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This Lighthouse Park engagement session at sunset in West Vancouver just makes my heart so happy! I met Mark & Julia at their friend’s destination wedding at Sandos Finisterra in Cabo San Lucas. I happened to be shooting it back in November 2019 – all before COVID-19 and the pandemic were ever a thing. It truly is crazy to think of the last year and a half we’ve all had since then! Anyways!!

These two were just the absolute sweetest on the trip and I loved getting to know them a bit. Everyone in the group truly was amazing and I really made some fantastic genuine connections & friendships. Thanks again Dan & Angie for having me tag along! Their wedding was actually one of the last ones I shot before taking a step back from the business for a while. Lots was transpiring behind the scenes for me. After being in the industry since 2014 through lots of dramatic life changes & stressors, it was a really overdue much-needed healthy break. The funniest part of it all was the fact that the pandemic coincidentally hit just a few months later. While I was fortunate as this allowed me to be *relatively* less affected on the business side, my empathy for all the couples who had weddings altered or postponed felt overwhelming. J&M ended up getting in contact me while I was partially offline during this period. After reconnecting, I knew I wanted to sit down and hear more about their story…

While I’ll save the fun details for their wedding blog, these two are the absolute sweetest! I have so loved every interaction I’ve had with them and you can very plainly see how well they compliment each other. From their kismet initial meeting in Mexico to the life they’re building now, they fall into each other so naturally it’s no wonder they found their way to one another.

LOOK THROUGH THE LIGHTHOUSE PARK ENGAGEMENT GALLERY:

With their wedding just TWO short weeks away at the time of writing this, I’m anxiously anticipating celebrating their day with them in my old home, the Okanagan. In the meantime, here’s a curated selection of highlights from their Lighthouse Park Engagement Gallery in West Vancouver. I’ve had lots of fun playing with enhancing my style & posing over the years to bring out the best in your love & joy in life, and I had so much fun putting a bit more of a moody spin on some of these images for these two. I am so excited to finally share this session with you all…

Sunset at Lighthouse Park West Vancouver:

Blue Hour:

All Photos here by Meg Kristina Photography.

Loved this Lighthouse Park Engagement Session?! Click to check out T+H’s romantic moody fall Engagement Session in Pitt Meadows!

Let your inner wino out with Jessica & Steve’s Glass House Winery Summer Wedding here on The Blog.

Want to Learn More about Wedding & Engagement Pricing & Info? Click here.

authentic joyful adventurous

www.megkristina.com

Booking 2022 Weddings & beyond.. ✨

Sifting through endless pages of web searches, scrolling past dozens upon dozens of wedding vendors, referrals, and recommendations can seem daunting – and rightfully so! That’s why having trusted vendors & resources available is so critical in helping you plan your wedding with ease. I’ve worked hard to become familiar with vendors of all types, and that’s why I’m so excited to share with you my top 3 wedding florists in the Fraser Valley & within BC.

After 7+ years in the wedding industry in the Fraser Valley, I’ve crossed paths with many a wedding vendor & florists. While there are MANY qualified florists that are all exceptional in each and every city within the Fraser Valley, we all have our favourites (or in this case top 3 wedding florists 🙊) or ones that stand out. This isn’t meant to slight any vendors or exclude others worthy of great accolades, far from it!! All of my Wedding clients receive complete access to my preferred vendor lists.

Those of which are much more vast than included in the list below. While this is a brief overview of my top 3 wedding florists in the Fraser Valley… Depending where you are located (Abbotsford, Langley, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, White Rock) I have further lists of local vendors to recommend to you to help suit your needs, hopes, & ok yeah your budget too! 😉

Here are my Favourite Top 3 Wedding Florists Recommendations for the Fraser Valley and (in their own words) a little bit about why I think they are the best of the best:

FLORALISTA

Langley BC

from their website… “Floralist is a brand that is born out of Alice’s lifetime love of botanicals. Alice has been surrounded by nature by virtue of her geography, the soft rolling hills of open farmland framed by the rhythmic backdrop of distant mountains, in scenic Fort Langley. Alice employs design principles such as colour, texture, and composition to reflect her environment and individual style. She has progressed from the nurseries of her youth to a woman in charge of large volumes of daily orders as well as executing special arrangements for weddings across the world.

Sourced locally from a flower auction and through foraging, as well as importing specialty foreign growth from Peru, Holland, and Italy. We meticulously inspect each stem, clean and maintain them such that they meet Floralista’s uncompromising standards, and finally we create the design for our incredible customers. The preparation involves steps to keep our products fresh and design elements so that each accompaniment is complementary. 

Floralista’s mission is to create an experience that inspires an admiration for nature, is emotionally evocative the way that any art form partaken passionately should be, and provides an accessible and sustainable option for our clients.”

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WILD RABBIT FLOWERS

Hope BC

from their website… “Wild Rabbit Flowers is an event floral studio nestled in the mountains just above the Fraser Valley in British Columbia. Owner Carli Spielman is a celebrated and recognized floral designer in the BC wedding industry. She creates full-service florals for weddings across the Lower Mainland, specializing in growing high-end wedding flowers for her events.

Her designs are beautifully organic, wild and whimsical. Uniquely heart-fluttering designs, on-site endurance and professionalism, and the ability to hang anything from twelve feet up a ladder are her strong suits. Carli’s love for her gardens, natural expression in design and desire to work independently brought her to open Wild Rabbit Flowers. She pulls her inspiration from the natural beauty of the wild earth and the untamed heart. Their floral style is heavily influenced by the wild and whimsical nature of flowers.

Movement, flow, and layering are all components in her arrangements. She also takes great care for colour in its truest natural shades comes shining through in her work.  Carli puts a great amount of care and effort go into every piece, each stem placed with thought. Truly, every event executed with passion and professionalism. Carli works a select number of BC weddings a year spring through fall. “

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KAYE FLEUR

BC

from their website… “Sarah is a West Coast Florist based in the heart of the Okanagan in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. Best known for her textural and vibrantly coloured floral arrangements, Sarah works to incorporate locally foraged flowers and greenery. Add to this the best, brightest, and most unique flowers from all over North America and beyond. Weddings and events have taken her to many local destination hotspots such as Summerland, Kelowna, Squamish, Galiano Island, and all over the Lower Mainland. 

They work with each individual client to design custom florals to match the overall aesthetic of their special day. The florals that we specialize in are meant for intimate weddings. This is perfect for couples destined for mountaintop trails, oceanfront views, and open field ceremony spaces.

They hope to work with couples who want the intimacy and joy of their relationship to be expressed through blooms.”

Found this article on 3 Favourite Fraser Valley Florists for Weddings helpful?? Click this link to discover more Wedding Planning Tips on The Blog!

Check out tips for Styling Your Engagement Session by clicking here.

Escape to the ocean at sunset with M&J’s romantic Lighthouse Park engagement session on The Blog.

www.megkristina.com

Booking 2022 Weddings & Beyond ✨

Hey, hey! It’s me your local Langley couples photographer! And I have a fun fact: I LOVE dogs. I’ve grown up around them, had them my whole life as close companions, & adored them. So when Zane mentioned that Emily would be bringing her dog Piper for their mini session I was so stoked for their session (as if I wasn’t already; I love me my spring couple’s mini sessions!) My own dog Lima is often the subject of my camera so I was all to welcome to the idea of getting to meet Piper the Doberman and she was such a sweetie! She was a little superstar and had so much fun running around Z&E and cuddling up close for quiet time too! I couldn’t have asked for better subjects to photograph.

Langley Couples Spring Mini Gallery

I had so much fun meeting up with these two & their pup Piper! Here’s a curated selection of highlights from this sweet Spring Couple’s Mini Session Gallery…

All Photos here by Meg Kristina Photography.

Can’t get enough?! Click to check out B+E’s super sweet Gold Creek Engagement Session with their pup!

Loved this sweet Spring Couple’s Mini Session?? Check out this Fall Pitt Meadows Engagement Session!

Want to Learn More about Weddings? Click Here!

authentic joyful adventurous

www.megkristina.com

Booking 2021 Weddings & beyond.. ✨

Picture this: a Maiyan turmeric ceremony on the beach in Mexico, right in front of the JUST newly opened Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos… Yes, that’s exactly where we celebrated!

Never seen a Maiyan turmeric ceremony? They top my list of all-time favourite wedding events to photograph. Excitement, emotion, activity, significance and COLOUR fill every moment! I live for these vivid bold colours, especially how they power storytelling in photography. Each Maiyan ceremony feels like Christmas morning to me.

During the Maiyan (or Haldi/turmeric) ceremony, family members paint the bride & groom from head to toe with a special turmeric paste. Turmeric brings healing properties, beautifies the skin AND carries deep significance in these ceremonies. The tradition holds that blessing the bride & groom with turmeric before their new chapter brings good luck & prosperity, which is why it happens a day or so before the wedding! Emotional yet playful energy flowed through the entire group during the ceremony.

Jasleen & Jug packed their destination wedding week (back in Sep 2019 – if only we knew THEN what travel would look like just a few months later… wow!) with festivities – I’ve never felt so tired yet energized simultaneously. Their multi-day celebration deserves a multi-post series! So many favourite moments fill our time with them, and I can’t wait to share them all. My heart overflows with gratitude to both my dear work partner/photog Hannah Cummins and to Jug & Jas for bringing us down as a team for this under Hannah. It was an absolute privilege – we love you guys!! 

Haldi Turmeric Ceremony Gallery:

Here’s a curated selection of highlights from Jasleen & Jug’s destination Maiyan Turmeric Ceremony at the Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos in Cabo San Lucas Mexico…

photographer for the authentic joyful & adventurous
www.megkristina.com
All Photos here by Meg Kristina Photography.

Loved this destination Haldi Turmeric Ceremony in Mexico? Check out this LOS CABOS Sandos Finisterra Beach Wedding Story & Gallery!

Are you a Wino?? Curl up with a glass of wine & relive this Glass House Winery Summer Wedding

Laugh your heart out at all the cheesy lame captions & highlights over on IG @megkristinaphotos

Booking for Remaining 2021 Weddings.

Booking Limited 2022 Destination Weddings.

Vendor Dream Team:

Lead Photographer: Hannah Cummins Photography
All-Inclusive Resort: Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos