Photographing Marwa and Nick in their spacious condo was a dream. I am fortunate enough to get to work with Sweethearts Events for this particular wedding and Stephanie, along with the couple, came up with the perfect idea of making a pasta dinner from scratch and then going to the rooftop of their building for some sunset images. Nick loves to cook so a cooking themed Engagement Session seemed like the most natural thing to do. We first started in the kitchen, where the two of them made some pasta together and then topped it off with Nick’s most amazingly delicious sauce. Trust me. I know because I had some. I especially love the relaxed dinner table shots and what table setting wouldn’t be complete without some pretty blooms? Thanks to the Flower Factory for the beautiful pink ranuncula, anemone and gilded foliage bouquet which will resemble Marwa’s flowers on the wedding day.
After stuffing our faces with Marwa and Nick’s delicious pasta creation (OK, maybe it was mostly Nick’s!), it was time for a quick wardrobe change and a trip to the roof top of the Woodward’s building. We stepped out onto the terrace with some of the most breathtaking city line views I have seen. To the east, the city was awash in a golden pink with Mount Baker off in the distance and to the west, the impressive city of glass at the edge of the ocean. It was chilly and windy and I made Stephanie lean over the building to hold my reflector just so but I think it was all quite rather worth it. Thanks Stephanie!
I absolutely loved this session, it had all my favourite elements - food, flowers, fantastic light, a unique backdrop (it’s not every day I get to shoot on a roof top downtown!) and a wonderfully bright yet warm and romantic colour palette. This session was a great example of how Marwa and Nick really owned it! I like to let my couples choose their locations or activities for their Engagement Session and thinking a bit out of box is always a good idea. I highly recommend thinking about a place that has some meaning to you as a couple or doing something that you enjoy doing together to really make the session your own. It’s really important to me that you have images that reflect the nature of your relationship while creating a visual story of our time together. I also have lots of great ideas too so I often work collaboratively with my couples to achieve an awesome outcome. If you are thinking about an Engagement Session (do contact me!) or are even doing one with another photographer in the coming months, it’s super important to put a bit of thought into the where, what and why of your session to make it truly meaningful. It helps if you can work with your photographer or planner to generate some ideas and/or help to style the session as needed. For my own couples, I provide an 18-page Engagement Stylebook before the session that provides some detail from location choosing to what to wear. Planning shoots can take a bit of time, but it’s well worth the effort!
Happy planning!