This picture isn’t a stylized wedding photo. It’s a total candid shot from Brooke _ Richard’s wedding day, and we love it! You can see the love in Richard’s gaze as he watches his wife pose for the camera. You can see that Brooke is posing in a somewhat cheeky fashion – which totally captures her essence! And you can see how the wine has started to take effect on the wedding party. I just love this picture – it makes me smile each time I see it because I remember what an amazing day these two had. Many memories were captured that day, and the majority of them happened organically (except the few traditional structured shots).

Many times you will see Wedding Coordinators, Planners or Stylists team up with other industry providers like Photographers and florists to create stylized wedding photos, and although we think they are beautiful, creative and ooze a ton of talent, we’re not a huge fan of them. Want to know why?

Stylized wedding photos give a false perception of what weddings really are. Weddings are joyous occasions that are flooded with pretty little details, beautiful people and jaw-dropping landscapes or venues, but in reality; your wedding day has a very high chance of not unfolding with complete precision like a stylized photo does. People will make silly faces, plans will slightly change as the day goes on, and nice weather is never promised.

Now, no disrespect to those that put a lot of time, money and passion into stylized wedding photos because that’s not what we’re trying to do here. What we are trying to do is make sure that as a Bride, you know that these photos were intended to be perfect. Your wedding day will also be perfect, but in a different way. We would hate for Bride’s to be misguided on what a real wedding looks like. Photographers are very talented and with today’s technology can make your photos look like they came out of a magazine, but when you are planning your wedding, we urge you to look at these stylized photos for inspiration and ideas, but not as something to compare your big day to. It’s just the same as looking at a perfectly fit celebrity. It takes hard work, a personal chef, trainer and a ton of airbrushing to make them look that good. You know that’s not how they look when they wake up, so don’t think that your wedding will look perfect either at very glance. Your vendors (including us!) will do the best we can to ensure your plans, instructions and vision come to life, but know that once you open the doors to your reception, your perfectly set favours will disappear, your menu cards will get read and tossed aside and a centerpiece might get removed by your Uncle Ted who felt he couldn’t see his blushing bride of a niece from across the room , and so that image of perfection is gone.

Executing a wedding always has it’s surprises, like; a thunderstorm rolling in just half hour before the outdoor ceremony, a clumsy bridesmaid spilling red wine on the gift table draped in white linen just mere moments before guests arrive and a cake made of buttercream melting in the summer heat. These sort of things happen and it’s our job as your Coordinators to ensure that we tackle these issues in a professional way and always have a back-up plan so that your day can continue on – but things happen, that is life.

So, basically all we’re asking is that you make sure you know the difference between what’s real and what’s staged. And remember, that your wedding day is a day of perfect love, not perfection. That your guests will notice the love between you and your groom and not the fact that you have 6 roses in your bouquet when you asked for 8 just like the photo you pinned on Pinterest. Make your wedding day reflect who you are as a couple, not what you desire it to be because of something you saw online.

Use stylized wedding photos as inspiration, and trust us when we say that you will look at your wedding photos and think they look even better than anything you tore out of a magazine or saved from a blog.