Wedding Advice (Photographers, Florists & the Like)

[statick]

Hello all,


I'll be getting married this July and am wondering if anyone can recommend a good wedding photographer. If it makes a difference, it will be an east-Indian influenced event and at a banquet hall in a hotel in Calgary. Here are a few I am considering...

http://www.alanmaudieweddings.com/

http://www.geoffwilkings.com/

http://www.alvaradofineart.com/index.html

Does anyone have experience with any of the aforementioned? Who else would you recommend? If we can get videography from the same outfit, that would be great!


And how about recommendations for florists? We won't be needing a bridal bouquet, just ~40 bouquet for centerpieces at each table. I have a fairly good idea of the selection of flowers I would want, we just need someone to deliver and place them on the tables at the venue on the day of the event. Ideally, I'd like some text to be printed on each of the centerpiece vases. Any suggestions?


That's all for now, but as the date draws nearer, I'm sure I'll field a few more opinions.

[ZMan2k2]

The photog that I used for our wedding is retired now, but we used Red Rose Florists on Centre and 19 Ave NE, for our flowers. Wonderful arrangements on the tables, bouquets, flowers for the guys, everything delivered where it was needed, on time, and in great shape.

[trevh]

Suggestion: Anything you looking for @ Costco?

Vases- Buy vases you want and get them Sandblasted?

[redline]

we used these guys and are very happy with the results

http://www.f8photography.com/

[bignerd]

Have you looked at the prices of some of those photographers? I got married in BC and A. Maudie quoted me just about 10,000...

[reiRei]

This is the florist we used for our wedding:
http://www.oysterbayflowers.net/

nice arrangements and great price

[dirtsniffer]

Originally posted by bignerd
Have you looked at the prices of some of those photographers? I got married in BC and A. Maudie quoted me just about 10,000...

10 grand for photos? sweet jesus

[ExtraSlow]

Fuller Edge Photogs.

[BlackRadon]

http://www.geoffsimpson.ca/

This is a buddy of mine out if banff. Great photographer and awesome guy too boot. Tell him James Meredith sent you and he'll hook you up!

[DJ_NAV]

If it is going to be East-indian type wedding, I think it is essential that you go discuss the steps and the type of photos you want. Typically a photographer will focus mainly on the couple, but I know EI's want pics with families/friends a lot more than non EI's.

[98type_r]

Originally posted by dirtsniffer


10 grand for photos? sweet jesus

Maudie quoted us $13000 for what we wanted, his most basic package is in the neighborhood of 6-7G

[max_boost]

It's crazy. Wedding photographers range anywhere from $1000 to $10K+

JTImages also does some awesome work so consider him as well.

[cet]

We used Alan Maudie for our wedding a couple of years ago. As said above, he isn't cheap.

[dharminder]

Congrats OP on your up coming wedding.

What is your budget for photo's? I would recommend checking out Azad. http://www.studioazad.com/
If I am not mistaken price is around 5k but thats just pictures.

For a one stop shop check out videogenic.ca

[Kloubek]

Congrats OP.

I saw this thread yesterday and decided not to post - but with everyone else's thoughts I might as well too.

We just got married this August, and I was appalled by the price of photographers. Seems like anyone decent cost upwards of $3000 just for an afternoon. I just couldn't justify that.

I did a lot of research and actually ended up getting one who responded to a Kijiji ad I had up. It took a lot of time to sift through the responses from crappy photographers, but we were happy with the one we settled on. She's not that experienced, but she's advanced beyond her time in the business, and her shots are nice and professional, imo.

Her business name is Pysh Posh photography: http://www.facebook.com/#!/PyshPoshPhotography

Are there better photographers out there? Certainly. In my research I came across some *amazing* photographers. But unless you luck out with a "friend discount" or something, they are all going to be more considerably more expensive than the one I am suggesting. So I guess it comes down to what your budget is, really...

[gretz]

Originally posted by max_boost
It's crazy. Wedding photographers range anywhere from $1000 to $10K+

JTImages also does some awesome work so consider him as well.

10K?? Holy fawk...

My entire wedding cost less than $10000, including the ceremony, an awesome photographer, 2 tier cake, a $3000 dress, a 7 course meal for over 30 people, all booze etc... and it included a 10 day all inclusive in Cuba...

[screw.you]

http://www.alvaradofineart.com/index.html

This is a buddy of mine and he is an amazing photographer. He is great with weddings and has amazing skills.
I've seen his work and it's great so I would HIGHLY recommend him!!

[kvg]

Check out this photographer she did one of my best friends wedding and did an amazing job.

http://www.sarahvaughanphotography.com/

[Mr_John]

http://www.nathanelson.com/
My friend used Nathan at his wedding a couple months ago and was very happy with the results. His portfolio looks amazing!

[masoncgy]

If you have a DSLR, you are a photographer these days, or so it would seem... :nut:

That said, take a peak at Leanne's work:
http://www.leannesmithphotography.com/portfolio/portfolio/weddings.html

Her prices are reasonable and she does a great job. Let her know that Carey sent you if you're interested in hiring her.

[Civic99]

Originally posted by max_boost
It's crazy. Wedding photographers range anywhere from $1000 to $10K+

JTImages also does some awesome work so consider him as well.

+1 for JTImages
http://www.jtimages.ca

Honestly, this is going to serve as your reminder of your big day in the future and you should not cheap out on this.
A buddy of mine got him to shoot the wedding and he produced a top notch photo book it was amazing.

[str8jkt]

Fair warning. This is my wife's business so I am related. Just want to be honest. She has shot an indian wedding already so has some shots of it up on her website if you're interested.

www.timelesssnapshots.com

Edit:
Posts directly to the wedding and other related shoots I mentioned above (it was spread over three days (four if you count the engagement shoot)).

Engagement Shoot - http://www.timelesssnapshots.com/blog/?p=3687
Henna Party - http://www.timelesssnapshots.com/blog/?p=3957
Reception - http://www.timelesssnapshots.com/blog/?p=3972
Wedding day - http://www.timelesssnapshots.com/blog/?p=3915

[bignerd]

Originally posted by Civic99


+1 for JTImages
http://www.jtimages.ca

Honestly, this is going to serve as your reminder of your big day in the future and you should not cheap out on this.
A buddy of mine got him to shoot the wedding and he produced a top notch photo book it was amazing.

You don't want to cheap out, but don't need to break the bank either.

[statick]

Thanks very much for all the responses and well wishes.

Oyster Bay and Red Rose both look solid, I'll be in touch with either of them. For this, I'll probably just go with whoever is most cost effective as I know what I'll be using for centerpieces.

Dj_Nav, thanks for the reminder, there'll plenty of pictures of us at the head table or on the stage with various groups of family and friends.

98type_r, if you don't mind my asking, which photographer did you end up hiring for your event? How was the delivery?

Cet, did you feel Maudie's work was reflective of his price? If you knew then what you know now, would you still have used him?

Kloubek, thanks for this suggestion, I'll get in touch with her for a quick quote, if nothing else. And congratulations on living the married life.

F8, Azad and Nathan Elson all seem to be decent options around the $5,000 mark.

Sarah Vaughan, JT and Derrick Woo look good too, I need to touch base with them and confirm prices. Vaughan starts at $2,000 which seems quite reasonable given her skills. The same can be said of Timeless Snapshots at $2,500.

What are everyone's thoughts on gift registry? I personally don't like the idea of people knowing what to give me as a gift and this is reminiscent of that. That being said, I don't want to be stuck with twenty toasters. Any recommendations on where and how to register?

I'm still debating on whether to go with a wedding cake or catered dessert. Thinking ahead, I may need cake suggestions.

If we have music, it will be live. I'm yet unsure as to whether a string quartet is more fitting or a piano, flute and/or classical guitar duo/trio. If anyone has any suggestions about this, please post your thoughts/experiences.

Apologies for the lengthy post, I appreciate everyone's input, keep it coming!

[redline]

Our package from F8 was about 7.5k and that gave us TWO photographers for 9 hours plus a wedding album that is custom made in Italy that is very very nice for us plus parent albums. That include engagement session also.

We are very happy with the results.

[98type_r]

We went with Mark 11 photography, still awaiting delivery so that's why I didn't mention it earlier.
I've seen some previews and I'm very happy with those. If the rest of the shots look like those then we will both be very happy. He was great on the day of, we had him in the neighborhood of 14-15 hours and he was full of energy until the end.
Like pretty any other package these days we're getting an album (I think a lot of them use the same supplier in Italy), we purchased the digitals, and of course an engagement was included. He won't be able to accommodate your videography though, he shoots by himself so no videography/2nd photographer.

I'd recommend Red Rose florists for your flowers. Their prices are competitive, service is great and more importantly produce a great product.

[cet]

Originally posted by statick
Oyster Bay and Red Rose both look solid, I'll be in touch with either of them. For this, I'll probably just go with whoever is most cost effective as I know what I'll be using for centerpieces.
We used Red Rose as well for the bouquets and boutonnieres. Other than giving us the wrong order the morning of the wedding everything was good.


Originally posted by statick
Cet, did you feel Maudie's work was reflective of his price? If you knew then what you know now, would you still have used him?
My wife had been doing a lot of the research into photographers before our wedding and loved his style. Our package included 2 albums, the digital images, 3 proof books and his time. I think value is a fairly personal and subjective thing, however, yes I think we would use him again. My brother got married a bit before us and had a different photographer. The difference in the finished product is night and day.


Originally posted by statick
What are everyone's thoughts on gift registry? I personally don't like the idea of people knowing what to give me as a gift and this is reminiscent of that. That being said, I don't want to be stuck with twenty toasters. Any recommendations on where and how to register?
We had a registry because we didn’t want to get stuff we didn’t want/need or end up with multiples of the same item. We had lived together for a couple of years so didn’t need a lot of the basic stuff. Our registry allowed us to tell people what we actually needed and would use. Plus, I have a lot of family in the UK that could log on and purchase off the web site. I think everyone but one couple gave us either something from our registry or cash.
We registered at The Bay and it is pretty easy. You set up an appointment then wander around the store with a scan gun and scan everything you want and how many. We made sure to have things from all kinds of price ranges, from $10-$15 up to $600-$700 To give people more flexibility.

[Cos]

We used these guys for photographers. They were great:

www.simplylifemedia.com

[DJ_NAV]

I hate the gift registry idea. Just put 'no boxed gifts' on the invite. Then you just get cash/gift cards. Way easier to transport and you can buy what you want or use it pay for your honeymoon etc.

[Cos]

Originally posted by DJ_NAV
I hate the gift registry idea. Just put 'no boxed gifts' on the invite. Then you just get cash/gift cards. Way easier to transport and you can buy what you want or use it pay for your honeymoon etc.

We only asked for cash and we still ended up with 3 BBQ's and 2 Blenders....


wtf :facepalm:

[max_boost]

Asian styles, cash/checks only!

No boxed gifts!

[black_2.5RS]

For photographers, I recommend:

Photobolic (www.photobolic.com) OR
Kevin Yee (http://www.kissphoto.ca)

Both are very good photographers. You do get what you pay for - so they don't come cheap. Kevin's a bit lower in cost than Photobolic. You can't go wrong with both - just depends on the style you're after.

For Flowers, I really suggest you contact Occasional Bloom (http://www.occasionalbloom.com/). They don't have a store front, so I find their prices are very good. You don't need to pay a consultation fee like all other florists. I used them for my wedding and was happy, so did a good friend of mine who was also very happy.