We are still in Thailand but thought we owed you a short post to deliver some news… obviously the title of this post has given it away, but here it is again: WE’RE ENGAGED! Also, we sort of got married… let me go into a little more detail!

Daniel and I have had more than enough opportunities to discuss what we’d like to do when it was our turn to get hitched, and we thought we’d like to do things a little differently since we make a living going to weddings. I had shared with him that my dream proposal would consist of a ring and a pair of tickets to Vegas. Well, much to my surprise, on Christmas eve, Daniel presented me with a small box under the tree and proposed in the presence of my parents and sister. I have to admit to being a little disappointed as this was not what I had imagined… at least not for us! He surprised me further a few hours later by telling me that we were leaving for Vegas a week and a half later and that Ben Chrisman, our favorite photographer, was going to meet us there.

So on January 4th, at 3pm, Daniel and I got legally married at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas in the presence of Ben Chrisman, our one and only witness. As tacky as we had imagined that it would be (and it was!) it was also extremely romantic as it felt like there was no one else in the world but the two of us.

We have been traveling since then, first to L.A., then to Bangkok, northern Thailand, and now we are “beaching” it in the south. We are also planning our “real” wedding which will take place in about 2 years, likely in Mexico. You didn’t think we’d let ourselves miss out on planning a wedding, did you? So although we are married on paper, we still see ourselves as engaged. We haven’t exchanged rings or said vows in front of friends and family yet, and we believe that this is what it’ll take for us to REALLY be married! After all, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from what we do, it’s that a wedding and a marriage mean different things to different people.

Enjoy the photos, courtesy of our idol, Ben Chrisman (and check out his blog, we’re on it!).

We can take up to 3 weddings on the same day, so there’s at least 1 availability for most dates for 09. However, the following dates are completely booked:

- July 25th
- August 8th
- August 22nd
- September 12th
- September 19th

Hopefully this will help couples plan their wedding. We appreciate everyone’s patience. Check back often as we’ll put up photos of the trip!
Daniel & Davina

Shea & Greg’s wedding was photographed by Davina Palik and Daniel Kudish

After a wonderful but exhausting trip to Dubai and Egypt, Daniel and I are happy to be home and back to work. We of course missed all of you! Our trip was truly amazing, everything and more that we had hoped for. We had adventures unlike any we had ever experienced; from riding camels around the Great Pyramids to riding dune buggies and sandboarding in the desert outside Dubai, we are both so grateful to have had the opportunity to do all of this so early in our lives. And of course, we took hundreds of photos to document it all. Here are a few of us (for once!):

So we’ve gotten right back into the swing of things since we returned, shooting a wedding the day after we arrived. We’re busy catching up on emails and phone calls we missed, and all the editing that piled up. Which reminds me, I want to take this opportunity to make a public announcement: If you are the bride who contacted us about your wedding in 2010 to Noah, please contact us again! I am so ashamed to make all my potential clients aware of this, but we lost your email! I swear this has never happened before, and thankfully I have an excellent memory! I remember your fiances name as I met him a few years ago (we both graduated from Concordia Journalism). I tried contacting him but I’m not sure I have the right number… I’m so sorry!

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. We make mistakes. Shocking, I know. We hope you’ll let this one slide!

I leave you with that, and hope that we might inspire some of you to have your own adventure, big or small!

All kidding aside, there has been some serious business going on here. Following the article on Bridal Network, we’ve had a few more shout outs from a few bridal magazines wishing to feature us. We were in this month’s Wedding Bells and are set to be featured in a few more coming up soon, so I’ve been busy answering many questions (but as I’m sure you already know, I have no problem talking; especially when it’s to brag about us!) I was also interviewed by a Dawson student who wished to feature us for a school project on a “significant” photography studio in Montreal. We were very flattered to have him choose us out of all the great talent in this city.

Now for the visual portion of this program, I’m afraid I’m going to have to be lazy and refer you to our featured weddings page. Check out the photos of Catherine and Charles (shot by Daniel and I), Eve and Wes (again Daniel and I) as well as Marie-Helene and Ashraf (shot by Frances and I). All these couples gave us tremendous creative freedom with their photos and never once questioned us. As I’ve mentioned before, this gives us the best environment possible to work in, giving the couples the best possible results. Daniel and I joked many times that Eve was our biggest fan from the moment she signed with us, especially after her engagement shots, and we sure hope we lived up to her expectations! Marie-Helene and Ashraf you may remember from a few posts ago when Daniel shot their engagement session. They were as willing for anything on their wedding day with Frances and I; evening taking off their shoes and getting into the fountain across from the Palais des Congres! They were also so sweet and gave us as well as Francois the videographer the cutest place cards ever! Details like this make us feel so wonderfully valued and we can’t thank them enough for their hospitality. Check out the place cards below… These couples were all so great to work with and we truly appreciate their confidence in us!

One last announcement before I go… Daniel and I are going to be away in New York the week of October 20th for a photography show where we will meet with various vendors in hopes of continuing to offer better service and products to our beloved clients… (how’s that for a good PR sentence, huh?!) The following week, we will be away for two weeks in Dubai and Cairo. I write this so casually, but you should know that I beam stupidly at my computer screen as I type this as I am SO excited! We plan on visiting a few of Egypt’s highlights and the best of Dubai in the short time that we’ll be there including visiting the pyramids and riding a camel as these are both of my life to-do list! You can be sure that we’ll have plenty to blog about when we get back! In the meantime, try not to miss us too much…!

Just a quick post to let you know that we’re being featured on Bridal Network as of, let’s see, about 5 minutes ago! Behold my print journalism experience at work – at last – (I wrote the article) and of course, our photos!

Check it out: http://bride.ca/wedding-ideas/index.cfm/2008/9/10/Montreal-Wedding-A-Tale-of-Two-Travelers#more

As always, your comments are welcome, here and on Bridal Network.

NOTE: We can handle anything that comes our way when it comes to taking pictures; these are simply recommendations we make based on all the weddings we’ve attended.

Q: We are having the reception in a generic hall that doesn’t really reflect our taste.

A: Invest in extra lighting. Companies like ShowDesign (http://showdesign.ca) can put up drapery and reflect lights of different colors onto it to create great ambient light. If you have a smaller budget, even placing spotlights every few feet around the room can make a big difference.

Q: We have a huge guest list. How can we make sure there are pictures of everybody?

A: Consider reserving our photobooth for 200$. Guests always absolutely love it, it creates additional entertainment for them, and it ensures that you’ll have a picture of everyone who takes the time to pass by it. While we do our best to take photos of the guests (usually during cocktail hour when guests are relaxed and enjoying themselves), taking individual pictures of every guest at large weddings takes us away from capturing the day itself so this is a good option to consider.

Q: We don’t have a clear theme and the colors we’d like to use don’t necessarily all match.

A: To give the wedding a cohesive feel, considering using your wedding colors and the colors of the ceremony or reception location in a pattern. Wedding planner Elyna Kudish of Unity Weddings (http://unity-weddings.com) did this for Pascale and JF by using a pattern for the invitations and table cards; bringing together the pinks in the bride’s bouquet, reds in the reception hall, and the blue of the bridesmaids’ dresses.

Q: What should the guys wear? Should they all match? Should the groom be different?

A: From a photography perspective, the groom need not match his groomsmen or vice versa. Personally, we like the look of tailored suits instead of the rented tuxes that don’t always fit right and come with limited options for vests and ties. For one wedding, the groomsmen all wore suits to work so for the wedding, they each wore one of their gray suits with matching, solid pink ties. The effect of the different shades of gray was quite lovely and the matching ties provided unity and differentiated them from the other guests. As for the groom, whether or not he should match his groomsmen is entirely up to you. Many couples will opt for more elaborate or simply different boutonniere for the groom which often does the trick. We love the work of Flore (http://flore.qc.ca) who also make amazing centerpieces (they made our flower arrangement at the show).

Hope this is helpful! Feel free to ask more questions and we’ll be happy to give you our advice.