Okay so I know it’s only September…but we all know that big ‘C’ word is looming in the not too distant future! I don’t know about you but I’ve never started my Christmas shopping until the first of December (I watched a show a few nights ago where a few members of the audience had all their gifts wrapped and ready, and some had bought them all in last year’s Boxing Day sales!). I’m really not that organised – however, since meeting The Canadian and getting married earlier this year my family has grown a little and I’ve realised that the earlier you start – the less stressful it is as the big day approaches (especially once you have more people to buy for!).
We don’t go crazy for Christmas by any means. The Canadian always heads home to spend a couple of weeks with his folks and usually the Mama Blonde will come to us for Christmas Day (we’re only two years into cooking the traditional turkey feast and I’m proud to say we feel like we’ve mastered it!). For us family and friends are much more important than extravagant presents and so I always think the personal touch always makes gifts so much more special and memorable.
When I was asked to trial Tesco Photo’s same day collection printing service I thought it was the perfect opportunity to turn one of our beloved wedding day photos into a creative and gorgeous personalised gift. Thinking of both mine and The Canadian’s parents, what better way for them to reminisce about the day our families joined together than with a capture from our amazing wedding photographers.
The ordering process was super simple (it was the agonising over which photo to choose that really took up time!). The website is easy to navigate and there are lots of different choices in terms of gifts – canvases, aluminium photo prints, framed prints as well as the usual mugs, posters, coasters and photo blocks. I love the style of a canvas and decided to go ahead with a 20″ x 20″ design (not so huge it would be a struggle to find it a home, but a generous size to ensure lots of detail on the print).
Our canvas arrived carefully wrapped and on a solid and sturdy wooden frame. We had chosen the option to mirror the image around the sides so that the photo could be viewed from all angles and this worked perfectly with the snapshot we had picked. The print quality was brilliant and held up to close up scrutiny (of course I was peering closely at my lovingly hand-made bouquet which brought back all the emotions of the day!).
I was really pleased with the service from Tesco Photo, especially with how easy it was to upload a photo and choose your style preferences – you can even add your own text or create a collage canvas (love this idea – perfect as a gift for a friend, filled with photos taken over the years!). It’s the perfect way to create a quick, easy but personalised gift for any occasion (did I mention it’s just 12 weeks until the big day – eek!).
What are your top personalised gifts? I’d love for you to inspire me in the comments!
The Blonde x
*This is a collaborative post with the lovely folk at Tesco Photo but as always all opinions are my own and I only feature products or events that are fitting and in keeping with the tone and content of my blog or Instagram page.