WINTER WEDDING INSPIRATION AT STONEFIELDS HERITAGE FARM

Every year we do an inspiration post on Winter Weddings and with the end of January fast approaching many have wondered... What are you waiting for? Well, we think you will all agree, this inspiration post was well worth the wait.

Ottawa photographer Melanie Rebane was the brains behind this styled winter shoot. After working with her on past weddings and seeing her creativity first hand, it comes as no surprise that she was able to round up a number of fabulous vendors at the drop of a hat and put this shoot together in a matter of days. For those not already familiar with Melanie, she offers a contemporary documentary style photography, documenting moments as they unfold naturally and spontaneously. Influenced by her fine art background, her images have been described as elegant, sophisticated and timeless. In Melanie's words "I truly believe a connection with my clients is essential to create beautiful images. I look to capture authentic moments in the day and veer away from contrived posing to a great degree. I focus on the interaction of my clients with each other, their guests and others they hold dear. Capturing the spontaneous moments is a real artform. Creating the space for my clients to be themselves, to connect with each other and truly be in their special moments is a focus of my work." Below are some of the breathtaking images Melanie captured. The details are to die for!!

Toronto Photographer Jon Rennie took the images below. Specializing in wedding photography that is contemporary and captivating, Jon combines wedding photojournalism with fresh ideas and delivers the kind of photos you will cherish for years to come. In Jon's words "I try to document every moment of a photo shoot from a creative angle, allowing the personalities of the bride and groom to shine through. Each image, to me, is a piece of art that lines up with the next to document the whole day."

These images were taken at Stonefields Heritage Farm in Carleton Place and yes, the lovely ladies modelling these gorgeous gowns from With Love Bridal Boutique should look familiar. They're none other than Sarah Walsh who has been a long time preferred vendor of ours when it comes to makeup & bridal jewelry and Melissa Johnston whom we had the pleasure of working with back in 2009 on Krystel & Ivan's wedding at Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello. Melissa's images of their wedding were later featured on Style Me Pretty. Other vendors whose talents were captured in these photos are Full Bloom Floral Design, Isobel's Cupcakes & Cookies, and The Cake Whisperer.

Sorry...

I have heard from several people that when they visited the Zack Arias blog they were bombarded with malware. It is my understanding that Zack is in the process of moving his site from his current hosting company for this very reason, they are unable to keep their servers clean and because of that their clients (like Zack) are suffering.

Pleas know that the links to CreativeLIVE and the OneLight Workshop are clean, so feel free to visit them any time.

His new website and blog are not yet live, but they should be shortly.

Sorry to those who took hits... really.

Joy Of Being Friends

Photographer: Appu Prabhakar

And speaking of Zack Arias...

Here are two posts that you really want to check out.

1. A white seamless tutorial (Part 1 here, part 2 here), in it he covers what gear you need, how best to set it up, and a bunch of other tips that are important to know and at the same time make life a bit easier.

2. During his 3 day workshop (that was free) with CreativeLIVE Zack shot with a ton of modifiers and softboxes and in this post he shows (with images) how they will light your subjects differently. It's one thing to understand (intellectually) how a softbox will work and another to see them compared side by side in pictures. It's interesting to see how much different the light is between a 7 foot and a 4 foot octabank, it was more than subtle.

Yet more proof he is smarter than me, but you knew that.

;)

Back to the CreativeLIVE studio lighting class, I watched it live AND bought the video downloads, it was worth every minute (and penny), you can still purchase the 3 day information filled seminar for just $149.

Weekly Photo Tips 2010 product of the year!...

We get more than our fair share of photography "stuff" to review and share with our readers and of all the things we got this year the leader of the pack was the OneLight Workshop DVD from Zack Arias.

The OneLight DVD will give you the foundation to become a photographer, where as many of the other products we got would simply help us be a better photographer... a big, big difference.

There is no firmer foundation on which you build your skills as a photographer.

If you try to start a career in photography without mastering the knowledge Zack presents on these two DVD's it would be like trying to build a house by starting the construction on the second floor.

Just ain't gonna happen.

Not only is it essential, it's affordable too.

You can read our entire review here and when you're done you can use this link to head on over to the order page.

THE PLACE TO BE THIS WEEKEND

Viva isn't usually a fan of recycling blog posts but with so many of our 2011 brides-to-be heading to the Wedding Palace Bridal Show this weekend, we thought our previous 2009 post "Wedding Show Survival Guide" might come in handy. Enjoy!!

Wedding Shows are attended by thousands of brides-to-be (and future grooms) each year. Not only can they be a fun way to spend the day, they’re also the perfect networking tool when planning a wedding because they allow you to meet with so many vendors in a short period of time all under one roof. But in order to make the most of your day and keep it as fun and stress free as possible, you need to have a game plan.Click on the image above for details on The Wedding Palace Bridal Show taking place here in Ottawa this weekend and review the tips below before going to ensure your day is an enjoyable and productive one.

1. The early bird gets the worm - Find out when the doors open and be one of the first brides there. If you wait until the afternoon it will be crowded and harder to get around with longer waits to talk to the vendors you’re looking to hire.

2. Slip on your Uggs for this event - Hard concrete floors mixed with hours of walking around from booth to booth can make for very sore feet at the end of the day so your shoes should be comfortable ones.

3. H2O – A simple bottle of water can cost over $3 so throw a couple in your bag before leaving the house in the morning. It can get hot, the air can get very dry and after spending the day sampling cake and chocolate covered strawberries - you’re going to need it!

4. Don’t bring the whole posse - While it may sound like a fun excuse to get all the girls together there are going to be A LOT of people there and it may be difficult at times to navigate through the crowd. Sticking to a group of two or three is best, otherwise your time may be spent trying to find your crew instead of focusing on finding vendors for your big day.

5. Map it out - All Wedding Shows have a website that lists the vendors who are going to be there and usually include a floor map with their booth location as well. Take a look at the list and map if available before hand. Check out the vendors’ websites ahead of time and try to determine which ones you want to talk to. Highlight them on the floor map so they’re easy to find and when you’re at the show, only take the business cards and brochures from the vendors you’re interested in. It will make it less confusing when you’re weeding through your bag at home.

6. Q & A – Prepare questions ahead of time and bring a pen to take notes. You will be talking to many vendors all with different services to sell and information to give. Make quick notes after talking with each of them so you will remember what they said and what you liked/didn’t like about them.

7. Patience is a virtue - If you really want to talk to a vendor don’t get discouraged if their booth is crowded by other brides-to-be. Walk around and come back later. If the crowd around them doesn’t ever seem to get any smaller, wait for the fashion show to start. The floor usually thins out a little when the show is on.

8. Don’t give into the pressure - You’re sure to run into vendors who will tell you that they only have one opening left for your wedding date. While the best vendors do book up quickly, there are a lot of vendors at the show to talk to so don’t feel like you need to sign with the first one you come across.

9. Draws, draws and more draws - If you’re hoping to win one of the many draws a Wedding Show has to offer come prepared with pre printed cards that have your name, address, phone number and email address on them. This will save you time at the show and make entering the draws a piece of cake.

10. Have fun! - After all, you’re getting MARRIED!! Whether you’re going with your fiancé, mom or maid of honour make the most of it. Go early, get down to business, and then head out for a great lunch and a cocktail or two to thank them for sharing in a productive day.

It finally happened and it's all your fault!...

We started the Weekly Photo Tips YouTube channel a year ago and today we nudged past 100,000 visitors.

One hundred thousand!

Incredible.

Of course (and as usual) when it comes to all the milestones we reach here it's you good people using your most precious resource, time, to visit us that drives our success, that makes us who we are.

So please accept my heartfelt thanks for visiting Weekly Photo Tips, for watching our videos, and (the most fun part for me) for taking the time to leave your comments and writing your emails.

It seems unfair because it feels like I get back far more than I give.

Thank You!