(here’s my favourite shot from Nick and Christina’s wedding this summer.)

1.  How long before the wedding should the florist be booked?

Every florist requests a different time line. At Sweet Violets we have a more relaxed approach to weddings. We begin to meet brides in the New Year leading up to their wedding. For example we will meet with a June 2012 In January 2012. We find this gives us plenty of time to come up with fresh ideas, quote and finalize all of the brides wedding details.

2.  What’s the biggest benefit to hiring a professional?

There are major benefits to hiring a florist for your wedding. First and foremost they will ensure the highest quality product and design for the wedding day. Florists have a very close relationship with their suppliers. We know weeks in advance when the product will arrive and what the quality is projected to be. If by chance a brides flowers arrive and they are not up to our standards we have many routes to take to ensure the product can and will be replaced. Something else to consider when deciding between DIY or a professional florist is weather. Not many people have the proper refrigeration to store such a large and expensive array of flowers. The majority of weddings in Canada do take place during the summer months. Heat/humidity and flowers do not mix.

3.  What is the most important question you think a potential client should be asking their florist?

The most important question a bride can ask a florist.: do you have an updated portfolio? This allows the bride to get an idea of the style and techniques the florist can provide.

4.  What’s something most clients are surprised by when they’re hiring their florist?

I think the biggest surprise a bride can expect from hiring a florist is the cost. In my experience the quote is never as much as they expect. Bride/groom must remember to weigh the pros and cons of hiring a professional.

Sweet Violets is located at 38 Wilson Street, Guelph, Ontario.

phone: 519.767.1815

When I heard about fresh images boudoir sessions, I thought it would be a great anniversary gift for my boyfriend.  I was a bit nervous leading up to the shoot; I’m not one to get fleshy in front of others (except on the beach, which is a little less out-of-the-ordinary!).

I felt self-conscious at first at the shoot, too.  But then Margie started doing her thing.  She made me feel incredibly comfortable, I didn’t feel sleazy or like she was “leering” at me…it felt natural and Margie was extremely professional.  It ended up being fun despite my initial nervousness!

I felt like a model. I felt beautiful.  And the makeup was amazing, too!  After doing the shoot I would totally recommend my friends doing it, too.  The session ended up being a present for myself as well.

When I look at all of the pictures, I can’t believe that it’s me in them.  Margie made me look beautiful, she made me feel beautiful, and I see a sexiness in me in that I never saw before.  My boyfriend thought they were hot, and friends that looked at them couldn’t believe their eyes.  Seriously.

fresh images boudoir sessions always include:

• e-mail or phone consultations prior to your session
• a 1 hour private photo session with me, Margie McLean
• unlimited wardrobe changes
• make-up by jacha minerals
• jacha minerals lipstick or gloss and correcting powder ($56 value)
• champagne

This time of year is pretty popular for boudoir sessions and they’re especially fun when you decide to come with a girlfriend or two.  For more information, send me an e-mail or give me a call at 519.760.1653

I had keywords in my google reader, I kept bookmarks of things I liked, and had files for inspiration.  Pinterest makes the organization of all my random inspiration so easy.  I love the way you’re able to curate your own board from images you love on the web, images you see on Pinterest and images you upload yourself.  It’s one of the best tools I’ve seen for making your own inspiration boards and if you haven’t already joined, I highly recommend you do so.  Once you get over being overwhelmed by it, it will make your wedding ideas so easy to streamline, locate, and see in one place.

My Pinterest username is freshimages (duh!)  Follow me if you’re up for it!  Have a great Friday!

Think about it…amazing, right?!

If you’re having trouble figuring out where to start with your wedding planning, give me a call.  Design consultations are available at fresh images.  Have an absolutely fabulous weekend!

When hiring a wedding photographer, I always say that there are three things that are extremely important.

1.  Go with your gut.  If you have a gut feeling about them being the photographer for you, they probably will be.

2.  Know that it’s an emotional decision.  Your rings and your photographs are two of the lasting things you’ll have to take with you after the process of planning and having a wedding is over.  You want to love your images.  If you can picture the photographer you’re considering hiring making your images and you get emotional about it, they’re probably a good choice.  Put yourself in the images they’re showing you and decide if that’s how you want your wedding to feel.

3.  You have to like them.  Seriously.  You spend as much time on your wedding day with your photographer as you do with your partner.  Why would you want to spend the most important day of your life so far, with someone you don’t really like?

I would absolutely love to have the opportunity to photograph your most important day (so far)!  Please contact me for more details.

~margie

($600 value), some restrictions apply.  Please contact Margie for details!

Posting my five faves last week and my year in review in cell phone pictures reminded me how much I love taking pictures.  So why have I done so little last year?  My purse is big enough to lug around my camera, I carry my cell phone on me every day, but I just stopped thinking about it.  The joy I get from capturing the moments and details in a families history doesn’t go away when it comes to my family, but I have surprisingly few photographs of them.  (It doesn’t help that all but two hate having their photo taken and protest every time I get out my camera or even my cell phone.)  I love photos.  I have them all around me.  I believe that our collective history can be shared with one another in this way, but last year I fell short.    Last year I made excuses.  Last year, I forgot why I started fresh images in the first place.

It was because I couldn’t NOT take pictures.  When I had my a’ha moment at my sister Sara’s wedding and realized that this was what I was meant to do, I wasn’t wrong.  It was, after all, an a’ha moment.  But in 2011, I let being busy get in the way.  This year, the goal for fresh images is to be even busier, the goal I have for myself; to remember why I love photography and celebrate it.  I am committed to making photographs I love, whether they’re on my camera, my cellphone, in my front yard, or on an ordinary grey day.  This year, I am going to take more pictures.

Here are a few of my efforts so far…