Yesterday I posted about my friend Nicole and her family. Nicole is a graphic designer and creates beautiful invitation suites and paper products. These are the modern, yet perfectly elegant invitations to Reanna & Jordan’s wedding. I love the pop of tangerine. Happy Friday!
Back in the fall, I was so pleased to meet up with Nicole, David and their boys for a family shoot. Nicole is one of my favourite people and a real talent as a graphic designer and creator of beautiful, paper products. We’ve worked together on multiple projects and I miss her since she moved to Saskatchewan.
Back in January, I took a short trip to New York for a photography workshop (more on that later). I took this photo while wandering in Greenwich Village and when I started thinking about it, I realized that I think I have a thing for mirrors. Here are a few of my favourite mirror shots from the last year or two.
I’m back with another episode of Your Own Two Feet,and today I thought I’d feature some shoes that really make me look forward to summer. These are Cara’s BHLDN sandals that she wore at her Ranche Wedding. Happy Friday everyone!
The last two nights were quite a thrill for me. I was a stationary, video camera operator for the Chris Tomlin & All Sons and Daughters concerts. This is something I dabble in on a volunteer basis at CSC, so it was exciting to participate in a concert of this scale.
I managed to break out the Nikon for a few quick stills during a quiet moment (don’t tell Ryan, the director).
Read the rest of this entryFor a good portion of last season, I had the pleasure of having Wendy as my second shooter. Last fall, she asked me to take some photos of she and her husband, Ken. Turns out many of the family animals made cameo appearances in our shoot as well. Wendy is creative, kind, loves to laugh and will make a welcome addition to the team again this year. We at Tara Whittaker Photographer love our Wendy.
My St. Patrick’s Day treat was a date with my Pops, my niece and my three nephews. All week I was trying to think of something fun for us to do together that didn’t involve popping in a movie. Then I stumbled across Andrea’s guerilla art project on Hula Seventy. Since it was St. Patrick’s day, I thought we could put a shamrock twist on the concept and plaster the city with cheer.
Just a little something tasty and green from my little helper and I on St. Patrick’s Day! Have a good one!
Is it just me or are you yearning for spring as well? I think we are due to for something “springy” and pink so here’s another edition of Your own two feet.
These are Reanna’s lovely ,Badgley Mischka ballet flats from her wedding last September. Happy Friday!
I first saw this video about animal photographer Sharon Montrose about a year ago, but when I stumbled across it again this morning, I had to share. First of all, I have a thing for giraffes. They’re kind of my signature animal…something about being tall with knobby knees?!? Secondly, I love her comments about doing projects that are just for you. Sometimes something just hits you right where you are at.
Handmade Portraits: Sharon Montrose from Etsy on Vimeo.
When I was in Palm Springs this past Christmas, I came across this colorful building that was under renovation. I was immediately taken by the bright hues and had to grab the camera.
Imagine my surprise when I came across this article yesterday on A Cup of Jo. Joanna is right, The Saguaro would be magnificent for a wedding. Sign me up.
Second photo via The Saguaro website.
I’ll admit it, I have a new addiction…Downton Abbey. Have you seen it? I thought an edition of A Kiss to Build a Dream On, Downton Abbey style, is in order today. Happy Friday!
A few weeks ago, I did a photo shoot with this lovely, young thing. I love the feminine feel and pretty details, perfect for a girl of 13.
The other day I announced the winners of the Love You Back project, but I also wanted to give huge applause to the other two entries that made up the final contenders. Both were completely inspiring. Presented in no particular order, we have Aly & Eric, who made a three dimensional board, filled with lovely textures and sweets. I completely fell for the wedding dress fashioned from lace remnants.
Read the rest of this entry
The entries for the Love You Back project this year were FANTASTIC. Three judges, including myself, evaluated each entry for creativity, personality and effort. It was such a difficult decision but after much deliberation, I am so pleased to announce the winners, Katherine and Tyler.
In their own words….we are so excited about the opportunity to win such an amazing photography package! As an added bonus for us, putting together our submission over the past several weeks (I tend to tweak things until the very last minute…) really helped us collect our thoughts and come up with a common theme and direction for our wedding which led to us selecting a venue- so a big thanks to you! Hope you enjoy our entry.
I suggest listing to Bistro Fada from Midnight in Paris while perusing our board.
A bit of background information about us and our wedding plans:
Katherine on Tyler – Tyler and I met when my friend invited the boy she liked to join us for a night at Ranchmans. He brought Tyler and several other friends along. Tyler and I chatted briefly and it was certainly not a case of “love at first sight”. Within minutes he had decided I was snobby while I had decided that he was boring. Several weeks later we saw each other again at a birthday party for the same friend. We ended up seated next to each other and spent the whole evening talking. Even though he seemed nice he wasn’t really my type, and I only agreed to a date after some badgering from friends. Our first date went amazingly well, I spent the whole time laughing at his stories and jokes. It was by far the best first date I had ever been on. Each time we went out I had even more fun and laughed even harder than on the previous date.
After 5 years nothing has changed, each day together is more fun than the last. It is an unusual day if he doesn’t make me laugh so hard that cry. His overwhelmingly positive and fun loving attitude make even the most mundane chores fun. He dances down the aisle at the grocery store, livens up a trip to the dump with a sightseeing narrative and is always up for adding some extra fun to a night out by making it themed event (Fish and Fisherman! Birds and Birdwatchers!). The only thing I have ever seen Tyler less than enthusiastic about is weddings. To him they are formal boring events where the Bride and Groom spend the entire time talking to obscure relatives and family friends rather than focusing on one another. He would be more than happy to elope but knows it is extremely important to me to have my family there when we get married.
Tyler on Katherine – Ever since I met Katherine one thing has been clear, family is most important to her. From Christmas movie marathons with her brother, to helping her mom pick renovation colours and ideas; she is always excited to spend time to with her family and genuinely looks forward to it. Katherine’s family is one of the most welcoming and caring families I have ever met, and on our wedding day I feel extraordinarily lucky to get to become part of that family.
One of the great aspects of Katherine’s family is they know how to have a good time, they can turn a simple Sunday dinner into a lively event with plenty of hilarious stories and a clearly genuine enjoyment of being with one another. This concept of turning a formal Sunday dinner into a relaxed fun filled event is what will inspire and drive the general “feel” and atmosphere of our wedding. It combines fun with family and friends, but does not impose any rules to keep everyone relaxed and having fun. I know with Katherine’s careful attention to detail and DIY touches this event will be a true representation of our relationship and who we are as a couple. We will laugh, dance, have fun and spend time with our family and friends who mean so much to us. But most importantly I get to marry the girl that I fell in love with 5 years ago and even without all the fun events, cake, rides, music and food , it would still be the best day of my life.
The Big Day – We wanted to plan a day that we can both look back as nothing short of super fantastically awesome, so we set out to plan a wedding that is intimate, reflective of us as couple and above all else FUN (!) for everyone. Taking our inspiration from a scene from Midnight in Paris where the Fitzgeralds host a soirée amongst vintage carnival rides and twinkling lights (a sketch from the films production designer takes centre stage in our inspiration board) we found the perfect venue with Heritage Park. Luckily, we were accommodate to fit our ideal venue into our modest budget by choosing to have our wedding the Friday after the park closes for the summer! We will be exchanging vows in front of our 80 guests in a brief lighthearted ceremony on the lawn of the historic Prince house at 3:00 on September 14 th . We will then head over to the midway with our guests to enjoy games, rides , and of course, cotton candy, before the start of the dinner reception and what is sure to be a rockin’ dance party at the park’s Wainwright hotel.
Hopefully you will be there to celebrate with us and capture what we hope will be a fun filled day!
Meet Lisa Vettese. Lisa has over 12 years in the Wedding Industry. From co-directing the Calgary Bridal Association, publishing magazines and bridal guides to producing top notch wedding events, Lisa is passionate about the industry and knows the importance of professionalism and integrity in the marketplace and wants to ensure that engaged couples have a positive experience with industry professionals that they can rely on.
Say hi to Yvette Shanahan. Yvette has been in love with weddings ever since she was a little girl. Growing up, that love grew into a passion and thus was born, Avant-Garde Wedding & Event Planning. With more than 16 years of event and wedding planning experience, Yvette has planned hundreds of weddings and events across Canada. Her expertise shines through her customer service and attention to detail.