Hey, I'm Meg, welcome to my little corner of the cybersphere!
I'm a Fraser Valley wedding & lifestyle photographer (est. 2014) based in Langley, just west of Vancouver BC.
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I LOVE Fort Langley! The historic buildings, bookstores (like Wendell’s), amazing bakeries & bistros, the Pub and more make it the perfect spot to spend a free morning or afternoon exploring for your engagement photographs! One of my favourite parts about living here (though I live on the other side of town) is being so close to the Village down by the river. That’s why I am so in love with any opportunity to capture a Fort Langley Sunset Engagement.
Last winter, when I met Colleen & Dominic, I remember thinking just how sweet & kind Colleen was. Along with Dominic’s sarcastic sense of humour (raise your hand if you’re sarcastic like me!), these two really seem to balance each other out and compliment one another. I’m so excited to photograph their upcoming autumn wedding at Morgan Creek Golf Course!
When it came time to planning their engagement session, we had initially been hoping for Stanley Park. But planning a session in late winter in the Lower Mainland can sometimes be easier said than done! Many times from January-April, sessions tend to get rescheduled if the weather really isn’t behaving, especially when there’s an adorable little pup involved!! I’m such a dog person (& animal person in general!) and so I always love getting to meet my client’s pets. Eventually we lucked out after moving the session to Fort Langley Village with a beautiful day that gave us a gorgeous golden hour and glowy sunset engagement session for these two!!
The Engagement Session
I had so much fun exploring with them! We started our adventure by wandering down to the Fort Langley Community Hall. Any Riverdale or Once Upon a Time fans out there? You’ll recognize the historic yellow building from quite a few episodes as well as being in featured in other tv shows. We lucked out with a British bus there as well so of course we took advantage of it! From there, we headed down to check out the old CN Train Station in Fort Langley. This is one of my favourite locations around Langley – the sun filters into this spot SO beautifully! After that, we decided to finish up our session down by the water and among the beautiful spring blossoms. I loved getting to know these two more as we explored!
Gallery
I can’t wait to capture their wedding this fall. Here’s a look at my curated favourites from our time together during their Fort Langley Sunset Engagement!
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Planning Your Family Wedding Portraits
Their Importance
Weddings are an exciting and emotional time – not just for the couple but for their loved ones as well – their family & friends. Planning Your Family Wedding Portraits however can get overwhelming. Everyone has come together to celebrate this union as they have watched & supported you on your journey up to this point. That’s exactly why however including family portraits on your wedding day is SO important. It reminds your family how important they are to you on this day in your life but it also becomes a precious memory that your loved one will cherish for years to come. (It can be also be a great gift opportunity as well!)
Where to Start
With all my wedding clients, I always ask for a list of family groupings you’d like photographed. Typically this portrait time happens immediately after the ceremony. It can be easy to have the officiant announce at the end of the ceremony to have all family stay behind or to go to a certain area for portraits. This can also be pre-arranged and included information on the invitation or wedding website! I find that a little direction really helps alleviate a LOT of frustration & unnecessary delay and confusion from your family members. Without a bit of a plan, people can wander off, causing huge delays that quickly make it an unpleasant experience for some. This can help ensure the entire experience of the day is stress-free and focused on celebrating your union!
Timing
We usually set aside 20-30 minutes on the timeline of the day for these family portraits. This allows us to have up to around 20 different groupings but I find usually anywhere around 15 can be ideal. Groupings will vary as each family is unique!
Groupings with a lot of people can easily take up to 5-10 minutes each and if you have multiple big groups, we can quickly go into your valuable Bride & Groom/Bridal Party Portrait time or your cocktail hour!
Keep in mind, I will always try to give you a variety within certain groupings when time permits. For example, if you had listed a Siblings grouping of: “B&G (Bride & Groom) + Siblings” if time allowed I would then also break down that grouping into each individual sibling with the B&G, & so on. So if you have B&G + Bride’s Parents, you will always get an individual shot of just the Bride with her Parents, etc.
Picking the groupings can get overwhelming, especially if you have a large extended family and want to include the majority of them! I’ve included below a basic template you can use, but keep in mind everyone’s family has different dynamics and this list can look very different depending on who you want included!
In your Final Details Questionnaire that I send to all my couples, I also ask that you include the names of the family members alongside the groupings. This is so that when there’s a large group of family members standing by during this time, we can easily call people by name when it’s their turn without delay.
Family List Template
Here are my recommendations for your Family Wedding Portraits List below:
1. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents
2. Bride + Bride’s Parents
3. Bride + Bride’s Mom
4. Bride + Bride’s Dad
5. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Parents
6. Groom + Groom’s Parents
7. Groom + Groom’s Mom
8. Groom + Groom’s Dad
9. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Siblings
10. Bride + Bride’s Sister(s)
11. Bride + Bride’s Brother(s)
12. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents + Bride’s Siblings
13. Bride + Bride’s Mom + Bride’s Sister(s)
14. Groom + Bride’s Dad + Bride’s Brother(s)
15. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Siblings
16. Groom + Groom’s Sister(s)
17. Groom + Groom’s Brother(s)
18. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Parents + Groom’s Siblings
19. Bride + Groom’s Mom + Groom’s Sister(s)
20. Groom + Groom’s Dad + Groom’s Brother(s)
21. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents + Bride’s Siblings + Groom’s Parents + Groom’s Siblings
22. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Grandparents
23. Bride + Bride’s Grandma(s)
24. Bride + Bride’s Grandpa(s)
25. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Grandparents
26. Groom + Groom’s Grandma(s)
27. Groom + Groom’s Grandpa(s)
28. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Grandparents + Groom’s Grandparents
29. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents + Bride’s Siblings + Bride’s Grandparents
30. Bride + Bride’s Mom + Bride’s Sister(s) + Bride’s Grandma(s)
31. Groom + Bride’s Dad + Bride’s Brother(s) + Bride’s Grandpa(s)
32. Bride + Groom’s Mom + Groom’s Sister(s) + Groom’s Grandma(s)
33. Groom + Groom’s Dad + Groom’s Brother(s) + Groom’s Grandpa(s)
34. Bride + Groom + Groom’s Parents + Groom’s Siblings + Groom’s Grandparents
35. Bride + Groom + Bride’s Parents + Bride’s Siblings + Bride’s Grandparents + Groom’s Parents + Groom’s Siblings + Groom’s Grandparents
I hope this helps give you a starting point to know how to map out this part of your wedding day and helps you in Planning Your Family Wedding Portraits! Have any advice or must-have groupings?? Please be sure to comment below with your own experience!
Found this article on Planning Your Family Wedding Portraits helpful?? Click this link to discover more Wedding Planning Tips on The Blog!
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I’m so glad you’ve found your way here to read more about this elegant Downtown Vancouver Chinese Wedding. I absolutely loved getting to be a part of this beautiful couple’s downtown Vancouver wedding. From the morning’s tea ceremony to the outdoor beautifully sun-drenched ceremony – it could not have been a more gorgeous summer’s day. Adventuring around False Creek & Olympic Village with the bridal party may have been my favourite part of the day!
The Couple
Brian & Linda were so accommodating. I had a great time being a part of the team documenting their day. These two were naturals in front of the camera. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful warm day for them! My favourite part of the day was getting to learn more about the traditional tea ceremony that occurred in the morning.
The Wedding Day: Chinese Wedding Traditions
From the offerings of food, door games, to serving tea to elders & family – it was such a privilege to be invited into these moments! It was an honour to be able to watch them pay respect to their family through the festivities in the morning. I loved observing the tea ceremony and seeing the offerings of food that were brought by family. Extended family members that counted over 100 crammed into the house to pass on their blessings. The ladies of the family huddled in the kitchen to prepare food including a roasted pig. All this before the wedding ceremony even took place.
Once their ceremony in Burnaby was finished we headed to Olympic Village Park at False Creek to capture portraits. We had time to capture Brian & Linda with their bridal party on the bridge at False Creek. I love the shot of the bridal party overlooking Science World and the beautiful Vancouver cityscape & skyline. Afterwards we stole the newlyweds away for their Bridal Portraits. These two have high-class, elegance and passion written all over them. They are naturals in front of the camera and it was so lovely to capture these for them.
Downtown Vancouver Chinese Wedding Gallery
Here are a few of my curated favourites from their Downtown Vancouver Chinese Wedding…
Door Games & Tea Ceremony
Wedding Ceremony
Portraits
photographer for the authentic & adventurous
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All photos here by Meg Kristina Photography
Wedding Second Shot for Beautiful Life Studios
Portrait sessions are special. Photographing families always provides many moments of love, joy, laughter & more. But, every so often, you meet a family that has this unique sparkle to them. Some sessions are just different. Good different. This one was just that. I was honoured to capture this surrogate maternity session for a local Langley family.
I already knew it was going to be a unique shoot. Capturing moments like pregnancy during a maternity session is always a privilege, but this one was so much more than that. You see, the beautiful O family’s journey to get to this point has not always been easy. It has been filled with joy, yes, but also with pain and loss no parent should have to experience.
Through the ups & downs, these two have come together to seek comfort & strength from the other. Their desire was still to grow their family – to bring a blessed little baby into a family that wanted nothing more than to love it unconditionally. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and in this case it took loving families & a village to bring this baby into the world and that is just SO beautiful. I think there is such celebration to be had here for women coming together to support other women in their journey, whether it be motherhood, entrepreneurship, etc. If you are an expecting mother with a surrogate, PLEASE don’t let that stop you from having a maternity session!! This is something so precious and something you can still have in celebration of your baby & you – a gorgeous mama-to-be!! Sessions like this are exactly why I do what I do.
And so, here we were to capture this next chapter in their journey. This beautiful baby, not yet born, was already so loved. There was something special in the air that day. There was a powerful calming presence in the air that felt comforting, wrapping around you like sunlight and pulling you into it’s warm embrace. It felt as if it was dancing with happiness around this little family. It was incredibly moving to be a part of capturing this exciting moment for these guys.
It was a privilege to meet you and photograph this family surrogate maternity session for you! I am so overjoyed for you all and hope to meet your sweet baby girl soon!!
*update as of April 6, 2018… Welcome to the world Baby Evangeline!
All Photos by Meg Kristina Photography.
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