For now, I’m sharing a styled bridal shoot of the lovely Jenn. In fact, it was shot with another amazingly talented photographer (and good friend of mine) Jennifer Kennedy when I was in Powell River, BC to visit.  I am a little embarassed to admit that we shot this in July 2010. Yeah…I’m a little behind on my blogging. We went to a top-secret location, however if you grew up in Powell River you know exactly where this is. It’s such a gorgeous peaceful spot and I try to go there whenever I make the trip back to PR.  I spent many sun-filled days here with my friends. It’s one of the most naturally beautiful spots I’ve ever seen.

Amazing wildflower bouquet by Blush Floral Design

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Normally I do a lot of black and white images for my wedding photography but this place was so vibrant and full of life that I kept most of it in color. Jenn and Robb are also vibrantly full of life and love for each other. I felt so excited to shoot with an amazing couple like them.

Hope you have a comfy chair, enjoy the photos!

Ceremony – Wexler Garden at The Riviera Palm Springs Resort

Reception – Royal Ballroom at The Riviera Palm Springs Resort

Flowers – Artisan Events

Hand tied Bouquet of  lady roses, peony, and cymbidium blooms with an ivory organic ribbon wrap.

Decor & Lighting - Artisan Events

Hair & Makeup –  Lily at Spaterre

Dress - Mori Lee from Jessica Bridal in Calgary

Bridesmaid dresses – Alfred Sung

Groom & groomsmen attire – O’connors in Calgary

Type writer key cufflinks – O’connors in Calgary

Programs + Menus – designed by bride, printed at CIP Calgary

Officiant – Richard Cadieux of Joyful Weddings

Cake – Pastry Swan in Palm Springs

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The Riviera Palm Springs was such an incredible venue…every last detail of the decor was retro-chic and so different. I absolutely LOVED shooting here and would be so happy to shoot there again.

Jenn and Robb – thank you so much for choosing me to be your wedding photographer for your destination wedding in Palm Springs. It was such an honour to photograph your special day, and I feel lucky to have shot in such an incredible wedding venue!

Sumira + Mo | Engagement

Jennifer + Brandon | Just Because

Kirstin + Kevin | Maternity

Jennifer | Headshots

Rita | Headshots

Courtenay + Justin | Wedding | second shooter for Leslie Brown

Tamara + Josh | Wedding | second shooter for MCS Photo

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The entire day’s events happened at Fort Edmonton Park, starting with Angela getting ready in the little schoolhouse attached to the chapel. The light hit Angela just beautifully.

Angela and Steven decided to do a ‘first look’, which means they wanted to see each other before the ceremony. I am a huge advocate of doing a first look. Seeing each other for the first time with all those people staring at you can make you feel overwhelmed rather than overjoyed.  Doing a first look alone with your photographer(s) is much more intimate and being able to hug and kiss for a few minutes (maybe a few happy tears too) really helps lower your stress level.

I snuck Angela behind the church before putting Steven into position. Once I had him facing the other way, I told Angela to walk slowly around the corner.  I love the look of anticipation on Steven’s face, and Angela’s little grin. So cute!

I can’t help but have a huge smile on my face when I see these photos, their expressions are so full of joy!

Angela getting a good look at her handsome groom.

Lovely lovely lovely.

Check out this bridal party! Lookin good kids!

Steven is a fire fighter. Love the images with the fire truck.

Everyone looks so classy! I love it!

These fall colors are to die for! What a perfect day.

Eventually, playtime was over and it was time to get on with the wedding. The ceremony was held in a tiny little chapel – St. Anthony’s Catholic Church

It was a very heart-filled emotional ceremony.

How cute is this sign? It was placed at the entrance to direct guests to the right place.

The reception was held in the Blatchford Field Air Hangar, so naturally, paper airplanes for table numbers. Genius!

Thank you so much to Angela and Steven for choosing me to be their wedding photographer. Also, a huge thank you to my amazing second shooter Paula Scherr, for helping me out so much that day and getting some gorgeous shots!

Ceremony and Reception – Fort Edmonton Park

Flowers – Flowers on 50th

Wedding gown – The Bridal House

Bridesmaid Dresses – Style America

Groom and Groomsman attire – Derk’s Formals

I love love love this series of her bridal portrait.

Janessa and Daryn decided to do a ‘first look’, and see each other before the ceremony.  This is such a fantastic idea, it allows for some really special moments together and some privacy to feel the range of emotions that overcome you when seeing each other for the first time.  Doing this in private without an audience staring at you can really help reduce the jitters and anxiety of the day.

Daryn waiting patiently to see his beautiful bride.

Sometimes I’m a little dumb and I didn’t really think about the fact that the location I put him was facing a building with windows. Until I saw his face I didn’t even think of the fact that he could see the reflection of Janessa coming down the stairs, but, I don’t care because look at his face! He is so happy!

Oh Ness you are so cute.

Finally, it was time to say their vows and get married! Woohoo!

There was a cocktail hour immediately following the ceremony where they served delicious dill popcorn. Yummy!I was able to sneak in to the reception area and take a shot from the back of the room before the guests were allowed in.

Let me tell you…the cucumber water was so refreshing!

The ice cream sandwiches were to DIE for. I could have eaten at least 20. Good thing other people gobbled them up before I had a chance to embarass myself.

At the reception, the ladies decided that they all wanted their turn to dance with the groom. Chad grabbed this shot…I love Daryn’s face, as if to say, ‘Help.Me.’He totally got mauled but it was all in good fun.

And they lived  happily ever after!!

Ceremony and Reception: Winspear Centre

Planning and Coordination: Nuance Occasions

Flowers: Flowers in the Park

Janessa’s gown and hairpiece: Bridal Debut

Daryn’s tux: Derk’s Formals

Catering: D’Lish

Isn’t this bouquet unique? Leah and I both had fun photographing it ALL.DAY.

Leah’s angle of Cara getting ready (love this shot)

My angle of the dress being done up. Bows are tricky!

Cara and Jesse had a very intimate ceremony at the Silvertip Resort in Canmore.  What an absolutely stunning location for a wedding!

Before we started shooting the couple getting ready, Leah and I went location scouting and found the most awesome little gully and forest area. The trees were so perfectly spaced and there wasn’t too much underbrush so it would have worked so well. Unfortunately when we returned in the afternoon to do portraits, we came across this:

Now don’t judge on the technical quality of the photo, Leah amazingly was able to photograph him before they both ran in opposite directions! Since Mr.Bear was hanging out in our pre-planned location, we improvised and shot in a different spot instead. I’d say it’s probably a lot better than our original spot, I guess things do happen for a reason…

It started to drizzle as we arrived back at the resort for the reception. You know what that means – DOUBLE RAINBOW! So intense!

Pretty much the cutest cake ever. Just sayin’!

Ceremony and reception – Silvertip Resort, Canmore

Flowers – Willow Haven

Cake – Cake Creations

Dress – Paloma Blanca

Bride’s sash and flower – Bridal Shoppe on Etsy

As an aside, I was talking to Marta one evening and she told me how much she wanted the ‘Sex and the City’ Manolo Blahnik shoes to wear as her something blue.  James could not figure out why some stupid shoes cost soooo much money, and why couldn’t she just wear something else.  Well, it turns out that Marta and I are very good at convincing him. What Marta wants, Marta gets. So, I give you, the SHOES!

This room is absolutely incredible. It is dripping with luxury and amazing details! Atmosphere Wedding Planning and Design did an amazing job decorating the room for the wedding. The decor matched perfectly!James and Marta also enjoy hunting. Naturally they brought GUNS! Ack! Not gonna lie, I was freaked out!So bad ass.

Planning and Coordination – Atmosphere Wedding Planning and Design

Wedding gown – Maggie Sottero

Flowers – La Piazza Dasee

Ceremony  - Fairmont Hotel Macdonald

“I was married on August 14 this past summer, one of the first things I did was look into wedding photographers since it was my first priority. I was getting married in a location I was not too familiar with, so I went with lots of recommendations, the photographer being one of them. During the wedding day I discovered that not only did she not meet my standards of photography but she was extremely disorganized, and not one to take control of the situation. We found the bridesmaids directing the photos, loads of wasted time and much unneeded stress added to the day. When we received the pictures the stress and disorganization showed in every single picture. My husband and I were both so upset about not even having one photo we would love to hang on our wall, the type of photo that just clearly displays the love and emotions we felt that day.”

Unfortunately, I have heard a LOT of stories like this lately.

Catherine contacted me a few months ago to do a portrait session for her and her husband…however this wasn’t just a regular couples session, but a re-creation of their wedding portraits.  As you read above, they were very disappointed in the photos they received from the person who shot their wedding and really wanted something they could enjoy and have as a reminder of such a happy day.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to hire a professional photographer for your wedding day.  Your wedding is a big deal. You can’t have ‘do-overs’ for the truly meaningful moments: the look your dad gives you as he walks you down the aisle, the expression on your groom’s face as he sees you for the first time, or the pure joy you share right after your first kiss as husband and wife.

There are a LOT of people with fancy digital cameras and think that because they got the new Canon Rebel they can take on the responsibility of photographing one of the most important days in a couples’ life together.  Amateur photographers have no idea how to lead the day or how to direct the portrait session.  A professional wedding photographer is confident and knows how to set proper exposures in any location and how to find (or create) the most flattering light for your portraits.  Professionals know how to deal with crazy family members and how to get rid of that zit that appeared the night before your wedding.  Most importantly, your wedding photographer knows how to step up and be in charge when you need it most.

I understand I am not the only wedding photographer out there, many of my close friends are professional wedding photographers as well.  My advice, regardless of who you choose to photograph your wedding, is that you make the decision based on how their images make you feel and how well you connect with the photographer on a personal level.  If you have no chemistry in a normal conversation, a high-stress, emotion-filled day is not going to be easy.

I asked Catherine if she would feel comfortable sharing her experience with the people who read my blog, as I think that her story is an important one and many couples can use her experience to help in their planning process.  Along with what was quoted at the beginning of this post, here is the remainder of her story:

After much discussion we decided to proceed with hiring another photographer, renting a tux, putting the dress back on and recreating the day to achieve that one beautiful shot we can hang on our wall to remind us of those wonderful moments (granted it would be an entirely different day!) To several people in our lives this seemed like great deal of wasted time and money and we should be happy with the photos we got, but to us it was extremely important.
I immediately knew the photographer I wanted to go with, so I booked Jen and had a completely different experience the second time around. There was no feeling of chaos or disorganization. Jen and her husband made the day fun and easy. We were directed in poses, which really helps when you have a husband who gets awkward in front of cameras! My husband was initially a little leery of going through the whole photo shoot again since his experience the first time around was so unpleasant. He did want the one picture we could both be happy with but was dreading the couple hours we had to go through to get that photo. To his surprise it was nothing like what the wedding day was like, he was the first to say how much fun he had. And it showed in the pictures. Now our problem isn’t finding the one photo to hang on our wall, its trying to decide which one we love the most, such a hard decision!
We are both so happy we went through it all a second time. It was really worth any “hassle” we initially thought it would be. Now instead of regretting the photographer we booked for the wedding day there are no feelings of regret just happy with the fact that years from now we can always open our wedding album and see beautiful photos of us so in love and happy.”

Knowing Catherine and Brad’s story, I REALLY wanted to knock one out of the park for them.  Chad and I took the ferry over to Vancouver island and drove up to their home in Qualicum Beach. I did some detail shots for them in their backyard, with a beautiful plum tree. How cute are all the little plums on the ground?!

After I finished the detail shots, Catherine got her dress on, Brad helped her into the truck and we went for a drive to MacMillan Provincial Park, also known as Cathedral Grove. It’s an old growth forest with giant trees, some of which are over 800 years old!  I remember going here as a kid and just being in awe of the massive tree trunks.  If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend a visit!As we walked deeper into the forest we came across the most amazing pockets of light peeking through the trees.  The next 3 shots show the pockets beautifully.

I really wanted to create some ‘first dance’ photos for them. The first dance images are always my favourite because the bride and groom get so lost in each other. It’s like everyone has disappeared and they are the only two in the room.  We set up some romantic little lights and I let them do their thing.  The daylight diappeared fast and the drizzle turned into bigger raindrops, but the magic did not fade.

Catherine sent me a message after I sent her the gallery of their images:

” WOW WOW WOW!! Oh my goodness Jen I absolutely love every single fricken picture. How the hell do I pick them!! I just went through all the pictures and they are absolutely amazing.”

Emails like that make me so happy, and I know I am doing what I was meant to.