Let's Talk Bouquet

In our humble opinions, flowers are one of the Most Important Details of your big day. They add a layer of classiness and lots of colour pops. 

(We have a couple of favourite florists if you ever need a recommendation; just ask.)

We loooooove these arrangements, which Meagan made herself. (Are you kidding me?!)

We love working with other talented wedding vendors; but these "homemade" bouquets are some of the best we've seen!

And then Nathan picked this wildflower bouquet for Sarah on the morning of their wedding. 

We loved Sarah and Nathan's sweet Colorado wedding. One of our favourite parts about our job is that we get to travel to faraway places and document love. Lucky us!

So whether you are making your bouquet out of your flower pin collection or hiring out your favourite florist, know that these beauties are going to go miles towards making your wedding photos shine.

Can't wait to see your flowers of choice.

xo.

Wedding Morning 101

We've had the privilege of documenting over 100 weddings in the last few years and have learned quite a bit along the way. 

There's a lot about planning a wedding that you don't learn until you've done it once, and by the time you reach the enlightened perspective of hindsight, it's too late to go back and re-tweak those details for your big day.

But fear not-we're here to hold your hand and let you in on a few secrets we've learned through the years. From planning our own wedding to documenting dozens of others, there are a handful of simple things you can coordinate into your day that will keep your life sane and take your wedding photos to the next level.

So take a deep breath. Go grab a pen (maybe a cup of coffee too) and let's chat through what you can expect from us as your photographers on your wedding morning. It'll be fun-we promise.

Here's what you need to know to help us help you.

1. Scheduling:

Allow more time than you think for each item on the schedule. In our experience, the hair and make-up artists inevitably go 15-30 minutes over the time they think they will.

Uncle Ben doesn't show up with the flowers when he said he would and it takes a bit more time to get everyone out the door and into cars than it should.

That's okay, but to keep your stress levels at bay (and to make sure we have all the time we need for photos!), let's pad the schedule with an extra 30 minutes here and there. But don't tell your hair and make-up gurus or they may take full advantage of our secret plan!

2. Paper shots:

We love having a nice, clean copy of your invitation {and other important paper details!} onsite the morning of your wedding. You've spent a lot of important time choosing your colours and stationery, and we want to make sure we're able to get all these details. This is a great task for your MOH as long as she knows ahead of time!

We are Toronto and Niagara based wedding, lifestyle and portrait photographers and videographers. We love what we do and are passionate about getting The Very Best images we can from your wedding day. Your story matters!

We are Toronto + Niagara based wedding, lifestyle and portrait photographers/videographers. We love what we do and are passionate about getting The Very Best images we can from your wedding day. Your story matters!

Whether we are documenting your day with photography or videography (or both!) we are committed to excellence in all the details. We love capturing moments and shoot weddings from Toronto/Niagara to Mexico, Texas, Nashville and beyond.

3. Where:

When you're considering when, where and how you will get ready, we suggest that you find a room that is clean, bright and open. Window light makes for some stunning getting ready photos. And spending your time in a tidy space is going to go a long way in keeping your morning as worry-free as possible. Sometimes this means renting a hotel room if your home is overrun with guests. Trust us, you won't regret your oasis!

4. Keep it classy:

We love having a nice hanger for the dress shot. We don't even need an extra fancy hanger (though we love them too!), but we don't want to showcase your gorgeous dress on an old, rusty wire hanger or a cheapy plastic one either. It's surprising how much that can distract from the beauty of your choice.

We also love getting a shot of the bridesmaid dresses with your dress; so the hanger rule extends to their sassy garb as well. Matching or coordinating hangers is ideal. Again, this task can be delegated!

We are Toronto and Niagara based wedding, lifestyle and portrait photographers and videographers. We love what we do and are passionate about getting The Very Best images we can from your wedding day. Your story matters!

5. You are queen for a day:

In the swirl of wedding decisions, it's easy to put zero thought into what you'll be wearing during your getting-ready hours. But when you see the photos later you may just regret your choice of the smelly hoodie you grabbed from the bottom of your closet in a pinch.

We suggest a you treat yourself and buy a nice robe well ahead of time. You're a classy gal and this simple choice looks great in photos! This also makes a cute gift for your girls, but even if you don't go this route, you can request that they bring their own robes.

There are many other adorable options-like BRIDE shirts which are lovely too. As long as you feel pretty in your choice, both you and the photos will be happy later.

6. Gifts:

We love hearing about the thoughtful gifts the two of you traded early the morning of your big day. What we love even more is being there to see your emotion as you open your present for the first time.

If you and your beloved are exchanging gifts and letters, please make sure you wait until we're there to open them. We love capturing the surprise on your face at his/her thoughtfulness and the sweet notes too. And that way your beloved can see your reaction when you look at the photos together later.

We love capturing the details of your big day. As wedding photographers it is one of the highest honours to capture all the "behind the scenes" moments.

This is from Travis and Melissa's sweet Dominican wedding. We love that photography keeps us busy at home in the Toronto and Niagara regions-but we love booking jobs internationally too!

7. The bling:

We love capturing all the little bits of your day-from shoes to jewelry. If you put one of your bridesmaids in charge of having all the shoes in one place, for example, we can grab those shots you'll be so happy you have when you look at your wedding album later.

Whether your wedding is big or small, intricate or so simple, it's your day and we want you to enjoy every single minute of it.

At Jono & Laynie Co., we're committed to excellence, to telling your story the way it should be told. We love capturing all the pretty particulars of your day and all the moments that make it so special. At the end of the day, it's about all about the people in the photos and the fact you get to marry your love after all.

Bridal Boudoir

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.

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.

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.

To Video or not to Video

Helllooooo beautiful couples! Welcome to Wedding Monday where we scour our brains and share tips and advice-specifically from a photography/videography standpoint- that we've learned along the wedding journey.

Today's topic: to video or not to video? That is the question. But let's be honest, there is only answer:to video. And let's chat about why.

 In our experience, there are two reasons why people choose to forego video for their special day:

1. budget.

2. they don't think they will actually watch it.

So let's look at both of these.

First of all, as one of my friends once told me behind the scenes, after your guests depart and your flowers dry, your wedding photos and videos are the most significant tangible tokens you'll have from your special day. You can't re-eat the food or re-dance your first dance; you may treasure your wedding dress always but you will most probably never wear it again. Only the photos will hang on your walls and the videos will stay on your computers to be watched and re-watched-your special memories captured for all time.

So while budget is an issue for most couples, I'd urge you to allocate enough of your financials for both photography and videography for your big day. After all, it only happens once. We can help you create a payment plan if it helps you.

And I promise-you will watch your teaser video on anniversaries, when friends are over for dinner parties and as your children are growing up and asking for stories about your nuptials. It's also amazing for faraway friends and family who aren't able to make it for your wedding day. Think about how much you love YouTube and then multiply that by 17 to get an idea of how much you will treasure the footage forever. It will help you remember what it felt like to dance the night away, to eat the tapas, to feel the smiling faces of your friends and family sharing the day with you and your beloved.

Here's a wedding for which we were the photographers and videographers; you can get a feel for how different the two are.

Welcome to Travis and Melissa's dreamy destination wedding in the Dominican Republic:

And here are a couple of more teaser videos from us.

Max and Cambria had an adorable DIY wedding in the woods of Colorado:

Melissa and Chris had an charming wedding in northern California:

And that's a wrap. Have a happy, happy week dreaming of your special day to come.

xo.

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

Let's Schedule in Sunset Photos

This little tidbit is on the top 5 list of important things I'd advise for any couple.

First of all, we always want to prioritize photos of the two of you. 

Secondly, you'll probably be needing a break mid-reception and a breath of fresh air with just the two of you should be just the thing.

Also, the lighting during sunset is unreal, our absolute fave, so why not take advantage? After all, it's YOUR wedding day.

Take a 10 minute break with us at sunset and hang the photos we get for years to come on your walls.

You're welcome-this is why you hired us.

xo.

We captured this gorgeous couple on their wedding day in Idaho. We love that our photography and videography takes us to the corners of the globe to document weddings and families.

It's all about the Details

As we wind down on our summer-long series about the dance between your wedding day + our photography, we wanted to give a shout out to some of our all-time favourite details.

We're committed to capturing all the special bits of your wedding-from your tears to your first kiss and all the beautiful details in between.

So be inspired today and dream away about the particulars of your own big day.

We can't wait.

xo.