How to Get Your Wedding Published

Here's the thing: we all know that the two of you joining your lives together in a tangible way is the truly paramount part of your wedding day. And I'd say that being surrounded by so many of your close friends and family-all in one place-is rather significant as well.

But after spending months-sometimes years-on planning your exquisite nuptials, many couples are happy to have their day celebrated on a wedding blog. It's fun to share what you've created!

Perhaps you've given this no thought one way or the other, but read further because maybe just maybe your wedding would be a good fit for publication.

It may feel overwhelming, but having had quite a few of our weddings and shoots published, we're here to help.

What do I need to get my wedding published?

First of all, please chant this with us:

Details, details, details.

And the more *unique* details you have, the better. Get your inspiration from Pinterest if you must, but put your own spin on the particulars of your big day. 

Another thing to remember, is to leave a good amount of time for the photos of the two if you. This can often be lost in the whirl of things vying for time on your day. But blogs love dreamy couple photos..and so do we!

You may feel intimidated by the thought of planning a blog-worthy wedding, but it should be noted that you don't need a $100K budget in order to style a wedding that is publishable. 

Your union can be simple, simple, simple- and as long as it's done well, your chances of being published are greater.

Bridal Musings recently published a wedding we shot and their post started like this: Sometimes the most simple weddings, are the most special. And Tobi and Cait’s sweet DIY wedding, was pretty special.

Meet Cait and Tobi-

We were so honoured to fly to Idaho to document Caiti and Tobi's sweet DIY wedding. From Toronto to the Dominican we want to be your photographers!

You can sneak a peek at two of our most recently published weddings to get an idea of what the finished product looks like.

Cait and Tobi's adorable DIY wedding:

Sarah and Nathan's lovely Colorado affair:

Lastly, if you are in love with a particular wedding blog, style your wedding according to what you see published on their site to increase your chances of publication. And work with us-let us know this is important to you and we can help you submit your wedding to the best-fit blog.

If it's in the budget we also suggest a wedding planner or stylist for your day. This takes quite a bit of the workload off you and helps take those details to the next level.

Here's what some of our fave wedding blogs are looking for:

Green Wedding Shoes-

Whether the style is rustic, modern, vintage or whimsical – we love them all! 

We love:
• Couples with personalities that really shine through in the photos
• Creativity
• A keen eye for fashion and styling
• Gorgeous locations + unique venues
• A love for the small personal details
• And most importantly, the couple has to be madly in love!

100 Layer Cake- Our readers love content that is romantic, trend-setting, creative, handmade, unique, or any combination of the above.

Ruffled Blog-

WHAT WE LOOK FOR
-Creativity and personality above all else!
-Seasonal weddings and shoots
-Time-appropriate holiday shoots and weddings
-Destination Weddings (domestic or international)
-Unique elopements and city hall weddings with stylish couples
-Ultra modern weddings
-Unique and eye-catching DIY projects
-Shoots and weddings loaded with decor and design inspiration

 If you have any questions on the subject, let us know-we're happy to share anything we've learned along the way and want to help make your wedding blog dreams become a reality!

Happy planning.

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.

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.

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.