micah bowerbank MB
photography
Modern Luxury Weddings and More
micahbowerbank.com info@micahbowerbank.com 647-333-9988
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We’re so happy with our decision to have you & Carly take care of our photography. I couldn’t have imagined anyone else being as great as you two were.
Tammi & Daniel
The Day Planning Your Wedding Day
We hear it all the time during consultations, “We want images like that!” Our potential clients then point out a striking image from one of our sample albums showcasing dramatic lighting, beautiful clouds, and a happy bride and groom locked in an epic kiss. Here is what you need to know while planning your day to make sure that we are able to capture the same gorgeous moments for you…
Making time for Portraits
Scheduling is the number one mistake most brides make concerning their wedding photography. The best conditions for shooting couple portraits outdoors are 1 hour before sunset. That means that if you want striking skies in your pictures, you need to make sure that there is time for portraits in that golden hour. We recommend a MINIMUM of 1 hour for the portraits of just you and your groom. The mistake most brides make is to leave an hour between the ceremony and reception for all of their portraits. This is not enough time once you factor in travel time, family portraits, and the risk of running behind schedule. We cannot express strongly enough that scheduling is crucial. We are available at any time to help you with the timeline of your day. We love working with our brides-to-be on their schedule.
Breaking free from Tradition
If you are uncomfortable making your guests wait, consider having the majority of your portraits shot before the ceremony in what we like to call a “First Look” session (Read more about this on the next page). With your portraits out of the way before the ceremony we can focus on fun group shots and heirloom family portraits between the ceremony and reception without feeling rushed.
Gathering the Family
One of the biggest time management challenges is gathering your family for portraits after the ceremony. We try to move through these as quickly as possible but sometimes they just go on forever while family members mill around and chat. We always ask for a set photo list before hand that we use to move through things. We also ask that you designate a wedding party member to be our assistant for wrangling family members and making sure they are all paying attention. Also, let key family members know that they will need to stick around after the ceremony for pictures.
Before the big day Why have an Engagement session?
Engagement sessions are included in our base coverage collection for a reason. Not only are these session a lot of fun, but they also allow us to get to know you better as a couple, your personality, your style, and the your best angles months before your wedding. These sessions are invaluable and we highly suggest that every bride and groom take part in one. These sessions also help you become more comfortable in front of our cameras. Plus when else are you able to get dressed up and be the centre of attention?
When?
We recommend scheduling your engagement session 4-6 months before your wedding date. That will give you plenty of time to use the images in your announcements, to order a custom designed guestbook for your wedding, or to have any prints or enlargements made to use for your wedding day.
What?
We love to help you prepare for a session – so don’t be afraid to call and ask about style tips or wardrobe planning assistance. We suggest bringing a minimum of two different looks – something fancy and something that shows of your personal style. Try to aim for coordination, but not an exact match. We also suggest that you bring accessories like your favourite sunglasses, hats, purses, etc.
so excited and nervous “toI was see her for the first time. I so glad we decided to see each other ahead of time. I’ll always cherish those few minutes
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Jonathan
During your special day Why have a “First Look” session?
Way back, when marriages were arranged by parents and couples were chosen for strategic reasons and not always romantic ones, brides were kept in hiding up until the moment of the ceremony. This was done so the groom could not make a pre-wedding escape in the event he found her unappealing. The tradition remained through the years, partly due to nostalgia, and partly due to superstition. Many brides and grooms are taught to believe it is bad luck to see each other before the ceremony. However, as modern couples become more photography savvy, they are kicking this tradition to the curb in favour of something we like to call a “First Look”
How?
The bride and groom get ready separately. When they are both ready, the groom is taken to a picturesque location and waits. The bride then enters and the groom turns to see her for the first time. The moment is extremely intimate and tender. The emotions captured during a “First Look” are so incredibly tender and genuine. You don’t have to worry about people watching, or what you are going to say. You can cry, kiss, cuddle, laugh and most of all speak to each other – something you can’t do during the ceremony. Plus why wouldn’t you want to savour this super special moment alone together? Many brides and grooms are afraid seeing each other before the ceremony will ruin the excitement and emotion of walking down the aisle toward each other but this is just not the case. Seeing each other privately before the ceremony helps to calm nerves, and is usually the only time you will both have privately together all day!
amazing! I had so much fun and everyone so far is completely in LOVE “ Micah! Thewithpicsthearepics! Now we have more amazing pics to cover our walls with!
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Julie & Rob
After: Encore Sessions The Day After
These sessions are for couples who want to really capture beautiful portraits and romantic shots of themselves in multiple settings and environments and to do so free of the stress and time restraints of the actual wedding day. Plus it’s a great excuse to get all dolled up again! During these sessions, couples wear their wedding clothing, and sometimes even bring another bouquet. Clothes may get a bit dirty depending on the location of the session – but it’s cleanable. These sessions can be held anytime after your wedding, not just the “day after”
Trash the Dress
Our “Trash the Dress” (or Tuxedo) sessions start off the same as our “Day After” session but then they go much further. Your dress will get ruined! These sessions are not for everyone – but if you don’t like the idea of storing your beautiful dress in a huge bag in the attic where it will slowly turn yellow – and would rather have a lot of fun and create unique images and memories this may be the perfect session for you. During these sessions we are not worried about getting dirty we go anywhere, climb anything, jump into fountains, pools and oceans, and get all kinds of dramatic, show-stopping, brag-worthy, makeeveryone-you-know-jealous images.
Memories The all important wedding album
Over the years we have test driven many different albums. All in an effort to bring you the best, longest lasting and most stylish albums. Since every client is unique we offer four types of albums to match your album to your style. We custom design all our albums (no templates here). The layouts are modern and clean with storytelling images as the main focal point. We keep our layouts uncluttered and crisp so you can cherish the images for years to come without fear of your album looking “dated”.
The Process
After your wedding, while you are off enjoying your honeymoon we’ll be hard at work creating a masterpiece that will become your cherished family heirloom. Albums are usually sold with a starting base set of pages – we try and keep this in mind when designing your album but we won’t let it limit our creativity. For example if you ordered a 30 page book and during our design phase there are simply too many great moments we feel need to be included and our design ends up being 40 pages; in these situations we always let you decide, and there is no extra cost unless you agree to the extra pages. Once you’re back from your honeymoon we’ll book an album review session and come to your residence to show you the design and work through any changes you might have. After our meeting we’ll incorporate all your requested changes and send you a final design to sign off. Your album will then be sent to the printers and should arrive back to you within 6 weeks.
Our Album Line-up Classic
Our classic album is actually a mix of a classic matted photo album and a digital flush mount album. These albums are eternally classic with their flat black mattes and traditional inlaid photo prints.
Modern
These albums are as modern as they come. Each album is hand crafted with archival paper and bond adhesive. Their lay-flat design allows us to design panoramic spreads using your favourite images. These albums offer us the most creative freedom when designing your family heirloom.
Coffee Table Books
Our coffee table books are great for engagement sessions, “Day After” sessions, “Trash the Dress” sessions or as parent copies of your main album. They come in a variety of leather, fabric or photo covers, feature strong 100lb paper. An innovative hinged paper design allows the pages to lay flat, much like our higher-end albums. These albums make great gifts for your family.
FAQ How do we start the booking process and what is required to book with you?
After we had a chance to either meet of speak about your plans for your wedding, let us know you’re ready to book by emailing us with the services you would like. We’ll send you a proposal and contract. You’ll be able to approve and sign them online and will then be able to pay your retainer online or with a cheque. We require a non-refundable retainer of 50% as well as the signed contract to book your date.
When is the balance due?
The balance is due 14 days before the wedding date.
How can we pay you?
We accept cash, cheque, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal. We also have on online booking site that lets you complete the whole process from the comfort of your home.
Do you have insurance and back up equipment?
Yes, we are covered by one of the industry’s most well respected agencies and we always bring backup gear.
Can we set up a time to meet with you in person?
We love to meet with prospective clients and hear your vision for your wedding photography and see if we are in fact the perfect match for you. We prefer to meet on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings. As part of our service we come right to your house for the meeting or if you prefer a trendy coffee shop nearby.
Can you hold our date for us?
Due to the volume of inquiries we receive, we are unable to hold or “pencil in dates” for potential clients. Dates are booked on a first come first served basis. A date is considered booked once a contract and retainer have been received. The first client to sign a contract and pay their retainer will get the date.
Will you travel?
Yes we love to travel and are happy to go wherever your wedding is. Our prices remain the same for both local and destination weddings with the exception of additional travel costs. We consider Niagara Falls to Oshawa our local area. In the event travel is required we will customize a travel quote for you based on your specific event.
Can we drop a few hours of coverage to cut costs?
Saturdays are prime dates for us so we do not accept bookings under our “essentials collection”. If your wedding is on a day other than Saturday we will evaluate your request on a case by case basis. Thanks for your understanding.
We do not need an engagement session; can we take it out?
Our “essentials collection” can be added to, but not taken away from. We are open to discussing replacing one element with another.
We have a break between our ceremony and reception. Can we break up our hours? Our coverage is for consecutive hours, which means even if there is a break we’ll still be on the clock. In the event of a multi-day event which would require at least 5 hours per day we can split your coverage.
About Us Micah Bowerbank Photography started as a simple love of portraiture. But ever since my wife (Carly) and I got married we both fell in love with weddings. We cherish every element and detail of the wedding day. Our outgoing nature and passion are what make us such a great team when it comes to not only capturing your special day but also supporting you throughout it. The most common thing we hear after a wedding from our couples is that they could not believe how helpful we were, and that we felt like family to them.