Our favourite bride ever...

It's official. Our little girl's in love. About a week ago Sydney proudly announced that she was planning to marry her friend Colin, much to our surprise and amusement. They've been friends for about a year and a half - a very long time when you're 4. Colin's older brother Ethan is friends with our son Matthew so we were all pretty pleased with her choice of grooms.

Like most brides Syd went into planning mode as soon as the engagement was official. We were very proud when her first priority was booking her photographer. Chris of course. Each morning she'd wake me at 6am with questions about the wedding. It was cute beyond words, even that early in the morning. She aged by about 20 years right in front of me, as she poured through our InStyle Weddings and Grace Ormonde Weddings magazines. I'm glad she has such great taste!

The proud grandmother of the bride, my amazing mom Rose, turned into the wedding planner and magically came up with a wedding dress, bouquet, cake and rings. If I didn't know better I'd swear she has a magic wand hidden somewhere.

On the big day Sydney was a beautiful blushing bride, in her glory posing for the camera. Colin and his family arrived looking great and full of enthusiasm. Matthew was a wonderful ring bearer and Ethan made us proud as Colin's best man. Grandma Rose presided over the ceremony, asking the bride and groom questions like "Do you promise to always play nice and be friends?" The rings were exchanged and I have to admit I got a bit choked up when Colin presented Sydney with a ring and necklace with her initial on it. We left out the ceremonial kiss but that didn't stop Syd from trying to tackle her groom for a kiss. That's my girl. After the ceremony the kids dug into chocolate kisses and wedding cake, while I popped open some bubby and apple juice for a toast.

It was a lot of fun letting the kids pretend and we couldn't ask for better in-laws. If anyone's interested the couple is registered at Toys R Us. Just kidding! Here's the slideshow of their big event. To email congratulations to the bride email Click here.

VIEW THE SLIDESHOW HERE

Amanda, aka Mother of the Bride

Website back up and running

Hi Everyone,

The website is back up and running. We've switched to a new web provider Dreamhost and they are amazing. They helped us switch over with ease and provided the fastest tech support I've ever seen. A big thank you to Jeff Hardy over at Caters Hardy Design Studio for letting us know about Dream Host.

We had a pretty amazing weekend! So far the couple of people we've told thought it was amazing. I'm going to leave it to Amanda to explain tomorrow. Watch for a new post (complete with images) soon!

website changes

If you've tried to open our website this weekend you'll notice it's missing in action. We've made an improvement on the technical side, admittedly not my area of expertise. Chris tells me it has something to do with switching the host of the site and everything should be back online by Monday, knock on wood. I think the email may be down for a day or two so if anyone's looking for us please call 905-892-1494.

The site design is getting some great feedback - easy to navigate, clean look and a lot of good information online. That's awesome to hear because those were definitely our goals. We're also hearing that our intro slideshow is missed, although the image gallery is getting good reviews. Chris is working on this so keep watching for updates.

Thanks again for all of your comments. Keep them coming!

Amanda

Winter Wonderland

Well winter has finally arrived in Southern Ontario and what a lovely sight it is.

A few nights ago a storm hit this area, knocking down tree branches and leaving everything covered in a thick layer of ice. The power was out for hours and the whole street was completely dark. We lit some candles and had a great time watching the Wedding Crashers DVD thanks to our laptop battery. As wedding photographers we could totally relate to why someone would want to crash weddings - they're a blast.

The next time you catch yourself complaining about the cold stop and take a look around you. And maybe grab your camera - you never know what you'll find. These are a few of my favourites from this week....

Baby Dominic

We had the most amazing time this week with baby Dominic, his mommy Amanda and his nona Maria. It's such a different experience doing portraits in the family's home. Everyone is relaxed, the lighting is natural and the portraits show it.

Dominic is such an adorable baby and he seemed to like the attention. His nursery is decorated with Finding Nemo so we couldn't resist some shots in his crib. Below are just a few of our favourites. I love the sweet moments between him and his proud mommy. I know they'll treasure these images as he grows. Thanks guys for the opportunity to spend time with you. We hope it will be the first of many fun sessions together!

Here is a link to the slideshow of the images. Click here to view.

New website is here!

After lots of work over the holidays we have created our new website complete with new logo. Our focus is shifting to do more of what we love - photographing weddings! We had so many great experiences last year with our brides and grooms that we want to do more! We are now going to specialize in weddings with top of the line service and products. We will be announcing some really exciting new products over the coming weeks. Keep an eye on the blog for more details!

We are also doing portraits a little differently. Our new portraits are what we call "Lifestyle Portrait Sessions". We are getting away from traditional 'posed' images (a la Sears) and going for a much more natural and fun style. Much like our wedding approach.

As usual we would love to hear what you think about our new site. Feedback is always appreciated. Looking forward to hearing from you!

New website - coming soon

For the past week we've been working on re-developing our website www.chrisbeardphotography.ca. We are so excited with the new look and I hope everyone loves it as much as we do. The new site has some pretty cool features, like updated slideshows of our work, sample album designs and a great gallery of images. Chris had done a great job of putting it all together, not to mention being so patient with all of my little changes!

During this process we also spent time working on our logo and new pricing. Once the final touches are ready we'll post an announcement here on the blog. As always, feedback is welcome.

Here's a sneak peak at a new addition to the site - a message from us. I think it really sums up who we are and why we love what we do...

"We are so blessed for the opportunity to pursue our passion for photography and to share in peoples' lives. Our clients are special to us and capturing their happiest memories is an incredible honour.

We've met some truly memorable people through our work, from expectant couples to energetic kids and of course couples in love. Weddings have been such a rewarding part of our business; the joining of two families, the excitement in documenting the day, finding beauty in the details, delivering an album they will cherish for generations...there's nothing like it.

Let us tell your story and be a part of your memories. We can't wait to hear from you."

Chris and Amanda

Niagara Falls shoot

We've been commissioned by one of our clients to do a photoshoot of businesses on Victoria Avenue in Niagara Falls. It's funny, living so close to Niagara Falls (we are about 20 min away), we've never gone and done the tourist thing. There is so much fun stuff to do there! As I was walking around getting shots, I kept thinking "I should bring the kids here soon!" There are rides, 3D theatres, a Sky Wheel (great way to view the falls), a Criminals Hall of Fame, Nightmares Fear Factory, Wax museums, great clubs, restaurants and accommodations.

One of the places I was able to go was the Classic Iron Motorcycle Museum. They have bikes from 1916 to present day all on display. I was able to get a few shots towards Clifton Hill from one of their windows, but I couldn't resist getting some shots of the bikes. If you know anyone who is into bikes (my Dad would totally love this place!) tell them about it.

Pandora.com

Anyone who works from home will appreciate the pros and cons that come along with it. Working in cozy slippers and a commute consisting of about 10 stairs - definitely cool. Juggling time between kids on Christmas break and a busy work load - a bit harder.

We've been working on our new website, pricing and logo (stay tuned!) under the most hilarious conditions. I am sure most office workers don't get interrupted by co-workers every 12 minutes asking for snacks, complaining that their toy eyeball has dust on it or surprising them with the sounds of the annoying Crazy Frog game (thanks for that Nikki...) Check out http://www.crazyfroghits.com/crazy.html and imagine trying to compose an email with that in the background....

Fortunately Chris has taken a break to hang out with them outside so I can catch up on an overflowing desk.

With a New Year's resolution to post more, I wanted to share one of my favourite websites in the world- www.pandora.com. Our friend Neil Thornton got me totally hooked on it. It's a free site that uses cool technology to create customized stations for you. You just tell it the name of a few songs or artists that you like. As the site says "It will quickly scan its entire world of analyzed music, almost a century of popular recordings - new and old, well known and completely obscure - to find songs with interesting musical similarities to your choice. Then sit back and enjoy as it creates a listening experience full of current and soon-to-be favorite songs for you. You can create as many "stations" as you want. And you can even refine them. If it's not quite right you can tell it more and it will get better for you." Hope you love it as much as I do. Back to work!

Amanda

Welcome 2007!

Happy New Year! We hope it was a wonderful holiday season for everyone. We've had a lovely although busy couple of weeks, as you can tell by the lack of Blog posts. A definite New Year's Resolution is paying more attention to our Blog. Hope that one works out better than my "eat more salad" resolution is looking.

We celebrated New Year's Eve with one of our dearest friends Nikki. I love any excuse to go crazy in the kitchen (thanks to the good old Food Network!) so we had quite a spread, if I do say myself. No salad to be seen on the menu, but Nikki did bring a killer chocolate cake....We had an awesome marathon of The Office episodes. There's nothing better than laughing til you cry with an old friend. Thanks for hanging out with us Nikki. I'm sure it will be the first of many great nights this year.

I've always thought that the New Year was a special time. It's a time to look back at all you have to be grateful for and what you hope to achieve in the coming months. Looking back to this time last year I'm so grateful we made the decision to focus on doing what we love. We've been blessed with very wonderful clients and the opportunity to capture their most special moments.

Here's to another great year (and more regular posts!)
Amanda

Photosession with Ang & Haley

We had a really great time the other night with Ang and her neice Haley. They were on their way to a party and had just got their hair done and they looked great!. They also brought along Ang's husband Guy who helped out by offering up posing ideas like "pretend you are punching her!". We arent' really sure if that helped but it sure made things interesting! He even helped out with adjusting the backdrop. We might have to offer him a job.

Anyways check out the images here: View the slideshow.

Tree Time

There is absoloutly nothing like the day you put up your Christmas tree. And this year was no exception. The kids were so excited when we brought out the decorations. It was a great family activity. Amanda was behind the camera today documenting the experience. Here are some shots once the tree was up.





And now for some real Christmas poses! Nothing says Christmas like silly faces...


Why didn't anyone tell me I had hat head!


Have a great day everyone!

Back to posting on our blog.

Well we are back. Our poor little neglected blog was crying out for some attention - so here we are. Look for us to be updating with much more frequency. We've been doing so many interesting things latley that we want to share with everyone.

One of the cool things about being a photographer is the variety of things we get to do. This past week has been no exception. We have been working on a project that is really exciting. We've been adding to our image database for one of our clients pictures of people having fun, enjoying life, food, shopping and more. We put the call out to get some models to our friends, family, family's friends and got a great response. We are so lucky to have such great people in our lives. Here are some of the images.

This is our good friend Rachel from Personal Optical. She is great! She's got a killer smile and is always ready for anything. She was actually on a crutch when we were shooting (imaging Tiny Tim without the hat). We had her walking up and down the streets for over an hour and she just kept on smiling!



Meet Debbie. She was also out with Rachel and pretended to shop at a local florists shop. Luckily the weather co-operated and we had some great sun and they even had an outdoor display!



We also got some great downtown shots and visited the Market Mall. It is a great downtown shopping experience on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30am - 3:30pm. If you are in downtown St. Catharines check it out.



Here is Debbie again as we stopped for lunch. Some really great window light on this one!


We also enlisted Debbie's daughter Brittany to come out and do some shopping with us at the mall. We honestly had trouble keeping up with her energy. Debbie had been "coaching" her all day on how to model so when she got there she was raring to go.





One more stop at the arena and we found this little guy. It was actually his first time ever on skates and he was doing a great job. He sure kept us entertained.

Adam and Jory slideshow

After we posted a couple of Adam and Jory's pictures the other day we got some great feedback from them and from Jory's sister Amanda (who's wedding we did in July). Here is a shot of Amanda (my Amanda), Jory and Adam in front of the fountain at the Casino in Niagara Falls. What a great time we had!

What better way to intro their slideshow then with their comments. Thanks guys, enjoy the show.
Jory & Adam's slideshow


Jory & Adam's comments:
Hi Chris and Amanda,

We had so much fun with you guys. We really have to do that again, minus you two taking pictures. The pictures look great so far and we cannot wait to see the rest.
On top of getting our engagement photos done, we really enjoyed spending time with the two of you. You are wonderful people.
Thank you for making us so comfortable because not too many people enjoy getting their pictures done.
We also cannot wait to see what the future has in store for you as you truly are amazing!!!

Thanks Again!
Jory and Adam 5:41 PM

Amanda's comments (Jory's sister)
The pictures look great so far. I can't wait to see the rest of them. I must look like her...she's pretty. thats my sis! I can't wait for the wedding pictures. I wish them all the best for a day that we've dreamed about our whole lives. Love you guys

Love Amanda Flintoff 4:52 PM

Jory and Adam!

What an awesome night with Jory and Adam! We met them at the Niagara Fallsview Casino last night for a very cool evening and fun engagement session. It really felt like a double date with old friends.

They are way too cute and sooo sweet. We started our night with dinner at The Famous and it was so great getting to know them better. After dinner we wandered around the Galleria then ducked outside for some cool night shots. It was freezing out and it was adorable to watch them cuddle up to each other.

We were all turning into popsicles so it was back inside for some more fun by the fountain and at The Famous. I just love how cute Jory and Adam were sharing a strawberry shake at the counter! Special thanks to everyone at The Famous for helping make it a perfect night.

I think some of the best shots were right before we said goodbye. Everyone was totally relaxed (although shivering) in front of the casino. The lights and fountains were such a romantic backdrop.

Thanks for a great night guys! We hope you love the pictures and can't wait to get together again.

Amanda

BOO!

All I have to say is spend time with your kids! They will keep you young. There is nothing better then a little voice whispering to you "Daddy...I love spending time with you and Mommy" after a fun evening.

And I have no idea how, but Matthew somehow got a hold of a real lightsaber. I think he took out the tree in our front yard. Have a look below.

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