{Caribbean Destination Wedding - Dreams Palm Beach Resort} Ottawa Wedding Photgraphers

Warning..this is a long one :)

I met with Julie back in the summer as she was just beginning to plan her luxury destination wedding in the Caribbean with Luxe Destination weddings in Toronto. We talked for hours...I think it was the most epic consultation ever...5 hours!
Her wedding was planned at Dreams - Palm Beach - a luxury resort in Punta Cana Dominican Republic.

She planned a poolside reception in the evening with fire dancers, a Dominican band and a private DJ to end the evening. It was a dream wedding shared with her closest friends and family. In total there were 30 of us traveling in her party and I can't say enough about the amazing friends that Julie and Pascal share. Julie and many of her friends met in med school and were now practicing in their respective fields. They traveled from Toronto, New York, Montreal and Quebec City to come together for their wedding.

Pascal was still away on a tour in Afghanistan and so it was only just before the wedding that we had a chance to meet face to face. The next time we would meet would be for their civil ceremony in their home, where I was able to see first hand just how deeply these two loved each other. He  was less enthusiastic about being photographed, after they had a preview of their images from the slideshow I prepared for everyone, he said to me " I am SO glad we brought you!" with a great big hug. Made me feel amazing that they were so happy with their preliminary images :).

By the end of the week we also did a trash the dress session VERY early Friday morning...because Punta Cana does not have sunsets on the water...only sunrises. It was worth it...especially when the clouds finally cleared.

It is always special to document a destination wedding. You can't help but get more attached to the couple and in getting to know friends and family, the wedding becomes so much more personal. Did I cry again? Yes. It was beautiful.

My favorite moment of the day was when we walked off the resort up the beach to have some quiet moments for photos with champagne in hand. It was the first time all week that I saw the two exhale and savor the moment they were in. With the warm breeze and the sun fading behind them...it was truly sweet.

Here are some of my favorites:




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Contact: melanie@m-contemporaryphotography.com

613.769.6019

{M is for Media Coverage-Trash the Dress} Ottawa Wedding Photographers

It was a blast. Myself, Rebecca, Dana (of With Love Bridal Boutique) and my trusty assistant Alea headed out on a warm sunny afternoon to shoot a trash the dress session with CBC television and radio with Ashley Burke. For someone who hates having her photo taken (yes it's true), being filmed was nerve wracking...Nonetheless, we has a great time! Here's our story! Special thanks to Sylvain and Caroline of Reno Video Productions who also came along for the fun.

Ottawa Brides Trash the Gown

Last Updated: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 | 7:15 PM ET

CBC News

Some recently married women in Ottawa are putting on their wedding dresses for a second photo shoot, but not the formal portraits that go into wedding albums.

They're taking their expensive, once-in-a-lifetime gown to an industrial site or waterway and jumping in. For some, it's an artistic statement, a chance to recycle an emotion-charged piece of clothing. For others, it's simply fun.

"I'm not going to get married again. You get married and you're done with the dress. It's going to hang in the closet. Let's wear it again and do something cool," said Dana Salares, who got married a year ago.

Salares said she had a big, rushed wedding: "I wasn't relaxed … we didn't have a lot of pictures where we just looked like we were having the time of our lives."

She didn't like her wedding photos: " I just wanted to be perfect. I didn't look like myself."

Now she's jumping into a pond in her $2,000 dress. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Rebecca Visscher scoured the racks for months before walking down the aisle in a $1,300 designer gown.

"I promised I wouldn't get trashed on my wedding," but it's different now, she said. "You get to just have fun, let loose and take your hair down literally and take some great pictures with your favourite dress."

For wedding photographer Mélanie Rebane of m photography in Ottawa, it's all about dropping Cinderella brides into big, sloppy messes for an edgy, untraditional shot.

"I can't throw someone in the water on their wedding day," she said. "I can't get them dirty. They're far too precious with their dress."

Called trash the dress or rock the frock, the idea started at destination weddings in the Caribbean with cheaper gowns, where brides would go to a beach and jump in, gown an all.

Since then, it has spread as photographers encouraged brides to burn their dress or throw paint on it, Rebane said.

Visscher didn't go that far. She had her picture taken in a sewer pipe, a big change from wrapping the dress in acid-free paper and putting it away for a daughter who may never wear it.

Special note: Just because it's called "trash the dress", doesn't necessarily mean it's trashed ...often this is a final step in saying goodbye to the wedding gown before passing it on to be donated or consigned.

Content Credit to CBC Canada

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613.769.6019

Trash the Dress] Ottawa Trash the Dress photographer

Welcome to a preview of Dagmar's recent trash the dress session in Ottawa. Dagmar didn't get the chance to wear her dress the way she wanted to on her wedding day when the shop released a crinoline of the wrong size. Among other things, D was looking to create some amazing images with her dress the way it was meant to be. With her enthusiastic mother-in-law as my lighting assistant (thanks mum!) and her hubby Jim -the hero who drove back almost an hour for the special order orchids and some amazing early November weather we rocked it! Here's is a preview of our super fun trash the dress session. Thanks D, Jim and mum for a super fun time...
















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SLIDESHOW:


WHAT SHE SAID:
I saw the "sneak preview" and I love it already! I can't thank you enough. I feel like there has been a big weight lifted off my shoulders and I FINALLY have peace of mind being able to wear my dress as it was supposed to be and having memorable pictures of it. My mother-in-law had a lot of fun as the photographer's assistant and the 3 of us enjoyed a wonderful dinner at our wedding location afterwards. Jimmy agreed that you are very bubbly, fun, professional, and a pleasure to work with. Anyways, thank you again and I have already recommended you to all of my newly wedded friends. Jimmy and I will definitely have you at the top of our list for future family and, hopefully, baby photo shoots!

m photography is an active member of the Canada Wedding Photographers Association.

Anne's Trash the Dress] Ottawa Trash the Dress photographer

Anne contacted me recently to do a trash the dress session here in Ottawa. She was a little nervous at first, but here's what she said about her session.

"I heard about trash the dress years ago and have always thought it sounded like a lot of fun. and a way to get some really cool pictures. One day I was surfing the internet looking for cool pictures of anything as I really appreciate good photography. When I saw your pictures, I just felt compelled to email you. I have never emailed a photographer before and I still can't believe it worked out as well as it did. The shoot was really fun. On our way to Ottawa I was definitely nervous and worried about the whole thing, but we both enjoyed ourselves a lot and found that you made it a really comfortable experience. We both feel like we are the type of people that have a hard time being natural in front of the camera, so we know how hard you had to work! Thanks so much for making it a good experience for us!"

More About A &D:

"Darren and I met five years ago. I bought the house next door to him and our driveways were attached. His house looked really interesting from the outside and when my Mom came to visit she said to me, "Make sure you get to know your neighbors, because I really want to see the inside of that house!" What can I say, I try to do as I'm told. :) It took a few months for us to really meet and I felt like every time he saw me, something disastrous and/or klutzy was happening (locked out of the house in my pajamas, stuff breaking, my friend's brother cutting his arm up in the driveway etc, etc) but it worked out anyway. I spent a lot of time hanging out in the back yard that first spring. Anyway, we were worried in the beginning about the potential badness of living next door to each other if we broke up but said we would go halves on a big fence if that happened - but as you know it didn't. Darren went to Afghanistan while we were dating and brought home a ring and proposed while he was home on his leave (I ended up with pneumonia for his whole leave...I really am a disaster!!)"

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Contact: melanie@m-contemporaryphotography.com


m photography is an active member of the Canada Wedding Photographers Association.

My First YOU TUBE Video ever] Ottawa Trash the Dress Photographer

I so enjoyed shooting the Trash the Dress session last Thursday with my 5D2 that I thought I would take a stab at editing some video and firing it up to You Tube. So without further delay, you can see some of the action and the stills all in one right here. I can foresee great improvements ahead...but for now, enjoy my first video ever...in HD. Stay tuned for future shoot videos to come...maybe your engagement or trash session?

Trash the Dress] Ottawa Trash the Dress photographer

We had an amazing shoot with two local women here in Ottawa who wanted to have an adventure, get dirty and look amazing doing it. I was joined by by friend and photographer Jen Lucas from Photojenic in Trenton, who drove over two and a half hours in to do this shoot and we had a blast! If you are considering a "Trash the Dress" adventure with myself or Jen, please contact us for more information. Interested in doing it with a friend or two...even better. Thank you to S and A for their sense of adventure, willingness to try anything including bathe in bug spray!