Posts Tagged ‘Ottawa Wedding’

Strathmere Fall Wedding

Barbara Ann Studios

This was my last wedding of 2011 and I must say I was happy it was at Strathmere and with this couple. These people are so kind and so genuine, I truly am lucky to get such clients all the time. I look forward to going down south and hopefully visiting them in Bermuda one day! The ceremony was performed by my good friend Alan Viau;  His ceremonies are awesome!

Strathmere

is a gorgeous venue located just south of Ottawa. The food is unbelievable and the staff are amazing. I highly recommend this venue if you are a bride looking for a wedding in the country.

Stanley’s Maple Farm

Barbara Ann Studios

Katie and Andy got married in the perfect time of fall. I love fall and all of its colors. I think it is my favourite time of year and judging by the amount of Sept weddings there was, it the fav choice among brides as well. Andy had a great start to the day with his boys and they got a traditional shave. Loved watching this! Andy surprised Katie with a small calf to get pictures with. She is a vet and used to be a large animal Vet so trust me. it meant something to her. I have to say I have photographed many things, but a calf at a wedding was a first. But I must say it was great to witness and document!  The flowers are by the talented Michelle VandenBosch….enjoy!

Michelle VandenBosch

for stunning and creative floral pieces, trust Michelle to make the bouquet of your dreams. This talented florist is a creative genius!

Beantown Ranch Wedding

Barbara Ann Studios

Katie and Rob have THE BEST sense of adventure and fun! I absolutely loved the gown Katie had custom made by McCaffrey Haute Couture. It totally suited her and she looked radiant in it. The wedding also had some of the best music choices I have heard during the ceremony and as you can see from the pictures below, they completely rocked it out during their recessional at Beantown Ranch.

McCaffrey Haute Couture

Visit their flagship store in downtown Ottawa on Sussex Drive to be inspired with amazing one of a kind Haute Couture dresses

Ottawa wedding photographer

Barbara Ann Studios

Jamie and Brad are such a cute couple; soft spoken but very much in love. I had a fantastic day in their company and loved providing them with a fusion piece. Although it rained we made the most of the day in the areas we could however, the anti-rain dance worked for their ceremony which took place outside. Enjoy their images and short teaser fusion from their day:)

Stanley’s Maple Farm

located south of the city. Beautiful working farm filled with Maple trees. Country setting for your wedding.

Ottawa Wedding Photographer

Brooke and Ty…what can I say!  I think I may just break down and cry {insert tears here}.  You guys are an amazing couple. Your family is amazing for that matter! I could totally just hang with you guys every weekend (and your neighbours because they are freakin funny). I can’t thank you enough for trusting me capture your wedding day and hand over complete trust to myself and my team.  I knew I was in for trouble when I walked into the guys getting ready and I saw Adam’s black swollen eye and I said, “Dude, no amount of photoshop can help THAT!”   I was even crushin’ on Jeremy a little bit near the end of the night:)  Brooke, you and your girls looked amazing…like you all walked out of a magazine.

Here is a teaser fusion video of your beautiful and fun filled day…

Big thanks to following vendors who played a key role in making this wedding a huge success!

McCaffrey Haute Couture

Brookstreet Hotel

Sarah Js Cupcakes

Quality Entertainment

Ariana-Assadi-Pro-Makeup-Artist

These are not just links future brides….these are top notch vendors who go above and beyond the call of duty. David McCaffrey creates pieces of art for your wedding and made my bride shine. She was so happy with the customer service from David, I just had to write about it in my blog. Now onto one of my FAV hotels…Brookstreet. The food, the staff, the hotel itself is high class. You are in fab fab hands when you choose Brookstreet as the backdrop for your wedding.  Speaking of FAB….Sarah Js Cupcakes. You NEED to try this girls cupcakes! Personally, I want to lick the buttercream straight from  the bowl but I will refrain. Brooke and Ty chose my two fav flavors: Lemon and Chocolate.  Brooke looked absolutely amazing with her professionally applied makeup and it was all Ariana!   Lastly but surely not least, Quality Entertainment: Brian and Scott are the ultimate professionals and always ensure a fun time for their clients. The music was rockin at this wedding and that is just one of the reasons why Quality Entertainment is the only DJ I recommend.

Ottawa Wedding Photographer

Barbara Ann Studios

Kelly and Kyle got married in Stittsville and then we made out way back to Kemptville. I can’t believe it, but we managed to get in 5 different locations for some pictures. They did schedule a lot of time for pictures but each location was only a few minutes away from each other too. The bridal party was fantastic and the girls were so much fun to work with!

Kemptville Municipal Centre

located in kemptville south of the city.

Photography Tip: One challenge for photographers is to compose a good picture by controlling how the picture’s main subject is viewed and what emotions are felt by the person looking at the picture. This can only be done through great composition. Use “rules” (and I have them in quotes because rules are sometimes made to be broken) such as The Rule of Thirds, Negative Space, eliminating clutter from the picture, and leading lines. Bottom line: experiment.

Wedding Tip: When scheduling your wedding, remember to account for how long for pictures AND the travel time to get to each location. If you plan for a minimum of 2 hours for family, wedding party and couple pictures and the locations are not too far away, this should be sufficient to get the shots you are looking for. However, the more time you give, the more shots you will have (and the more varied). But I agree, it is a delicate balance of how long you want to have between the ceremony and the reception (and where the wedding is taking place). Conversely, a lot of my couples are opting to have a first look so that they can spend more time on photos prior to the wedding. This means that the ceremony can be later and the couple can join their guests during the cocktail hour.

Ottawa Wedding Photographer

Barbara Ann Studios

Some people think 22 is too young to get married. Normally I would agree. However, not in the case of Natalie and Mathieu. I witnessed and captured such great love and emotion from this couple it brought myself and the officiant, Alan Viau, to tears. There are so many amazing moments with this family and couple, I just couldn’t blog them all. Oh and did I mention that Natalie has AMAZING bone structure (I sound like Tyra Banks) I look forward to photographing their babies for The Wee Bairn when they come :)



Strathmere Inn

a gorgeous wedding venue located south of the city with amazing cuisine, staff and grounds. One of my favorite places to photograph weddings. A must see if you are looking for a wedding venue.

Photography Tip: Pictures sometimes will be more interesting if the point of interest is not in the center of the picture. Consider some negative space when say, taking pictures of a flower. Place the flower to the right or left of the frame. It makes your photos somehow different and more appealing to the eye. Normally I will take something dead centre when symmetry is involved such as buildings/roads or repeating patterns.

Wedding Tip: The bridesmaid dress. Yes the dreaded bridesmaid dress. There, I said it. Take it from me, no one wants to be wearing a dress that is horribly out of style or is a disgusting color AND the dress does not have to be long. Some of the best dresses I have photographed were short and very modern. One of my fav dresses was black, short and had a chic ruffled neckline. At least then, the girls have a chance of wearing it again after spending all of that money. If you are shopping for bridesmaid dress and you like things “puffy” please read this tip numerous times…your gals will thank you for it :)

Ottawa Wedding Photographers

Barbara Ann Studios

Natalie and Cid got married on a hot hot hot hot day! AND they had hot pink as their colors too! Alan Viau conducted the ceremony and did a wonderful job as always! There is a reason he is on my recommended list: he is amazing at what he does and couples newly engaged should look him up!

This gorgeous same sex couple committed to each other at one of my favorite venues, Strathmere Inn. The food is out of this world, the staff amazing and makes for a great backdrop for any occasion. Here are some of my favorite images from the day (and one of the cakes below is my FAV because of the team):

Strathmere Inn

located just south of the city, this wedding venue has exceptional grounds, amazing staff and out of this world cuisine.

Photography Tip:  Whether shooting with your phone or a dslr, keep in mind that if you are photographing people, keep the background plain. For example, if focusing on your baby, don’t worry about having an elaborate background because you want the focus to be all on your child. Additionally, change up the look of your pictures by trying different angles. I am known for getting down on the ground during weddings to get that different angle and making images unique. Bottom line, it is digital. If you don’t like it, try something else!

Wedding Tip: Limos. Do you really need the Hummer Limo? I know, it will look cool and everyone will stare. However, I am a practical gal. The idea of spending $1500 or more to drive around in one of those is not very appealing to me. I have photographed a lot of weddings and basically it is a form of transportation. Those vehicles have not stood out to me or been memorable. However, what has remained in my mind are the couples that have a unique ride. I have seen couples use an old Bentley, a brand new Bentley, a vintage Stingray and a Cinderella Carriage. They were either free (because it was a family member’s car) or very reasonably priced. In the end, it is your choice, however I can think of better things to spend that $$ on :)

Ottawa Wedding Photographers

Barbara Ann Studios

Lindsay and Martin got married on a gorgeous summer day at Stanley’s Maple Farm. I must say, Lindsay is the Queen of DIY weddings! The items she created for her wedding were out of this world! There was so much to photograph and all of the ideas were perfect for the wedding. PLUS she had the cutest BCBG shoes!!! (yes I have a little shoe problem)

Stanley’s Maple Farm

wedding venue for country styled weddings located south of the city of Ottawa

Photography Tip: Go up close! So often I see photos where the photographer has stood too far away from the item/people they are photographing. Get rid of that wasted space in the photo and move into your photo! It makes it more interesting and let’s people focus on what you had intended to photograph.

Wedding Tip:  More and more couples are opting out of the traditional garter throw and “retrieval” and instead just doing the bouquet toss (or not at all). I must say it is kind of nice. It can get awkward when the groom removes the garter:) Another way to do away with traditionally throwing the bouquet, invite all the couples in the room to dance (slow), the DJ asks people who were married 5 yrs, 7 yrs, 10 yrs, etc. to gradually leave the dance floor. In the end, the couple who have been married the longest and left dancing get the bouquet (usually the grandparents).

Ottawa Wedding Photographer

Barbara Ann Studios

Kim and Tom tied the knot at Orchardview on what was supposed to be a huge day of Thunderstorms, turned out to be a day we dodged the rain. Funny things always happen during weddings too…the groom (god love him) dropped the unity candle into the river.  One of the guests saved the day and rescued it out after a few tries. However, the shot I got from it was priceless and something I think they will always look back on and remember:

Orchardview

wedding venue with a country setting located south of Ottawa

Photography Tip:  Some people with dslr’s always ask me “what is the best all round lens to take with me?” In my opinion, it should be one that covers the most varied situations – I would suggest a zoom that covers from near and far away. I use 70-200mm and I use it for 95% of each wedding. Of course, prices vary :0      However, if you want a specific lens for your camera, just give me a shout and I will help out.

Wedding Tip: ask your guests to enjoy your wedding ceremony “unplugged” – too many times guests think they need to get 1000 pictures of you during the vows. Do you know how many times I have witnessed a parent watch their child get married through a viewfinder? Frankly, I find it upsetting. BE IN THE MOMENT! Have your officiant asked guests to put away their cameras during the ceremony and enjoy the moment through their own eyes. If you do this, I guarantee you will get better pictures because I have had countless images ruined due to guests (aka Uncle Bob’s) walk in front of me to get their own shot, push me out of the way to get their own shot, or use their flash and ruin a shot I just took.