Memories and Tributes Archives - Page 10 of 11

November 12, 2016August 26, 2026Digitize and Preserve, Memories and TributesBy Julie Kessler

9 Questions to Ask Before You Pick a Company to Convert Your Home Movies

A few years ago, I unknowingly made a BIG mistake with my home movies. I was looking for a simple, inexpensive option for converting my family’s home movies. I wanted to go through the conversion process myself, so I could make educated recommendations to future clients who needed to convert their own movies. I recruited a college student who purchased some basic scanning equipment from a local store, then gave him instructions on how to do the conversion. I paid him to convert our home movies and copy them onto DVDs. Boy, do I wish I had known what I […]

October 31, 2016August 28, 2025Digitize and Preserve, Memories and TributesBy Julie Kessler

What You Really Need to Know About Converting Your Home Movies

Viewing home movies can make us feel like we’ve got access to a magical time machine. Home movies can help us remember some of our very earliest memories, and let us recall the great characteristics of loved ones who are no longer with us. Movies play an important role in our family legacy by giving us visual AND audible reminders of our memories. In many ways, they’re even more powerful and personal than still photographs, because they help us relive moments, and remember the most vivid details of those events. In her book Get “Reel” About Your Home Movie Legacy […]

August 29, 2016November 14, 2025Celebrations, Memories and Tributes, StorytellingBy Julie Kessler

6 Creative Ways to Incorporate Photos Into Your Wedding

Congratulations! You’re getting married! You and your fiancé will be gathering all your closest friends and family members together in one place for the day. Very few people at your ceremony and reception will know everyone else in the room, so using photos in your wedding can be a fun way to let your guests get to know one another. You can also snag photos of informal magical moments from the day that won’t necessarily be captured by your professional photographer. Here are some ideas for incorporating photos into your ceremony and reception: 1. Include older photos to showcase your families’ […]

July 12, 2016August 28, 2025Celebrations, Memories and TributesBy Julie Kessler

How Photos Can Help Us in Times of Grief and Loss

In May, we lost our family dog, Otto. His death was very sudden, and it has been a big loss for me, my husband, and our three kids. Otto was a huge presence in our lives. He was a typical goldendoodle – big, happy, and overly friendly in the most lovable way. Otto was my husband Tom’s daily companion — his shadow who followed him throughout the house. He sensed Tom’s gentle personality, and Otto would often nudge his arm off the desk to get some extra attention while Tom was working. To me, Otto was a gentle soul who […]

November 20, 2015August 29, 2026Celebrations, Memories and Tributes, StorytellingBy Julie Kessler

Writing the Holiday Card Letter

So you’ve decided the write a letter to include with your holiday card. Every year you’ve read the letters from your friends and thought to yourself “I’ll do that next year.” Well this is it! If you’re like me, you have a favorite style that you look forward to reading. And it’s likely not the 3-page version that chronicles each and every event that occurred in the family’s past 12 months! In the final part of this series, I’ll share some pitfalls to holiday letter writing and some suggestions for sharing the best of your year! Guidelines for Writing a […]

November 18, 2015August 29, 2026Celebrations, Family Legacy, Memories and Tributes, StorytellingBy Julie Kessler

Choosing the Right Photos for your Holiday Card

This is the year. You’re determined to send a holiday card and you want to include photos. If this is our first time down this road, there are a three considerations: timeline, people, and style. What’s your Timeline? Do you want this to arrive before the holidays? Or are you content with having it arrive sometime before the New Year chimes in? The timing can affect whether you can involve a professional photographer. You need to allow enough time for scheduling the photo shoot, ordering the card, processing (1-2 weeks) and then sending it. Some card companies offer a mail […]

May 4, 2015August 26, 2026Celebrations, Memories and Tributes, Photo AlbumsBy Julie Kessler

Honoring Your Mother’s Day Treasures

Happy Mother’s Day! Mother’s save mementos and memorabilia – especially if they are Mother’s Day gifts from our children. As a former professional organizer, I know that saving every note and drawing this isn’t advisable, but come on! How can you throw away something that represents time your child spent on YOU? Well actually you don’t really have to throw them all away but you should seek ways to honor your favorites. If it’s been ages, like years since you looked at them, are they really being treasured? Sometimes throwing them away may feel like we’re throwing away a piece of […]