We’ve had some really odd weather this year, so when you get a lovely, sunny, autumn day, well… you just want to get outside and take in the sunshine.
Mother Nature was really kind recently when I spent some time with Kayleen and Gerben. They will be getting married next year in Stratford so we got together for their engagement session.
Gerben’s family has a really beautiful farm somewhere between Stratford and Woodstock (OK, so I can be directionally challenged sometimes) and we spent the afternoon there – walking around, talking, entertaining the horses, having a little (OK, a lot) of fun and chasing the light until it disappeared. And as you can see from the colours in the photos, it was a beautiful autumn day!
Kayleen and Gerben: Thanks for a great afternoon – I had a lot of fun with the two of you. Anne and I look forward to your wedding!
If Kayleen and Gerben have given you access to their online gallery, please visit our home page at www.roelphoto.com and click on “online gallery”.
In the winter of 2008, I had the pleasure of meeting Holly at a bridal show. When Holly and her fiancé Nathan invited me to their home the following year, I knew they were extremely well organized. Why did know this? Not only did they take a year to research wedding photographers, they also booked us to photograph their wedding over 18 months in advance!
We recently spent some time together in Stratford for their engagement session. It was a really leisurely time together despite the cool and cloudy weather. I really appreciated the opportunity to get to know them better before their wedding day.
Holly and Nathan: Anne and I look forward to your wedding next summer – and we know everything will run like clockwork!
If Holly and Nathan have given you access to their online gallery, please visit our home page at www.roelphoto.com and click on “online gallery.”
It is hard to believe that fall is almost here! And every fall, there are always many great bridal shows in London, Ontario.
We recently exhibited at the London Fall Bridal Show – it was a great success. On September 26th and 27th, we will also be exhibiting at the London Bridal Expo which is being held at the Western Fair Grounds. There are lot of great ideas for those of you getting married soon – so come and check it out.
And if you do go, please stop by our booth and say hello! We apologize that we are no longer accepting new clients for 2010 (as we have reached our maximum number of bookings for next year), however, if you are one of the first 100 people who mention this blog post when you stop by, Anne, Zeus, and I will have a little “something” for you.
p.s. Aren’t these great shoes? Hey, guys can appreciate great shoes too …
Anne and I want to take the opportunity to thank all of the great people who came out to the London Fall Bridal Show this weekend – it was a great success. And to top it off, as we accept a limited number of wedding commissions each year, we are now completely booked for 2010.
The image that you see at the beginning of this post is the cover of our 2010 price list. It features one of our lovely brides, Aliyah, who had her wedding this past July in Toronto. Aliyah was paid the ultimate compliment this weekend. On Saturday, before the show closed for the day, a photographer came over to our booth to say “hello” and wanted to know why we would use a “model” instead of a “real” bride on our cover. When I informed her that Aliyah is an actual bride and not a “model” we hired for our cover image, she was quite shocked.
So, congratulations Aliyah! It is great to know that some of our competition think that our clients are super models!
p.s. I apologize in advance to those people who wanted to hire us recently for their wedding next year – we had no idea we would sell out the 2010 season so quickly. If you would like recommendations for a great photographer to capture your wedding day, please do not hesitate to contact us.
I recently had the honour of spending some time with Christiana and Taso – two really lovely people who decided to come our fair city of Stratford for the their engagement session. They will be getting married early next year and it was wonderful to get to know them a little better after corresponding via email for almost a year! They are two of the most patient people around… we’ve had to postpone our session several times due to inclement weather and as you can see in the slide show, Mother Nature was very kind to us during their session.
Christiana and Taso: It was wonderful to spend some time with you and I send you lots of love and happiness – I know your wedding will be a very joyous event and that you will enjoy it to its fullest. Congratulations on finding each other (gotta love Greek school!)
If Christiana and Taso have given you access to their online gallery, please visit our home page at www.roelphoto.com and click on “online gallery.”
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting Joanna in London, Ontario at the London Bridal Expo held at the Western Fair Grounds (for those of you who are getting married in London, it is a wonderful show to attend for meeting wedding vendors and getting some great ideas). And a few days later, I was thrilled to have Joanna and Ryan ask us to photograph their wedding this fall.
We decided to spend some time at the University of Western Ontario, their Alma mater, which has a beautiful campus. Combine that with great weather, lots of fun and laughter – and you have great engagement session!
Joanna and Ryan: you two are an extremely playful and loving couple and a lot of fun to be with… I can hardly wait to photograph your wedding. Thank you again for a wonderful afternoon.
If Joanna and Ryan have given you access to their online gallery, please visit our home page at www.roelphoto.com and click on “online gallery.”
A few days ago, I ventured towards the town of Port Bruce… a very pretty place along the coast of Lake Erie. I had a really great afternoon with Devon and Ted who are getting married in London next year – and – I also had the pleasure of meeting their “boys”, Wellington and Gustifer… two really great pooches.
I don’t know where to begin… it is really beautiful there and I had a great time with all four of them. I guess that is fitting as we had the perfect summer day together (aside to Ted: did you eventually get your ice cream?). And – it is a good thing that there was a hair dryer at their cottage as you will see in the slide show…
Devon and Ted (and the boys): thank you for an awesome time together. You are kind people and very patient – and I cannot wait to photograph your upcoming wedding.
If Devon and Ted have given you access to their online gallery, visit our home page at www.roelphoto.com and click on “online gallery.”
Anne and I had the pleasure of spending some time recently with Janet and Don of Toronto. They came to our fair city of Stratford for their engagement session – and we are glad that they did visit as we love showing people around our new home town.
Stratford has many beautiful parks and we spent the afternoon visiting them (with camera in hand, of course). We walked around and chatted about many things, including their upcoming wedding in Toronto this summer.
Janet and Don: Thank you for a great afternoon – it was wonderful to get to know you both better. Anne and I are really looking forward to photographing your wedding.
If Janet and Don have given you access to their online gallery, go to our main website www.roelphoto.com and click on “online gallery.”
Vivian and Vincent of Toronto hired us a few months ago to photograph their upcoming wedding … and when they contacted me recently about their engagement photos, they wanted to do something a little different and really fun. So on a very hot (and very sunny) spring day, we headed out to Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan/Maple for the afternoon with camera in hand.
Needless to say, we all had a lot of fun – they are a playful couple and this was the perfect setting for them. If you haven’t spent some time at Wonderland recently, check it out. It’ll make you feel like a kid all over again.
Vivian and Vincent: Thank you for such a great afternoon … you are such friendly couple and we look forward to your wedding.
If Vivian and Vincent have given you access to their online gallery, go to our main website www.roelphoto.com and click on “online gallery.”
Last week, I had the pleasure of spending some time with Aliyah and Nazeem at the Distillery Historic District of Toronto. I first met the two of them at Niveanne and Omar’s wedding last year – and shortly after, they let me know that they were getting married and asked me to be their photographer. So now I have the honour of photographing this great couple for their upcoming summer wedding.
The Distillery District is lovely with lots of great sites and historic buildings. We spent the afternoon and evening casually walking, talking and simply enjoying ourselves (with camera in hand).
Aliyah and Nazeem: Thank you for such a wonderful time together… you are such a warm and friendly couple and we look forward to your wedding.
If Aliyah and Nazeem have given you access to their online gallery, go to our main website www.roelphoto.com and click on “online gallery.”
As a lot of people are now booking vendors for their wedding day, we’ve been receiving a lot of inquiries and meeting with many people regarding our services. A question that often comes up is, “How soon after our wedding will we receive our proofs, etc?”
The answer:
Within one (1) week of your wedding date, your images will be posted in a password protected online gallery and you can share this with anyone you choose. Then, within three (3) weeks, you will receive your printed proofs and DVD of edited high resolution files.
The album process is a little more complicated than that, however, after you select the images for your album, you will be shown the initial design within three (3) weeks. Once you approve the final artwork for your album, the finished product typically takes about 7 to 9 weeks to be delivered to us.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to drop us a line at info@roelphoto.com
This is a repeat of a post from early last year. I am reposting its content as a lot of couples are now looking for wedding vendors and more often than not, choosing a wedding photographer can be overwhelming at the best of times.
On this blog, you can find the occasional wedding photography tip for those couples looking for a wedding photographer. I have even written a fairly comprehensive list of what to look for when interviewing a photographer who will capture your wedding day memories.
Someone recently asked me what I believe are the 3 most important things when looking for a wedding photographer. And since they asked, here they are:
#1 – PERSONALITY
Do not underestimate this one.
Many couples I have spoken to have told me this is the number one reason they hired their photographer. Why? You will spend anywhere from 6 to 16 hours with this person – they will see you when you are most vulnerable, be exposed to your family and friends – and they will be an integral part of your wedding day.
Ask yourself:
- Can I actually spend my whole wedding day with this person?
- Are they both friendly and professional at the same time?
- Does the photographer listen to me?
- How does the photographer deal with difficult and stressful wedding day situations?
- Is this someone I could actually call a “friend” one day?
The assumption here is that the photographer(s) you are interviewing are technically and artistically competent.
#2 – DO YOU LIKE LOVE THEIR WORK?
You do not need to like your photographer’s work – you must love it!
You will spend an extraordinary amount of time, energy and money planning your wedding. Don’t you deserve to have your wedding day captured the way you want?
#3 – PRICE
OK – let’s face it – not everyone has an unlimited budget for their wedding. Determine how much you want to spend on wedding photography (and related items such as prints, albums, etc.) and stick to your budget. If you *love* a photographer because of their work or personality (or hopefully, both) and they are a stretch financially, cut back on something else and hire that photographer. Really. You’ll be grateful you did after your wedding day as wedding photography is one of the few tangible things you will purchase to remember your day. Realistically, one needs to spend about 10 to 15% of their entire wedding day budget on photography.
Feel free to leave a comment with your own thoughts.
– and I cannot wait to photograph your upcoming wedding.
