1. Ask your photographer what will work best for light and timing before the wedding. The right lighting can literally make a location magical or not magical. Having your wedding at noon in the summer is most wedding photographers nightmare, however a time closer to sunset is more ideal for lighting.
2. Dried rose petals are my personal fave and the best for your guests to shower you with after you're announced as the newlyweds. They are more impactful in photos than most things.
3. Always have a back up plan for weather. (Not just sometimes, ALL the time) My motto is plan for the worst, hope for the best. Have a tent on back up if your wedding is outdoors, have umbrellas and boots for back up ALWAYS not just sometimes. On the island it rains suddenly, spontaneously and even when there is no rain in the forecast! Be prepared and hope for the best, you’ll be less worried and stressed if you have a “just in case” plan in place. Trust me!
4. Embrace bad weather... like rain! Seriously folks, rain is ok. Rain is freaking beautiful. It adds mood, dimension and forces your photographer to be more creative and may even inspire them to try something new or more creative. I don’t really do the “rain on your wedding is good luck” but I am on the “rain on your wedding can be freaking magical and memorable” train. Embrace your day, worrying about it isn’t going to change a thing. If you truly just embrace whatever your day is brewing up for you… you will enjoy your wedding way more. Clients of mine know, if it’s raining they may even be treated with seeing me in an umbrella hat!
5. Be present. Stress less, be in the moment more. Seriously, breathe and try and sink into your moments! Go with the flow! These are moments in your one wild and precious life! Good moments! Enjoy them! Your photos will reflect YOU and your day. If you are having the time of your life with the love of your life your photos will ALWAYS be better.
6. Have your wedding outside of “wedding season”. Wedding season on Vancouver Island is about May to September. However, many are wisely choosing weddings outside of the summer for a variety of reasons. Some places and vendors are more flexible with rates in their slower season as well as your guests will love a wedding outside of the busy summer months when they may already be attending a handful of weddings! Hello fall weddings?! Most beautiful!
7. Expect the unexpected, and roll with it. Weddings are a perfect place for unexpected to happen. A sudden hailstorm, a toddler tantrum (or on occasion an adult tantrum) a power outage, a broken ankle, an unwanted pimple, something forgotten, misspoken etc. Try as much as humanly possible to keep all things in perspective and try to have a sense of humour about it all as well. All of the crazy things that can happen will all just be another part of your beautiful story one day.
8. When in doubt, ask. We’ve seen it all and we want your wedding to be rad. If you are doubting or questioning something about your ideas or timeline. Ask us, we’d rather be in the loop with what you’re up to than left out. We like to prepare and anticipate all the juiciest moments so a heads up is appreciated!
9. Follow your vendors on social media for a good while BEFORE booking them. You should get a feel for who they are and what they value through their feed. If they are constantly posting things that bug you, maybe not the best fit. Also I urge you to seek out client testimonials and hear what others experiences have been with them. If you’ve hired someone you love and trust then ask them for their favourite vendors as well! Create your own personal dream team and your day will be a dream.
10. Do your wedding YOUR way. It doesn't have to be something out of a trendy blog or magazine, or a $10k dress or even a $1k dress. It can be as elaborate or as intimate as you desire. It truly is all about what you and your sweetie dream up or what feels right for YOU. Get your dress at the thrift store, go barefoot, have your grannie be your flower girl, have a pancake breakfast, or have a food truck for dinner. Just whatever you do, DO YOU.
I was standing upstairs about to crawl into bed. It was almost past my 7 months pregnant bed time of about 10pm. I got a notification from twitter... that went a little something like this... "@VIWeddingRing
@erinwallis just won award at @bcweddingawards!! Yay Vancouver Island!" I had entered a few images but was unable to get myself to the awards gala hosted in Vancouver. I thought... "what?" then...."oh. my".. then... "what did I win?" I messaged last years winner of 
