GBP's Faves of 2012

It's the last day of 2012...so we decided to round up a few of our faves from the year!  Turns out that's a really hard task, and we both have different favourites, so there's a bit more than expected, and even at that, I know we missed some...

BUT here's what we've got...looking forward to 2013 and HUGE thanks to all of our clients, family and friends who support us in doing what we love to do...you guys = the best.

Mr and Mrs Smith...(But more rad than the movie)

As many of you know, we've had a whirlwind summer wedding season...

So today we wanted to feature another one of our awesome wedding couples and give a shout out to them for being so much fun to work with.  

How could you not have fun when the day includes:

-A morning 5km run (on the ladies side)...and no Gary did not participate...tsk tsk.

-A morning of story telling and beer drinking (on the guys side)

-Vows filled with laughs and tears...but more laughs than anything

-A little bit of pool and rounds of drinks

-And one of the most epic first dances we've seen yet...the bride was flipped 3 times...THREE TIMES!!! 

Well played Mr and Mrs Smith...well played...

Congratulations on one amazing wedding! Stoked we could be a part of it... 

How the girls get ready...

How the guys get ready...

Runaway Bride AND Groom...

As we're deep in the midst of a crazy busy wedding season, we thought it would be appropriate to update you on one of our most recent, and most memorable shoots....

Words cannot express how stoked we were when we got an email a few weeks ago from a couple who were packing up their truck and heading up north to elope on their way to Inuvik! They liked our style of work, and wanted to know if they could book with us on a not-yet-decided date and time during their travels...We absolutely loved these guy's sense of adventure, and so made sure to find a time during their brief stay in Whitehorse to make it happen...

So one late Friday night in June, we headed up to the top of grey mountain to be part of a beautiful, simple, and adventurous ceremony.  They had 4 friends/witnesses, including a fiddle player who got the call to come perform 20 min before the ceremony started, and with a bouquet of 'borrowed' flowers one of the witnesses grabbed on the way up the hill, they stood at the top of grey mountain and said their vows.

It was so great to be part of such a unique experience for these guys.  It was so apparent how happy they were to just be on the road together, starting their adventure off with such an incredible day.

We want to thank you Sally and Adam for having us be a part of it-it was refreshing and touching to be a part of such an intimate event, and we wish you all the best in the many adventures we're sure you'll share over the years! (We also hope there were no flat tires on your drive to Inuvik...)  ;)

Gary likes a good breeze...

As wedding photographers, we've gotten to travel to a lot of great places for work...so far we've shot in Yukon, BC, Alberta, NFLD, PEI, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico! Not a bad bonus to the job, although some of these destinations also come with their challenges...

To travel to other countries sounds like an awesome time, and for the most part it is, but working your regular job in a crazy new climate can also have some downsides...

Wedding photography is a genre which we think doesn't get enough credit. Often, people don't realize the amount of work and energy that really goes into them.  Not only are you working in both a creative and technical mindset all day, you also have to be ready to be flexible (as anyone who's been involved in a wedding knows, things don't always go exactly as planned), AND you're 'on' for up to 12 hours straight depending on the wedding style...So to take all of that and add on an extra 20 or so 30 or so degrees and...well...things get trickier!

Now, at our most recent wedding in Mexico, Gary discovered a trick to beating the heat of a destination shoot...You see, with the age we're at, we happen to have a lot of friends who are getting married, and often we are chosen to be their photographers. (Which each and every time is humbling and a huge honour!) The difference in this one, was that we were also both part of the wedding party! You'd think that might be an extra stress for us, but in the end-it had some major advantages...the main one being the fact that the groom had picked Kilts for his groomsmen....

See Exhibit A:

Turns out Gary loooooves shooting weddings in kilts because when that breeze comes off the ocean...well, things are apparently a lot more comfortable....

So we'd like to take the opportunity on this post to thank Nick and Heather for having us be a part of their day-it was a huge honour for us and we were SO happy to have been there to be a part of all the laughs and the special moments. You both looked incredible!  And Gary would especially like to thank Nick for introducing him to his new favourite outfit...  :)

Destinations

The best part about shooting destination weddings for clients is the relationship you get to build with them throughout the week.

Normally with a wedding client, we have the consultation where we get to meet each other and get a feel for what they'd like out of their wedding photos, what their personalities are like, and learn a bit about how they met each other, etc.

Then comes the engagement session which is key to getting to know how they interact and also to get them used to having a big camera lens pointed at them. (Something a lot of people are uncomfortable with at first, because let's face it-it's not an everyday thing!)

Then comes the wedding day, and both of those meetings along with emails/phone calls in between allows us to get that base relationship built so that come their wedding day-we're not strangers walking in, but people they are comfortable with and are able to relax around.

Now with a destination wedding, you can take all of those experiences and add in the fact that we are at the same resort with the people for the entire week. So not only do we get to know them better, but we also get to know their family and friends...a connection which makes the wedding day photography that much more comfortable and relaxed.

Korry and Chad were no exception. We went to their destination resort having only met Korry once in person, and meeting Chad for the first time the day we arrived. But by the end of our time there, we had become friends, and it was actually sad to say goodbye!  (It helped that they are an amazingly fun couple...for instance, Chad actually had a new drink named and created that you could order at any of the bars by the time his stay was over)

You can't really go wrong with a  genuinely wonderful couple surrounded by a great group of family...So here's to Korry and Chad-we wish you guys all the best! (If we had a funkinator to cheers you with right now, we would!)

Brianne-1, Gary-0

Gary and I recently traveled to PEI over our christmas holidays...Why the h*** would we travel at that time of year you ask!?  Well it was a very important trip...one of my best friends was getting married and there was no way we were going to miss it...

Over the years we've obviously had a few friend weddings to attend and/or shoot.  It comes with the age we are at and the business we've chosen, but it reminds me every time how important the connection between photographer and couple really is.

We always try to build a relationship with our clients before we shoot their weddings. Whether it's through an engagement shoot, over coffees or even through the wonderful technology of Skype, we always try to meet and get to know each other before working with them on the big day.  It makes a world of difference to actually know a bit about each other.  We hear the stories of how they met, talk about the nerves of getting everything ready in time, and even vent about the worries of "crazy Uncle Joe" putting on a scene in the middle of the reception.  (Don't fret...every family has something)

This way come wedding day, we're not strangers walking in and getting all up in your business...we're a trusted team who is there not only to shoot, but also to remind you to take some breaths, relax, and soak in the day. (we've been to a few of these things over the years after all and in the end, Uncle Joe will just become and amazing story for the kids one day)

There was no need to build a relationship with this couple though, as I went to university with the bride when she had first met her future-groom.  Considering the group of us girls called him "the best boyfriend we never had", it was only fitting that we were all there with them on their big day. It was a day full of laughs, happy tears and many exaggerated stories just like any good wedding should be...and being in it, I had the added bonus of sitting and sipping champagne while Gary had to run around working.  Brianne-1, Gary-0.

I'm gonna pay for that one....

Now onto the photos...

Couples in the Cold...

So in gearing up for theYukon wedding season, we're also starting to book up fast with engagement shoots...

This means we've had to learn to be strategic...finding places hidden out of the wind, (or at least rest areas in between shots), finding gloves that allow us to still work our trigger fingers without getting frost-bite, and of course it always helps when we work with couples who are willing to brave the elements and still look great!

This brings me to one of our latest...these guys were only in town for a week over the holidays, so even though it was frigid outside, they wanted to brave it to make sure we got some out-door shots. Luckily, even though the wind was relentless, the lighting that day was beautiful and we were able to hit up a few different locations before we all called it quits and needed to warm up.

Looking forward to working with these guys again this summer in some warmer temps...

PEI...A perfect wedding destination

Fact: GBP loves the east coast...

I (Brianne) went to university out there (STFX), but this was Gary's first trip to PEI and NS, and let's just say it wasn't a hard sell to get him to fall in love with them...

We were lucky enough to head out there this August to cover two weddings...The first being this one on PEI...We lucked out with an absolutely gorgeous day, making the ceremony down on the beach that much more beautiful...red sand, the smell of the ocean...you couldn't really beat it.

The bride and groom, Ern and Tim, were incredible all day...laid back, and ready to just enjoy a day to celebrate with their 18 person bridal party (go big or go home!), and a fantastic group of family and friends...They rented a 'party bus' to transport us all from the beach back to the reception area, and even served Wendy's double bacon cheeseburgers for a midnight snack...unique, fun, and memorable...we were so honoured to be a part of their day!

I've already warned them that they should probably be giving us a call when they need maternity photos in the future... ;)