Adventurous photography couple shares secrets to million dollar moments...

So many people think when the words “million dollar moments” are brought up, it must have a LOT to with with having lots of money.  In all reality though, to achieve those moments, it’s really the other way around. Everyone seems to think that to have an amazing life, you need to have 6+ figure income every year. So many people push themselves, struggling to keep their head above the water due to way too many extra hours at the office, just to be able to afford that luxury vehicle, or their dream home. Now personally, that is where I think everyone has it WRONG. The most crucial step to living a good, happy life is asking yourself one simple question. *Does this add value to my life?*  Over the years, I can’t remember how much joy that designer purse, or looking at an expensive car brought me, but I do remember the times exploring new parts of the world, and chasing wanderlust dreams with my best friend by my side. There is no feeling in the world that can ever compare, or replace the joy that one experiences though travel. When you get extra cash, set it aside in a jar overtime that you can collect, and you would be surprised how quickly it adds up! I know, I know...I'm just a destination wedding photographer, i'm not some super brain, but it sure has worked for me so far!  Below I am sharing with you all some of my favourite moments from Arizona this month that have been filled with feelings that millions of dollars could never buy. 

Now of course you do need the funds for your travel expenses, but I promise you if you do it the right way, traveling is way more rewarding, and more affordable then the $700.00 month car payment you are dealing with. 

GO ON AN ADVENTURE! Thank me later. ;)

 

A Magical, Wanderlust Helicopter Elopement you have to SEE with your own eyes...

So, here is the whirlwind, crazy, amazing story of this incredible Mountain elopement.

Less then 2 weeks before Ray and Chay’s Elopement date, I got an email from them eagerly searching for an adventure wedding photographer to come with them, jump on a helicopter and capture their love for one another standing on a cliff overlooking the Canadian rockies… 

The chances of me having a weekend date free so last minute is extremely rare, but this particular Saturday I was available. So of course I gladly agreed to it! Not only did they book me 1.5 weeks before hand, but they also planned EVERYTHING else in the same time frame. Now usually one would assume with it being a spontaneous (amazing) idea, Chay wouldn’t have been able to find the dream dress, florals, and a makeup artist to tie it all together. Boy oh boy was I surprised when she showed up with an incredibly beautiful flowing dress, a perfectly made bouquet with stunning florals, and her hair and makeup done up like a movie star. 1.5 weeks to plan you guys, it was a PERFECT dream.

I loved this day, because it was all about them, and their love. There was not a dry eye on that mountain top as they said there hand written vows to each other…

I could go on and on about how amazing this day was, but I feel these photos can do the talking instead. I will leave you with this. I am so thankful for incredible couples who share the same love for adventure and wanderlust with me, and ask me to be there on the most special day of their life to capture all the emotions. 

Thanks to all the other amazing people for making this day happen!
Helicopter-http://www.rockiesheli.com
Commissioner- http://www.graememorton.ca

 

Golden BC Destination Wedding!

Oh gosh, where do I start?! I loved every single minute of this beautiful Golden, BC destination wedding.

The venue… oh my my. Talk about perfection! It is on a gorgeous piece of land tucked back into a magical forest. It is filled with quaint little cabins throughout the property and a beautiful ceremony location that looks over the river and mountains. My favourite part about it is that your whole family gets exclusive access to rent ALL of the cabins for the wedding weekend. <3 The reception space is the cutest barn that I ever have seen! The inside is filled with twinkling lights which gives of a warm, cozy, family feel.  Right out front there is a big fire pit…how awesome is that?! My Bride and Groom may have had a marshmallows and smores for part of their desert…well that was the plan until buckets of rain started pouring down. HA, more on that story to continue below…

The morning of the wedding, I found myself constantly checking the weather, and praying that we would get a bit of a break from the rain. The girls got ready inside the main lodge as the rain came down all morning. Literally minutes before the ceremony was to start, it cleared up and it disappeared. They said their vows as loved ones surrounded them. It was perfection.

Now on to more good stuff, I’m serious. You gotta read this part. It’s kind of my favourite. Chrissy and Tyler are the bomb, no questions asked. There was this gorgeous spot underneath a bridge that I was squealing inside (ok maybe on the outside a little too) in hopes that we could get down too. As per usual, there was no paths down either of the steep, rocky sides. I cautiously waddled down towards it in hopes of finding a spot somewhere, that would be somewhat safe to scale down. ;) Yes! I thought I found a spot..but oh no. It was just a bunch of rocky terrain, with a miniature waterfall through the very thick bush down towards the river below. Chrissy piped in that she had NO problem whatsoever and was going to give it a go.… “We came all this way, why stop now?” She grabbed he wedding dress, and slowly climbed down in her high heels.  After reaching the bottom, she went barefoot and the two of them climbed up on this extremely slippery, wet, huge boulder. Tyler gets major props for getting up there in his wedding shoes. Those things don’t have any grip!! We then continued our adventure with loads of back roads, lots of random stopping, getting lost, and exploring this beautiful area.

Evening time came around and we ran as fast as we could into the barn as the rain started to come pouring down. The reception was filled with laughter, love and a whole lot of dancing. It was beautiful to feel such a sense of family love the entire day. Just wait until you see all the hand made details that Chrissy put into the reception. She created pretty much all of them herself! Vintage tea cups filled with succulents, old books, and real candles…

Here’s a small peek into their incredible day. I am so honoured that I was the one asked to capture their memories. I will forever cherish that. <3

A HUGE thank you to the amazing team that helped put this day together for everyone.

My Second Shooter Celestine Aerden’  @ Celestine Areden’ Photography. You rock girl! <3

Florist:Valerie Loseth at the Wheelbarrow Gardener

Floral crowns: Made by the bride

Venue: Hillside Lodge- Golden BC

Dress: Alfred Sung 

MUA:Reflections studio in Golden, BC

Dreamy, Magical, Stylized Waterfall shoot <3

IT’S HERE!! The ever so long awaited photos from this dreamy, magical, stylized waterfall shoot. 

I had this vision in my head. Waterfalls, a beautiful model, a gown, and a gorgeous bouquet of florals. Everything seemed to fall together oh so perfectly… I was in the Bay one day and they had this HUGE sale going on. Guess what dress was hanging on the rack? Yup, there it was, the very last gorgeous red, full length lace gown just asking to be used for this shoot! I scooped it up in a heartbeat and then tucked it away to save it for a very, very special shoot I knew I was going to plan once summer came.

Summer time rolls around, and sure enough one of my closest friends, (Also a gorgeous model) says she is coming up to Canada to visit! It was at that point that the wheels started turning, haha! Right away I jumped into full creative mode to make this dream shoot happen.

We drove up to Johnston’s Canyon just past Banff, and hiked into this beautiful spot tucked away from the main trail. I had never been here before, but I knew that the waterfall was there!! So we kept our eyes peeled and found this incredible spot. We spent hours shooting, laughing and exploring this beautiful area.

I am SO happy to show off the talented work of the other creatives in the business that worked so hard to make this all possible! The ever so bubbly and fun Bobi from Artistry By Bobi came to my place in the morning to do Kirsten’s makeup and hair. Goodness she is so talented!! I gave her a really loose idea of what I was hoping for, and she knew exactly what I wanted!!! If you need a makeup/hair artist, she is your girl!! Go look at her work!  www.artistrybybobi.com 

Erica from Rhosyn Floral designed this stunning bouquet for the shoot! I gave her a color pallet, a rough idea of what I was looking for, and she far beyond exceeded my visions! Her husband Andrew met with me to drop off the bouquet. These two make an awesome team!! If you need a florist, I highly suggest you look at their work. I still have the florals sitting in my office. <3 Even dried out, they are still gorgeous! rhosynfloral.com 

My beautiful friend and seriously talented Artist/model Kirsten Collins was so willing to do WHATEVER it took to get the shot!  I’m forever thankful for her, and her willingness to do whatever is needed for me to get the dream images I have floating around in my head. She lives in LA and is killing it in the music scene! You’ve probably already heard of her.. ;) But for those of you who haven’t go listen to her voice!! https://www.facebook.com/KirstenCollinsMusic/?fref=ts

Now that I’m done telling you all about how this all came together…here are the photos!! <3