When our very own Creative Director and former wedding photographer, Catherine Lash, tied the knot ten years ago with Stephen Bulger, owner of the Stephen Bulger Gallery, they used their shared obsession with photography to ‘develop’ personalized tokens of thanks. At dinner, each place setting included a matted, postcard sized, anonymous photograph. Hand-written name tags were tied on to indicate seat locations and to personalize the favours.

Catherine and Stephen searched antique markets and old paper shows for snapshots that matched an aspect of the personality of each guest. Anonymous snapshots can cost twenty five cents to $10 each for one, or you can purchase bags a dealer has thrown together for $5 to $10. These bags will contain 25-50 pictures, ten of which will likely be great shots.

After suitable photos were found, such as a skier for a brother who loves the rush of downhill or a fisherman for a cousin who loves the peace of the water at dawn, each tiny photo was matted in an 8×10 mat and tied with a ribbon and a name tag.

On the wedding day, the guests were blown away by the thought and time that went into choosing a picture specifically for them and loved the idea that they had been given an original piece of art to boot. The pictures also added to the event by providing a visual snapshot of each person in attendance. This broke the ice for strangers and created many avenues for conversation throughout the evening.

Ten years later the couple still visits homes where the photos are on display framed or sitting on mantels with the ribbon and name tags still intact.

Photo by Peg McCarthy

This story first appeared in The Wedding Co.’s newsletter, The News, in June, 2008