Calgary Wedding Planner - Inspired Occasions » Photographers

Jodie & Jordan: Calgary Zoo Wedding

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:51:12 +0000

I am so excited to FINALLY share Jodie and Jordan’s fabulous, fun, and funky wedding that took place this summer at the Calgary Zoo. I had the privilege of working with Jodie and Jordan for 18 months to design and plan their monogram themed, green and brown wedding and I absolutely love how everything came together. These two are so in love that you can’t help but smile every time you are in the same room with them. I had an absolute blast throughout the entire process and loved every minute of their amazing wedding day. It’s couples like this that make me feel so lucky to do the amazing job that I do. A special thanks to TLAW Photography and Lifeseven Photography for capturing their day with perfection. I can’t wait to see the film that IMAGO captured of their day.

The double J monogram was a theme throughout the wedding and was incorporated onto their invitations, ceremony programs, water bottles, GOBO on the dance floor, wedding favours, and signage throughout the reception. The green uplighting, available through Inspired Occasions, dazzled their guests. As a unique touch, each table was assigned a different name or memorable locations in and around their hometown. For the back of the table cards I came up with the idea of Jodie and Jordan answering unique questions about their lives, interested, passions, hobbies, etc. We also incorporated pictures from their engagement session which added even more of a fun touch to the “he said” “she said” answers. They even kept their answers a secret from each other so that they would be as surprised as their guests. This was definitely one of my favourite unique wedding details on their special day.

I loved the “guest book” which was a tree where guests could “leaf” their thumb prints and sign their names. It went perfectly with our theme and added yet another unexpected touch. To play up their colours as well as the rustic elements in the Safari Lodge, I created centerpieces using curly willow, granny smith apples, and mini cymbidium orchids. These added instant impact when guests entered the reception room. I also incorporated apples along the front of the head table with candles interspersed in between. Their choreographed first dance upon entering the reception had everyone cheering and let their guests know they were in for a very fun celebration.

Congratulations Jodie and Jordan!

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Jacquie & Ian: Married in Banff

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:45:44 +0000

I’m so excited to share with you the details of Jacquie and Ian’s beautiful Banff wedding that took place earlier this summer. We worked with a pallet of chocolate brown, green, and deep red. The red really made the green and brown pop and provided the perfect accent to play up the colours in their venue. Jaquie and Ian wanted a wedding in the mountains as most guests would be traveling to attend and they wanted them to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Banff. The love between these two filled the air all around and it was so great to see the love and support of everyone in attendance. I had such a great time working with these two for close to a year to design and plan their warm and rustic wedding so without further ado, here are the images captured with style by TLAW Photography.

The bride’s deep red and citrus green bouquet. It looked beautiful against her blush coloured gown. I created the reception centerpieces using mini green cymbidium orchids wired onto curly willow. As luck would have it, there were plenty of orchids left over so my team and I saved some stems to be used at the ceremony (tied onto the aisle chairs) and snipped the rest for a surprise orchid toss during the couple’s recessional!

The groom’s rustic tie incorporated some curly willow. I love how this turned out!

We alternated the red rose pomanders with stems of left over cymbidium orchids. The contrast of green and red provided a vibrant punch of colour for the beautiful outdoor wedding ceremony at Tunnel Mountain, otherwise known as “the Meadow.”

Tunnel Mountain is a breathtaking setting for a wedding ceremony.

Here the newlyweds are enjoying the surprise orchid toss that my staff and I concocted. How luxe!

Stealing a kiss in the getaway car before heading off to capture some stunning images of the bride and groom.

This pallet of chocolate brown, green, and deep red was perfect for the Juniper Hotels’ Bistro where the reception was held. The tall centerpieces my team and I created added the perfect rustic, yet modern and elegant touch that the couple desired. The height really created drama in the room and drew guests eyes upwards where they were able to appreciate the stunning views outside the wall of windows facing the mountains.

I also created some low green centerpieces for one long guest table using spider and button mums. I re-purposed the red rose pomanders from the ceremony and placed them atop low square vases with green cymbidium orchids in the bottom. I flanked the ends of the head table with these and placed the remainder in the bar lounge area. They looked great at the reception!

We brought in a touch of the deep red with the table numbers, which played up the leaf pattern in the sheer chocolate overlays used on all of the guest tables.

I always like to think of unique ideas for the backs of the table numbers to give guests something interesting to look at and read. For Jacquie and Ian’s wedding, we put bios of the wedding party on the back. This was a great way for guests to get to know these guests of honour and why they are such treasured people in Jacquie and Ian’s lives.

The cake was covered in green cymbidium orchids with deep red throats and was placed atop a tree trunk cake plate. It was the perfect compliment to the overall wedding design and mighty delicious too. We had a custom lime flavour created for Jacquie and Ian’s wedding that was green in colour and also offered a raspberry ripple option that played up the red colour. Both were summery and fresh and were a treat to the eyes when sliced.

During the cocktail hour guests enjoyed a signature red martini as well as a non-alcoholic ginger limeade that was green in colour.

Here are the ceremony pomanders at work decorating the cocktail space.

Tray passed hors d’oeuvres were enjoyed by guests during the cocktail hour and let them know that they were in for a delicious meal.

In order to get the bride and groom to kiss, guests had to stand up and demonstrate how they wanted Jacquie and Ian to kiss. Needless to say this was very entertaining and led to some passionate kissing.

After dinner Jacquie and Ian got the party going by performing a choreographed first dance as well as a fun a flirty choreographed second dance with their wedding party which resulted in guests getting up and joining in. The dance floor was packed for the remainder of the night. Just as night was falling, Jacquie and Ian snuck outside with their photographer for some stunning twilight photos.

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Jennie & Shane – Lake Louise Wedding

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:16:58 +0000

I am so excited to share Jennie and Shane’s beautiful Chateau Lake Louise wedding that happened this past weekend. I spent close to a year working with Jennie and Shane to design and plan their spectacular wedding day and I must admit that I loved every minute of it! I was first contacted by Jennie while she was finishing her PhD in the USA and due to scheduling she wasn’t able to attend the initial consultation. We emailed back and forth and I could tell that she was someone I would love to work with. Luckily I had the opportunity to meet with Shane while Jennie was still in the USA finishing up her studies. I was so excited after this initial meeting about the possibility of planning and designing his and Jennie’s wedding at the Chateau Lake Louise.

When Jennie returned to Calgary I had the opportunity to meet with her and I we totally clicked! Anyone who knows Jennie and Shane knows that they are two of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. These two are clearly very much in love and their excitement about getting married after 12 years of dating was contagious. I knew that they were interviewing several Calgary wedding planners and designers and so I had my fingers crossed that the great connection I felt was reciprocated. I was over the moon excited when I learned that they had chosen me as their wedding designer and wedding planner out of the several that they had met with and interviewed.

Jennie and Shane were married on July 17, 2010. She was the picture of bridal elegance in her Vera Wang gown and he looked dapper in his chocolate brown suit, complete with coral tie. I remember going to the bridal salons with Jennie as she tried on the top contenders. When she walked out in her Vera her face absolutely glowed and it was obvious that this was her dress! She adorned her gown with a sparkly broach which took this already gorgeous dress to a whole new level. It was sheer perfection.

When their photographer, Wei, of Photobolic asked me to describe their wedding design I told him it would be beautiful and elegant with a touch of whimsy and a dash of rustic. Regardless of how you choose to describe it, Jennie and Shane’s wedding was a day filled with love and laughter and was the perfect celebration to honour a couple so happy and in love you can’t help but be filled with the warm fuzzies just being around them!

The day before the wedding was grey and rainy in Lake Louise and I have to admit I was starting to feel a little nervous about what mother nature had in store but the day of their nuptials was sunny and blue skies from dawn till tusk and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

I loved the subtle pink hue of Jennie’s dress and the soft, flowy layers; perfect for a mountain wedding.

I love this image of Shane and his parents. It really shows how happy EVERYONE was that the big day was finally here.

Such a spectacular setting for a wedding.

The entire wedding party was relaxed throughout the day and had a great time.

Jennie was the calmest bride I have ever met. Nothing mattered except getting married to her best friend and enjoying the day she had waited so long for.

She was stunning!

I had so much fun designing Jennie and Shane’s Chateau Lake Louise wedding. The colour scheme of green, brown and coral was a delight and we were all so excited to see the lollipop seating card boxes come to life. They were amazing!

The ballroom was gorgeous and the guests raved about all of the details that came together to create Jennie and Shane’s signature event. The custom coral lighting added incredible warmth and elegance and was the perfect compliment to the overall design. We alternated the stunning floral centerpieces between high and low to add visual interest and the guests loved the orchid we carefully placed on each napkin. The details definitely dazzled, the couple was thrilled, and their guests kept commenting about how this wedding was the best they had ever attended…this is exactly what an Inspired Occasions wedding is all about!

Check out their custom M&M’s. Not only did they have their names, their wedding date, and “I DO” printed on them, they also had their picture!!!

We incorporated the design from all of their stationery products onto the cake topper. It tied everything together perfectly!

The reception was one big party and everyone had a blast!

Congratulations Jennie and Shane!

Happy New Year!

admin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:28:00 +0000

Another fabulous year has come and gone. I am grateful for all of the adventures and accomplishments of 2008 and hope 2009 brings much happiness, peace and love to everyone.

In celebration of this special day I thought I would share some stunning images from Kristina and Ben’s New Year’s Eve wedding photographed by Alberta’s own Whitley Goodman Photography one year ago today. This talented duo is based out of Edmonton, AB which is the perfect setting for a snow blanketed park in which to capture a romantic sunset image such as the one pictured below.

Cheers to the New Year and happy first anniversary Kristina and Ben!

All images courtesy of Whitley Goodman Photography blog.

Just Married

admin — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:50:00 +0000

Announce your new “Just Married” status in a big way! I love these images from Whitney Lee via Offbeat Bride. Think outside of the box and find distinct ways to express your unique personalities…after all it is YOUR big day.

Win a Free Portrait Session in Calgary!

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:03:00 +0000

If you are located in Calgary (or planning to visit anytime soon) swing by t law photography’s blog to enter a contest to win a free one hour portrait session. It’s super easy to enter and who doesn’t love free stuff? To learn more about Terence’s style and what kind of pictures you can expect check out t law photography’s website here.

Love is in the Details…

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:11:00 +0000

Claire Cocheme, a local photographer here in Calgary, was kind enough to send over this gorgeous montage of images she captured at the recent wedding of Jenna and Mike held at the Palliser Hotel. Red roses are a classic symbol of love…how romantic. I think these details would be perfect for an upcoming Christmas or Valentine’s inspired wedding too! If you haven’t checked out Claire’s blog lately, definitely stop by. She has captured some amazing images this fall with the changing colours and gorgeous sunlight. Pure bliss….