OTTAWA'S BEST LIGHT & AIRY PHOTOGRAPHERS

Photo Cred: Laura Kelly , Style shoot by Elise Schmitz - Toast Events

Light and airy, minimalist, negative space, feminine, ethereal... All of these elements combined makes for stunning timeless photographs. If your not following these lovely ladies on Instagram - you're missin' out! 

LAURA KELLY 

The Queen Bee of light & airy photography. Laura's bubbly personality is contagious. I've worked with her professionally and personally. I'm always amazed at how she captures everything just-right. She's directive, honest, attentive and detail oriented. If your looking to be spoiled, adored and possibly have a new bestie - Laura's your girl!

www.laurakellyphotography.ca

BATOUL 

The sweetest husband and wife team. Their goal; photograph a couple in each country they visit. They're loving life and their little bump. - Yes, Batoul is pregnant:)

Batoul is such a generous soul and genuinely cares about each and every client. She brings a calmness with her - there's no such thing as nerves on your wedding day with her by your side.

www.alibatoulcreatives.com

AMY STURGEON

Amy will tell you each wedding takes 50 hours of retouching, 5 lenses used, 13 cups of iced coffee and 1000 photo's delivered. She's and everyday girl that loves thrift shops and avocados.....and so do I ;)

www.amysturgeonphotography.com

ANNE MARIE BOUCHARD

She was hooked at the age of 10 - starting with film photography and gradually digital. Both mediums which, still today shows up in every clients gallery. 

www.ambphoto.com

MELANIE REBANE

If she were a spice girl- she'd be ginger. This girl has a contagious zest for life. When you meet Mel, you'll instantly feel like you've know her for life. But for all her vivaciousness she's very much low key in the industry which has garnered herself some top clients and a stellar reputation. Everything Mel touches ends up in a magazine ;)

www.melanierebanephotography.com

NICOLE AMANDA

Little mouse! A quirky millennial who even has a little photo of her bag on her website that you can click to see whats in it! Nicole wants her brides to "love your images not only for the first time, but every time, and not just love them but remember how you felt in each and every moment of them. See your perfume and remember how it smells. See your venue and remember how you felt your vision come to life."

www.nicoleamanda.ca

R+J Wedding at Le Belvedere

As the wedding seasons ramps down we can't help but look back and reflect on all our weddings this year. We were truly spoiled by working with some truly amazing clients and industry friends. I'm sad this 2016 chapter is closed but I am so excited for our 2017 and 2018 brides! 

R+J's wedding was oh-so romantic with a cliffside ceremony at Le Belvedere accompanied by a dream team of vendors. The execution was flawless and every thoughtful detail accounted for. But before I go all out about why this wedding was so amazing and the team behind - lets take a peak at their video! 

xoxo Elise

Further photo's and blog post to follow...

Planner: Elise of Toast Events
Photography: Union 11
Venue: Le Belvedere 
Floral Design: Erin at The Design Co Florals
Makeup: One Fine Beauty
Hair: Show Pony 
Sweets Table: Osso Sweet & Osso Beautiful 
Entertainment: Oxygen Entertainment  Videography: Up North 

WEDDING DETAILS YOUR GUESTS WILL NOTICE

I always say it's all in the details, but there are those who decorate like a fabric bomb literally exploded in the reception room. Don't shake your head like you don't know what I'm talking about. It's almost like they have a mathematical equation that goes something like this:

Chair covers + Chair Bands + Crystal Broach + Satin linen + Sheer Lace Overlay + Satin Table Runner. And that's just the basic foundation. Then they add.... Gold Charger Plate, Bow-tie Napkin with a Crystal Napkin Ring +  Personal Table Menue + Place Card + Bonbonierre + a bedazzled mirror with a cylinder vase with glue gunned crystals........ and in that vase there are water beads and a tinny little florescent light glowing from within............ Then the ceiling swag fairy came and went to town.....

Layers upon layers of decor which will overwhelm your guest into a blur. The biggest and most costly mistake you can make is definitely within your decor budget, because it can start to look tacky reeeaaallllll fast.

My number one piece of advice, "Don't waste your money on trying to have everything while cheaping out along the way. Sacrifice, re-evaluate your priorities and shift the dollars you would have spent on mediocrity towards a larger element that will leave your guests with a lasting impression." 

I'll give you a few examples, and if your a client reading this, you might have already heard this story. Back in the day when ghost chairs were only coming out of Toronto with a  price tag of $20 per chair, I had a client who just simply had to have them, but couldn't make it work within her budget. So I said "No problem, we'll trick them!". We ordered 1/3 ghost chairs and 2/3 white flip chairs. We used the ghost chairs at square tables and the flips at round tables and strategically laid out our floor plan accordingly. A few months later I heard back from my newlyweds and they said every single guest thought that they were sitting on ghost chairs... they raved about it endlessly. Keep in mind we're talking 2010 when the thought of mixing table types weren't even a design thought in anyone's mind. - I'm actually pretty proud that I hit that before the curve :) 

That's just one example of how I design to be budget conscious with intention. In case your curious, here is where we think you should spend your money.

OUR 5 PICKS

Linen-less tables and chairs

Personal dinner menus 

Over-sized organic bouquets

Embellished wedding dresses

Handwritten calligraphy invites