Senior portraits have come a long way since I was a graduate, awkwardly posing for maybe 20 images in a department store studio. Nowadays senior sessions can be customized to include meaningful locations, favorite outfits and overall composition that showcases each student’s personality like never before! So say goodbye to the stiff, cookie-cutter “senior pictures” of the past, and say hello to stunning photos that make your heart swell. 

Seniors have put lots of time and effort into becoming the young humans they are, and senior portraits are your one chance to capture their hard work and accomplishments, preserving them in a way that’s totally worth the investment—and totally worthy of showing off! Not sure how? Here are my favorite ways to use your senior portraits.

Grad Party Invitations/Decor

There are plenty of companies that will help you create amazing graduation announcements and grad party invitations with all your favorite shots (think Minted, Zazzle or Shutterfly, to name a few). But why stop there? Displaying senior portraits at the party itself is a great way to show them off. String your favorite images up like a banner, use them as centerpieces on tables, or create a path to the festivities that starts with kindergarten and finishes with a collage from your senior session.

Dorm/Home Decor

Sometimes the thought of displaying your own senior portraits can be a little cringe, but if you love your photos and still want to show them off, I get it! Framed portraits aren’t everyone’s thing, especially if you’re heading into your first apartment or dorm. So why not make it cute? Print out wallet sizes of your favorite shots, and collect a handful from your family and best friends, too. String them up or add them all to a bulletin board to keep your favorite people close!

Yearbooks

Believe it or not, most schools allow you to use one of your own senior portraits as your official yearbook photo now! And if not, they allow you to create custom pages and collages from your senior session with notes from families, mixed with childhood and other photos from over the years. I told you stiff, traditional senior pictures were a thing of the past!

Meaningful Gifts 

Maybe framed senior portraits aren’t every young graduate’s idea of home decor, but I guarantee their people disagree! Think of the countless hours and miles spent going to and from school, cheering at games and showing up for extra curricular activities over the years. Those moments count, and they’re etched into the hearts of every graduate’s biggest fans. These are the years you’ll never get back, and honoring those who supported the journey will always be important. So turn your senior portraits into a photo book or album, frame some prints, create some display collages and canvas prints. They make great (and meaningful!) gifts for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, coaches, mentors… you get the idea! 

Social Media

Did someone say #SeniorSunday? Sharing senior portraits with your friends and family is so much fun! And looking at all of their posts and pictures is part of the whole senior-year experience. Showcase your favorite shots by sharing them in your stories and posts, and I bet your proud followers will want to share them, too. You’ll only have this opportunity once. Share it with those who are nearest and dearest to you!

Sure… your love is forever, but wedding trends come and go. If you’re working on the details of a 2024 wedding, there are definitely some popular changes to the industry, and some you’re definitely going to want to embrace! Stay in style as you celebrate a timeless love story with these five wedding trends for 2024:

1. Restaurant Receptions

You read that wedding trend right—Restaurants aren’t just for rehearsal dinners anymore! Turn your favorite date night spot into the perfect place to celebrate your nuptials. Depending on where your heart and stomach connect, renting out a restaurant for an evening can be considerably easier on your budget than snagging a reception venue, and most will let you decorate for the occasion with wedding colors and personal touches. Different dining areas can be utilized in different ways (think dinner, dessert stations and a cleared floor for dancing), and you can add tons of your own personality to your already favorite food to make the day feel like your own.

2. Intimate/Low-Key Ceremonies

According to expert wedding planners, 2024 will be the year we say farewell to over-the-top spectacles, and say hello to intimate ceremonies that foster a sense of community and friendly accessibility. So ditch the razzle dazzle and giant floral arrangements, and gather your intimate guest list around a big family table instead. This trend lends itself to memorable ceremonies that are warmer, more meaningful, less formal and more comfortable for everyone.

3. Two-Day Events

If you’re on board with the intimate ceremony trend, but still want to dance the night away with an unforgettable party, you’re in luck. Friday night ceremonies and Saturday receptions is one of the biggest wedding trends making a splash in 2024! Even without keeping your ceremony small, planning a two-day wedding event can keep the ceremony from cutting into reception daylight and time, and keep the celebration from overshadowing the vows. Give each piece it’s due, and have twice the fun with double the days to remember.

4. Digital Guest Books

While there will always be space in the wedding industry for the old fashioned letterpress, wedding trends have long been highlighting the digital age, from the need for a wedding website to online registries and RSVPs. The next piece of a wedding now trending digital? The guestbook! Instead of asking your guests to sign a book, ask them to record a voice memo, short video or photo gallery with their well wishes. They’ll have fun embracing the technology and mediums we use every day. You’ll have fun watching and playing your messages in a more personal and interactive way!

5. Less-Formal Photography

Don’t get me wrong, here. Bridal portraits are still a must. But current wedding trends are all about the candid image. Think documentary-style photography, perfectly capturing moments as moments, not poses. It’s 2024… Your wedding photographer is also your content creator! This more relaxed approach to wedding photography allows others who weren’t there to experience your event as if they were there, documenting real-time memories you can share on any platform.