And if you ask, WHAT IF how often do you follow through with your idea? I’m guessing there are a lot of great “what ifs” and a lot of them get lost in the minutiae of daily life. Heck, we have a whole series of notebooks devoted to this very thing. We call them our Idea Books, and after 12 years in this business, we have over 50 of those books.

Every so often we revisit them and comb through our ideas. Some ideas surface again and again, with more detail each time. Others are one line, one very vague line, that challenges us to even recall what excited us about it.

What is all this about, you wonder? Why this post? Why now? Well, it’s about the power of WHAT IF and about making your WHAT IFs a reality.

You see, something is missing in the creative world – a way to conference and collaborate with other creatives, that isn’t staid and, well, stale. Too many conferences employ a formula, one that worked for years, where a speaker stands on a stage and pontificates at the crowd. Some speakers are really engaging and inspiring, others not so much. The speakers themselves aren’t really to blame for this model – the attendees are. We keep going back year after year after year. And by feeding the beast, we are keeping it strong and alive. Why change when tens of thousands of you flock to it time and again?

Change is here. It’s time to put your foot down and say enough is enough. The days of someone speaking at you and telling you to be just like them are gone. Gone like the Dinosaurs are gone. It’s not about that anymore, not if we want to succeed and thrive in the coming years. The world changed and we refuse to be left behind.

So here it is, one of our biggest WHAT IFs to date:

A Conference for  Artist-preneurs using their vision to make a living, this ain’t your average conference. Not by a long shot!

You can find all the details (and there are plenty) at the WHAT IF website, but here is a quick and dirty run down of what’s up:

This is a Conference for Creatives, by Creatives. Each one of our Innovators is also a Collaborator, helping to develop WHAT IF into more than what you expect. There won’t be any pontification from the stage. There won’t be any short cuts to success. There won’t be any “buy this and you’ll be rich” going on.

What there will be is facilitation from our Innovators, collaboration from all our attendees, and a community environment created from the moment you arrive. With some of the most important learning you can get taking place outside the classroom, we have structured spontaneity after each session.  From the Idea Wall to the Daily Assignments to activities that lead to Inspiration outside Photography, and so much more, you will be immersed in a community and setting that will help you find your own success, on your terms.

Hosted at an all-inclusive resort, WHAT IF subscribes to the “no photographer left behind” philosophy. Whether you are an introvert or someone who likes to get in the middle of things, there is a place for you. For all of you.

As Steve would say, there is a lot of “flowery language” here and words that sound big and important. In the interests of keeping it simple, it’s time to get off your butt, and make your WHAT IF a reality. This conference will help you do that. Boom.

Questions? You know where to find us.

xoxo

There are a few other things that make the perfect wedding, in our opinion, and strong attachments to family and friends is one of those. In the end, the decor, the location, the details don’t matter as much as the people who have asked us to be there on that day.

Because that’s what it’s all about, right? A wedding is about two people formalizing a bond that already exists. A wedding is about two people choosing those closest to them to witness this public commitment to each other.

Anita and Sam are the kind of people who remind us why we love weddings and why being part of a wedding is such a gift to us.

And so, on a Tuesday in June, we loaded the car and began the drive to Tofino, BC. It was our first time there, which is surprising given it’s not that far away. Both Steve and I were excited to finally get there, and we weren’t disappointed. As we pulled into Middle Beach Lodge, I was taken with the greenery and misty ocean view that surrounded us – it reminded me of the cottage we had growing up, perched much like this little town, on the edge of perfection.

The place was chosen for its importance to Anita and Sam – and that made it extra special to us. They made a wedding day full of personal touches, heart felt words and embraces, and joy all while surrounded by their extra guest – the location.

Here are just a few of our favorite images:

Sam played (he hadn’t done so in years) to walk Anita down the “aisle”.

Sam’s sister and mother both spoke directly with Anita and Sam during the ceremony – a great idea!

Though it was an emotionally charged ceremony, I simply loved how happy Sam and Anita were, and how they infused laughter and humour into an otherwise serious moment (like the rings).

This is one of my personal favorites from the day – Steve was perched way up high to get this one and it’s breathtaking:

After photos, we all headed down to “the Wick” for dinner. Here are just a few images:

We also want to give a huge shout out to Sheila at Rare Earth Wedding Event Production – she did a fantastic job of keeping us all on track. We’re looking forward to working with her again next year!

Taylar and Peter are two people that we will be friends with for a very long time. Not only are they one of the sweetest couples around, they are grounded by the strength of their family bonds and friendships. Beyond beautiful, these two are humble and gracious, loving each other without reservation.

It was almost impossible to narrow down the wedding images, and even now I feel like I left so many of my favorites out of this post. But that’s ok, because Taylar and Peter have their own website where a much larger sampling of the images can be found! And, just to make sure all our favorites are here for you, we’ve included their image showcase, made by ProShow Web, at the end of this entry – you’ll have to read and look at everything first!

Peter and Taylar – thank you! You, your family and friends, are a gift we cherish and we can’t wait to see you two again!

As I mentioned, there were so many wonderful moments it was tough to choose, but here goes…

On the way to the “First Look” before the Ceremony…

Peter waiting…

It was worth it! Both Peter and Taylar surprised each other with what they wore and it was a magical moment.

Photo Time…

Here are a few from their Photo Booth. To say it was a hit would be an understatement, as you will see. It was more fun than, well, just about anything!

And here it is, the Image Showcase we created for these two! Even this doesn’t do the imagery of the day justice – there are just too many wonderful moments! We hope you enjoy and leave a comment for Peter and Taylar to see!

Last week, that day finally came, as Anita and Sam tied the knot at Middle Beach Lodge in Tofino.

There are loads of images to come, but for now here is just one to pique your interest.

On a rainy, late winter day in Vancouver, we met Keri and Ross at L’Hermitage. They had decided to have their photos done before the ceremony, and this hotel would be a wonderful backdrop for that. More importantly, it was an even better back-up location given the weather that afternoon.  We knew we were on a tight schedule, having to orchestrate the first look, take care of all the “formal” photos and get the entire bridal party to Seasons in the Park. And keeping us on time was the wonderful Christine Jagoe from One by Design.

I already mentioned how dynamic Keri is, and this moment really showcases that. Keri was looking at herself in the mirror and loved what she saw (as she should – she is gorgeous). Her reaction is so perfect, you can’t script moments like this!

A calm moment before we head out to find her hubby-to-be.

Photo Time! We took advantage of some great little spots at L’Hermitage before heading out into the wet Vancouver day.

It was pretty wet outside, but Keri and Ross were open to heading out. Whenever possible, we try to get outside – we love the quality of light in this area, and the minimalist feel of the concrete background.

We arrived at Seasons in the Park to get ready for the ceremony and reception. I love weddings where our couples choose to have both events in the same place, one right after the other. With all the photos out of the way, the bride and groom are free to enjoy their entire evening without interruption from us, and we really love the photojournalistic nature of the coverage we are able to get during that time. Of course, there was one photo we had to get for Keri, on the stairs at the restaurant.

After hundreds of weddings, I still my myself fascinated by all the possibilities in decor. Certainly Darlene from Boquets and Colin from Upright did a fabulous job (as they always do), with both the ceremony and reception spaces.

I love this moment – even though Ross spent much of the afternoon with Keri, he is still so excited to see her walk down the aisle towards him.

Reception:

This image sums up the rest of the night – it was filled with laughter, dancing, and fun!

To see more of this wedding, please enjoy the show below.

All music from Triple Scoop Music (use the code “bebbmusic” for a discount!)

And again, a huge thanks to all the people that worked so hard to make this day so wonderful

Hotel: L’Hermitage

Ceremony and Reception: Seasons in the Park

Wedding Planner: One by Design

Flowers: Boquets Floral

Decor: Upright Decor

DJ: Girl on Wax

Our favorite wedding magazine, one we are often published in, has a strict “no blog” policy on submissions. And they’re not alone – several publications, in North America, have instituted the same policy. I understand why – they want their content to remain exclusive to them, otherwise why would someone purchase their magazine? But it has made it challenging for us as we consider all of our weddings worthy of submitting to a variety of magazines.

And so, we chose not to blog many (almost all) of our events last year, in anticipation of publication. This had made for a very empty, lonely blog recently, and we’re working hard to rectify that. We now know which 2010 weddings will be published this year, so we can finally start sharing last year’s work.

So, with that, we have a series of posts planned for the coming weeks. Some will share our weddings of 2010, some our favorite details. We will introduce you, officially, to our associate(s) and share some of his work with you. And we will, once again, share some of the new products and business ideas we have developed.

2011 is shaping up to be an interesting year full of travel, teaching, writing, dreaming, building and, of course, shooting. We are looking so forward to sharing with all of you and hope that our loyal readers will once again return to our blog.

And because this is a photography blog, some of what we are working on…

We have been blessed to find wonderful programs for our kids to learn their sport, one of which  is the Burnaby Mountain Selects, an elite youth-to-collegiate-to-pro  organization. Both boys have been attending their development camps with an eye towards making one of the touring teams, for which Logan is just now eligible. Whether the boys make the cut or not (we think they will!), the group is run by a fantastic bunch of people who are also involved in the SFU lacrosse program.

And so, when they asked us if we could come and shoot the team for a feature in MCLA magazine, we jumped at the chance. Steve and Randy went up to Burnaby Mountain and had a great time with the athletes – and Randy, a former professional lacrosse player, was a hit with the team.  Here is the article in MCLA – with many of Steve’s images.

MCLA Team Spotlight (pdf)

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND: The Early Bird Price will be EXTENDED until Friday, February 4th, 2011. (Adjustments will be made on the final invoice.)

CLICK HERE to sign up for Winnipeg

CLICK HERE to sign up for London, Ontario

We hope you will join us on February 5th for a day full of amazing education, demos, door prizes and more!  Beau Photo has gathered together a group of educators that we are humbled to be part of.

To reserve tickets, or for more info, contact Ken Shymka at 604-734-7771 or email him at prosales@beauphoto.com

Hope to see you there!!