One of the perks of living in a globally interconnected world, when distance seemingly gets smaller with each passing day, is our ability to travel. (Pandemics notwithstanding!) When it comes to the world of weddings, travel has opened up a world of possibilities, from destination weddings and elopements to destination engagement shoots, each offering up a chance for couples to bask within unique vistas and backdrops, offering them something different from traditional city locations. Along with the added bonus of ending up with breathtaking photos they will cherish forever.
Our job as photographers is to bring a couple’s photographic vision to life, so we work with our couples extensively for any destination shoot. This includes planning, outfit recommendations, location suggestions, logistics and location scouting, in the weeks and months leading up to the shoot. Ultimately, it is a collaboration between ourselves and the couple, in visualizing and creating a certain mood and style for the shoot. While the idea of destination shoots in a world just coming out of a pandemic can be daunting, we’re now finding that a lot of our couples are itching to get away! The way they look at it is: not only can they finally embark on a vacation after 18 months of lockdowns, it gives them a break from all the stress of wedding planning, even if it’s just for a weekend.
Amy and Sunny chose the historic city of Jaipur in India for their destination engagement shoot. Amy had this to say about the experience, “One of the best parts of the wedding process as a whole, was being able to travel to Jaipur for our e-shoot. We’ll be obsessed with those pictures forever!”
We’re also obsessed with these pictures! After months of planning, we got to Jaipur a few days before Amy & Sunny, and spent some time scouting locations. And we’re so happy with the results. Jaipur, also known as the Pink City, photographs so well that you could pick almost any nook or cranny and it will look gorgeous in camera. The pink palace is the famous Hawa Mahal, also known as the Palace of Wind. The stunning interiors with intricately pastel-painted walls is Patrika Gate, and we ended the shoot at Amber Palace, with its classic Mughal-influenced architecture. We love that Amy & Sunny’s carefully assembled outfits complement each location, and a combination of casual and formal styling really gives it the feel of doing multiple shoots in one.
Amy & Sunny’s wedding was impacted by Covid, so they ended up having a gorgeous but intimate, traditional Sikh ceremony in Toronto. For all the brides out there who are stressed because of the pandemic, here’s a piece of advice from Amy, “Planning a pandemic wedding was far from easy. Every week was a new outlook on how the province would let us celebrate this once in a lifetime event. The biggest challenge was constantly altering our plans to work with the changing times. We had a smaller scale wedding which included our close family members but it ended up being a great experience, and I recommend intimate weddings to everyone!” A smaller scale wedding allowed them to focus on the intricate details of their big day and the people that truly matter in their lives.
This intimate celebration also gave them more time to work with their wedding vendors. In fact, Amy raves about them! “We loved our vendors! We couldn’t imagine having our wedding experience without them. The decor teams were working with us just weeks before, and the hair and makeup team of Sabrina and Jyoti were so helpful in putting together my whole look! And finally – last but not least – Cineverse Films and Strokes Photography were our dream video/photo vendors who worked with us every step of the way to make sure we were happy and at ease!” And if Amy has one piece of advice for her fellow brides, this will be it, “Build relationships with your vendors so that you can trust their ability to meet your expectations!”
Decor: Innovative Events Co. @innovativeeventsco, Diya Decor @diyadecor
Bride Makeup: Sabrinaxmakeup @sabrinaxmakeup
Bride Hair: Bellaflair @bellaflair.jb
Photo: Strokes Photography @strokesphotography
Video: Cineverse Films @cineversefilms
Mehndi / Henna Artist: HennaByMayaa @hennabymayaa
