A Slice of Advice

Second only to the gown, the wedding cake is one of the most memorable aspects of any wedding. Today, cakes need to be stunning to look at and taste even better. Here are some tips to follow when looking for your ultimate wedding cake!

• Order your cake as early as possible. If you are looking to go with a custom cake designer, then you should be contacting them as soon as your venue is booked. Cake designers generally limit the number of cakes they create due to time involved, therefore they book up very fast and early. In general, anywhere from 6-9 months or more in advance is preferred. Some months and weekends are busier than others – prime wedding season (May - October) will book up early – so plan ahead!
  
  
• Talk to your friends who recently got married, look at the links associated with other vendors you have booked - these are great ways to find the right person to create your wedding cake. The Internet allows brides&grooms instant access to the portfolios of all the talented cake designers in the area. Be sure to look through all the galleries to get a sense of what they are capable of. You may be wanting a sculpted or novelty cake for your wedding, so looking at all their work will let you know if they are capable of creating your dream cake. Remember in most cases the galleries simply represent the scope of the designer's past work, it is not a menu. They will want to create something unique for your special day!
  


• Make sure you have a budget in mind before meeting your cake designer/baker. Designer cakes will cost designer prices. Wedding cakes are not simply flour, sugar and eggs. They are an edible memory that you and your guests look forward to and remember. Most of the costs associated with designer wedding cakes lie in the time, expertise, and labour involved in creating the finished design, although quality ingredients and size also play an important role. Pricing varies from designer to designer; some price per tier, others price per cake or per serving. If your budget is an important issue, make sure you discuss that with your cake designer. With a budget in mind, they can then provide you with some options in order to try to reduce costs.
  


• Do some research before your appointment. Search the Internet, clip pictures from magazines. Get a good idea of what you like and what you don’t. Make sure you bring along any images you find so that your designer can see what style of cake you are wanting. These pictures are not so that the designer can make a copy of that design, but they are a great way to express what you are looking for in a cake design. Also bring along any fabric swatches that you may want to coordinate, dress images, invitations - basically anything that inspires you.


• Decide if you want to save the top tier. This tradition was fine during the days fruitcake was the common wedding cake choice. But with today’s butter cakes, buttercreams, and other finishes, the idea of saving the top tier has become less important. If you still want to keep with tradition, make sure to tell your cake designer. They will need to size the cake accordingly.
  
  
• Be prepared to pay a deposit once you decide upon your cake designer. This is necessary to guarantee your date. Due to the amount of time involved with custom wedding cakes, many cake artists will only take on a few bookings per month, so they book up early. If you want a custom and unique wedding cake, be sure to book early!


• Make sure to find out if there are any delivery fees, set up costs, or other additional fees. Delivery fees are common, especially if the baker needs to travel a great distance from their studio. Set up fees are sometimes needed when the cake design is one that must be set up on site. Additional fees would pertain to cake stand rentals or other display materials that must be secured with a deposit and returned. Please note that in Ontario, there should never be any taxes applied to the sale of your wedding cake. Therefore you should not be charged either G.S.T or P.S.T on the sale of any whole cake in Ontario.

Flour Confections

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Tick Tock

16 months ago, when I got engaged, 2008 seemed like it would never come. Et voila. It is upon us. It is officially our “Wedding Year”. It seems a tad ridiculous, but it makes a difference. When you tell someone your wedding is, “June 2008” it is WAY different than just plain ole, “this June”. As of today, the countdown is at 157 days. Cue the panic. Deep breath. To make myself feel better I am compiling a list of everything we have accomplished, one more deep breath. And here we go:


Venue Booked- it feels like we did this a million years ago now.
Photographer booked- and her blog lovingly gazed at, at least once a day.
Susan is on the job (thank god)
Dress purchased- still needs bustle and some tweaks.
Shoes purchased- still need to be worn in.
Make and hair person booked- trial in May
2/5 bridesmaids dresses ordered, 2 more to be done this weekend, 1 MIA. argh.
FI has started to gather address for invites (…which we haven’t chosen yet! Wait- this is supposed to be a list of DONE stuff… Ignore that.)


I have a sneaking suspicion that the “To-do list” is about double that size. Maybe the whole list idea wasn’t such a good one…


~bb~

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Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Remember my list post about engagement pictures and whether or not you should get them done? Well, one of my recent brides (whose wedding was *uh-mazing*) took it to a whole other level with her groom.

Right after the wedding they went on their merry way to various spots in Europe for their honeymoon. They visited Berlin, Barcelona, Paris to name a few. What was incredible (or more incredible) was that they took their wedding attire with them and were able to take more professional shots ... check out the location ...





Way to be an inspiration, T&H!!! :)

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With This Advice, I Thee Wed

Did you find yourself newly engaged over the holiday season? Perhaps you’ve been in the soon-to-be-wed stage for a while now and time is catching up to you? Or maybe you know someone who is about to take the plunge. No matter your situation, a little bit of guidance from an event planner can be a huge help during a wedding. When I sit down with potential clients for the first time, they’re one of two things … completely ‘ready’ or in shock that there are so many things they hadn’t thought of. The ones who are ready normally realize they aren’t right before the big day (see my Week-Of Coordinator tip below) and the ones who are in shock tend to calm down after a few minutes and some kind words. Either reaction is completely natural. And don’t get me wrong … there definitely are some people who don’t need a lot of help from me but who doesn’t want free advice? Read on for some of my most-treasured tidbits.

Give yourselves plenty of time. Unless it’s completely necessary, slow down. A good rule of thumb is six months to a year and a
half of planning. The biggest reasons why I try to get couples to put the brakes on is this … not all of your vendors will be available and your taste may change. Take your time and enjoy the planning part of things. It will reduce stress and you’ll look back with fond memories.


Budget. Weddings are expensive. You may think you can put things together for under $5000 (and if you did it, more power to you!) but that’s very unrealistic. Before getting scared over the amount, make a list of priorities. Figure out what you want to splurge on and what you can cut out. This is incredibly important to sit down and do. If you’re having troubles being serious about it, make an appointment with a planner and they’ll help. Many will offer Budget Planning appointments.


Hire professionals. Family & friends will want to help you (and let them … see my tip on delegating) but when it comes to your vendors, don’t rely on Cousin Freddy to be the DJ or your mom to do all the cooking. Those of us in the industry know what we’re doing, we know the possible hiccups and we’re going to make the day special. Besides, your guests should enjoy the day as … well … guests!


Obtain at least three quotes from vendors. Yes, it’s work but it’s totally worth it. You may find that all three caterers are about the same price but you really clicked better with one of them. Not only do you now have the info on each one but you also know their personalities.


Get things in writing. This may seem like a no-brainer but you would be amazed at the amount of people who don’t do it. Someone’s word isn’t enough on a day this important.


Delegate. Please don’t try to do everything on your own. Get help with anything you’re making, assign Aunt Vera to gift collection duty … things like that. You’re going to need a lot of help leading up to the day and at the wedding that vendors won’t be able to do for you. And you know everyone will want to help!


Do what you want to and not what everyone is telling you to do. Enough said.


Realize the wedding won’t be perfect. As soon as you come to that understanding in your head, the wedding will be better than you thought it would be. Kind of reverse psychology. The bottom line is if you’re focused on making everything perfect, you’re going to notice all of the little things that aren’t.


Sleep, Eat and Drink plenty of water! The sleep thing may or may not happen but at least try to rest the night before the wedding. When it comes to eating and drinking though, these are musts. Make sure you have breakfast (and snacks and lunch when you get the chance) and drink a LOT of water. Keeping yourself hydrated is as important as remembering the marriage license.

And last but not least …

Hire a Planner. Ever since I started Moments That Shine I’ve been trying to get it across to people that planners are essential. Your wedding should reflect your personalities and you should be able to enjoy the entire day. Let a third party worry about the troubles that will pop up. If you don’t think you need someone for the entire process, consider hiring a Week-Of Coordinator. That last week before the show can be nerve-wracking. What better way to alleviate some stress?

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy last minutes of your birthday, Reem!!!

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Conversations about flowers

ERIN- Hey Jess, Susan from Moments that Shine kindly asked us to be guest bloggers on her website. Isn’t that exciting?

JESS- I know- what a great thing to be part of- but are you sure we have anything to say that’s going to be of interest? Why would readers want to hear from us?

ERIN- Of course we have something to say, we have been in this industry for years. We have dealt with hundreds of brides and have tons of experience designing wedding flowers.

JESS- That’s true. And hey, we’ve been recognized for our bridal flowers recently- you just had that gorgeous bouquet you made featured in the winter Toronto Wedding Bells magazine; it was stunning by the way! There are so many things I can think of that I wish brides knew about flowers- here is our chance to tell them. Sometimes I feel bad for brides when they first come in- they seem so overwhelmed by all the planning, it almost seems a chore to them to be sitting down with yet another vendor- its great to see their energy come back as we start to draw out their personality and their creative talents. That is the great thing about the flowers for a wedding. This is where the bride can show her preferences, is she romantic, modern, casual, elegant-it all comes out in the flowers and the guests recognize it when it fits. And that I guess is why brides need our help and know how! What would be the main thing you wish you could tell all brides-to-be about flowers Erin?

ERIN- Hmmm that is a tough one. I guess the main thing I would want to tell them has to do with weddings overall, not just the flowers. Planning a wedding is very stressful and we understand all of the pressures they are under. I guess I want them to know that planning a wedding should be fun too. And I really feel it is our job to take care of all the little details so that they don’t have to worry about them and they can enjoy their day.

JESS- that is so true Erin- So I guess we’re saying- pick a florist that you like and trust, and most importantly who likes what they do and then you can relax and let them do their job. And we both really like what we do and are pretty good at it too (Is self back patting allowed on blogs? ;) )

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Katie & Ant - September 8, 2007

I'm happy to say Katie & Ant's gallery is finally up on the website! Rather than posting the whole story again in here, please click on the above link and take a gander!

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Hasn't Hit Me Yet

2008? How can it be?! I've been in Ontario for almost 8 years now?! Yikes. What would my fellow B.C. buddies think? Well, back to business ...

Thanks to everyone for all of their support and well-wishes in 2007. Looking back on it, my husband and I kind of want to forget the year happened but there definitely were some shining moments. Of course this includes the couples I met, the vendors I became friends with and the happiness I witnessed. Speaking of happiness, I threw out that teaser with Jacquelyn & Peter's wedding. Well, imagine my surprise when flipping through Wedding Bells and I see their wedding featured! I was told it would be in the Spring/Summer 2008 issue but I had no idea it would hit newsstands in December! Anyhow, here are JPGs of the actual spread. I'm not mentioned there but I am on the online portion.

Feels pretty cool!!!

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Out of Office

Happy holidays to all of you!!!

Just a reminder that our office will be closed (to partake in good cheer and eggnog) until January 3rd. Check back then to see our updates! :)

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In the news!

Last week I received a lovely email from Jacquelyn (of the below wedding) saying Wedding Bells has done a two-page spread on her day! I've had a sneak peek and it looks FABULOUS!!!

I'll be sending out a reminder for sure but watch for it in the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Wedding Bells magazine :)

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The one (or not)...what they dont tell you

Wow! See what I mean about this whole "ignoring all things wedding" phase I'm going through?I've been ignoring you, the readership! I never really thought that would happen. In my defense though, I've been housebreaking a 7 week old puppy, I'd go on about that (partly because he's so cute, partly because it would be a good stall tactic in addressing wedding matters) but you came here to read about weddings, not puppies.

Part of the reason I don't think I've posted much about the wedding stuff is that there really aren't that many interesting developments going on recently. But I suppose for the sake of giving you something to read, I'll get comfy and think back to a busier time in the planning.

I think the single decision that took the most time and energy was the dress. And I think that was one of the most interesting experiences in this process to date Now, through the experiences of others and various forms of media, I felt well prepared for how this was to go. I was going to walk into a store, and try on a handful of dresses ranging from hideous to mediocre before I emerged from the dressing room saying "this is the one!" and all would be well. Or so I thought.

In reality, I went to five stores, most of them I visited twice. I either went with Mom or a friend. Trying on the first few dresses were surreal and just plain weird, but I was surprised at how quickly it became old! Old became overwhelming. Each of the dresses were different, but in a way, felt almost the same. I mean, they each had their own variation of "wow" to offer. The dresses ranged from mediocre to wow. And I was surprised at just how many "wow" dresses we encountered making the decision virtually impossible.

And then, I found the dress I thought to be "the one". I didn't have a "Oh my goodness, this is the one! Pass me a tissue!" moment, but then again, I don't get terribly sentimental about such things either. Mom, a friend and I all agreed. And the fact that even other customers in the store (that's right! Strangers!) commented on it. (Going forward, this shall be known as Dress A).

Before actually committing to it, Mom suggested we go to a store that was having a sale. I should point out that this particular store is reasonably priced on a good day and that the sale would be the cherry on top! I went into the store with the mindset of "I'm just looking. I 'have' my dress already." and in doing that, I obviously wasn't very open to the possibility of finding a dress there. I tried one on that Mom really liked (We shall call this one dress B). I liked it fine. Just as I liked the dozen other dresses I knew I wasn't getting just fine. Mom agreed with me that dress A was ultimately nicer. but on the drive home, Mom said some things that made me see reason. She said three things that resulted in me changing my mind and running back to buy dress B.

1. Although the two of us would know that dress A was out there and nicer than dress B, my guests would not know. They would see the dress for what it was and appreciate the wow factor in whatever dress I chose.

2. From her "been there, done that" perspective, she said, "When you buy that dress, and it's the one hanging in your closet, it becomes your dress, and the other dresses you tried on don't matter."

3. (Keep in mind dress A was about $900 and Dress B was about $400) When I was dwelling on the argument that dress A was indisputably nicer than Dress B, she said "Is it $500 nicer? I mean, there's the cost of your invitations right there!"....that was a light bulb moment for me.

I think there is so much hype about "finding THE dress" and "once in a lifetime" and "you don't want to regret..." that common sense escapes. Now, I know, there are brides out there who would have regretted such a choice. But I think its important to realize that not every bride is going to regret it. I think I'm a lot like my mom in that I'm the bride who brings her dress home and it doesn't matter how many other "wow dresses" I left at the store. The one I bought is MY dress. Its gorgeous, I look great in it and its going to be the one in my pictures. And thirty years from now, when I'm looking at those pictures. I'm sure I wont be able to tell you what dress A looks like if a million dollars depended on it.

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Rita & Eric - August 18, 2007

Rita & Eric first came to me at the turn of the new year with an email that I clearly thought was a joke or spam. I’m paraphrasing but it basically said, ‘we live in Turkey, are from Barrie & Markham and got engaged at the Eiffel Tower in Paris’. Huh? I contacted them though and wound up meeting two of the most laid back, like-minded clients ever. Through the following eight months we went from no wedding plans to putting together something they were thrilled with.

This couple wanted a family & friend reunion feel to the wedding because they only come home once a year. They’re both teachers overseas and when they’re home, they’re busy visiting everyone they can. For the wedding they wanted everyone to come and spend the day to socialize, play games outside and have a big old BBQ after the ceremony. It was a blast pulling this unorthodox one together!

Probably the biggest piece of pressure on me as a planner was the venue. Since Rita & Eric wouldn’t be here until June, I had to find and secure a spot for them … and hope it was what they were looking for. After a LOT of research and going back and forth we wound up at a quaint Inn on the waterfront in Coboconk, Ontario. Saucy Willow Inn has beautiful Victorian rooms inside and also cabins in the back of the property. This was a must as the whole bridal party and some other friends and family were to stay for a couple days. We wound up finding a little treasure far away from the hustle & bustle of everyday life. Of course, I never really found out what the couple thought until June so for 6 months I was crossing my fingers!



The next months were spent planning the food, the flowers, the décor … everything you can think of. I’m proud to say I not only took care of the planning for the wedding but also for all of the table centerpieces and bouquets. Talk about a blast! Everything was colourful and no one colour was repeated.




Before the wedding, family took part in a quaint Chinese tea ceremony. Elders sat nestled in the garden of the property while the bride and groom served traditional tea. After that it was off to get dressed for the marriage ceremony right in front of the water. Complete with a Best Woman and Man of Honour, the nuptials went off without a hitch.



The food was a hearty BBQ taken care of by KmK Catering. Burgers, chicken fingers, ribs, sweet potato salad and raspberry cheesecake brownies were just some of the food guests devoured.



Some highlights of the night including the giant apple tree guests tied their wishes for the couple to, family pitching in and helping to do everything from playing music during the ceremony to bar tending, the ice cream cakes the bride so desperately yearned for and the special message Rita had engraved on Eric’s wedding band without his knowledge (it read: Put It Back On).



The end of the night was capped off with a bonfire (everyone changed back into their camping clothes), sparklers, fireworks and a traditional smoking pipe from Turkey. All in all, a very successful time!

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The Bridesmaids

I have five bridesmaids in my bridal party. A number that is so unwieldy and unlike me. But when I sat down to think about who I wanted to stand beside me, the choices were obvious and there was no way they could be pared down. It was all or nothing, so I chose all!

Three of my five bridesmaids including my Matron of Honor are living in London, UK right now. I knew it might be difficult when I asked them to be a part of the bridal party. But with the help of email, they are all up to speed on everything and are participating as sounding boards on all of my choices, just as though they live next door.

When I chose my dress, I missed them. But I took alot of pictures and they gave their 2 cents, and I'm lucky enough to have a great gaggle of females friends in the city, so I certainly wasn't lonely that day (The Dress blog is a whole other post!)

Technology is wonderful but I have reached the one obstacle it can't over come. My overseas bridesmaids are all going bridesmaids dress shopping this Sunday, without me, for major geographical reasons, aka the Atlantic Ocean. I'm so very sad that I can't be there with them! Luckily, they are all friends, and will make a fun day of it. I hope they all find a style that they love. I have given them loose guidelines (designer, colour, length) the rest is up to them.

I seriously hope that the store allows them to take pictures or I may actually cry.

My same city-based bridesmaid indulged me and went shopping for her dress. She tried on everything I threw at her. She knows what she wants and I love it on her, so I am happy for that.

Thanks for sharing in my little pity-party. I'll let you know how it went when I get their update next week!

~bb~

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Jacquelyn & Peter - July 28, 2007

I knew I was going to love Jacquelyn from the moment we sat down to dish at a trendy little café on Queen Street. She’s unconventional, knows very much who she is and beams whenever she talks about Peter. As we talked we found out we had quite a bit in common, too. She’s the Executive Editor at FASHION magazine though. That meant not much time to talk and a lot of planning to do!

The wedding was held outdoors in Toronto using the backyards of her sister’s and of her mother’s houses. How much more of a loving environment can you get?!



Jacquelyn is refreshingly proud of her heritage and didn’t forget it. The cuisine of the night was from a local Indian caterer. Served in copper pots it was spicy and full of flavour! The caterer even churned out some eye-popping fruit displays that rivaled the four hundred pound cake. Okay, it wasn’t 400 pounds but it was NOT light.



Making the wedding their own was something that came easily to this couple. I fawned over Jacquelyn’s custom dress and fragile centerpieces that were lovingly placed in family heirlooms ... but my very favourite part of the wedding was a little corner in the backyard reserved for the guests. It was there that they placed two funky yellow chairs in front of a backdrop and hired a photographer to snap pics of any friend or family member that wanted to drop by. What resulted was a collection of special photos that everyone will have a great time looking back on for years to come. Even me ;)

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Holiday Sandwich

So here it is, November 28th...about a week after Thanksgiving (US version) and less than a month until Christmas. We're sandwiched between the holidays - anyone beginning to feel squooshed yet?

I've been thinking more about the holidays than wedding planning to be honest. I did manage to do a first draft of our wedding workbook so it's been floating in my mind behind the scenes so to speak. I did find a new bridal salon in town (Philadelphia) that I'll have to check out. A few weeks ago Valerie and I walked into a very chi-chi bridal salon near our home and they had six, yes SIX wedding dresses on display. WHAT? I had to laugh since I'm will most likely buy my gown on ebay, where I can choose from about oh, 6,000 or so.

I've picked up my camera again and have found my love for photography once more. I've been taking at least one picture a day for a couple weeks now and posting them on my photoblog. If you would like to take a look, the link is http://photoblog.com/greeneyedgirl .

I'm going to hang out in one of the parks for a bit on Saturdays where people usually get their wedding photos taken. I thought that it would be a good way to see some of the photo techniques wedding photographers use (my alterior motive), and possibly get to practice a little myself. After what I hope is the last round of leaf raking...

~geminibride~

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The Florist

I had my first meeting with a florist this weekend. I took my mum. She is an avid gardener and knows a whole heck of a lot more about flowers than I do.

The florist was great and welcoming and made us feel cozy about being there. Not to mention the store smelled heavenly like Spring in the midst of the slush and snow outside. I had only a very basic idea of what I wanted. I’m very open to suggestion and flexible about the flowers. Turns out the one thing on my “I would really like to have…” list is actually one that’s difficult to guarantee! Of course! But I’m told as long as I promise not to burst into tears if the weather/ growing season decides it doesn’t want fit into the Master Wedding Schedule that Susan is making for us, it’s okay. There’s plenty of similar substitutes. Like I said, I like to think I’m a pretty flexible person. I can deal with that (Cut to: June 1st and bloggerbride having a Bridezilla Breakdown over her flowers) hehehe.

My mum was thrilled to discover that she won’t have to set it all up and then move it from the church to the reception. I think she assumed she was going to be the “runner” for the whole day! I hope she can let everyone else deal with it so she can actual ENJOY herself.

We went through absolutely every flower we would need for the day from the bridal parties bouquets to the single stems in the centerpiece I have designed (in my head). We poured over photos galore and it really got my mum and I excited. It feels like with every new meeting and new vendor the wedding becomes a little bit more real.

The florist turned the quote around super quick. Now we have to digest the information and decide if it’s right for us.

~bb~

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Meet....ME!

Hello everyone. I just thought I'd write a short (or not so short...we'll see) introduction as I will be making appearances on this blog in the next little while. As susan menioned, I am getting married April 26th 2008. So today marks "5 months minus 2 days" in the countdown.

The thing that is most scary to me is that with all this focus on Christmas in the coming month, and my brother and his girlfriend expecting a baby at the end of January (they are our best man and Maid of honour), I have a feeling that after the baby arrives, everyone's going to go "Wait a minute... only 3 months until the wedding!!!" and we will run around like chickens with our heads cut off.

When that happens, (yes WHEN, not if) I will try to take time from my busy headless poultry dashing to try to document it so that at least someone gets some enjoyment out of it (The word's "Schadenfreude"... be sure to look it up. It will be a common theme on my entries Im sure. And Im also impressed with myself that I spelled it right the first time. Yay! I get a cookie!)

Hmmm...what else should you know about me?....Oh. I love brackets! (the punctuation kind, not the hardware. Although Im sure you noticed). I guess its a sign that I love sharing details about things. Susan asked me to fill out some fill in the blank introductory questions for my profile. I had a hard time deciding the "I am passionate about..." one. Maybe I should have said Im passionate about brackets and the PROPER use thereof.

You know, this post is very indicative of what's going on with me. Notice Im avoiding all wedding details and such? Yup, that's me right now. I'm all weddinged out. From consulting with others, it seems that such a phase its quite common around the 5-6 month-to-go mark. Good thing for you is Im kinda coming out of it so Im sure I'll actually post once in awhile!

Anyway, back to introductory things, I met my Fiance in the summer of 2000 when we worked together at a summer job. He's now a long haul truckdriver which brings a whole set of challenges in itself. We have two cats and a dog (One of my cats, Omiya, sitting on my wrists and rubbing her head on the keyboard so I think she's trying to say hi to you). I spent a year teaching English in Japan which is important to know for a few reasons, but most of all, our wedding is asian themed despite the fact that neither of us are of asian decent.

Anyway, I wont take up anymore of your time for now. But thanks for reading and I hope you will enjoy my point of view on this whole wedding planning journey.

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Welcome!

I'm happy to welcome two more authors to the team! kd_2b_kk will be celebrating her nuptials in April of 2008 so I'm sure she'll have plenty to talk about ;)

Also, coming soon will be a lovely lady I had the pleasure of working with earlier this year. We're keeping her identity hidden until she's decided on her moniker ... stay tuned :)

Welcome ladies!!!

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Cold Snap!

It’s almost December. Eek! The summer and fall have flown by at an earth-shattering speed for me this year. Looking back on that and as I’m awaiting the professional pictures from some events organized by Moments That Shine in the past few months, I thought I would pop up some pictures and descriptions on a few favourites. Stay tuned in the coming days for these tidbits!

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Thinking of Engagement Photos?

Something that has been incredibly popular in years past is engagement photos (and that may not slow down!). I’ve answered many clients as to whether or not I thought they should go ahead with a session so I thought I’d jot down what happened with my husband and I in hopes of helping you.

Years ago when we were engaged, we balked at the idea early on. In fact, I knew of no other couple that had gone out of their way to get these photos done by a professional. If any friends or family bothered they had asked a non-professional who had a good eye to take a few pics of them. My husband and I didn’t even bother with that. The photo we decided to display at our wedding came from our first vacation in Nova Scotia. We had pulled into some viewpoint along the Cabot Trail, put the digital camera on a tripod, steadied it on the hood of the car and there you have it! We lucked out though … it managed to stay straight and not lean.

Our wedding pictures are amazing. We look at them more than normal people should (okay, I look at them) and subject everyone we know to taking a peek at the album. But to be honest, something was missing. We have plenty of vacation photos, silly shots from parties, pictures with friends … but nothing professional with just the two of us. Sure my husband looks great in a tux but I’d love to stare at a great photo where he’s more himself. Just as I was coming to that realization, I had the opportunity to help a friend out. I asked Bernard if he was interested and off we went! We now have professional photos showing what we look like on a regular day!

So what do I tell clients when they ask whether or not they should? I start by telling them of my story and my regrets. Then I follow it up with posing the question, “what better time to see if you and your photographer are going to click (pun intended) at the wedding?!”. Many photographers offer the service free of charge (or for a nominal fee) when you’re booking with them for the wedding. My personal view is why not take advantage of it? They can definitely be taken later as my husband and I found out but if it’s there, go for it. Just remember these things …
Have fun, show your personalities and bring a costume change or two … you’ll be amazed at how different the pictures will look with different outfits.

Just to give you the giggles, here are a few outtakes from our session. Thanks so much to Kristina at SugarTree … we love them!!!!!!!!!

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