“What are some of the stressful things that have happened at a wedding you were working on, that the couple may not even ever know about, and what advice do they have for vendors that haven’t worked with them before?”

Here are some of the responses - without naming names, or locations or vendor types.

“Vendors that think that helping someone else do part of their job is beneath them”

“Vaping” …“Vaping during the reception with all guests visible”…”getting high and pretending no one knows”

“Drinking - not just a casual glass of wine during dinner, I mean getting flat out wasted”

“I had this one team who basically ate their dinner while grabbing canapés while they “mingled” instead of doing their job.

“Hitting on the sister of the groom”

“Finding out one of the staff slept with the maid of honour”

“Not asking me what MY expectations are for OUR client”

“Being an arrogant artsy jerk - just do the work without thinking your the only person that’s ever held a camera before”

“Not being early - always show up earlier than your scheduled time, especially with the traffic in this city!”

“Wearing the wrong outfit - looks matter especially with my client type”

“Wearing sandals - you can’t walk around my property and be in the service area with open toe shoes!”

“Being rude to other vendors because they think the wedding day is about them and their needs to be creative!”

The most common advice from all four event planners was this - call the venue, ask what their dress code. Funny enough I actually wrote another blog post about this not too long ago.

Ask them (the planners) what the rules of engagement are during the wedding - some planners want their team members (the other vendors serving the client) to behave on brand - some say no talking at all, some say the opposite.

While the advice varied from one vendor type to the next, due to the type of work or service they provide, the bottom line was this: ask questions, make notes, and act accordingly.

The couple may know that each vendor was hired on their own merits, but to most of the guests, as far as they know, the group of people working the wedding may as well be on one team - so everyone needs to be in sync with one another and present themselves in the most professional way possible.

andreas 2024-05-01 andreas 2024-05-01

When to book your Wedding Vendors | Wedding Planning Tips |

I know - there are hundreds of blog posts from every wedding vendor telling you to book them first - naturally.

However, there really is an order that works, and if you stick to it you’ll have less stress in the planning process.

Who gets booked first depends on what direction you’re going in with your wedding designing and planning. Are you doing it all yourself? Or are you outsourcing the design and management of the day to a planner?

If you are - then there are two vendors that you hire early on.

The first is the venue - without that you don’t have a date set in stone. You also don’t have a place to host the event…so find a venue, book it. Or, if you’re working with a wedding planner, they can do that for you early in the process of working together depending on the service you’re having them do for you.

A wedding planner is in my opinion, a worthwhile investment - depending of course on the type of wedding that you’re hosting.

So once the venue has been booked, the two other vendors that you hire are your wedding planner, and the next vendor who is a sole operator who may also be in demand. That could be anyone - the florist, DJ, musician, or even the photographer.

The best way to put together the wedding that you want, is to pick two or three people or businesses in each category and then interview them. Once you have your short list, book them all that day.

Why that day?

Because we all book up quickly.

Even if your wedding is over a year away.

Even if the service you’re hiring is only “day of planning” - booking the most important people early gets you the vendors you want.

There are vendors that have multiple options to choose from - some venues have more than one space that can be rented out, some photography studios hire students each year so they can book out multiple weddings each weekend - those types of businesses don’t need to be booked right away.

But if you’re hiring an individual - then you need to book right away.

andreas 2024-04-30 andreas 2024-04-30

The Best Way to find your Ideal Wedding Vendor.

With so much choice in every category of wedding vendor online, the process of finding the right service provider for a wedding is more difficult than it’s ever been.

So many choices.

So similar in presentation.

Sometimes when presented with too many options there isn’t a clear choice at all and we end up picking wrong.

Or, not at all.

That’s where the old school way of communicating wins.

Texts and DMs and quick email forms with a PDF of info and pricing is fine, it serves a purpose of providing a little info.

But the absolute best way of knowing if a florist, caterer, the DJ, photographer is the right person for your event, is to simply pick up the phone and have a conversation.

Why?

Because what you’re doing is inviting people into your inner circle for one big emotional rollercoaster of a day.

So find a few options of each vendor and then find a comfy spot in your house and start dialing those numbers!

The conversations you have will play a big part in the decision making process and will make things much easier for you.

You can reach me Monday to Thursday 10-4 at 416 474 5014

andreas 2024-04-29 andreas 2024-04-29

How do you know if wedding photography is “Good”?

Is it the location?

The dress designer?

The location and quality of light?

Is it the amount of photos delivered to the client?

I think the value comes from something more than volume, or how an image was styled, or what preset was applied to the image.

It comes down to connection, and being intentional in what is being captured.

Which is why for me, a huge part of what I do is get to know my clients as much as I can throughout the months (or years) before the wedding day. That’s why I always go to rehearsals or family dinners before the wedding day to get to know and understand the family dynamic.

Because for me, as a photographer of people at weddings, my interest is documenting the relationships present.

Yes - the dress, the suit, the decor, the location, all the pretty things are photographed as well, but what matters, and what will carry more weight in your life will be the images of you and your people and the time spent that one day together.

andreas 2024-04-28 andreas 2024-04-28

Dress Code for Vendors.

A few years ago I was working a wedding at a very high end golf resort in Muskoka. The guests were all dressed to match the theme of the wedding - Caribbean island chic. So lots of beautiful dresses and tailored jackets and loafers on the guys.

It was a hot day, being mid August but we were all dressed to fit in.

Except one vendor. Somehow, the videographer failed to tell his second camera operator about the importance of looking professional because he showed up in shorts, crocs and a Metallica t shirt.

Around mid way through the reception I was talking to the catering manager about the event and she commented on my outfit - and then said “the headbanger with the Metallica shirt will never work here again…I can’t believe they don’t know how to dress appropriately”

I’ve always dressed in a suit for weddings. There are times I often feel over dressed for a wedding, but I think it’s super important that we show up in the right outfit, not just because we are representing our business, but more importantly it’s a reflection on the couple, their families and the image of the venue.

Just because we think we own our own business and can do what we want, when we show up at a wedding we are part of a team and part of a vision set up by the couple for how their wedding should look and feel like.

So if you’re reading this and are a vendor, and are working at a venue you’ve never been at, a quick phone call to ask if they have outfit expectations for their vendors is a good way to make sure you fit in when you show up to their house for the day.

andreas 2024-04-25 andreas 2024-04-25

My opinion on what Wedding Photojournalism is. (And what photojournalist inspired my start in this business)

A moment that organically happened in front of me - no direction, no styling. In this scene, the bride is looking at her sister in law, while the brides sister is looking at her sister. I found this moment quite beautiful and meaningful.

Many years ago, when I was working for a commercial photographer as his retoucher, I came across a movie DVD in his studio called War Photographer. It was a documentary about James Nachtwey, a conflict/war photojournalist.

It was around this time that I’d also attended a family wedding with a few rolls of black and white film in an old Canon A1 with a 35mm lens.

This documentary, as dark and serious as it is, captured my attention. The way he got so close to such hostility and still managed to make such beautiful and riveting images really inspired me. This, in my opinion is photojournalism. While his presence in the scene does alter things slightly, he never directs, or talks to the people infant of him. He is there merely to observe and direct.

During a wedding, try as hard as we can, we can’t be completely unobtrusive or a “fly on the wall” - it just can’t happen. There is always some sort of conversation and discourse between the people in the room - it’s just human nature to engage in conversation, and a big part of what I do is engage in conversation with people in the room with me because it allows for more intimate and close imagery. If I were to simply show up and ask people to ignore me, it would feel awkward for everyone there.

I’ve done this for twenty years, and I have a pretty specific method of working that works for me.

This in my opinion is what wedding photojournalism is - arriving, getting to know those in the room, getting a feel of the level of emotion and stress in the room, and figuring out how close I can get without things getting awkward.

No matter what we do as wedding photographers, the second we arrive at your home, the energy of your wedding day changes. “The photographer is here” is often recited several times, and then in that instant, people often act a certain way knowing that they are being photographed. Eventually, everyone lets their guard down - and that’s when the great images are made.

Wedding photojournalism is NOT about creating images, directing people where to be, how to act, what to say to each other, or to re enact scenes that may have just happened. If you missed something - you missed it. Move on. As soon as you say “Oh that was cute do THAT again” - you’re a director, not a photojournalist.

Here’s a clip from War Photographer - be warned - some sensitive and potentially difficult subject matter may be shown.

documentary wedding photography, war photography, wedding photojournalist toronto, toronto documentary wedding photographer, James nachtwey