Thanks again to Jill and all the gals at Sparkle and Tanya for making my weekend. You chicks rock!! Wedding withdrawal soothed!

However. They were serious. Little did I know. You see, I’m pretty used to getting everything I submit accepted to blogs. But this time I was REJECTED!! YES!! Are you kidding me!? A very lovely PFO email came with a restating of their criteria. They wanted good, photojournalism, authentic, spontaneous. Well Gee! I have tons of that! But this time they were making me really work for it! Awesome! It was a fantastic feeling to sit and comb the best of the best moments. It was a challenge and just what I needed!  And when I got the email saying I was in, all the sweeter!

1. Don’t place high, large decor on your head table. They look great. In theory. Until I try to shoot your candid reactions to speeches or have a moment connecting with each other. They also block any artificial lighting I may have to use! Low, monochromatic head table decor is awesome! Want to look even better? Use a gold or blush toned accent. It will bounce warm light in to your face and make you look healthy and glowing! Perfect!!

2. Give your photographer a detailed timeline well in advance of your wedding. Consulting with your photographer on your timeline can save lots of grief and optimize your experience. I can tell you where you need more time and when you are scheduling time you most likely won’t cherish afterwards. That point in the getting ready where you are sporting just foundation and it looks like half done zombie looking make-up? Not the prettiest! There’s some time I could be shooting your dress, shoes etc. To see my guide on how to start your timeline click here!

3. Cover Your chairs. Okay. I lied. That one isn’t free. But chances are you were either going to do it or were on the fence any way. Why do I recommend this? Unless you have a venue with awesome chairs that match your colour scheme or you are renting special chairs ( Chiavari, antique wood hint hint) covering your chair will create a blank canvas that keeps the eye flowing. The chairs in most venues are very dark in order to hide wear and tear and they don’t look great in your decor photos.

Imagine that shot if the back of chairs were black and gold. It cuts down the options and angles I can use and makes your whole room shots look choppy.

4. Think through your placement of objects and people. When you are saying your vows, make sure to face each other. Don’t place large arrangements at the front of the church that obstruct a view. Place your cake table somewhere that you can get around it to actually cut the cake. As you walk through your day picture yourself in the area where photos are being taken and picture where I am going to take them from to get the best angles. Also think of where I am going to stand as not to obstruct the view of your guests as well.

5. Coloured lights and your first dance. Oh my. Some DJ’s will ask but some will not and your first dance will have you looking either like you have the chicken pox or a terrible fever. On a few occasions where it was really crazy I had to ask the DJ to turn it off. That makes me feel like crud. Fun lights are fun during your actual  dance but during the romance of your first dance they are just plain distracting.Also, resist the urge to turn the lights all the way down for your first dance. Even just a low level of light will help my camera to focus while you’re dancing! I have pretty much one of the best low light cameras in the industry but black and white are the hardest  things for cameras to focus on and guess what you guys are on your wedding day? You’re super hot black and white-wearing moving  people haha!!

Well there you go. No huge deals right!? But a few quick tweaks can really help your photographer get you the best shots they possibly can!!

My first reaction I’ll admit was shock, then confusion, then a funny touchdown dance. But then it was thanks.

Thanks to all my couples who vote everyday with their trust and enthusiasm. Thanks to Steve who votes with his effort and support and let’s be honest, with his half of the wallet. Thanks to my family and friends who seemed to always know I could do this way before I could. Thanks to my parents who raised me as sort of a goof and destined me to a career in the arts because I’m just not suitable for anything less than creativity. (Please, I’m typing this on a Hello Kitty keyboard!) Thanks to whatever God or Spirit or Force of the Universe  is out there that makes your gut tell you when something is right and wrong.

Wait, let’s go back to that Steve guy. He deserves a little more. Thanks to him for never blinking an eye when I tell his what the new gizmo I super-need is going to cost ( tip: they normally cost mucho ), never flinches when I ask him to say… climb up a tree and block out the sun ( yes, I have photographic proof of that one! ) and never despaired when I came home from work one day and said I was done. ( Blame the NB Power man. It’s not a long story but it’s a good one). He’s never wavered even once. He’s spent about 9 million hours in Michaels and Staples while I try and match a colour.  He’s looked at 6000 logo drafts. He’s held 6797788 purses, sunglasses, dogs, lipsticks… And if you can tell me you’ve ever seen him do it with less than cheeriness… well… you can’t!

So today is my day of thanks. I get my award everyday from happy emails and Facebook comments from my girls. But let’s be honest. A little external validation every once in a while is super nice! I’m looking forward to getting out there in 2012 and proving my worthiness to you! High Five!!

I’m so excited! this new blog is pretty and organized and feels more…bloggy!! So check in with me regularly to see what’s what.  And seeing that no blog post can exist without a photo, here’s a summer gem to warm you up a bit!

Ahhh… I feel cosier already! If you want to see the best of Amanda and Zach’s Wedding Story head on over to Wedding Bells to see their feature!!

Enjoy!

Well, well, well! It seems some of you ladies are stumped on how to build the ideal wedding day timeline! Well be stumped no more! I am going to give you the basics of timelines!

Each timeline will have its commonalities and its distinctions, like every wedding! But the stepping stones are the same. I am going to assume while building your timeline that your day contains the following : getting ready, ceremony, family photos, wedding party photos, couple photos and a reception/dance. If you vary from this you’ll have a little more or less work to do. Now, this is just a framework for your basics. Please always consult with me if you have questions/ concerns about your wedding day! You all know where I am !;)

1. The first thing you need to consider is the time of year you are getting married. If you are getting married in the summer you have pretty much all the options open to you. If you are getting married in the fall or winter things get a little more limited! A fall or winter wedding means you will either need to have an earlier ceremony or do your photography before your ceremony if you wish to keep a later reception date. If your ceremony is after dark please note you will of course not be getting a light airy look in your church or ceremony location. If you choose to have no natural light in your photos the look will be reflective of that.

2. Your ceremony time is your anchor. Once you set that time, everything else slots itself accordingly. For example, lets’ say you are getting married in July. You set your ceremony time for 4 pm. Perfect. You can do all your photos after the ceremony or you can do a first look before hand and do family and wedding party after. If you are getting married in October at 4 pm you will want to do at least some of your photography before hand as by 7 pm in the fall, light gets pretty dim. What looks good to the naked eye isn’t necessarily good light to me. Remember when you used to be out playing and it looked light then your Mom called you in and you looked out and thought ” Dang, it’s dark out” It’s like that. The eye adjust light to make it psychologically pleasing. Cameras don’t! They tell the truth of what light is really there!

3. Do you want a first look? First looks rock. Seeing the bride/ groom before the ceremony is not bad luck! I haven’t had a single client regret it! Do you know where that tradition started? In the olden days the groom didn’t get to see the bride because marriages were arranged and the brides family didn’t want the grooms family backing out if she was fugly. Romantic! That said, a first look is not for everyone. But if you wish to walk down the aisle fully present at your wedding or wish to have unrushed, emotional couples portraits and then zip to your cocktail hour after the wedding, they may be for you! Especially if you are getting married off-season!

4. Get organized. Decide early what elements will be in your day. Do you want me shooting you getting hair and makeup done? Garter toss? Games? Speeches? Nail down who is doing them and at what time. Plan out the flow of the reception months beforehand!

5. Where and what are we shooting? Make sure to plan 30 minutes for family, 20 for wedding party and 30 for couples shots. Add in any travel time if you are doing multiple locations!

6. I need time to shoot your decor! If you have a gorgeous wedding decor it means nothing if I have no time to shoot it! I need at least 20 minutes alone with your decor with no guests in the room. An easy way is to put them somewhere else for a cocktail hour. I can easily work around staff because they move fast and don’t stop to chat me up. Don’t get me wrong, I love your family but there’s people time and decor time and they don’t mix well. Unless you want aunt Susie’s butt in your cake shot?

7. Do a draft. Lay it out and see what it looks like. Send it do me. We will tweak it! Do this as early as possible. Really a rough timeline should be the foundation of your wedding planning. If things need to be changed people may need quite a bit of notice!

8. Add a few minutes to everything that involves groups of people. Trust me. They are happy, they are tipsy, they are like herding kittens on crack! That’s why wedding photography is not for un-Zen people who can’t go with the flow!

9. If it involves a baby or a Grampy, get it done first!

10. Don’t assume I can read your mind. I’m good but not that good. I once had a schedule given to me with a 4 hour gap in the middle where the bride then said ” You know, pictures and stuff”. The ” and stuff” becomes a mystery!

So… What does a timeline look like? Let’s go!

Typical 10 hour wedding coverage in July

12:00 Julie meets up with guys at Delta for getting ready
12:45 Julie meets girls at Made you Blush for makeup
1:30 Girls at Delta for getting dressed, wedding dress details, shoes, bouquet etc
2:15 Julie leaves for church
3:00 Ceremony begins
4:00 ceremony ends
4:20 Family Photos at Old Gov House
4:50 Wedding party Photos at Old Govt House
5:25 Bride and Groom leave with Julie and Steve to do couple shots downtown
5:30 Cocktail hour begins at Delta ( most of your guests will get theer 15-20 minutes early giving them an hour bewteen ceremony and cocktails)
6:15 Bride and Groom return to Delta, go up to room to refresh ( I shoot decor)
6:30 Guests Enter Reception
6:45 Wedding Party Arrive
7:00 MC outlines the evening ahead
7:00-8:30 Eating and Speeches ( i do additional ring shots, bouquet, anything that got put aside due to time or someone forgot to bring the X to the church etc while shooting speeches etc)
9:00 First dance bride and groom, first dance fathers, moms etc.
9:15 Cake cutting, garter toss, bouquet toss
9:30 I shoot 30 minutes of crazy dancing
10:00 I hug you goodbye and take some cake and go collapse.

And that’s a very basic timeline. And that’s assuming you’re not running late or the makeup lady no-showed etc! Yours may need tweaking! If you decide to do a first look then not so much time before the reception. If you do a receiving line you may need to add hours. they take at least 30 minutes! You may wish to travel to another location with your wedding party, have a huge family… all these things add time. There’s always a way to make it work but it takes communication early to get it done!! Having a good timeline in place makes me happy knowing I’m not off peeing while you cut the cake. Cause hey, I gotta pee sometime!

If you have questions shoot them off to me or if you feel the answers are of general interest just put them here in your comments.

Treat yourself, go 720p hd in full screen!!

I can’t wait to see what you 2012 kids have in store

But I can’t help thinking back on last year and having a few thoughts on things I want to perhaps…tweak?

This year I want to make things as smooth, easy and fun for my clients as I can! And for me as well!

This coming year my goals are the following:

*an updated and comprehensive guide for wedding clients to take you through the whole process and have a spot that organizes all your details that you can access!

*easy to use online ordering and album proofing

*for 2012 I am going to focus on wedding and engagement photography only. Portrait sessions will be accepted only for established clients.

*leave myself more flex time in the summer to maybe spend a day or two with Steve and family to recharge the batteries!

*get in shape. Ugh! It’s a physically demanding job and I need to keep it all in working order haha!

*more collaboration with other vendors so my clients can get exposure to who is doing the exciting work at the top of their field!

*shooting more personal projects to continue my education and creative growth. Fun!

*enjoy the time I get to spend getting to know everyone before, during and after your wedding day. Facebook time is actually work? What a great job!!

*post this cute shot from Julie and Charles’ New Year wedding to come soon on the blog. What a little cutie!!