Beautiful Banff Wedding

Check out this beautiful story board of a recent Banff wedding photographed by the immensely talented Rafal of RW Photo.  If you are a Calgary bride perhaps you are considering or currently planning a mountain wedding in Banff.  If you are not a local but are looking for stunning backdrop for your destination wedding then perhaps Banff, Alberta is the location for you!  Surrounded by breathtaking scenery and stunning mountain views, Banff is the destination of choice of a growing number of brides.  It offers venues ranging from grand and elegant to rustic and comfortable to intimate and sophisticated.  No matter what your wedding day vision or budget, Banff has something to offer every bride and groom to make their wedding day a dream come true.  If you are looking for assistance in planning your perfect Banff wedding we would love to help.  Contact us at Inspired Occasions for your free initial meeting.  We would love to hear all about your plans for your once in a life time wedding celebration.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Photo: Alan Maudie

Bridal Beauty

There are very few times in a woman's life when she will feel as beautiful as she does on her wedding day.  In order for your full beauty to shine you need to feel comfortable and confident in your photographer's ability to capture you at your most radiant.  Take a look at these stunning images captured by Calgary wedding photographer Rafal Wegiel. 
I love everything about this first image.  The beauty, the history, the stillness, the power.  

I am a huge fan of day after wedding shoots (trash the dress as they are known in some circles) where you can really rock your wedding dress and do things you might not otherwise.  It always makes for memorable photos and lots of fun!

All Photos: RW Photo

Celebrate Your Love with Engagement Photos

Engagement season is in full swing.  Did you know that the majority of engagements occur between December and February?  That being the case I thought I would feature some cool and colourful engagement photos to inspire you.  Engagement photos are a great opportunity to showcase your love, your personalities and your interests.  They are also the perfect opportunity to get comfortable in front of the camera before your wedding day ensuring you'll look nothing short of your very best.   So find a photographer whose style you love and have fun with it!

Photo: Claire Cocheme

Photo: Alan Maudie

Photo: tlaw photography

Photo: As I See it Photography

Amazing Valentine's Day Contest - Boudoir Photos

If you have ever wanted to feel glamorous, beautiful, and sensual than I have the contest for you!  Erica Tait is once again holding a contest on her boudoir blog and it is definitely something you don't want to miss out on.  The winner will receive a free boudoir photo session complete with hair and make-up AND a custom album complete with your stunning images. Erica is truly professional and will make even the shyest among you feel confident and beautiful!  She knows how to photograph a woman's body and will highlight your best features. You will look like a model in a magazine, only better!  I had the privilege of booking Erica to take boudoir photos of me just over a year ago and I couldn't get over how amazing she made me look.  Her talent is immense.  Combine that with being professional and one of the nicest people you could hope to meet and you have a recipe for a once in a life time experience.  Hurry over to her blog for details on how to enter.  If you aren't the lucky winner then you should definitely sign up for one of her boudoir marathons.  You won't be disappointed!

Photo: Erica Tait

The Story from Behind

With some wedding dresses the real story is told from behind.  Check out these amazing real brides rocking some stunning gowns with glorious, glorious details!

I LOVE the vintage feel of this first one and the sumptuous details dripping from the train.

WOW!  This wedding dress is equal parts stunning and sassy and this bride definitely knows how to work it.

First two photos credit: Fuller Edge

This last dress is one part classic, one part elegant, and dash of sexy thrown in for good measure...simply divine. 

Photo credit: Orange Girl Photographs

Bye Bye Wedding Dress

By now you have probably heard about Trash the Dress photo sessions.  These occur following the wedding, sometimes the next day and sometimes down the road, perhaps on your first anniversary.  They are an opportunity to capture some unique and artistic images of you (and your groom if he's up for it) rocking your wedding attire in ways that you might not have felt comfortable doing on your wedding day.  I prefer to think of them as Rock the Dress sessions since the word "trash" scares a lot of people and these sessions do not have to harm your dress in any way.  I myself did one of these sessions the day after my wedding and I LOVED IT!!!  It was such an invigorating process and I couldn't have been more thrilled with the end result.  I highly recommend doing one (and no my dress did not get trashed even though we were in a lake and rolling around in sand)!  It was a great opportunity for my husband and I to spend some quality one-on-one time following the whirlwind of the wedding day and we got some stunning images that we look at on a daily basis.  (I'll post some images from my very own Rock the Dress session in the coming weeks).  

Enough about me though...the reason for this post is I am so excited about a new joint venture between Confetti Films and Edward Ross Photography that I just had to share!  These two companies have collaborated on a new project called Bye Bye Wedding Dress.  Not only will you have the opportunity to have beautiful fashion forward images taken of you and your spouse by Edward and his team, you also will receive a stunning cinematography style film created to capture your session.  Just to be clear I am not talking about videography, I'm talking cinematography.  If you have ever wanted to feel like a movie star in a major motion picture, Confetti Films is the company to go to.  They are true artists and they don't just film, they tell a story...your story.  The combined talent of Edward Ross Photography and Confetti Films is out of this world.  In fact I can't stop thinking about the images and film they created back in December.  (The four pictures featured above are from this very session.  You'll have to visit Confetti Films blog to check out their video clip...it is definitely worth the trip).  I am seriously trying to figure out how long it will take me to lose enough weight to fit back into my wedding dress so that my hubby and I can have our very own Bye Bye Wedding Dress session.