What a week!

Wow. What a week we just had. Chris is pretty modest so I get to talk about the exciting projects we've had the opportunity to work on recently. A favourite bride and groom, a major political conference and a Royal Visit by the King and Queen of Sweden to name a few!

After Melissa and Darryl's wedding we just kept going and didn't stop until a much needed break this past weekend. Last Monday we met with Jory and Adam to talk about their wedding next June. We were really pleased that Jory's parents Deb and Barry came too. Jory's sister Amanda was one of our brides this summer (check her out on the 3rd picture on our homepage slideshow - it's one of my favourites). I can't wait for Jory and Adam's engagement session this Friday. We've planned a fun night in Niagara Falls, complete with fireworks and dinner at The Famous in the Fallsview Casino. Stay tuned for their slideshow!

Tuesday was the start of the Ontario Economic Summit in Niagara-on-the-Lake and we had the opportunity to provide coverage for the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. We work closely with the St. Catharines Chamber so it was really cool to get this assignment! Chris has awesome shots of Dalton McGuinty, the Premier of Ontario as well as several important delegates. What a great experience and we loved working with Scott and the Ontario Chamber.

He covered the event until Thursday morning and went straight to Peller Estates Winery. The King and Queen of Sweden, along with their Swedish delegation, were in Niagara-on-the-Lake for a visit with the Lord Mayor and his guests. We were really excited to be there and have the chance to work with the Lord Mayor, although I have to say I thought we were on Candid Camera when his office called! It was also great seeing Janice from the NOTL Chamber. I think every business should be involved with their local Chamber!

Thursday night we attended the St Catharines Chamber's Awards Dinner. Chris was nominted for the Young Entrepreur Award. Congrats to Adam Shields from Business Link (it really is an honour to be nominated) for bringing home the award. I was lucky enough to bring home a gorgeous orchid (thanks John) although I'm not sure what its life expectancy is...

This weekend was family time and of course getting ready for Halloween! I have to say our pumpkins are hands-down the best on the block. We had a blast hanging out with the kids and I loved taking the time to cook some yummy dinners for everyone. I'm off to Halloween parties at their school so stay tuned for updates!


Amanda

Melissa and Darryl

It's Sunday afternoon and we just couldn't wait to do a slideshow for Melissa and Darryl. We wanted to get this online so they can check it out before their honeymoon. Click here to view their slideshow.

Their wedding yesterday was awesome and we had a blast covering it. We'd definitely describe them as easy going and down to earth, and the pictures show it!

Chris and I suggested making a quick stop at the Green Ribbon Trail en route to the reception at Hernder Estates Winery. We were so glad that Melissa and Darryl were up for it. We couldn't resist using the fall colours as a backdrop, and fortunately the rain held off just long enough. I did my magic trick of bringing out the umbrellas for everyone-that's always when the sun decides to come back out. A special thanks to Tom for keeping everyone happy with a much needed Tim Horton's coffee run!

As we looked over Melissa and Darryl's wedding pictures late last night and again this morning I can't help but be reminded why we do this. It's the emotion of the day and the memories it holds that we work so hard to capture. We were overwhelmed by how welcoming Melissa and Darryl, as well as their families and friends were to us yesterday. It was truly heart-warming to hear from so many people that we did a great job and they enjoyed having us be a part of the day. We felt like a part of the family by the end of the night. Any chance we'd get an invite to the warm and sunny honeymoon? I keep waiting but no one seems to ask...:-)

I know I speak for Chris too when I say the pleasure was all ours guys, and thank you for including us!

Congrats to Melissa and Darryl!
Amanda and Chris

Icewine sure is sticky...

Today was spent working with wine...icewine actually. Our friends over at Chimpanzee, (a really amazing graphic design firm as well as being really great people) were in need of some shots of icewine. Icewine in glasses, bottles, all kinds of cool stuff. Amanda and I set up the studio and got to work. We wanted to get some really nice, classic looking "pour shots", where the wine is flowing into the glass and looking all pretty. Well, it turns out some people are better at pouring then others. The icewine glass we had was quite narrow, and some of us (AMANDA!) were having a little (LOT) of trouble getting the wine into the glass. So we spilt more then we poured for a while but got the hang of it by the end. Now our studio smells quite sweet (due to the high sugar content in the wine) but a bit like a winery. The shots turned out great though.

Here are a few of the images from the shoot. I didn't include the first one Amanda did...(I don't think any of the wine got in the glass!)

Lara and Eric - Album

Hi Everyone,

Here is our most recent wedding album. As Amanda says below we had a great day with Lara and Eric.

Click here to view wedding

Lara and Eric!

What an absolutely perfect wedding Lara and Eric had this weekend. We knew they'd be great to work with as soon as we met them and it was no surprise that their families were lovely too.

The weather was all over the place on Saturday- from rain to freezing rain mixed with sudden bursts of sunshine. It didn't stop anyone from having a great time and Chris captured some amazing shots!! I don't think they stopped laughing and smiling all day. You can actually see the hail coming down in one of the shots below, as Eric lovingly covers Lara with an umbrella as they walked through the park. As they were having a quiet moment together the sun brilliantly appeared and it's one of my favourite shots of the day! Lara's sister Stephanie and Eric's brother Nevin (and his sweet girlfriend Pei) didn't complain once as they shivered in the park, right across the street from Niagara Falls!

As Chris was taking some cool shots of Lara and Eric overlooking the Niagara River I spotted a double decker bus in the parking lot. We couldn't resist the opportunity to have some fun and take over the bus! (a special thanks to the very sweet driver who said yes to my request) I loved this spontaneous moment and how enthusiastic they were to everything.

Chris and I share our wedding anniversary with Lara and Eric (Chris likes to tell everyone we got married in 2000 so he'll always remember how long he's been married...). I can't think of a better way to celebrate than by watching two people in love exchange their vows and begin a new life together. It reminded me why we're in this business and what a blessing it is to be a part of such special moments.

Thank you, Lara and Eric, for allowing us to be a part of it.

Amanda

Secrets Seminar a success

We just got back from the Secrets to success Seminar and it was amazing! Such great speakers (Jeff Jochum, Skip Cohen and Mike Colon) and they were all really interesting. We got to meet and talk with Mike and Skip and even snapped a quick photo. They were all so giving of their time and knowledge and we can't wait to apply what we learned to our business.

Here is a shot of me, Mike Colon and Amanda. Thanks Mike, it was great to meet you. We hope that we will be able to visit you at one of your 4 day seminars next year.

In Cleveland to See Mike Colon

Amanda and I have just arrived in Cleveland fresh from our 3 1/2 hour drive from Fonthill, Ontario Canada. Why are we here you ask? We are increasing our education at a seminar. One of the key reasons we are here though is photographer Mike Colon. As we have been researching other photographers out there, he is one of our favourites. And in reading about him in articles and on his blog we have consistantly been impressed with his giving nature, with helping other photographers and sharing in sucesses. I remember reading an article where Mike was mentioning how great it is with photographers these days, who are sharing secrets, techniques, stories and more. When I read this I thought "how exciting!"

When Amanda and I started out we were hesitant about booking weddings. We didn't know what to expect and we weren't sure that we wanted to go down the wedding road. Now, after we have shot a bunch of weddings, and from reading and learning from the greats (Mike Colon, Gary Fong, David Jay, David Beckstead) we love it! The excitment, the energy, everything that makes the wedding day.

Well, room service just came with our lunch. Must eat and then head out to the seminar.

Here is a shot of Amanda checking out Mike's Blog in our hotel room. I think she is just as excited as I am!

Balls Falls Show going great

This show is amazing! There are people from all over attending this show. We have had people from all over the Niagara Region, as well as Hamilton, Burlington, Toronto and even some people from the States. Everyone is loving our images! We have set up a really cool elephant shot in one of the frames and people are raving about it. The landscapes are really popular too.

Here are a few images from the show yesterday. Our kids Matthew and Sydney were there all day helping out. They were even handing out our brochures for us. They totally had the "cute factor" working in their favour as they said "Be sure to visit our website at chrisbeardphotography.ca". This show even had live entertainment.

Well, I've got to get back to work. Talk to everyone soon.

It's a great day!

Good morning everyone!

Wow! What a beautiful day it is out there! I just got back from setting up our booth at the 32nd annual Balls Falls Thanksgiving Craft Show (this weekend Oct 6-9). There are all kinds of cool booths (including ours!), pony rides, music, magic shows and more, all in the idyllic setting of Balls Falls. It's going to be great! Come on down and check us out.

On another quick note I wanted to share with you a really neat new product we are offering. Custom designed fine art wedding and engagement books. Here is a sample of our first one. It is from Jennifer and Malcolm's wedding (two really fantastic people - we had a blast at their wedding!).

So without further delay, here is the book. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks. Email us or post a comment below. Thanks!

Chris

Time to blog!

Hi Everyone. Welcome to our new blog!

So Amanda (my wife for those of you who haven't met her) and I were talking about how everyone is so busy these days. So many people we know are like us...running our own business, raising kids, trying to fit in a social life...and so many ways to communicate, mail, email, cell phones, blackberries and then add in all the networking events - woah! It's enough to drive you crazy!

So to cut to the chase...we decided to keep people in the loop on what we are up to business-wise and voila! The Chris Beard Photography Blog is born.

We've had a pretty cool couple of weeks. We've just posted images from the "Savour Niagara" event a few weeks ago. (thanks to Josie from the "Small Business Club" for thinking of us!) It was awesome! It was great to see so many wineries, breweries, restaurants all in one place promoting their products. We also had a really great engagement session this weekend (Chris and Joy said they were nervous, but you'd never know it when you look at the pictures) and have been meeting with brides for upcoming October weddings.

Once again, a warm welcome to our blog. Be sure to check back often.

Chris and Amanda