The Case for a #

So many mothers feel your wedding is about them-their status, the wedding they didn't get to have, the friends they want to invite, their chance to show you off...well, you know. The list goes on.

Their list of advice and requests can be as long as Rapunzel's hair and they often don't take "No" for an answer. Their tidbits come in early morning phone calls and late-night texts. They make passive aggressive comments at your bridal shower and answer for you when you're asked a question.

I mean, I love your mom; you love your mom. But let's be real: we all know this can vacillate between being Highly Amusing for the stories it creates and utter frustration.

But this subject my pets, is a story for another blog. 

Because the one thing your mom will neglect to suggest is a thing so commonplace it's often overlooked, but so valuable that you will roll your eyes if you forget to make it happen. Namely this: a hashtag for your wedding.

Last decade we bought disposable cameras and left them on each guest table. This year, the guests bring their own cameras in the form of their phones and snap away. We know you look good, but so do they and they want the world to know it.

But you may not ever see these photos unless you create your simple, (clever if you're feeling extra inspired) wedding handle.

#jonathanloveslayne

#jonathanisTheCutest

#jonolayniestory

It's fun to have the collection to scroll through in the week right after your wedding...and in all the coming months as well. 

Let's be honest; in 10 years, hashtags, like floral crowns, may be gone with wind, but for now, they are shiny and sweet and need to make your wedding cut. Plus, they are budget friendly!

Spoiler alert: we often put different sneak peeks of your big day on our instagram (@jonolaynie) as well as on our Facebook page. We like the love to be spread far and wide.

If you create it soon enough, it's fun to have for your wedding showers and you can continue it through your honeymoon..or even through your marriage if you choose carefully.

But before you jump on your hashtag bandwagon, let's talk about some common # mistakes:

1. Making your # too complicated (this includes tricky spelling). Your guests will love #'ing your wedding away, but if you make it too long or include names that are hard to spell, they may just give up or in their happy, open-bar state, create their own version of your brand. Your eyes will never gaze upon those sweet snaps.

2. Not prominently displaying your sign. People need a big, fatty sign with a couple of helpful announcements from the DJ throughout the night. If you just put it on a crowded table, many may overlook this.

Who knows. Maybe Sally danced with Jonny for hours at your wedding but he failed to get her number. Thanks to your helpful hashtag love, he can contact her the very next day without having to track her down through the string of connections. And boom goes the love. And there you have it, you little matchmaker, you.

Okay, now you are ready-go forth and create your hashtag dreams! We believe in you.

Happy week, peeps.

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.

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.