The first image (top left corner) is of a photoshoot I did with Casey Nolin Photography and an incredible cast of local Winnipeg talent. This shoot was featured in Love Inc. Magazine, Aisle Society and locally with Host Winnipeg which was an exciting start to the first couple of months of running my own business. I loved getting to work with vendors I'd known for years but in a different capacity. It also allowed me to meet some new faces - Fauna and Fern, Brittany Jill Photography and Brenna Faris Photo. This photoshoot is also the first time I worked with Casey personally and am so blessed that this has developed into an incredible friendship. Casey's support and optimism have been amazing to have.
The second image (moving clockwise) is of Ally and Josh's lovely brunch wedding in April. Ally and Josh were one of my first booked clients after launch thanks to a referral. Working with Ally and Josh was so much fun, they were the type of clients that invited you over for dinner to plan. They started off my year with a perfect reminder - personal and authentic.
The third image is of a beautiful wedding that taught me so much about being a business owner and about boundaries. Thank you. Image courtesy of Austin Kylie Photography.
Mandi and Juliano were a full coordination client that I had the pleasure of working with. They had such an incredible sense of what they wanted their wedding to look and feel like, which makes planning so much easier. I learned the importance of tailoring how I planned with a client to suit their specific set of needs and maintaining the consistency of this throughout the process. It also brought Chantelle into my life who has brought a lot of laughter and a great sounding board for all things business. Photo courtesy of Chantelle Dione Photography.
The bottom middle image was so hard to select from this photoshoot. There were so many that I loved. Charmaine perfectly captured how I wanted this Boho shoot to feel (which is always a fear I have with photoshoots - that I won't be able to translate what I see in my head into what you see). This photoshoot has been featured on Prairie Weddings and Style Inspired Weddings. Charmaine has also a great teacher to me. She has taught me about staying true to what you want to do and how you do it. This photoshoot introduced me to a florist that I hadn't worked with previously - Geranium Lake Botanicals. If you aren't familiar with Amanda's work, I suggest you take a peek! Her bouquet from this shoot was selected by Style Inspired Weddings in their Top 10 Gallery.
The final image is of Allison and Kevin's wedding. I have selected it because when they hired me (after meeting with a couple of other planners) they told me that the reason they chose me was because they were confident in me and my experience. One of the things that I have had to learn this year is how to sell myself. I used to be a venue coordinator - I can sell you a venue. Being a business owner though means that I have to sell me, my experience, it's almost like a running job interview. It meant so much to me knowing that this was how they felt after a consultation. I also got to work with Tony of BLF Studios, which I loved as BLF Studios has long been a favourite of mine. Photo courtesy of Tony at BLF Studios.
2017 has been a year of lessons and gratitude. I can't thank all my family (especially Ken, Shannon and Yared), friends and vendor friends enough for pushing me and supporting me. Thank you to all the couples who've chosen me and trusted me. Cheers to 2017 for showing me that anything is possible!