Archive for the ‘weddings’ Category

Justin & Mary’s Sunrise Shootout at WPPI | Canadian Wedding Photographer Kandise Brown

March 5th, 2012

When Justin & Mary announced their sunrise shootout in Las Vegas during WPPI, I immediately signed up. It didn’t matter that I had no idea what I was actually signing up for, I just knew I had to be there. Well, 4:30 a.m. dawns miiiiighty early. After I dragged myself out of bed and down [...]
 

When Justin & Mary announced their sunrise shootout in Las Vegas during WPPI, I immediately signed up. It didn’t matter that I had no idea what I was actually signing up for, I just knew I had to be there.

Well, 4:30 a.m. dawns miiiiighty early.

After I dragged myself out of bed and down to the Signature, it turned out I’d signed up for a posing workshop! It was a lot to take in on 3 hours sleep, because Mary immediately launched into some tough questions. Why do we photograph? Why do we pose the way we do? What are we hoping to accomplish? There was laughter, there were tears. Needless to say, it was a powerful, inspiring session on a philosophical level, but also enormously helpful on a technical level. Justin & Mary approach photography with the same end goal as me – images that are authentic, truly reflective of the couple, and that convey love and joy – but they do that in a way that is fundamentally different from the way I approach photography. It sent me really far out of my element, really far out of my comfort zone, and of course when you’re put into a situation like that, you can’t help but learn. This session was the highlight of WPPI for me, and I left it with so much to think about, and so many ideas and techniques that I can’t wait to try out on my couples this summer.

I also left the session with tons of images I love, thanks to an absolutely adorable couple, Elizabeth & Ryan (Elizabeth in a gorgeous gown by Chaviano Couture!). They made our job entirely too easy. Check out the images (and lots of behind the scenes stuff, too) below.

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Wediquette with Anna Post | Fredericton Wedding Photographer | Fredericton, NB

January 26th, 2012

On Monday I had the unusual pleasure of meeting Anna Post and hearing her speak twice. She’s every bit as lovely as you would expect someone in the manners biz to be! In the afternoon she gave a half-hour presentation on business etiquette, and in the evening the main event – a longer presentation about [...]
 

On Monday I had the unusual pleasure of meeting Anna Post and hearing her speak twice. She’s every bit as lovely as you would expect someone in the manners biz to be! In the afternoon she gave a half-hour presentation on business etiquette, and in the evening the main event – a longer presentation about wedding etiquette. Since the business etiquette presentation was all the standard stuff (turn off your cell phone, answer your emails), I only took notes (NERD) for the wedding portion. Here are a few tips I thought were interesting:

ON WEARING WHITE: It’s only a tradition because Queen Victoria did it. Wear white if you want to. Don’t wear white if you don’t want to.

ON BILINGUAL WEDDINGS: For the invites, you could do two languages on one side; one language on either side; or individual language cards. For the vows, she suggests translating them word-for-word; for the rest of the ceremony and reception, a summary is usually fine. The main point is to make sure that all of your guests feel included and know what is happening.

ON RECEIVING LINES: These are particularly great for 75+ guest weddings, where you might not be able to guarantee going around to meet everyone at the reception. Other than that, do it if you want to!

ON INVITATIONS: Not everyone on your guest list needs to receive a save-the-date. The “official order” for naming the participants on the invite goes mother > father > bride’s family > groom’s family… but you can save space by saying “together with their families.” Don’t make any mention of gifts on your invitations.

ON USING THE INTERNET: Email RSVP is great, but don’t make it your only method of RSVPing, as it might frustrate some of your guests who are less comfortable with computers; put your registry information on your wedding website, not on your invites (and while you’re at it, register for a wide variety of items and price-points, in up to 3 places – one online and one in town is especially good for convenience); in turn, put your wedding website link on your enclosure, but not on your invites.

ON CASH BARS: Ooh, Anna threw down on this one! She’s against them.

ON THANK YOU NOTES: “In an ideal world, within 24 hours”… but in our actual world, within 3 months from your return from your honeymoon. Sorry, people to whom I’ve told you have one year, apparently not so much!

As always, I think the most important part of a wedding (other than the actual marriage) is that it reflects you and your values. Trust your judgment, respect your values, respect your guests, and do the things that have meaning for you. As Anna says, weddings are not just “the bride’s day” but actually “the bride(s) and groom(s)’s day to share their wedding with their guests.”

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albums | fredericton wedding and portrait photographer | fredericton, nb

November 3rd, 2011

Last week was exciting because it brought the arrival of my new sample albums! Picking the company who would supply my albums was no easy task, since I had to satisfy my needs as a photographer, my needs as a small business, AND the neurosis about longevity and quality materials that I picked up when [...]
 

Last week was exciting because it brought the arrival of my new sample albums! Picking the company who would supply my albums was no easy task, since I had to satisfy my needs as a photographer, my needs as a small business, AND the neurosis about longevity and quality materials that I picked up when I worked in an archives. Finally I found KISS Wedding Books, a company that fit so well with me and my values that I pretty much had to pick them. Ordering was a breeze, the turnaround time was mind-blowingly good, and when they got here… ooh la la!

So here they are, the perfect albums: simple yet elegant, modern, clean, and gimmick-free – the embodiment of my photographic philosophy. They are made from high-quality materials: full-grain natural leather covers (available in seven colours, as well as in linen for vegan types), lay-flat binding, and seamless folds (that means no cuts between pages). Images are printed on archival photographic paper, and each page is mounted on a hard substrate for strength and durability. These albums are custom-designed and hand-crafted, earning the title of heirloom. They will let your photos shine… and all of that comes in an extremely cute cloth sleeve.

The album shown is the 10×10 full-sized album in black leather, with 17 spreads. Albums are available for both wedding and portrait clients – get in touch to start the process of creating your custom-designed heirloom album!

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margot & dominic | fredericton wedding photographer | fredericton, nb

October 5th, 2011

I have been looking forward to this wedding for about three months now, ever since Margot & I first sat down together to bond over Battlestar Galactica and various Interests Geeky, as well as the concept of having a practical wedding. So imagine my dismay when, just days before the wedding, I got sick. Reaaallly [...]
 

I have been looking forward to this wedding for about three months now, ever since Margot & I first sat down together to bond over Battlestar Galactica and various Interests Geeky, as well as the concept of having a practical wedding. So imagine my dismay when, just days before the wedding, I got sick. Reaaallly sick. This is the kind of thing that’s always in the back of your mind as a photographer – it could happen, but would it, really? Oh it did.

I rallied, thankfully, and swigs from a bottle of Pepto-Bismol got me through the day (by the end of the day, I was actually feeling quite a bit better!), but what really made the difference was how this crew reacted. Between a sick photographer and a rainy day, there are definitely people out there who would have been all “OH NOES MY SPECIAL DAY,” but not these people. Margot & Dominic (and their awesome families) took it completely in stride, made sure I was comfortable all day, and because of that I was able to relax and do my job. That’s just the kind of people they are. Thank you guys SO MUCH for being your awesome selves. I really, literally could not have done it without you. You are awesome. My clients rock. And it all worked out in the end, didn’t it?

But this wedding was not about me. This wedding was about great love and great moments. About programs that fell in a puddle. About Emily’s amazing voice carrying the crowd through Jerusalem. About Dominic getting caught up in greeting everyone during the Peace, and Margot commanding that he “come marry me.” About a father’s happy tears (“kind of a big deal”). About Margot & Dominic’s love being compared to that of Othello & Desdemona… and the aunt (?) who cried out “NOOO he killed her!” About hope and renewal and two families coming together. And maybe a tiny bit about the transformative power of support wear.

Margot & Dominic, thank you for being so great; for having such great families; for having such a great wedding. Enjoy your photos. Then get busy changing the world. You promised us you would.

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paddy & megs | fredericton wedding photographer | fredericton, nb

September 9th, 2011

A dress made from the dresses of family weddings past. Matching purple Converse. (Product placement all over). You could say that Megan burst into tears of joy when she saw her dad for the first time in her dress, but you could also say that Megan burst into tears of joy when she saw her [...]
 

A dress made from the dresses of family weddings past. Matching purple Converse. (Product placement all over). You could say that Megan burst into tears of joy when she saw her dad for the first time in her dress, but you could also say that Megan burst into tears of joy when she saw her Cheeseburger Happy Meal, and how can we know for sure what really sent her over the edge? Vows were read off iPhones and iPads. (Megan’s reaction to Paddy’s vows: “shut up!”). The gorge lady in red who was the only person who could go toe-to-toe with me when I’m in the midst of wedding feastmode. TARDIS centrepieces and nerd trivia. Rick-rolling the first dance. A bridal party that needs to take their show on the road… so many pictures of people doubled over in laughter. And some serious fashion. So what if there was a downpour in the middle of picture time! The time we had was r.o.c.k.e.d. o.u.t.

Hey, did I mention that the place was just friggin’ swarming with photographers? (No pressure.) People kept asking me if I got “any good pictures,” and I said the same thing every time – “1 or 2.” I guess that’s not really for me to decide. But I do know that I loved this wedding. Every moment, every detail, and every person. My summer 2011 wedding season went out on a really, really, really high note. Thanks for having me.

August 3 FTW. #paddyandmegs. So say we all.

(Listen to this while you’re watching.)

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