February 9, 2010
Drescher Photo and Design has donated an engagement session along with a twenty dollar credit to Mecca- a nonprofit organization for gambling, substance abuse and behavior disorder relief. I strongly believe in the company since we were able to speak with a representative about “what they do”. I especially appreciate the transitional housing- in which patients seeking treatment can stay in with their families as they receive treatment. This organization is run to help those looking to better their lives. Mecca is ran in both Iowa City and Des Moines. To help contribute- you can log onto Mecca’s website and bid on any of the auction items. Mecca has added a new tab of “wedding services” in which TONS of vendors are kindly donating amazing stuff. Bella Sala has donated a reception night in their new facilities! There are haircuts, products, massages- tons of great wedding items; all going to a wonderful cause. To help out- log onto Mecca’s website under the “Give Hope” tab and take a peak:
http://www.meccaservices.com
If we all work together, the more hope we can lend to those in doubt. Thanks! -Missy
February 4, 2010
Oh baby! My amazing loft. James and I used some of these nasty snow days on a lovely little project I like to call my own space. Finally! Before I was spoiled enough to have the luxury of my own “Missy” space- James and I shared the studio. I’m not going to lie- it got a little tight in there. Somedays we felt a bit like we were in a can of sardines. We brought approximately a third of my “stuff” from our work studio into my now work loft. Here- I assemble invites, package products and albums, craft, design and more!
I will admit to my guiltiest pleasure about my profession; nothing is better than curling up in my leopard chair and a glass of wine with a good, inspiring book:
This new addition to our business has not only made our work flow much more efficient- but I feel so creative! I have these huge work tables to spread all my tools over and go crazy. It has certainly made being cooped up this winter a little more enjoyable. I would like to take some more details shots (excuse my over enthusiasm) because I am getting somewhat proud of my collection (yes- that is a pistachio green sewing machine!) so I will post those at a later date- but James and I wanted to take these overhead/overall shots using our new FISHEYE lens. I am in love. Basically- it is what it sounds like. You are looking through the lens from a fisheye perspective. We have drooled over this lens for so long and feel pretty proud to finally have one conveniently at the beginning of wedding season-kick off.
I’ll take more details shots and also be back with some winter sessions soon! -Missy
February 3, 2010
Above are photos James shot at the Iowa vs. Michigan State, Iowa vs. Penn State wrestling meet this past week. Iowa is ranked number one!!- its great to be a Hawkeye, huh? A complete set of photos will go into our facebook fan page today- stop over to view the complete album.
January 29, 2010
(above: Did you know the orange’s name is Obie? And that little cutie in the photo with him is z-man, Iowa’s number one fan.)
(above- how awesome is this vintage yellow sweater? I LOVE it so much! What a great fan!)
Wed. night James photographed fans by the Orange Bowl trophy at the Ohio State/Iowa b-ball game. If you were there and looking to order your photos- its not too late, they were just posted yesterday. Here is your link:
www.herkyphoto.com
There are tons and tons of awesome borders to select from as well as fun products (mugs, magnets, calendars, pillowcases, blankets, onesies, bibs, totes- anything!)
What a great crowd this was! GO HAWKS! -Missy
January 28, 2010
I designed these little cutie pies for the upcoming Valentine’s holiday at Health On Point. Her colors at the clinic are lime green/cranberry red which made the Christmas promos a piece of cake, and Valentine’s just as easy. Stop into Health On Point if you want to feel amazing after the benefits of acupuncture (and get a fabulous little discount or treat as well)! -Missy
January 26, 2010
It has been a year ahead of schedule around here. Yes- that is right, crazy I know- we are in the stages of stacking our 2011 packages with all the goodies you are wanting. It is amazing! Not only are we officially offering canvas mounts and metal prints- we are also offering bridal pictorial sessions (to spoil our brides) and new albums (above)!! No worries, we are still carrying the current albums we are offering, but are also additionally doing these larger ones. The pages will be thick (think cardboard width) with 12 x 12 pages (so the examples you see here- are full bleeds of two 12 x 12 pages). These albums are super sleek and we are in love. Our original plan is to have myself keep designing the 13 x 11 album books we currently have and James will design these:
I will be posting the new 2011 packages shortly. Can’t wait to announce these! -Missy
January 26, 2010
To conclude my little “questions series” from this week- I decided to leave the mushy ones for last.
Q: How did you two get so involved in the wedding industry?
Before we built our studio, I ran a small business called Invites By Missy in which I exclusively did hand made invites and taught monthly DIY invite making classes. It was extremely gratifying and successful, yet James and I envisioned one day working together. When we opened Drescher Photo and Design, we were optimistic towards any subject whether it was pets or babies- weddings just fell into our hands and lead the way again. Brides were a familiar type of client to me and I loved their excitement and eagerness. Quickly we both found a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction that couples trust us with their big day in our hands.
Along with the flair and sparkles of a wedding; it is really fun to work with your clients year round. You built friendships with them and learn cute stories about them, that when the wedding day finally arrives, you too get a little sappy. Seeing the expression on a bride’s face when she opens her photo album for the first time is absolutely priceless- it gives you a burst of thankfulness for your profession at that very moment.
Q: What is it like having your husband as a business partner?
It is all kinds of things; rewarding. inspiring. handy. comforting. fun. motivating- obviously there are some days where you need your space but working with James has taught us both to appreciate each other’s strengths as well as double the inside jokes. James can navigate through Photoshop with his eyes closed and I can tie fifty perfect ribbons in under five minutes. Neither one of us can swap those roles so you really benefit from all those added touches the other one provides.
James and I are both extremely competitive people, so we have not just one but two high standards. I think this is one of the main ingredients to our success is that we are continuously putting the bar as high as we can. We do get this question a lot, actually when we did Jason and Taran’s engagement session- she asked “what do you guys do if you get in a fight then you have to go to work?” It was hilarious! I just said that “it goes both ways, what does the couple do if they get in a fight before their engagement session?” Since opening our business, we have met a lot of other young couples working together as well, and we have found it is a lot more common that we thought. There are tons of perks, it is great to have the same scale of trust in your business partner that you do your husband. It is also super fun, and we are truly, genuinely really thankful for all the opportunities that have come our way, that we couldn’t have done on our own but could with each other.
*Thanks for all the great questions you contributed at the expos, through Facebook and email! Keep them coming, hope this mini series was beneficial for you! -Missy
January 22, 2010
Q: What do you suggest to a 2011 bride?
Yes, we are currently booking 2011 couples. But you also have plenty of time on your plate. Lots of girls asked when would be the time to “book by” and I guess our suggestion is at least a year out. Otherwise you may not get the vendors of your choice. This is sort of a rule of thumb for flowers, hair salon appointments, music, etc. The exception would be location. This ideally is nice to have booked out much further ahead than a year to get the date of your choice. We have been hearing from current reception vendors that they are booked out well into the end of 2011. Also, I would suggest diving into the dresses sooner than later. The dresses need to not only be ordered, shipped and delivered but also need alterations. Hopefully this timeline is helpful for you. *If you need any suggestions on cake, limo, any vendors- we are happy to refer many over to you! There are so many wonderfully talented vendors in this town, we would be excited to get you to them. Also- you can find many vendors and begin your wedding planning journey with the help of these sites:
www.weddingsiniowa.com, www.weddingwire.com
Q: What is your appearance at the weddings?
James always wears black/gray dress pants and a dress shirt/tie combo. I can be found in a dress or black pants and flats. We also will be wearing what we call Think Tanks (in photo lingo) but better known as a belt with pockets for our lens and camera part/memory cards, etc. Our assistants also wear attire similar to ours. We strive to be dressed as a guest- in formal attire, yet blending into everyone else so we are not distracting.
Q: I want to book Gold or Platinum but what can I do in terms of the engagement session if I don’t have time for one?
This is actually more common that you may think. We have had in the past grooms in the Army/Navy away or couples living out of state but getting married back here. If you want to book the package of your choice, instead of the engagement session we will swap it out for a $175 credit. You can use this credit towards an album, prints, a bridal pictorial session- basically whatever you would like. It is your credit to do as you please with. We just want you to get exactly what works best for you.
*Here is just a couple questions for today. I will feature some more through out the week. I recommend clicking on the top of the blog (to the right) the questions tab. I have compiled this through out the last year. By the time you reach the bottom, the packages should be thoroughly explained. I love your eagerness! If anything else pops into mind- feel free to call the studio: 319- 853- 0532.
January 11, 2010
Hello to all the fresh faces who stopped at our booth yesterday!
Now- somethings are beyond my control. Such as the holidays. And the weather. We wanted these pretty little babies to be present at the expo yesterday. Unfortunately with the Christmas/New Year rush- they conveniently showed up TODAY. One day late!! So as much as we are sad we couldn’t show them off yesterday- we are thrilled to announce they are here. Set up your consultation today to come on over to the studio and view them. Ask questions. Chit-chat about stuff we didn’t get the time to yesterday. All that good stuff. The albums are divided into two categories; I will and I do. They are stuffed full of all our favorite brides and jewels and flowers and speeches and all our favorite moments of 2009. If you are still in the market for your 2010 wedding- you cannot afford to miss out seeing these albums; they are packed full of great ideas (wedding and engagements), inspiration and all kinds of wedding goodness.
An inside peek on the page type (above) and a little preview of one of the pages from: I will (below).
I am still compiling the frequently asked questions as they are still coming in. Lots of good ones. Atop the most frequently asked yesterday was “are you guys married?” Pretty cute. Yes we are. We consider ourselves quite the team somedays. (wink!) Thanks for stopping by yesterday and of course- congrats on your engagement! -Missy
January 8, 2010
Hi all- I would like to share some little sneak peaks of a photo shoot some invites went through at the studio last night. Not sure who knows what- but before James and I collaborated as Drescher Photo and Design, I had a small business called IBM (Invites By Missy) and I made tons and tons of handmade invites and taught DIY invite making classes. When we started the studio several years ago, hand made invites got pushed to the back burner just because we were so incredibly busy with photography. I’ve been thrilled to work on several more invite jobs currently and would love to share some cuteness with you. James has been a tremendous help, like surprising me with a NINE foot long work table in my studio to sprawl out ALL my ribbon and paper and adhesives!! Here are some photos:
The paper I used for these is pretty deeply textured. I am a sucker for a beautiful, durable, quality sheet of card stock. (sigh). I also added some of these little pretties to my website so you can take a peak as well. We can’t wait to see everyone at the bridal expo this weekend! Over the past couple days with the expo almost here, we have had a handful of really great questions from brides such as “how many photographers attend the wedding?” or “what will you guys wear to our wedding?” All these are super valuable, and I have said so myself that no question is too silly to ask. In light of your eagerness- I started compiling a list of these all, will add any more than arise after Sunday’s expo and will get you all those wonderful answers on Monday when we return. -Missy
