P H O T O B O L I C - Calgary Wedding Photographers » Wei

carissa and derek {garden tent wedding}

Wei — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:19:49 +0000

Last Saturday was a perfect day for an outdoor tent wedding at The Rouge. We were all worried that it was going to rain with the unpredictable weather Calgary has been experiencing of late. However, everything turned out perfect for Derek and Carissa.

Derek loved robots and anything to do with them so they loosely themed their wedding around this idea. The two of them had temporary wedding bands made with robots printed on them and their cake toppers were robots as well. At their ceremony, they provided their guests with an Instax camera and some props so they could take a photo of themselves and insert them into their guest signing book.

During dinner, their guests volunteered to come up and answer random questions about the two. If they got it wrong, they would have to kiss their dates. That led to some pretty interesting outcomes throughout the night! I think my favourite part must have been when things got dark and everyone had dined over candlelight under the tent. That was the perfect setting for this outdoor wedding.

Bride’s Gown: Alvina Valenta
Groom’s Suit: Harry Rosen
Hairstyling/Makeup: Michelle@MakeMe
Floral Designer: Marika@Pease Blossom
Ceremony: The Rouge Restaurant
Officiant: Bob Dunn
Flute and Guitar: Dolce Amante Duo
Cake: Crave Cupcakes
Reception: The Rouge Restaurant

kyoko and kevin {los angeles engagement}

Wei — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:37:02 +0000

A few months ago, I had an incredible opportunity to shoot Kevin and Kyoko’s engagement in LA. The two loved the ocean so we thought we would start off first at Leo Carrillo beach. I haven’t been to a beach in a long time and it was a real treat for me to take it all in. I remember telling these two that it didn’t feel like work at all, rather I feel more like a tourist, with them as my guides!

After the beach, we took a break in the afternoon and then went on to a few more urban locations. Kyoko loved the arts, dance and ballet so we ended up at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion and Walt Disney Concert Hall. We also visited the Chris Burden Urban Lights installation at the LACMA for photos before ending the night.

I can’t wait for their wedding this weekend!

vintage holiday cards collection – design aglow

Wei — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:21:57 +0000

Recently, Design Aglow announced a set of designs for their new Vintage Holiday Cards collection, featuring our images of Carrie, Gergely, Kirsten and Dave. There are six designs in this collection of 5×7 two-sided postcards. They are perfect for making your own holiday cards, but can also be customized for other use as well. Head on over to Design Aglow to find out more about this set.

Thanks to Design Aglow for choosing our images!

The following images are by Design Aglow taken from their blog post here.

rita and steve {chinese wedding and tea ceremony}

Wei — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:45:35 +0000

We first met Rita, Steve and little Muffin last year through our friend Lloyd. I have been a fan of Lloyd’s photos since I started shooting weddings so it was such a pleasure to not only cover his friends’ wedding but also to have him in the wedding party.

The tea ceremony is an integral part of Chinese wedding custom. This is an opportunity to pay respects to the elders by offering tea. Rita and Steve started their day quite early and had their first tea ceremony over at Rita’s parent’s place. But before the groom could enter the house to see the bride, it is customary for the bridesmaids to give him and the groomsmen several challenges. According to Rita, these challenges are necessary to “prove his dedication and love for her”! So Steve did just that, by eating strange candy, doing pushups, identifying family members from a photo and singing love songs. They also had to bribe the bridesmaid with money!

After the challenge was completed, the two had their first tea ceremony with Rita dressed in the traditional Chinese wedding dress. The two offered tea to their elder family and relatives and in return, received lucky red packets and jewelry. They also had a tea ceremony over at Steve’s parent’s home for his side of the family before Rita changed into her white wedding gown for the civil ceremony.

Their reception was held at Forbidden City in Calgary to about 150 guests. Everyone enjoyed a specially choreographed dance number the two been practicing for the last few months. It went perfectly and everyone cheered and clapped their hands in enjoyment! =)

Bride’s Gown: Beautiful Bride
Groom’s Suit: Zegna
Floral Designer: Tanille@Metro Element
Event Design: Monica@Wishahmon
Officiant: Patricia Ablett
Hair: Rath Flores
Makeup: Kim Talbot
Reception: Forbidden City Seafood Restaurant

danielle and richard {art gallery wedding}

Wei — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:50:00 +0000

Richard is a software developer and worked together with Danielle in the same company. However, their working relationship was short lived when he wrote a program to make Danielle’s job redundant. Consequently Danielle was laid off and had to find a job elsewhere. I wonder if that was his scheme all along to skirt their workplace dating policy. If it was, it worked! =)

The two were married at St. Barnabas Anglican Church in Calgary. Danielle added her own flair to it with a pair of love birds and flowers at the end of every other pew. It complemented the gray and yellow colors that Danielle chose for the wedding party. The bridesmaids looked so lovely with their yellow hairpieces.

Their reception was at the Gerry Thomas Art Gallery, located on the former Electric Avenue. Some of you might recall what it used to be days gone by. Danielle made a collection of unique flower centerpieces using old light bulbs that hung on bent wire bases. It fit so well with the aesthetics of the gallery that at first I thought they were part of the art show.

One of the highlights of the evening was the Silly Booth, which Danielle’s mom Lynnette surprised her with as a bridal shower gift. We broke the record that night by fitting 13 people in the booth. I think there were more spilt drinks in there than the everywhere else combined that night! You can watch the video on Facebook here.

Ceremony: St. Barnabas Anglican Church
Bride’s Gown: Ethos
Birdcage Veil: Couture Gown Studio
Floral Designer: Kensington Florist
Officiant: Jagdutt Singh
Cake: Crave Cupcakes
Photobooth: Silly Booth
DJ: Brian@ DJ BMack
Reception: Gerry Thomas Art Gallery

new silly booth record

Wei — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:58:29 +0000

They went for it. 13 crazies crammed into the hot mess last night. I think they could have done better. Last record was 11. The rest of the photos are here: www.sillybooth.ca

featured on weddingbells!

Wei — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:37:17 +0000

We were pleasantly surprised to find a short article about us and a photo of Kara and Lawrence in the current issue of Weddingbells (fall/winter 2010). This is Weddingbells’ 25th anniversary, a remarkable achievement for any publication. I think every bride-to-be has a copy of Weddingbells. We still have ours from 2000 when the two of us got married.

This copy is in newsstands right now. They are also giving away $50,000 in prizes so grab your copy or log on to site to find out more.

Thank you, Weddingbells!

weddingbells.ca

charmaine and andrew {spruce meadows wedding}

Wei — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:33:01 +0000

Charmaine and Andrew live up in Fort McMurray working as mining engineers at the oil sands. Instead of drilling, the oil is dug from the ground and separated from the sand so it can be refined. It’s fascinating to hear that Charmaine spends time figuring out how to blow the ground up so big shovels and trucks can haul them away.

While we were with the guys side watching them get ready, we found a book Charmaine had given to Andrew to prep him for the wedding (see below). On the girl’s side, there was no book, but instead, Charmaine had on a dress by Maggie Sottero and blue Manolos.

The two had an outdoor wedding at Spruce Meadows in Calgary. This July has been pretty wet but instead of rain, we were greeted by swarms of mosquitoes. Charmaine loves horses so after the ceremony, Andrea from Spruce Meadows arranged for some mares and foals to join us for some photos. They were so graceful.

At the reception, Charmaine had a surprise for Andrew with a mining truck wedding cake. I loved how she had a topper with the bride and groom in yellow hard hats! The truck was quite robust. During the cake cut, Andrew was unable to cut it in half so instead, they had to settle with whacking off one of the rear wheels.

Ceremony: Spruce Meadows
Bride’s Gown: Maggie Sottero
Hairstyling: Melanie@Bella Bridal Hair
Makeup: Bella Bridal Hair
Floral Designer: Occasional Bloom
Officiant: Clarissa McLean
Cake: Buttercream Bakeshoppe
Photobooth: Silly Booth
Reception: Spruce Meadows

yvonne and tim {rustic wedding at the ranche)

Wei — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:44:39 +0000

Yvonne and Tim were originally from Calgary but have moved to a WA for their work. When they first contacted me, Yvonne and I spent hours over MSN instant messenger chatting about our work and her wedding. We didn’t meet in person until just three days before the wedding.

Tim wore a set of cuff links with a map of Calgary and Toronto. Calgary was where they first fell in love and Toronto was where they got engaged. Before heading out for pictures, Yvonne gave Tim a harmonica but warned him not to play it during the reception.

Their wedding was exactly how Yvonne had described. A simple intimate affair at The Ranche with just over twenty of their closest family and friends. Best man Mark played “All I Want Is You” by Barry Louis Polisar on a portable MP3 player. We all had a few laughs watching him try to cue the music with the remote.

After the ceremony, Diane had the Polaroid Reporter out and we took a Polaroid mug shot of everybody and gave everyone a print to take home. This is something we can’t really do in a larger wedding. We love watching everyone wait the 90 seconds for the film to develop and seeing them peel open the paper to reveal the image. =)

Yvonne had in mind an elegant and rustic feel for her wedding, channeling our western and cowboy roots. The Ranche was perfect for them. The stone and wood beam construction went quite well with the coral, peach, pink and brown colors. She had made letterpress menus and laser cut name tags for the favors, which were chocolate cowboy hats. Everything was tied together by the floral arrangement by Occasional Bloom

Ceremony: The Ranche
Bride’s Gown: J.Crew
Groom’s Suit: Armani
Hairstyling: Hedkandi
Floral Designer: Occasional Bloom
Officiant: Blair Collins
Cake: Crave Cupcakes
Reception: The Ranche

kevin and kyoko {album design}

Wei — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:02:26 +0000

Finished a huge engagement album last night for Kevin and Kyoko. Here are a few of my favorite spreads (all triptychs!). Their images will be up next week.