small, informal
wedding or a children’s birthday party. Older women can find ideas
that are tasteful for the special occasion. Either think like you are
dressing for the office or for a party occasion.

This era of casual approaches to festive occasions doesn’t mean
everything has to be casual. Think more formal, take more photos or
videos, and you will have a special occasion to be remembered for
years to come.