Thursday, July 9, 2009, 09:13 AM
For us, the album makes it all worth it. It is the fruit of our labor, if you will. Holding this beautiful-big-baby in your hands feels amazing. It is all our hard work and artistic intuitions coupled together with each of our couples' amazing story's...all put in one place. It just doesn't get much better than that!  Passing it off to our couples and seeing their reactions is one of the best feelings in the world. We take a lot of pride in creating something that they will have for a lifetime. Something they will show their kids and their grandkids. A story-book of their love story/their special day. I'm a huge advocate for having a wedding album done up right for you. 

When Chris and I shoot a wedding we are thinking about the album while we shoot. Asking ourselves, "how will this series of images fit together on a page?" "How can I tell this story of events in the most powerful way?" All of our album design is IN-House, we don't outsource any of it... this is because it is a crucial part to the experience that each of our couples has with us. For us, it is about creating personalized art for our couples from start to FINISH. It is important to see it through to completion. 

If you care to see how this particular album design turned out you can see the Album Slideshow here

Also, for those photographers who are interested in who we use; Renaissance Albums are our Go-to for these amazing albums. And if any of you have any other questions about our Albums/the process etc. I'll open the floor up in the comments section and would be happy to help as I can. We leave for San Fran tomorrow so I may be slow to respond, but happy to help. I get a lot of questions about this via e mail and I feel horrible bc. I can't always respond due to time. So this way I can tackle some of those questions here.



Thoughts
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Craig S says: Friday, August 28, 2009, 11:03 AM

Hi Sarah. Sorry I'm a little late in commenting, but I'm intrigued that you use InDesign for your albums. Do you send one PDF to your lab (prodpi) and they then print each individual page from that PDF? I would love to design all of my albums in InDesign if only I could find a printer who will print from the PDF file.

melia says: Tuesday, August 11, 2009, 10:53 AM

Sarah,

Thanks for being so forthcoming on albums! I recently saw a 'sample' album of yours, a Galleria album, and was wondering if you can design that without the Soho styler (if you even designed that one--maybe they just used your images). My second question is whether you use the Soho and Mercer books (no gutter) which means you'd have to get incredibly long seamless prints done yourself? Or do you think the Fine Art is the way to go? Albums can be overwhelming! Sorry--this may be too much for a blog.

PROMISE TANGEMAN says: Monday, July 13, 2009, 11:30 AM

Sarah!! Do you design your own albums? Or do you outsource it? You dont use indesign do you? hahhaahhahaha HAHAHAHHAA JK. IM FUNNY

Jason says: Saturday, July 11, 2009, 08:25 AM

Great looking album guys...hope you have a sample to show me when you get back into town :) Isn't it ALWAYS refreshing to work with other vendors (book-binders, pro labs etc.) who actually CARE about the quality and craftsmanship of their products? ;)

Lesley says: Friday, July 10, 2009, 06:29 PM

Sarah these albums are beautiful, I see why you use them! :)

Beth Armsheimer says: Friday, July 10, 2009, 03:47 PM

Such a gorgeous album!!

SarahRhoads says: Friday, July 10, 2009, 09:42 AM

@daniel as I mentioned to @Liam we do not use Any templates for our album design. Each individual spread is custom created by US for each wedding. No two albums exactly alike. Each of our couples has a truly cutom book that is unique to their story and is created by us, no templates are used.

Daniel says: Friday, July 10, 2009, 09:25 AM

Beautiful work as usual. Do you use templates for your album design or do you create each page seperately? If you do, are they your personal templates or did you purchase them from somewhere?

SarahRhoads says: Friday, July 10, 2009, 09:23 AM

@Liam we don't use the soho styler. All of our designs are custom created and designed by us in Indesign. :)

liam says: Friday, July 10, 2009, 07:41 AM

hey Sarah,
you mentioned you use InDesign for album design. Have you used and what are your opinions on the SoHo styler for the design?
Thanks!!!
liam

bee says: Friday, July 10, 2009, 01:45 AM

Wow! Just... wow!

Promise to never put this offline. Because the day I plan my own wedding I'll show this one to the photographer and tell him: That's how I want it to be!

The best would of course be to ask you to take the photos - but I live in Germany and well... the costs... you know ;)

sarahrhoads says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 04:38 PM

@dennis not a stupid question at all!! It is actually an artist that Chris records with named Ben Rector. Chris laid down a lot of the bass tracks on the record. the song is called "Disarm"
@Ron you know I would love loved to shoot your wedding photos ;) you are too sweet

ron storer says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 02:24 PM

boy wish we could go back in time and have you take our pictures.

wonderful job as always.

Dennis Bullock says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 02:20 PM

This is probably a stupid question but what is the song in the slideshow?

sarahrhoads says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 01:41 PM

@merideth we use InDesign for all of our album designs
@jonathan yes we select the images that will go into the album for the initial design preview. We have had nothing but a fantastic response from our couples. Our couples respect and trust the artistic process and the professional and artistic service we are providing them and they know up front that this is part of the overall experience of working with us.

Jonathan says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 01:22 PM

Hey Sarah,
Great stuff. You said, 'Asking ourselves, "how will this series of images fit together on a page?"' Does that imply y'all choose which pictures are put into the book rather than the couple? If so, what has been the reaction of (potential) clients upon hearing that.
Tanksabunch. -J

meredith says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 01:21 PM

hi sarah! i was just curious....what program do you use to design the album? i just started photography & want to find the cheapest way to do the albums....and i totally respect doing it yourself!

sarahrhoads says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:50 AM

@sara we send our pages to our AMAZING professional lab in California, ProDPI for the printing. Once they are printed, our lab sends them back to us so we can make sure everything looks flawless and then we send it to our Album Company in NYC (Renaissance) to put it all together beautifully for us. It is a nice checks and balances system. The total design/crafting/delivery process usually takes about 4-6 months from start to finish. hope that helps!

Maureen says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:49 AM

I guess seeing pictures of it is almost as good as having it, right? :P

Briony says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:44 AM

How many pages on average are your albums?

Sara Munneke says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:43 AM

Hello, I love this album, it's beautiful!! I am wondering where you have your pages printed at? and about how long does it take for the whole process of designing the album to presenting it to the client? thanks so much for sharing, take care:)

marissa moss says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:33 AM

that album is amazing!! i am in love with the layouts! and am particularly drawn to those three photos in the tunnel with the shadow play. LOVE those!!

so many outsource their albums and I never see it as an issue, but what a difference your care and attention makes! thanks for sharing : )

Amy Cameron says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:25 AM

Beautiful! Where did you get this? I love the cover material!

sarahrhoads says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:22 AM

Hi Mellissa! What we mean when I say the design is done IN house, is that some photographers outsource their album design to an external vendor. For us, the design is part of our artistic process, so it is done by us personally and then sent to our album company to Bind and put it all together for us and we use Renaissance Albums, a top of the line album crafter for this part. Hope that helps!

melissa says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:18 AM

What do you mean you don't outsource your images. Lol. I'm slow. You make this from scratch!? Who prints, binds, etc?

melissa says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:18 AM

What do you mean you don't outsource your images. Lol. I'm slow. You make this from scratch!? Who prints, binds, etc?

Adele Cabanillas says: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 10:02 AM

Beyond gorgeous!! Perfectly Elegant to match your Amazing Photography!

Thursday, July 2, 2009, 02:46 PM
I cried THREE times at Shane & Adams wedding!! Three TIMES! ;) I shoot weddings all the time but somehow it never gets old for me. Every couple is unique and has a different way of projecting their love for one another... I love that; it keeps things interesting. At every wedding, with every couple, I am reminded of ways I can love my Chris a little better :) One thing I was reminded of from & Adam is to not take life to seriously and embrace the QUIRK within each of us.

Shane & Adam's wedding was one of the most sincere, genuine and authentic displays of love that I have seen. During the ceremony when Adam said his vows to Shane, the simple words of... "This ring is beautiful... just like you" just opened the flood gates for me. So simple, but so tender and so very sweet. It didn't help that Shane's maid of honor/sister was up there with big ol' elephant tears rolling down her cheeks throughout the course of the ceremony ;) Shane and Adam are VERY loved. 

We had the opportunity to work with some of our favorite vendors in Seattle at this wedding which made it extra fun. Jesse & Travis with True Colors Events coordinated the event flawlessly, and the party was hopin' thanks to Austin Beaver with Nite Lite Entertainment. And the details! And the details were to die for! The flowers! the cake! Oh-me-oh-my the cake, was modeled after a roller coaster! Shane & Adam love theme parks and roller coasters so much that they are going around the nation on a road trip stopping in at different theme parks to check out different roller coasters. So they incorporated that into the overall theme of their wedding. Each table place card was the name of a different roller coaster. How cool is that?!

Shane & Adam we hope you guys are having a great time on your "round-the-nation-rollercoaster-honeymoon!" We love you guys!

Coordinators: Jesse & Travis with True Colors Events
Photographers: US! Sarah Rhoads Photographers
Entertainment/DJ: Austin Beaver with Nite Lite Entertainment
Flowers/Decor: Miki's Flowers 






Thoughts
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abraham says: Monday, July 6, 2009, 09:11 PM

love that ring shot and the dancing shots, i can almost hear the music playing.

Anonymous says: Saturday, July 4, 2009, 09:02 AM

This is by far one of my favorite weddings you've done. The couple is absolutely adorable and they look so in love. Beautiful wedding, beautiful details and great photographers to capture it all. Great job.

Shane says: Friday, July 3, 2009, 02:09 PM

Sarah and Chris, you guys rock! We are so thrilled with our pictures and have been inundated with compliments left and right. Thank you so much for being such incredible people as well as incredible artists- Adam and I consider ourselves truly lucky to have had the pleasure of working with you!

jesse says: Friday, July 3, 2009, 08:58 AM

Thank you so much for the great pictures, you and Chris always do such an amazing job capturing the emotions of the day. Shane & Adam are a wonderful one-of-a-kind couple!

italida says: Friday, July 3, 2009, 08:13 AM

you photos are great and you colours are really special! I ever fall in love O_o

ken says: Friday, July 3, 2009, 04:02 AM

simply super wonderful.

Kayleen T. says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 09:21 PM

I love the picture of the chucks and many many more!!

Jonathan Frey says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 09:06 PM

I can definitely relate. And it especially doesn't help when you're really close friends with the couple. They'll go through their pictures and then stop at a blurry section and ask what gives. "Oh, that's because I bawled my eyes out and couldn't see clearly."

Briony says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 08:18 PM

what a fantastic wedding, i love the umbrella shot of the entire wedding party (rockin)

marissa moss says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 07:55 PM

you weren't lying about the cake! sooo fun!!!

ron storer says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 07:19 PM

smashing ring shot!

ron storer says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 07:18 PM

smashing ring shot

ohana photographers says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 06:39 PM

the chucks just plain rule! gorgeous couple! beautiful as always guys!

Heather says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 06:22 PM

Way to rock it! Awesome stuff. I LOVE their cake!

Gerald says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 06:04 PM

Boy have I got some stories from Carowinds! Love that place... brings back a lot of great memories from good ole' NC. What a beautiful wedding too... great details and colors. Well done Sarah!

Crystal Genes says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 05:15 PM

Love their theme! I was caught off guard when I saw Carowinds... that's just a few miles from where I live, and I use to get free tickets to DollyWood when I was in college... so much fun! Love the images:)

kari Crowe says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 05:02 PM

you rock my socks:)

Rebecca Hansen says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 04:50 PM

Beautiful wedding. The umbrella shots and headless shot are my faves. You keep it real Sarah Rhoads.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 10:19 PM
I am currently knee deep in editing this fantastical wedding and came across an image that made me smile. And of course I was doing my weekly cruise of one of my favorite love blogs le love and just loved this text and image together. LET'S LET IT HAPPEN. It is exactly what I needed to hear today. I have this constant internal battle because I am a free spirit trapped inside of a control freak's body! Oftentimes it's like my heart and my head are like an old married couple... they love one another but don't always see eye to eye :)  
At the end of the day I just need to LET IT HAPPEN. I need to trust my crazy intuitions and let go of the trivial things that really don't matter in the big picture. I have always known that things happen for a reason and that doors open and close in life for a divine purpose. I love that about life. It is an adventure to be embraced, enjoyed, relished and danced in... 

I'd love to leave you with a little something from a man who sits with me while I edit and plays me pretty music, this is one of my favorite tunes by William Fitzsimmons, "Everything has changed"



Thoughts
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Jo LeFlufy says: Friday, July 3, 2009, 01:49 PM

I just did a wedding and incorporated purple umbrellas into the shots. I loved the splash of color it added for color pops. I'm thinking about buying a whole schwackload of different colored/patterned umbrellas to add to my props. You can just use them for so many different shots!

Jonathan Frey says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 11:57 AM

That's pretty tasty.

Jess P says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 11:34 AM

William Fitzsimmons and the colors on these just GO TOGETHER :)

Kayleen T. says: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 06:29 AM

Love it! Can't wait to see more!

Justin James says: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 11:05 PM

Love this. I've been a fan for a while and i really like your stuff. What font is that on the picture on the right?

Friday, June 19, 2009, 08:48 PM
Megan & Andrew got married a couple weeks ago at Sodo Park, an awesome Seattle venue. Their wedding was spiced with good cocktails, genuine people, mustaches, PartyBooths, laughter, big sunglasses and lots of love. It was a truly beautiful day on so many levels.

You may remember this fantastic little couple from their engagement session. Talent just ebbs from these two. Megan & Andrew are natural artists. Andrew is a killer designer and Megan designs and makes her own jewelry and other eclectic pieces that I adore.

I have got to say, Megan & Andrew had one of the most touching reveals ;). The moment Megan tapped Andrew's shoulder to turn him around, Andrew took one look at her and just broke down, and then so did she. They were wiping each other's tears away by the end of it. It was so cute. They have such a tender love for one another that is gentle, patient and kind hearted.... they are just absolutely perfect for one another. 

Megan has a fantastic sense of personal style, and chose a dress by one of my very favorite dress designers, Monique Lhuillier. The dress just ozzed of Megan and it was ultra-fabulous.

For their reception we brought a PARTYBOOTH and rocked out. It was the perfect group of people to have the PartyBooth at because they knew how to bring the fun and weren't shy about it.  You can check out the slideshow of the partybooth HERE 
And a big thanks to Gabriel Van Wyhe for assisting us at this wedding!

Venue: Sodo Park
Catering: Herban Feast


Thoughts
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Brett Heidebrecht says: Thursday, July 23, 2009, 09:34 AM

RHOADS'... I know you shot this a long time ago, but I was just looking through them again and you guys absolutely nailed this wedding! Really inspiring stuff!

michèle says: Thursday, June 25, 2009, 10:40 AM

perfectly shot. what great, fun details. this is an incredible blog. can't wait to check back...

Pascal says: Thursday, June 25, 2009, 01:02 AM

Whoa very beautiful dress and I really like the idea of shooting with the sunglasses. Perfect as usual!

Stephanie E. says: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 07:00 PM

Did she design her own ring? I really love it! Btw...awesome pics...as usual!

Sarah says: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 02:16 PM

Once again, so fabulous! I love the shot of her shoes in the kitchen. Not to mention the last shot...so awesome! You rock! Jared and I are so excited for August!!!

Yuka photo art says: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 08:25 AM

Amazing photographs, you dad a lot of fun there too :-)

erica says: Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 08:14 PM

this couple is adorable. this post left me wanting MORE! ;)

imthiaz houseman says: Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 04:41 PM

wow...what a beautiful wedding.

Kim Sanderson says: Monday, June 22, 2009, 08:24 PM

Very inspiring stuff! I just found you guys and really love your style! Beautiful wedding!!

Katie Beverley says: Monday, June 22, 2009, 03:10 PM

Awesome wedding! The shoe shot rocks my face off!!!

Jonathan Frey says: Monday, June 22, 2009, 12:22 PM

Ummpressive

Marissa Rodriguez says: Monday, June 22, 2009, 12:03 PM

What an awesome shoe shot!!!!! And the shot of the groom when he's watching her walk down the isle is beautiful! Love your work!

Cameron Clark | Cameron + Kelly Studios says: Monday, June 22, 2009, 11:14 AM

I really don't like groom's holding flowers, mostly when they are not supposed to, but I love that shot. IT somehow looks man-ly? Cool toasting shot too.

Chad Hansen says: Monday, June 22, 2009, 10:43 AM

Holy amazing shoe shot! Why am I not surprised? It's sarah rhoads.

Sofie says: Sunday, June 21, 2009, 01:14 AM

Great set of images and love the touch of quirkiness in some of them! The 'shoot through the steps' shots of the lads is cool and I love the b&w shot of the bride from above!

Briony says: Saturday, June 20, 2009, 12:29 PM

what an adorable couple! these are fantastic!

Ketti says: Saturday, June 20, 2009, 12:29 PM

This makes me want to get married again. Her dress is fantabulous, and the party booth is awesome!

Jamie Delaine says: Saturday, June 20, 2009, 08:44 AM

LOVE that shoe shot. Monique IS my very favourite dress designer, dying to have a bride wear Monique!! I love the portraits from this wedding, Sarah.

olivia says: Saturday, June 20, 2009, 08:23 AM

That dress is stunning ... wow ... what a gorgeous couple. :)

Kara Wieler says: Saturday, June 20, 2009, 07:15 AM

Umm... amazing! Speechless....

betsy says: Friday, June 19, 2009, 11:18 PM

haha-- what maureen said.. that was awesome!

..and what a fun bride!

Maureen says: Friday, June 19, 2009, 11:03 PM

Are you kidding me? The shoes shot? Get out of here!