Laura and Ryan’s wedding was postponed - thanks COVID - until this year. But they decided they couldn’t wait till then, and changed the date to July of 2021. Since I had already been the videographer at both her siblings' weddings, she reached out to me about being her videographer. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it turned out that this wedding was a perfect example of what a professional photographer and videographer can bring to the table. As an experience based videographer, I was heavily involved in the planning of their wedding. Because this wasn’t their “real” wedding, they hadn’t actually planned any kind of reception or after party. When I asked them what their plan was for after the ceremony, they both looked at me blankly.
They had been so busy planning their actual ceremony that they hadn’t even considered what to do afterward. That’s the beauty of hiring an experience based photographer, however. Even if you are so focused on the actual ceremony and your future wedding, we’re here to remind you about what your day could, or even should look like. But once they realized that they needed to do something after the ceremony, I couldn’t exactly just leave them in the lurch! So instead, I began helping them plan what the afterparty would look like. Did they have a backyard space? Yes. Perfect! That’s really all you need to have a good time.
The food came from the venue (big shoutout to Deer Creek Golf & Banquet Facility in Ajax, Ontario), and as I was leaving the ceremony I actually saw them loading an SUV with all the food to transport to the after party. The coolest (literally) part though was that they used a huge green canoe filled with ice and drinks as a DIY cooler. The atmosphere at the party was amazing, with my then fiancé Mark as their DJ (fun fact, I was actually the second vendor they reached out to, and Mark was the third). I like to think I lived up to my name and gave them the full royal treatment!
It’s so important for you to hire the right photographer (or in this case videographer), because we start working long before the wedding day. Hiring an experience based photographer means you get someone who is genuinely interested in making sure you enjoy every aspect of your day, and not just someone who only wants to get some good pictures on your actual wedding day. Few people have as much experience with the behind the scenes workings of weddings as photographers who attend and work at several every year. If there are any aspects of your planning that you may have overlooked, you can almost guarantee that we’ll notice and help you plan for it. This was especially true for Laura and Ryan. Planning for one wedding date is stressful enough, having it change multiple times is even more taxing. I’m so glad that I was able to help them have the wedding they really wanted, and to have a great day with their friends and family. After all, isn’t that what weddings are really about at the end of the day? Love, friendship and happiness.
