Ode to Slideshows

This has been a year of many events and parties. I have helped to plan milestone birthdays, engagements,  and girls nights this year. I didn't know that being an interior designer would parle into being a party planner, but alas it has. It is a fun way to express my creative side too.

Some of you may know that I am going to be in 2 weddings in 2011. Darin's sister Cailee is getting married to her fiance Peyton in July. Also our very close friends Hope and John are getting married in October. I decided to make a tribute to Hope and John for their engagement party that he helped to throw with our friends Amanda and Nolan on October 2nd. One year to the day of their wedding I spent many hours compiling the photo's...most of which I got from their Facebook sites, but I also was able to get Joi and Barbara, their moms, to dig up old photos as well. I wanted this to be a tribute to their single lives and to their budding engaged relationship. Also it served to help show all the guests who didn't know both of them what type of people they are. I had so much fun doing it and I hope you enjoy it as much as their families did.

In case you wanted to know the songs I used were:

John Basher = "Times Like These" by The Foo Fighters

Hope Morrice = "Hanging By A Moment" by Lifehouse

Family/Friends = "Into the Mystic" by The Wallflowers

Engagement = "Honey and the Moon" by Joseph Arthur

Love = "Our Kind of Love" by Lady Antebellum

I showed this tribute to my mother, who at the time was planning her father, my papa's 75th birthday party. She had wanted to create a tribute for him as well, but didn't have a program to do it, so I said that I would create one for her. Not realizing what I was getting myself into. A couple of days later I received a package at work with over 200 photos inside from her childhood albums! AHHHHH Poor Darin and I spent over 6 hours just scanning a cropping the photos alone! Then came the task of finding the music. As with any slideshow whether its for an engagement party or a birthday party, music is crucial. The soundtrack to our lives is very important. I take pride in listening to the songs to make sure they are appropriate for the era and personality of the video. Now I used to work in a music store, so I have quite an eclectic selection of music, but I still needed more from the early eras of the 20th century. Off in search I went and found the best music, in my opinion. We finished it in the nick of time and on November 6th, 75 years after my Papa was born we had a big soiree with his family, including siblings, nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren. After lunch was served we showed the slideshow. Everyone was very emotional and touched by the sentiment. What a wonderful way to pay tribute to a person's life.

The songs I used for this slideshow were:

Early Days = "Theme from a Summer Place"

Family Man = "Can't Help Falling in Love With You" by Elvis Presley

Good Times = "Mess Around" by Ray Charles

75 Years = "King of the Road" by Roger Miller

                  "Ventura Highway" by America

If you ever need to make a slideshow for an event I highly recommend it. Everyone loves photos and seeing a journey. While it may take some time and effort, its worth it!