Wedding Wednesday - DIY signs and labels

If you've been following my Pinterest board "we heart weddings" you know how much I adore The Wedding Chicks.

This week I'm sharing another awesome gem from their website - free DIY wedding signs and labels. You simply select your favourite style, choose the text and colour and voila! Your file is ready to go.

Here's one of my Calligraphy style favourites. The text options include "I always knew you were the One", "Mr & Mrs" and "Mine" with arrows. 

Let us know what special touches you're adding to your wedding day. We love to hear from you!

Wedding Wednesday - Marry Me

It's hard to believe it's already mid-May! We're back to our Wedding Wednesdays this week, and I've been thinking a lot about what to write. It came to me so clearly last night.

We had an amazing, and I mean amazing, engagement session last night with one of our really cool couples Todd and Stef. We'll be sharing lots of stories and images from their vintage inspired session. But Stef said something last night that stuck with me.

They were sitting on an old tree branch that hung over water. Todd was playing guitar for her as we set-up the shot and Stef had the sweetest look on her face. I couldn't help but notice and tell them "awww - you two are adorable". She looked at me and said with a smile "well... we're in love". I wish I could bottle that energy between two young people in love, with their future an endless possibility before them. It's contagious and amazing, and I love being so close to it. For those of us who've been married a long time it's a sweet reminder to remember our own love story.

Here's a love story that makes me cry every time - Train's "Marry Me". I swear I could watch this all day. I'm sharing this for Todd and Stef, and everyone in love.

"You'll wear white and I'll wear out the words I love you, and you're beautiful..."

Kit & Torry - Engagement Session gone to the Birds!

I had a fantastic time with Kit and Torry on their Engagement session at the Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls. It was actually one of the places that they first started talking and getting to know each other when they were dating, which is totally cool!






Taking in the surroundings. Torry was making bird noises and whistling to get their attention. Or maybe, he was communicating with them...? Hmmmm...



The birds are amazing! Check out this little guy. I'm loving the plumage! (yes, that's right, I just used the word plumage!) This bird was walking around on the floor, and at one point was surrounded by people looking and taking pictures of it. At that point one of the staff walked by and casually said "Just make sure you don't surround him. He has a tendency to attack when he feels threatened."

Needless to say we quickly moved on.



Somebody is in love and having fun!



This was the spot they had their first conversation. I stood back a bit and let them reminisce a little. It's great when we can recreate special moments.



In front of the three story waterfall, looking wonderful.



A quiet moment.



Under the waterfall is a walkway. The perfect setting for this romantic scene.

Can't wait for the wedding, it's going to be amazing!

Mommy & Me Sessions are here!

Our new Mommy & Me sessions are here - just in time for Mother's Day on May 13th. We're so excited to celebrate that special love between a mother and child.

To reserve a session or for details just click here to get in touch with us. And ladies...it's easy to help your man out and drop a hint or two.  Find us on Facebook and Share this image or send him to this blog post.

Don't Lisa and her daughter Julia look gorgeous in this image? We love working with our friends Luca and Lisa, and their two beautiful girls. Click here to see images from their fall session with us - one of our favourites for sure!

Wedding Wednesday - Engagement Sessions

It's hard to believe spring is already here. I'm back after a short break to recover from surgery, and I'm so excited for the start of our wedding season.

Today I've been working with Todd & Stef, one of our favourite couples, to plan their upcoming Engagement Session. They're getting married this July so we're planning something really special in early May. It involves a forest, a blue sofa, a vintage picnic...You'll have to wait for the rest! We couldn't be more excited for this one. Working with another creative couple is a blast for us.

It got me thinking about Engagement Sessions, and why they're so important. We have always felt so strongly about them, so it seemed like a perfect subject for today's post. We include one with every single wedding we shoot, even if it's done a day or two before a destination wedding. After six years photographing weddings we've learned a lot, and we're pretty passionate when it comes to this.

Why are they so important? It's not just about getting an image for your engagement announcement, or to display at your reception. Those are great, but there's so much more. We believe the more comfortable you are around the camera, and us, the better your images will be.

At the end of every Engagement Session we usually hear the same thing - "That was so much fun!" Sometimes the couple is surprised when they say it, because let's be honest here, most of us would rather be behind the camera than in front of it. But we look at Engagement Sessions like we do all of our sessions. We're hanging out with some cool people with our camera. By the time the wedding day comes our couples are like pros, and we have gotten to know them even better. It's also a great time to chat about the wedding, how their plans are going, what they're nervous or excited about...We love knowing these things because it helps us take care of them.

We ask our couples where they met, had their first date, fell in love...What's special to them? We've done sessions at a candy shop and fun house in Niagara Falls, out for dinner, on a beach in Mexico, in a field....The point is it should be a fun experience.

Here are a few of my favourite Engagement Session images. We'll be posting some of our most recent couples soon too.

Enjoy!
Amanda

Wedding Wednesday - Pinterest

It's time for another Wedding Wednesday post! I can't believe another week has flown by. Signs of spring are everywhere, and we're so excited that wedding season is around the corner.

This week I wanted to share one of my newest loves...Pinterest. Click here to find my Pinterest boards. I've always loved making vision boards and scrapbooks, so this is heaven for a girl like me. By now you've probably heard of Pinterest, since it's the fastest growing social media network on the planet. But do you know what it is, or how it can help you plan a wedding? Or a baby shower? Or design your dream home? Here's how Pinterest describes what it is:

"Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes."

I've created boards called "we heart weddings" with some of my favourite images and resources.  You can also get to know me and what I'm into, and I hope to do the same with you too. It's one of the many things I love about the site. You can tell a lot about a person by what they're pinning!

A lot has been said lately about Pinterest's Terms of Use, and the concerns people have, in particular those of other photographers. That's a whole other post in itself...I could also go on and on about the amazing ways Pinterest is driving traffic to businesses, but another time...For now I'll say that I think it's an incredible resource, especially for brides, and we love getting to connect with our clients this way.

Be sure to follow us on Pinterest and let us know what you think. How are you using Pinterest to plan your wedding, or anything else really cool?


'til next time,
Amanda

The Baby Collection is here!

We're so excited to launch our new Baby Collection! 

Spring is in the air, and today our own baby girl Sydney turns 10. It's the perfect time to announce our new program to document Baby's First Year.

 

As parents ourselves we love working with babies and kids. We know how quickly time passes by, and how important it is to capture all of those moments. We designed this program at a special rate to document the important milestones in your baby's life. It's also the perfect gift for anyone expecting a new arrival. Click here to see some of the adorable babies we've worked with. We guarantee at least one "awww" after you see them!

You'll find the Baby Collection details below. Contact us today to purchase our Baby Collection at the special Limited Time pricing. We hope you love it as much as we do!

Chris & Amanda