Hey folks! Christmas is slowly approaching, and this year, I’m really excited to offer custom-designed greeting cards for you to give to your family and friends. Henry Chen Photography is working with Peach Mailbox and Nozza Studio in providing you with a one stop-shop for all your holiday cards. Here’s how it all works:

If you’re one of my current or past clients, then let me know which images you’d like to have on your holiday card. Please use your online proofing gallery to select your favorite photos from your engagement session or wedding for me to retouch and send off to the designer. Or you can load the high-res DVD you got from me and directly e-mail me the number of your favorite images. If you forgot your password or need me to reactivate your gallery, please let me know right away. Depending on the style you want for your card (please see sample photos below), you can have just one image or up to three or four.

On the other hand, if I’ve never taken photos of you and your significant other or family, please schedule one this month. Here’s my Holiday season portrait session package content and price:

- 1-1.5 hours of photography service on location between Orange County and Los Angeles County (your home, beach, park, somewhere in the city, your favorite place, etc.). For places outside these two counties, a travel fee will be added.

- All your images available on a password-protected, online proofing gallery for you to view and select your favorites from, as well as order regular prints (4x6s, 8x10s, etc.). A special 15% holiday season discount is available on all print orders before Thanksgiving!

- Your 5 favorite images retouched and passed onto the designer; you’ll also get the high-res versions of them.

The price for this package is $350. Additional items include extra hours of photography at $150/hour and a DVD of all the originals for $200. We’ll then work with you on getting your custom-designed card made, which will include your favorite image(s), names, and any other wording you’d like.

This year, why not give your loved ones an extra special greeting card? One with your own photo on it and custom-designed to fit your style and personality. Please contact me at henry[at]henrychenphotography[dot]com or (626) 664-6735 to book a portrait session or place your oder! Here are some sample greeting cards from designed by Gamie, owner of Peach Mailbox (due to privacy reasons, pseudo names of the couples were used in these sample cards):

Peach Mailbox offers a variety of fonts, styles and sizes for your holiday cards, all of which can be purchased exclusively at Nozza Studio:

Some up-close shots of the cards and their designs:

If you prefer to not use your own photos or want more of a “regular” holiday card:

Lastly, Peach Mailbox offers their signature scented and stitched cupcake holiday cards! The patch of cloth you see stitched onto the card has a wonderful smell to it. Mmmm!

Part of being in the wedding industry is helping each other out; whether that’s between a photographer and another photographer, a planner, florist, DJ/MC, or any other vendor, I truly believe that supporting each other’s business will not only help them and yourself, but also improve the level of quality of service to our clients, and that’s always the most important thing.

A few weeks ago, the amazing Trini of Nozza Studio, a wedding planner and coordinator based in Downtown Long Beach, introduced me to one of her designer colleagues, Gamie K. of Peach Mailbox. We’ve been exchanging e-mails since then but finally got the chance to meet last Thursday at Trini’s studio. Not only does Gamie provide such a unique and attractive line of design work (from invitations and greeting/thank you cards to stationaries and personal items), but she’s such a sweetheart!

I’m providing Gamie a few of my e-session/wedding photos for her new collection of products and will photographing them when they’re available. In return, Gamie is going to help me design a few products that I’m giving to my past clients, which will fit perfectly with the holiday season coming up :). Please check out her website for more info; Peach Mailbox provides its products to various vendors, stores, and boutique shops; if you’re a vendor, please get in touch with Gamie if you’d like to offer her products to your clients. Gamie, thanks for the personal greetings letter, I’m stoked to work with you and Trini in the upcoming weeks!

Apologies to my favorite band Death Cab For Cutie, but I had to borrow one of the lines from their song “Photobooth”. Speaking of a photobooth, I’m very excited to let you know that I’m now providing a professional and very simple to use photobboth that provides instantaneous prints to you and your guests at the wedding! To quote the photobooth company that I’m working with, “Your guests will have the best time with our booths. Step inside, press the button and pick up the prints outside. The whole process is just under 2 minutes. Your guests will remember your event for years to come! It is the ultimate party favors.”

I’m offering three very popular packages:

Package A: 2 hours of service and an on-site attendant.

Package B: 4 hours of service and an on-site attendant.

Package C: 6 hours of service, an on-site attendant, scrapbook, and supplies.

I will have an on-site attendant who will take care of setting up, taking down, and providing assistance throughout the entire duration that the booth is there. That way, you’ll still have me and my photography team still give our undivided attention on documenting your wedding.

If you’re already one of my 2009 couples or a perspective client, and would like to include this in your wedding photography package, please don’t hesitate to contact me so I can give you the pricing quotes on the three packages. I’m really looking forward to having these booths at upcoming weddings. What a fun and special way for your guests to remember your wedding day!

I just wanted to quickly blog about these two uber nice guest books I got recently. These are the perfect way to display your e-session photos at your wedding, letting guests not only look at your images, but also write a short message (as supposed to just scribbling their signature and you later wondering who the heck signed it!). One guest book belongs to Stacey and John and the other to Michele and Dean.

Both are 10×8” with a hard cover and super sturdy pages. Note: please pardon my crappy white balance on all these shots; I took them under really bad fluorescent lighting earlier today:

I love how the pages fold flat down, making it convenient for guests to sign their name:

Very durable and strong binding:

I love Vision Art‘s attention to details. They’re the album company that takes my design and prints/binds the books…in less than two weeks!

I bought a 8×6” version of Lisa and Aldous’ guest book to show why it’s worth spending a bit more money and getting the 10×8” one:

Yes, definitely get the larger one:

Here are a few spreads from M + D’s guest book:

And here are some from S + J’s: