S+D O'Born Room National Art Centre Wedding

I first met Sarah about a year before her wedding as she was preparing to leave and move to England with her fiance. Planning a wedding while being away left Sarah feeling a little overwhelmed, and so she sought our help to ensure her wedding was designed and executed seamlessly. Planning her wedding was truly effortless. In our initial consultation she said:

““I love everything you do, so even if you tell me to put my bridesmaids in white dresses- i’ll do it!!”. ”

— Sarah

Music to my ears! And so we began to tour spaces for her minimalistic monochromatic wedding. Sarah chose the perfect venue, the O’Born Room at the National Art Centre- my current favourite space to design in. With such a gorgeous blank canvas with endless natural light it was easy to envision, design and choose vendors for Sarah’s wedding.

Our mood board boasted fresh crisp colours with my signature touch of acrylic furnishings, invitations and table stationary. I went as far as designing and building acrylic charger platforms that allowed for a gorgeous pave of florals to be seen through them.

During her time abroad, Sarah gave us complete trust and allowed us to guide her through the wedding planning process without question. I mention this because it’s important to understand that a wedding materializes in it’s own time. Should you try and rush the process- chances are you’ll be making decisions too far in advance, where in reality- I can guarantee you’ll be changing your mind closer to the wedding date.

About %80 of our clientele is what I like to call “reverse destination brides”. Meaning, they now live abroad and are planning their wedding back in Ottawa. It’s also not uncommon for us to officially meet out brides the day before their wedding. Crazy right?!?

This all goes to show, when you trust your planner and vendors to do what they do best- magic happens and expectations are exceeded.

So without further ado- Sarah & Darien’s gorgeous wedding bellow.

Enjoy:)

Planning & Design: Elise Toast Events

Photographer: Photography by Emma

Florist: We Are Pollen Nation

Invitations & Stationary: Milestone Paper Co

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

THE WEDDING PHOTOG ALTERNATIVE

Recently I've had a bride announce she wasn't having a wedding photographer...

At first I was in total shock. But as time passed and the idea really sunk in, I thought to myself- why the heck not?!  I'm a huge advocate of stepping outside the traditional wedding formula and I must say there's something exciting and liberating about not having one.

Which begs the question; What alternatives do brides have? 

Sure you can easily create a #hashtag and even creep everyone on facebook after your wedding, but I've found the perfect alternative which I would pair with two of my favourite app's. 

WEDDING PARTY APP *FREE*

It's the perfect combination of Instagram meets wedding website. 

In a nutshell this app provides your guests a platform where they can find all your wedding details and instantly upload their social media photos as they go, in one place. This way you don't have to beg uncle Joe-shmo for two weeks to upload his memory chip! You can also use the app as a private communication hub to keep your bridal party up to date on your various events.

Now that you have all your images in one place, here are my two favourite app's that can be used to spruce up your images.

FACETUNE APP *$4.99

Photoshop in your pocket

I'm literally obsessed with this app. In two seconds flat you can remove imperfections, smooth and rejuvenate skin, reduce red-eye and dark circles, adjust lighting, add basic filters etc. 

VSCO Cam APP *$5.99

Where all the pro photogs edit and share their photo's online. I mainly use this app for it's high-end filters.