Terri & Marko’s wedding was held completely in New Westminster and every part of the wedding was great. The ceremony at The Rose Garden was fun and personal, the photo shoots that followed where super fun and I’m really happy with the shots we got. The reception was held in a very unique venue and everyone attending was having a great time!

Thanks for a fun day guys! Rob

Alanna & Mike’s wedding was held at the Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver, BC. The weather was perfect and the venue was set up very nicely. The wedding was attended by family and friends from with in the city and quite a few out of town guests since Mike is from Calgary.

The whole day went very smoothly and everyone at the wedding seemed to be having a great time. This was my first time shooting at the Marine Drive Golf Club and I must say I hope to shoot there again.

Thank you Alanna & Mike for a great day

This was my first time shooting a wedding in Stanley Park. Matt & Leslie had a beautiful out door ceremony and the weather was perfect! The venue for the reception and everything else was on the same grounds as the ceremony so the day moved along nicely.

We shot the formals in the rose garden and ended up having some fun times, even though we were a little behind schedule and pressed for time. Everyone in the wedding party was great and didn’t seem to mind the rush of the shoot, thanks guys!

The dinner that followed was great and after a few hilarious speeches the party got on it’s way. Everyone definitely had a great time, self included!

Thanks Guys!

I did an engagement shoot with Lisa & Ron and it was a super fun time, so I knew I was going to enjoy this shoot. Just as before Lisa & Ron did not disappoint. There was smiles and laughter through out the day, from getting ready to the reception. I can honestly say I fully enjoy every minute I spent with Lisa & Ron and I am sure everyone else that was at the wedding can say the exact same thing.

Thanks for a fun day guys!

Jodie and Tyler had an amazing wedding in Terrace, BC. I actually went to high school in Terrace BC and hadn’t been back there in 11 years, so when the opportunity came up to shoot this wedding I jumped at the chance!

The day started out at Jodie’s friend Judy’s house. When I walked in Judy greeted me with an “I know you” LOL. And she did! We used to be friends haha. Anyhow, the girls where getting ready and my 2nd shooter Arjuna and I got busy shooting photos. After shooting a bit there we headed up to another place where the guys were getting ready.

As we walked into the house I immediately recognized the groom! We were not exactly pals in high school, but we did know each other. That definitely took me for surprise haha. So after hello’s how you been’s we got to the photos. The guys seemed to be having fun and pulled out some guns for some pictures haha, definitely unique.

The ceremony was held on some family property with a massive 100 year old barn (give or take a few years). The whole ceremony went great and there were plenty of laughs and tears, always a good thing

Jodie and Tyler left tons of time for photos, so we did a few locations. Everyone had fun and no one seemed to get tired of the shoot. I was having a blast and they seemed to be as well. Once our shoot was over it was on the reception.

The reception was full of laughs, drinks, great food and fun for all. Everyone was having an amazing night and the entire evening went great. I had a such a good time the whole day and night. Bumping into old friends and acquaintances and thoroughly enjoying Jodie and Tyler’s wedding.

Thanks for the wonderful day guys

Kim and Martin had a very nice wedding with a nice mix of traditional type locations to others more modern. I started out the day meeting up with the guys at a Hotel in Langley, shot a few photos and took off to meet the girls at Kim’s beautifully decorated townhouse in Langley. I hung out and shot some photos of the girls and some details then took off to the church.

The Church was a little older and looked pretty much like what a little white church in your head looks like haha, well my head at least . After the ceremony we planned to shoot at some locations around the area, but right after the group shots it started to rain like crazy! So we salvaged one location with a quick shoot and took off to the next location in hopes of dodging the rain.

We arrived at in Steveston (Richmond) to sun and blue sky! woo HOOO! This part of the shoot I found to be the most fun. We only had 30min so we had to keep things moving rather fast. I usually find it more relaxing to take our time, but for whatever reason I was enjoying the pace of this particular shoot.

After all our formal shoots we headed off to the reception. We shot a few more group shots and then let the dinner, speeches and dancing begin. Another great wedding and another great time.

Thanks Kim & Martin!

Thanks for a great time, Carla & Carlos.

Carlie and Sam’s wedding was held in Lynden Washington, which is just north of Bellingham Wa. were Carlie and Sam met. The occasion was held in a small but elegant venue on new years eve. The venue was decorated very nicely with a chateau type of feel (IMO).

The lighting was probably the most difficult lighting I have had to deal with to date. However this made for an interesting evening and night. The lighting kept me on my toes and the atmosphere kept me having a great time.

I knew well a head of this wedding it was going to be a good one. When I met with Carlie and her mother Melody they struck me as very sweet, honest and vibrant people. They knew what they wanted and had a good idea of how the wedding was going to progress.

Once the wedding date came around and I met Carlie’s then fiancé Sam and their wedding party it was obvious it was going to be a fun day, and it was! Our photo shoot went very smoothly, the ceremony was great and the reception was fun and entertaining. Sam put on a bit of a show with his guitar and I have to say it was amazing! Keep doing your thing Sam.

Thanks for a great day Carlie & Sam! Good Luck in Arizona

Thank you so much for a super fun night Pam & Jon!

f/9, 1/60, iso 800, 20mm (on 1D)

When going into your first wedding you want to have a basic outline of how your day is going to go. I am sure it wont go exactly how you planned because these things always end up going down a little different then everyone has anticipated. Keeping that in mind try and give your self a little extra time for each task you plan. When you discus with the bride & groom the amount of time needed for the photo shoot, I suggest taking as much time as they can possible give. Sometimes an hour just wont cut it. When you (and the wedding party) know you have lots of time, the photo shoot will go a lot better. Everyone is relaxed and your not rushing to get every shot.

As soon as you arrive to the venue is a good time to get all the detail shots. Shooting, the flower arrangements, guest book, favours, seating charges and place cards. Whatever they have spent time thinking about and setting up should be shot. All these details may not seem all that important to shoot, but every part of this wedding has been thought out very carefully by the bride and should be documented. This is also usually a good time to get the rings and shoot them.

You should know where you are going to shoot well in advance. If you are planning multiple locations, you should add at least 20 minutes to the time you have already estimated. Getting from place to place, unloading, setting up, packing up and organizing people always will take a little longer than you think. If 20 minutes is undoable, take whatever you can get. Even 10 minutes can make a difference.

Since this is your first wedding shoot it’s not a bad idea to have a shot list in your pocket to reference if you start to feel a little overwhelmed. If you never need to pull it out, great! But it will be nice to have it just incase. You should also have a number of poses you know you are going to use. If you have to make notes on these then do it. The last thing you want is to be in the middle of your shoot trying to remember what poses you wanted to do. Printing out sheet of paper with a bunch of small photos of poses for reference could save the day.

Every wedding is different. Some people want to shoot the formals before the ceremony and some after. Whatever the case, I usually like to shoot all the group shots first. It’s a good idea to have a shot list for the group shots, that way no one gets missed. If you are working with an assistant have your assistant call out for the people needed for each shot. If you don’t have an assistant see if the bride can appoint one to you speciality for this task. Usually an aunt or cousin will be more than happy to do this.

After the group shots are done I take off with the wedding party for the formal shoot. I start with the whole group, shooting a number of different shots. I’ll then keep the shoot going something like this – brides, groomsmen, bride and groomsmen, bridesmaids and groom, bride with individuals, groom with individuals, just bride and groom and then bride alone and groom alone. I usually save the bride and groom shots till the end that way the rest of the wedding party can go on their way rather than just stand around waiting for there turn.

Organizing your day will make a big difference in how your shoot goes. When you know you have every minute accounted for and you know what photos are being shot when you will be a lot more at ease. Just keep in mind that more than likely things are not going to go exactly according to plan. Be prepared to adjust your plan and roll with the day. Try not to stress on time too much, but keep in mind you want don’t want to miss any shots.

Check back next week for my post on tips for shooting the ceremony.