New BLOG!

www.eternalreflectionsblog.com

Update your google readers & bookmarks! We are blogging regularly & putting on TONS of wedding planning advice & our thoughts on reception locations, etc.

Hotel Macdonald/Hotel Macdonald Wedding Photography/ Fairmont Hotel Wedding Photography

This is a shout out to the
Fairmont Hotel Macdonald!
This place is absolutely fantastic!
The demeanor is top notch, and the food is Exquisite, and the service they provide is like no other! It is the perfect place for brides who want to be pampered! Every time I shoot at Hotel Macdonald, they treat my brides as royalty. Every time a bride tells me her wedding is at Hotel Macdonald
I get flutters in my stomach...in a good way.

Love, ERP

Edmonton Wedding photographer, Drayton Valley Wedding Photographer

Hello all!

Yes, we know we promised pictures. But we have some news instead! We've been holding off doing all the blogging that we have backed up because we want to feature it on our shiny, flashy, lovely new blog! It will be ready in about 2 days for its big reveal! We are so excited!!

Additionally, we have a brand-spankin' new website that we are just totally in love with. We will be revealing that on the same day. Stay tuned!!

Hope ya'll are enjoying the snow. It can be romantic you know. Hot chocolate, cute scarves, bundle up & go for a walk. That is what we are doing tonight.

Much Love,
ERP

Jasper Wedding Photography, Jasper Weddings

Drayton Valley Wedding Photography, Edmonton Wedding Photography, Spruce Grove Photographer | Traveling solo

-by Radelle

This was my first time on a real business trip alone. ALONE. Adam & I always travel for weddings & business together (and we LOVE it!!). No exceptions. But this time there was no adam, just lil ol me. Things were looking good. I woke up to my 5 alarms, found parking at the airport and looked stylish (pink fall coat, pink & white floral scarf & pink zebra print handbag with jeans and pointy toed shoes...if you MUST know) was at the security/immigrations desk (which may I just say is totally trippy.I mean 10 ft ago i was in Canada, and now
im supposedly in the states, being treated like a escapee from unsolved mysteries....

mean security lady: "Where are you going?"
me: "um Seattle"
mean security lady: "that sounds like a question. dont you know where you are going?"
me. "yes" (much more business like) "Seattle for sure" (akward laugh)
mean security lady: What are you going there for?
me: work
mean security lady: "what is work?" (eyes rolling)
me: oh I shoot weddings.
mean security lady: (eyes alarmed. only hearing the word "shoot") what?!
me: Oh, not *whispered* Shoot, I mean photograph. Yes. Im a very very professional photographer. Not a *whispered* *gasp* shooter at all. nope. not me. nothing to do with shooting *nervous akward laughter*.... (eyes avoiding akward
eyecontact...they go up to the right.,,or wait, is that the sign that someone IS lying....or is it up to the left....)
mean security lady: long akward pause as she studies if i can hold her gaze (which of course I cant, I mean im looking up to the right.......) .......akward time passing....me wondering if I should break out pictures of rockwell so that she sees that im not a criminal, cause criminals dont have kids, right? RIGHT?? ..... (breaks into a smile) you have a nice trip. GOOD LUCK.
me: (flood of relief. breath again)Thanks! this is my first time on a business trip alone.
mean security lady: I couldnt tell (thick sarcasm).

Drayton Valley Wedding Photographer, Drayton Valley Wedding Photography, Drayton Valley Weddings, Drayton Valley Photography, Drayton Valley

Drayton Valley Wedding Photography

Eternal Reflections Photography & Studios is now pleased to annouce that we are taking bookings for Wedding Photography in Drayton Valley.

Drayton valley wedding photography!

Drayton Valley Weddings have a fantastic feel to them. The most incredible nature surrounds Drayton Valley and incorperating that into the photographs is only natural. Drayton Valley also boats some fantastic rustic & colored walls that can give such nice variety to the photographs. Wedding Photographs from Drayton Valley weddings always have such nice variety and are always among some of our favorite shots!

Not to mention that the people there are always super nice & up for some very chic and fantastic photography!

If you are planning a Drayton Valley Wedding, it is worth your time to check out the fantastic Mackenzie Conference Centre

P: 780.514.2233F: 780.514.2527E: manager.mcc@draytonvalley.ca

The new Mackenzie Conference Centre will be linked to the Omniplex and will be able to provide space for 416 people in a dining setting and 522 people in a lecture setting. Once it is opened to the Curling Rink Lounge it will have a maximum capacity of 624 in a dining setup and 842 in a lecture setup. It has the ability to be divided into two sections in case you want to separate your functions, allowing for two different activities to occur simultaneously.

email us love@eternalreflectionsphoto.com as soon as possible if you are planning a drayton valley wedding.

www.eternalreflectionsphoto.com

Drayton valley wedding photography

Luxury Photography for Fabulous People

Edmonton Wedding Photographers

alligator pie

Adam and I were driving home from a fantastic date at the batting cages & go carts (and yes, bumper boats. I made him get into the bumper boats while I rocked out any road/boat rage ive ever had) and we got talking.
me: "have I ever told you abour the poem I performed in grade one?"
Adam: (fibbing) "no"
me: "it was called Alligator Pie, and I practiced for weeks. Shall I perform it now?"Adam: "sure honey"
me: "alligator pie, alligator pie, if i dont get some i think im gonna die. give away my hockey stick, give away the sky, but don't give away my alligator pie. Alligator soup, alligator soup, if i dont get some i think im going to droop....(etc) " (yes I performed the whole thing). (in a very monotone-im 6 years old and scared way)
Adam: "so cute honey! Did I ever tell you that by grade 4 I had all the verses of in Flanders Field Memorized"
me: (fibbing) no.
Adam: ...(performs it perfectly)
me: "you know, I think we've had this exact conversation before"
Adam: "me too"
me: Are we getting stale? no new stories? is that bad do ya think?
Adam: "No honey, that is the thing about Love. We've shared all of our stories from the past, and now all of the new exciting stories are together. We are making the new stories, now"
me: " I could die you are so perfect, thats exactly right. Not only do we have the safety & security of knowing each others past & all the charming stories, but we are making a million new ones together. Hand in Hand.
Isnt Love Grand? (that is why he's my best friend. He's so smart.)
(.. and makes great cookies.)


--------------- in about a weeks time, this blog will be so full with wedding photos it will make your eyes hurt (but in a seriously good way). At the moment we are just finishing up a gazillion orders and what not, and enjoying every moment.------------------------- sneak peek of what is to come.....

Rollerblading Hotshot - Kari-

The other day my hubby, Matthew, came home from work... I felt like I needed to stretch my legs and I told him that I wanted to go running (which shocked him, because he knows I am not a runner...at all..), however, once I explained that I want to put on my rollerblades and have him run while I hang on to the back of his shirt, it all made sense to him ;) Now, let me just say... I am terrible at rollerblading. No really. I haven't busted those sweet puppies out since last year (i rode them once last year- so no improvement to be had).
But I wanted to start it up again and have it as my new primary form of exercise. Sitting on our front step I laced up those rollerblades perfectly- stood up on my wobbly legs and I clung onto Matt's arm.
O Heavens.. what have i gotten into!
Any little twig or small pebble on the sidewalk made me nervous and I told Matt to slow this action down just a little bit and I woiuld proceed very cautiously and 'step over' the obstacles. 20 minutes goes by and Matt is still my main support... In a rash decision I decided to venture away from the womb- I let go of my safety hold. I was building up speed on the smooth sidewalk...
I felt the wind through my ..err...hair...extensions..
I turn my head around to give my hubby a 'Look at me!' smile,
and as I was turning my head back to 'starting' position...
I saw it..
I saw the curb...
I saw the curb that could cause my death...ok, I am being dramatic, but still.

Not knowing how to slow down...
I looked back at Matt and give him this look as if 'oh sweet mother of mercy..what have I done..?? HELP ME!!!'
but I knew there was not enough time...
Matt see's my dilema
and he yells in a concerned voice
'Jump the curb!!'
and I had no choice...time was up..
So I did what I had to
I jumped.

and I landed..

now, it didnt look glamerous, or professional by any means but the fact still remains- I cleared a 4 inch jump...
and landed on my very first run of the season!

As I laid my head on my pillow that night... I looked over at Matt and said in all seriousness... " I bet you didnt know you married a 'rollerblading hotshot' " He chuckled to himself and said

'Goodnight Babe'

--------
Since we all know that blogs posts are boring without pictures... here are a few from a recent wedding I shot.

Cheers,
-Kari-

Balance

Late last fall as wedding season was slowing down (that being said, we had more winter weddings then ever!), I said to Adam "I handled that awesome hey?" (I do most of the post processing, which means hours on the computer having a love affair with photoshop). To which he replied, "um, yah, not bad honey".

"WHAT??" Not bad? I thought? Every single bride received her images on time (if not early), every album was perfect, emails we answered the same day, I was on top of my game. A Olympian (you have no idea how many times I re-spelled that) of the computer. Before I stood on my coffee table and made myself a paper-chain faux medal, he replied "You just seemed a little frazzled. You needed more time for you".

"frazzled?!?"
I may or may not admit that tears welled up in my eyes (innocent until proved guilty of course).

Did he just call me out? Speak the truth, albeit in his every gentle & kind way....

I slowly got off my coffee table and said "your right. I needed balance"

So what did I learn? What did I do differently this year? Truth?

Lots.

I have learned (and am still perfecting) the art of balance. Editing images in the morning, and then if its an especially hot day, taking my son to the beach does not equal bad & unmotivated. No, it equals smart. I come back to my work, refreshed, renewed, fulfilled and with the energy of my toddler.

I shoot weddings because I love them. I edit the photos and love it.

But I also know that "we give our lives to that which we give our time".

Photoshop will never love me back.

Rockwell & Adam will.

Therefore, I have learned how to put myself & my little family first, take the odd bike ride (while brewing up new pose ideas!), and just love life.

Because in loving life, I am a better mother, wife, friend and photographer.

That happiness is contagious and as such, it shows in my clients images. and that makes me happy.

and once again, not a single bride has had to wait. In fact, most have had their photos early.

Funny how it all works out.

Peace = Beauty

Reaching Out...

This past sunday we had a Booth at Bridal Conference. It was a fantastic time! We are so incredibly excited for the upcoming season and are pretty sure we snagged all of the kind, lovely, sweetheart brides out there! Our inbox is already bursting at the seams with brides wanting to book us, and we feel such gratitude. Gratitude to be able to do something we love. Not everyone loves what they do, or is excited to go to work, but we are.

For that we are truly humbled and blessed.

At this fair, we wanted to do something different. We wanted to reach out and bridge gaps. There is nothing worse then snobiness, and we have found in the past, that bridal vendors (those in the same field) are often very standoff-ish and snobby to one another. Because of competition I assume. But, the fact is, if you are passionate about what you do, you will have clients, regardless of competition. We wanted the freedom to go walk past other photographer's booths as we were browsing the fair, without the panic of them "seeing us" and wondering if we were "scoping out the competition" :)
So, we did what we have always wanted to do. Make friends of our peers. Thats right Internet, we walked right up, introduced ourselves and said "hi"! We complimented their work and discussed photography-ish things (things that would put your average person to sleep) and it was fun! At first they looked at us like we were crazy (im sure thinking "dont they know competitors dont talk???"), but you know what? In no time at all, they came by our booth to chat & mingle some more.
We've always believed that being competitive and snobby just kills the soul and makes your photos ugly (because you are to busy being worried about everyone else, instead of loving your craft), and we were right, being friendly & kind really is the best. We made some fantastic friends of some talented photographers.

Answering some email questions!

We get a lot of emails from Brides & Photographers asking us questions! We have a very great FAQ section on our site, but its still nice to answer some on here. So here it goes!

For the Photographers

Q: How do you get such great expressions out of your clients?

A: Be ridiculously funny. We've been known to make total fools out of ourselves to get our couples to laugh! No but in all seriousness, whether its the laughing-having a great time expression or the really tender moments that we capture, we credit it to our love of love. We are genuinely so excited to go to "work" and love being at the wedding and seeing the bride & groom in love. If you feel "meh" towards weddings or wedding photography at all, do your self a favor and the brides a favor and specialize in something else. You should be there with your full heart, and then that is when you get those really fantastic images. When we first started up a gazillion years ago, we also did family & newborn portraiture. Our hearts were not in it. We did not feel that same excitement as we feel when we are photographing a wedding. So we followed our hearts and now we only photograph weddings. Find what you are passionate about and specialize in that. Not only will you naturally produce happy, emotion filled images of your couples, but you will become an industry leader because all your creative energy is in one area. So in summary, find what you love, love what you do, and the art will create itself!

Q: What are two things that help to make photographing a wedding easier?
A: We are in love with 2 things at the moment. Our GPS & our shootsac.

Q: Can I pick your brain?
A: Yes. We offer consulting & workshops.

For the Bride & Groom

Are you awesome? yes.

Can you prove it? yes.

Watch this

(video by Nostalgia Media)

Much Love,
Adam , Radelle & Kari

Edmonton Wedding Photographer. More to come soon!

Edmonton Wedding Photographer. Sneek Peak :)

The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald- Edmonton Photographer

Shane and Shellaine
---

I had the absolute privilege of shooting this beautiful couples Engagement (this past July) and their wedding (this September)!

They were game to do anything-
and I mean anything...
From dirty back alleys (that were so dodgy)... to having to deal with the police (oh, dear!)...
I dont think I have ever laughed so much shooting a wedding- I mean, tears came to my eyes from laughing so much! They were really a Hoot to be with!

So eventful.
and So Memorable.

Cheers,

Kari

---

Engagement Session
Shane and Shellaine

{Sneak Peek}

The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald Wedding
Shellaine and Shane

{Sneak Peek}