Helpful wedding tips for Calgary brides (from a photographer’s point of view). part 1.

With the bridal show coming up pretty soon I thought I would try and help Calgary brides with a few helpful tips when it comes to planning a wedding. Hopefully many of you chime in with their stories and recommended vendors!  Word of mouth referrals are the ones I value the most – if you love you wedding planner, your DJ, hairstylist, makeup artist – let us hear about your great experience!

So how can you plan your wedding day without ending up all stressed out at the end of it? 🙂 As we know, all brides (and sometimes grooms!) put in a lot of thought into their day from selecting colour schemes to selecting guests, menus, decide where to do the first look before the ceremony, etc…Everything’s really important and you don’t want to miss a thing! Trust me, I have a point.:)

I’ll be speaking to brides from a photographer’s perspective.

Why do brides need a wedding planner or at least someone to help them plan the wedding? Because there’s no way to keep every single detail in mind on the day of the wedding. Something will always come up last minute, it’s the law of life. Pick up the cake, pick up the flowers, phone the caterer, make those cute little hand-made presents for guests, [insert your own] , whatever it may be  – sometimes delegating simple tasks is not so bad, unless you have a PhD in Organizing of course. 🙂  Plus it will give you a better chance to relax and enjoy your celebration.

Why is it so important to get hair and make up done professionally? How much time do women spend every day applying makeup, fixing our hair, combing our hair, doing a little touch-ups, re-applying lipstick, making sure mascara is still on the eyelashes and not under eyes? Well you get the point. 🙂 Um…I’d say a lot of time. When hair and make up is done professionally using professional products it makes you look gorgeous for photos and you look stunning longer! It’s still you, don’t get me wrong – but a deluxe version! When hiring a makeup artist (MUA) and a hairstylist please plan for time – sometimes it means your day will start earlier, e.g. if you ceremony is at 2 pm and you have 3 bridesmaids + your mom and/or your sister who will be having their hair and makeup done, you may consider inviting the hairstylist and the makeup artist to the getting-ready location at least 3-4 hour prior. Having one person do both will increase that time even more! Having 2 or more artists will help you sleep in! :))

I have a list of MUA’s and hairstylists that I recommend to my brides, I could not be happier with their work! Fast and fun! 🙂

Some of them are:

Irina Anderson (hairstylist) phone 403. 835.0704 or email irina.anderson@gmail.com

Julia Baranovskaya (MUA) – 403.918.6496

Both Julia and Irina work with me during boudoir shoots . They rock!

EDIT: another name in my treasure box:

Shari Lynch
London Hair Styling Studio
shari@londonhairstudio.ca
403-933-2878
403-973-1439
www.londonhairstudio.ca

Tips I got from Shari this morning: “It’s great to have a trial done for hair before the wedding, and bring in a picture of the dress for the stylist to see. This is so important for us to be able to guide with style choices etc…the style of the dress makes a massive difference to the hairstyle that will suit it. 🙂
Also to find a stylist that will be mobile for them is a huge plus (like what I did with my sister’s wedding)”

I will be adding more names.

While we’re on the topic – why is it important to have the getting-ready photos? Professional photographers shoot for the album – that’s what you will be showing to all your friends at the end of the day. The time before the wedding are those last hours together with family before the bride and the groom form their own. I cannot describe to you how I feel when I’m shooting a mother or a grandmother looking at their daughter as she puts on the dress – I see love, pride and joy in their eyes. She may have been laughing a minute ago, but when she sees her girl in the wedding dress I feel like it hits her for the first time – “My baby is not a baby anymore, in a few hours she will be married, she looks so beautiful”…. Or when they hug and kiss right after – those moments are so precious.

Just a couple of examples. I adore the look of Gina’s grandmother here – pure love!

I think Dads are more concerned..:)

There is no way to put all the information into one post (I should have given you the heads up to bring popcorn and play some background music!). This post is just the beginning of [hopefully] many to follow! Please let me know your thoughts, I would really like to hear from the brides who are in the planning stages right now as well as those for whom the wedding day is behind. Please throw in your favourite vendor names, it will definitely help many! 🙂

And since I don’t know how to stop talking, I will probably do it right about now.:)