Day 23 – Staci – Headshots
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On a typical Vancouver day (overcast with threats of rain), Nick & I met up with Staci at the Surrey SFU Campus to take a few heasdshots for her. Staci wants to get into acting and she really is in love with it. I think her words exactly (give or take a few) were, “I knew I loved acting from the moment I knew that acting existed!“ Well, with these new headshots I think she’ll be headed in the right direction 
Day 22 – Digital Files – Keeping them safe
Last year, Nick & I watched a really interesting show on the Discovery channel called “Life After People”. The premise of the show was about what would happen to all of the things that we humans have created if for some reason people stopped existing in a blink of an eye. They start with 1 day after people and then worked their way up to 1,000 years after people. It was interesting to see the very accurate prediction that there would be very little traces of modern-day civilization 1,000 years after people. Concrete buildings and bridges would only last about 25-35 years (because there would be no one around to maintain them)! If you would like to learn more about the series, you can check it out here.
This brings up an excellent discussion point of how to keep your data (ie: your wedding photos) safe. According to the series, computers and the like would only really last 100 years due to the exposure to the elements. Typically DVDs don’t last very long. Depending on who you ask, a disc can start to degrade in less than 5 years resulting in lost data. Nick & I feel very strongly about using Archival Grade DVDs. Photos, whether they be wedding or family or portraits, are very important to hold on to because they help people stay linked in to their background and remember important events. Archival Grade DVDs are rated to last up to 100 years without degradation (of course, we haven’t tested this yet) which means that your investment is well protected.
There are other ways to help protect your favourite images as well. Among other things, we have listed a few tips to help keep your DVD in tip-top shape.
- Every year on your anniversary, make a copy of your disc. Label it with the contents and the date it was made, and set the original aside somewhere safe. Use the copy when you want to view the images or make prints etc.
- Make prints! Not only do prints transform any wall in your home, but since our lab uses archival grade paper (rated for 75-100 years), they will make a lasting impression too
- Have us create one of our Signature Albums. They are gorgeous additions to your home and really make a statement!
Lastly, if you’re really into technical reading (I mean really, who isn’t!?) you can read all about the safe storage of CDs and DVDs here.
Day 20 – Annaliesse – Portraits!
Once or twice a year, Nick & I host a Photographers “Shoot for Us” get together at a local studio and just shoot for us! We try out some new things, tackle some things we’re figuring out and really just a have a whole lot of fun! Anyways, we did some portraits for a very talented and uber-stylish interior designer friend of ours, Annaliesse Kelly. Not only does she know about a million things about creating gorgeous spaces, but she lends herself nicely to the camera as well
Day 19 – Albums
I love telling stories. I use to do a lot of creative writing when I was younger. I would write for hours on end and fill books and journals with stories of love, sorrow, laughter and the just plain bizarre! The feeling of creating a unique world with lovable characters is extremely powerful. I loved the texture of a well-used piece of paper… Although I don’t write as much or as often as I want to, I feel that I have a new medium now: the camera. A photo is worth a thousand words, and to capture a true emotion makes it priceless. I love creating albums because I get to tell a very personal story with million and millions of words.
Nick & I really are in love with the albums we create for our clients. It took us quite a bit of searching to find something that was of the quality and style we desired. We have two different series of albums that we provide: the Elemental Series and our Signature Series.
The Elemental Series is a hardcover album with thick magazine-style paper in a satin finish. They come in 9 gorgeous colours and use a beautiful silky-linen fabric for the cover material, and include name imprinting on the cover.
Our Signature series is a hardcover, lay-flat album that has thick rigid pages. The cover materials range from silks to fabrics to leathers, in a full range of colours and patterns.
Day 18 – Those little extras…
You know those little gifts that are attached to shampoo bottles…? Well, we have our own little version of that. No, we aren’t providing you with travel-sized hairspray or anything (although that might be helpful on your wedding day) but we do offer some pretty cool things that you might not know about.
Gift Cards:
For the person who either has everything or is the hardest to buy for, we have just the thing! We offer a few different kinds of gift cards. We have cards available in denominations of $100 and $250, which make a perfect gift for anyone. You can use them towards prints, albums or even a session. We also offer a Portrait Gift Card which really makes a perfect gift because it’s a complete package It includes a 1-hour session, online proofing and a DVD of 20 high-resolution proofs.
Gift Registry:
Just like the travel agencies, we offer a gift registry! Instead of having your friends and family help with your honeymoon, they are helping you with your wedding photography!
Referral Program:
We know that word-of-mouth is the best advertising anyone can ask for, so we want to our couples for talking about us. For each friend that you refer us to who books with us, we will send you a re-touched 8×12 print from your wedding as our way of saying, “Thank You”.
Day 17 – Vendor Spotlight – Revel Events
Please meet Jenna. She is the lovely face and bubbly personality behind Revel Events, a Vancouver-based event planner and wedding coordinator. Contrary to popular belief, wedding coordinators are no longer reserved for high-profile people anymore. In fact, we’ve been seeing more and more brides using planners to help them out because this huge party that they are throwing for their family and friends is well, HUGE! Why not let an expert handle all of the nitty-gritty for you?
Anyways, Jenna was in need of some new head shots so we caught up with her at the Olympic Village one evening to make use of the pretty lights. We’ve seen the Village during the day and it’s crazy-nice, but it’s super spectacular at night! We also asked Jenna to answer a couple of quick questions that you might have about her and the art of coordinating
What make your job amazing?
Helping people plan their weddings is such a fun and meaningful place to channel my lifelong compulsion to organize everything! I love my job and I have a blast with my clients. Once I begin working with a couple, my first goal is to get to know them…. How many people are lucky enough to have a job that brings so many new friendships? My job is exciting largely because of how unique every couple is.
How exactly does the process work?
During the planning process, I’m always looking for the best ways to make each wedding reflect and celebrate each couple’s personality. My couples can choose from one of three packages–Complete Coordination, Partial Coordination, or Day-Of Coordination. I refer couples to vendors that I know and trust, help them come up with ideas and then source the materials to put those ideas into action, accompany them to meetings when they want another perspective, help them decipher the legal-speak of various contracts… and, yes, enjoy a cocktail with them now and again! 
So, how do you get in contact with Jenna?
Website: www.revelevents.ca | Blog: http://revelevents.wordpress.com | Twitter: @RevelEventsBC | Facebook: Revel Events (Vancouver)
Email: jenna[at]revelevents.ca | Phone: 778-228-4922
Day 16 – Tequila Lime Chicken. Delish!
I like to cook and Nick likes to eat. That’s a pretty good deal, right? Well, this recipe that we are going to share with you has a bit of a back-story so please be patient…
My first experience with tequila involved my 25th birthday and my sister buying me a shot. While I appreciated the gesture, I discovered what bad tequila tastes like. Fast-forward to 2008 when Nick & I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary in Mexico. We went into a tequila store in Playa del Carmen and were awestruck! This store had HUNDREDS of different kinds of tequila available for purchase. Although we walked out empty handed, we did leave with intrigue. Before our flight home, we hit up the duty free and decided to get a bottle of tequila (because that’s what people do when they go to Mexico). We had no knowledge of “good brands” or what to look for when choosing a bottle. We just sort of blindly chose one. I think we picked it because the bottle looked nice or something…
Anyways, this blind-decision turned out to be a delicious second experience with tequila We bought books on tequila recipes and really enjoyed testing them out Now here’s where the cooking portion comes into play. I just made up this chicken recipe one night; straight out of my head and on to the plate! Sometimes I do that and it doesn’t turn out and sometimes it’s miraculous! This Tequila-Lime Chicken is not only miraculous, but extremely delicious so I’ll stop blabbering and tell you how to make it
First, get some tequila. It doesn’t have to be this kind (although I highly recommend it), just get your favourite stuff that is 100% Agave – not the mixto kind. Trust me on this.
Then smash some cloves of garlic and coriander seeds. Coriander seeds have this lovely and delicious warm smell to them Then juice a lime, pour a shot of tequila, a hearty splash of good olive oil into a dish and add at least a heaping quarter teaspoon of salt. Chop up half of a jalapeno (your choice on whether you want to seed it), a small handful of cilantro and throw that all in together.
Mix these ingredients all up and add in your chicken. Marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours. You can then throw the chicken on the barbeque, or start it in the frying pan and finish it in the oven like I do. You will notice that I don’t really give exact amounts of ingredients and that’s because I can never remember how much I’ve used before – plus, cooking is personal and it should be to taste. Once you make it yourself you will figure out what you need more of or less of, etc.
I like to serve this with Cilantro-Lime Rice and Salsa Fresca. I must give Martha Stewart credit for the rice and The Joy of Cooking for the salsa. The rice is super easy: make rice as per norm and then when it’s done just add in a tablespoon of lime juice and 1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro. The salsa consists of roma tomatoes, white onions, green onions, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice and salt. It takes a bit of work to chop up finely (don’t use the food processor as it turns it to mush) but it’s totally worth the effort
So….umm… Go make this and tell me if you like it!
