It's the perfect way to make his jaw drop. Message me (Laynie) to set up your session or to see more samples of my classy, sassy boudoir style.
xo.
Bridal Boudoir
What to Worry About on Your Wedding Day.
Even after months of planning, the list of things that could "go wrong" is daunting to think about. No matter how organized you are, it doesn't feel good to think about the unknown "what ifs"...
so we say just don't.
And from a photography/videography standpoint, we'll share how we roll so you can sleep easy tonight.
What if
there is tons of traffic:
We are crazy ridiculous about leaving early. The further away your wedding is, the more (extra) time we allow. We are committed to being on time.
one of our cameras break:
Whether we are shooting alone or together, we both shoot with two cameras just in case. We also have multiple lenses at our disposal.
We also carry extra batteries for both our cameras and our flashes.
it rains on my wedding day:
I hope it doesn't (though rainy days are my favourite in general).
But if it does, then we'll deal with it.
I've stood out in the rain before to take photos of families standing inside. We've recently bought some beautiful, clear umbrellas for just such a scenario. And more than that, it rarely rains the entire day. In our experience, even on the rainiest of days, we've found small pockets of time to take photos outside-as long as you're up for an adventure and willing to get a teensy bit damp, then so are we!
These are all photos from rainy wedding days:
Your day is going to be perfect-tiny mishaps make for wonderful stories later. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the show. At the end of the day, you'll be married no matter what. We can't wait!
xo.
And on this rainy, rainy day, it even got sunny at the end.
As the premier photographers in Guelph, Kitchener, Toronto and Niagara, we love capturing the moments from your wedding day. We also travel internationally and all over Ontario with our work. This stunning moment is from a wedding we documented in Thunder Bay.
A Case for a Trash the Dress (Day-After Shoot)
No matter how much time you give us on your wedding day, I will always want more. You look stunning in your get up and I want more, more, more time to document your beauty.
Many of our couples have been opting for a "day after" shoot, another chance to dress up and capture their love.
They love it; we love it.
If you're wavering or undecided, consider this:
What are the wedding photos you'll hang on your wall for decades to come? Yes, most likely the ones of the two of you together.
Where is your dress going post your wedding? Correct, in the closet for years on end-let's make sure it's documented.
If you can have a photo shoot of the two of you anywhere in your dress and fancy clothes, where would it be? Okay, let's make it happen.
Here are a few samples of post-wedding day shoots.
Message us today to book yours.
xo.
Advice from Past Brides, part II
Meet the gorgeous Rebeckah and settle in for a bit of her wedding wisdom.
As the premier photographers in Guelph, Kitchener, Toronto and Niagara, we love capturing the moments from your wedding day.
-things you would do differently
1) The main detail that I would change about our wedding is our guest favours. We spent a long time trying to figure out something that wasn't too tacky or expensive to give to our 150 guests (we ended up having a sparkler at each table place...they were inexpensive, fun, and made for great pictures.) But since our wedding, I have seen a few other couples opt for scratching the favour idea all together, and making a donation to their favourite charity. GREAT IDEA, a lot less work, and way more meaningful. So if you're still pondering the perfect take-away gifts, consider this.
2) Think long and hard about how you are going to do the family-pictures. That was the most stressful part of the day for me, since we have a lot of family. Everyone was wandering off, and wanting to take a pictures on their own cameras, and it made for a very long process. Do your photos, if you can, in a location where there is no distractions - like the bar - for your relatives to sneak off to, and also away from all other guests who end up being extremely distracting!
3) If you're planning on doing a rice throw, consider buying the actual wedding rice (you can buy it at Michaels). We bought the real-deal rice from our cheap grocery store. Turns out real-deal rice is powdery, and Steven's lovely black suit lookedpowdery-grey afterwards (it brushes off, but still...)
-best planning decisions you made
1) We skipped the traditional receiving line after the church, and instead went to each table during dinner to great our guests. This was way more personal, and gave us time to actually catch talk with friends and family without feeling rushed.
2) We had a pretty low-budget wedding so I did a lot of DIY projects. One of the projects that ended up being the best was the bouquets; I made them with artificial flowers. It was WAY cheaper, and I was able to have my bouquets done ahead of time to make sure they matched the dresses perfectly. Plus it was one less thing to pick up on the day of, and my bridesmaids and I were all able to keep the bouquets afterwards.
-favourite parts about your day
1) Our ceremony was my favourite part. It was short and sweet and done exactly how we wanted. We had my sisters sing and play the violin while Steven and I took communion together, which was so special.
2) I loved our butterfly release and the rice throw that followed. The pictures looked great, and it was a fun for us as well as the guests.
-advice to a newbie bride
1) Seriously, don't succumb to the pressure to spend a lot of money on your wedding; you can have such a lovely day without throwing away your money. And honestly, when it's all over, it doesn't matter. I remember stressing over the chairs for our reception; we borrowed them from our church, but they didn't match each other and I thought it would look terrible. We considered spending over $300.00 to rent matching CHAIRS!!! For what?! Looking back I am so glad I let that go; no one, including myself, noticed the chairs, and now we have $300 extra dollars to spend on more important things.
2) Use your wedding day to appreciate the people who have loved and supported you. We found that our parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. were just as excited about our upcoming wedding day as we were, and it was so fulfilling to find little ways to make them feel extra special. Wearing Grandma's jewelry, borrowing my moms garter, asking my grandfather to pray for the meal and opting for just our siblings to sit with us at the head table were all things that meant a lot to them and were tokens of how grateful we are for them.
Happy Monday, y'all.
xo.
Ideal Photo Locations.
First, I'll let you peruse these images and see if you can tell what all of them have in common:
"Blank" spaces, blank spaces, blank spaces, Space, and lots of shade. That's all we need to create the wedding photos of your dreams.
We are professional photographers and videographers in the Hamilton, Brantford, London, Burlington, Ancaster, Oakville, Cambridge, Toronto and Niagara regions. We bring timeless and breathtaking wedding photography to couples in the Greater Toronto Area like it's our job. Oh wait...it is.
How to Timeline your Wedding Day
Happy Monday beautiful brides (brides-to-be and my parents.)
We love sunset photos with our bride and groom. It's one of our favourite parts of documenting any wedding day.
Today we're going to chat about something that most couples struggle with at least on some level-timelining your wedding so that your day is seamless.
The struggle is real, and also completely understandable. Presumably you've never planned a wedding before, so you don't have a gauge on how much time to allot for what.
We, the wedding whisperers, having planned our own wedding and documented dozens (hundreds?) of others, are here to hold your hand and help you out.
Obviously we think that the wedding photography and videography is pretty important so this timeline *may* be a bit biased.
But hey-you're paying us for greatness; give us time to shine.
We believe in excellence and creativity in all we do. We are passionate about telling your story-it's so worth telling. We work primarily in the Toronto and Niagara regions (Oakville, Burlington, Cambridge, Kitchener), but also document weddings in faraway places-like this one in Thunder Bay.
Let's say you've hired us for 8 hours, our standard day package. Here's how we'd suggest using your time.
12:00 Getting Ready & Details (shoes, dress, invitation, flowers, etccc. It's ideal for these to be in a corner waiting for us. Perfect job for one of your hottie bridesmaids.)
1:00 All Hair and Makeup Finished. Put dress on.
1:15 Travel to first look
1:45 First Look
2:00 Bride and Groom Portraits
2:30 Family Portraits
3:00 Bridal Party photos
3:45 Break for you / details, details, Details for us (we especially like this because it's nice to get all the reception details you worked so hard on before your guests stampede in.)
4:15 Ceremony Begins
4:40 Ceremony Ends
4:45 The Couple (it's pretty sweet to document the first few moments of your wedded life. Why not sneak away and relish it together...and let us document the love?!)
5:15 Couple Joins the Cocktail Hour
6 Reception entrance
6:15 First Dance/s (*we recommend scheduling all the important bits on the front end of the reception-at least all the important bits you definitely want documented.)
6:30-8 Dinner/Speeches
7:30 sneak away for sunset photos
8 Cake cutting
8:05 We sneak away to post a sneak peek on our Facebook page and you party the night away
Obviously you need to make this fit your special day and we're here to accommodate in any way we can.
We understand that timelines get off and we gift you about half an hour of flex time; we don't just rush out the door as soon as our time is up. We want to do an Amazing job for you and capture so many special memories from you day.
There is always the option to add an extra hour or two, even on the day of your wedding.
Andddddd for some couples, a first look is not in the cards. Perhaps your schedule would look more like this:
12:00 Getting Ready & Details
1:00 Hair and Makeup Finished-dress on
1:15 Dress On; Final Touches
Getting ready photos are a fantastic way for us to document all the quiet, special moments of your wedding day.
All of our wedding photography packages come with a layflat photo book and having the full spectrum of moments from the day are a way to share the story of your wedding day.
1:45 ceremony
2:15 Bride and Groom Portraits
2:45 Family Portraits
3:05 Bridal Party
Carmens Lakeview is one of our favourite wedding venues in Hamilton.
Another sweet capture from Jessa and Dan's wedding at Lakeview. Bridal party photos are a fun place to get creative and think outside the box.
3:25 Photos of the two of you.
Having lots of time to document all the LOVE between our sweet couples is one of our highlights of the wedding day. We recommend leaving around half an hour for photos of the two of you.
3:45 Break / Details, Details!
4:00 Cocktail Hour begins
6 Reception starts
Either way, we recommend 1-2 hours for getting ready photos, 1.5-2 hours of official photos (family, bridal party, you two), making sure you account for travel time and prioritizing your reception to get the photos that are the most important to you. (***If you only have one photographer it's especially important to add more time for your photos!**)
In addition, it never hurts to pad your schedule with half an hour here or there for more photos or simply to rest and enjoy your day.
It's better to have more time than less.
Let us know if you have any questions. We can't wait to document your day. And we want to do everything we can to help you feel relaxed and peaceful about all the details we can.
xoxo.
L + J