Julie Williams Photography

NIXON.

juliewilliams — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:33:07 +0000

Nixon is a quite the bigtime hero all wrapped up into a teeny-tiny perfect package. Holly and Mark welcomed this little man into their lives nearly three months ahead of schedule. Just last week he celebrated his 40-week milestone…one day before his mum and dad’s first wedding anniversary. Nixon has come a heck of a long way in his first few months, it’s already been such a journey for all three of them. After spending the first several weeks of his life in the NICU, at last he’s been allowed to settle into a routine at home and is now just thriving. I can’t even begin to explain the amount of love that Holly and Mark have for their first son, however, I hope these images will give you an idea of just how smitten they are with their little guy.

Holly and Mark, thank you so so so much for inviting me into your home for your first set of family portraits. This is, without a doubt, the very coolest part of my job. Stay in touch!

JULIE+BRYAN

juliewilliams — Sat, 12 May 2012 19:21:30 +0000

Julie and Bryan were married on the last weekend of April. It was an absolutely perfect April day for a wedding in the Rockies…all thanks to a mutual friend, a guy named Claude. Julie and Bryan had hung out in similar circles for years but never really met, somehow though Claude had a feeling they just might hit it off. Jules brushed it off at first, but eventually agreed to meet up with this Bryan guy the next time she was back in town. Well sure enough, Claude was right…after a couple quick nights of hanging out he got a call from Jules: “I’m going to marry him.”

And that she did. Congrats guys!

Seriously, JULES!

Julie worked for over a year working on the design for the big day. With the help of Julianne the rustic ballroom at Silvertip was decked out just beautifully. It was my first time working with Julianne since she launched her company. We had a collaborated a couple times back in 2011 when she was interning with my good friend Calladra from Cherry Tree Occasions. Well, Julianne did a top-notch job of managing Julie & Bryan’s day! I’m excited to see where her business goes in the coming years.

Jules and her grandma worked for over a year knitting a set of homemade slippers for every single guest! These cozy little guys were such a hit on the dancefloor with the ladies who had been wearing heels all day long.

Adam came along to help out in the photobooth…I think he had a bit of fun.

MAKE IT YOURS: BREAKING THE RULES

juliewilliams — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:00:19 +0000

Alright, this is likely going to be my very favorite topic in this week’s blog series: Make It Yours. Truth be told, I was never much of a rule-breaker as a kid, but now that I’m in the wedding biz, I get a tad excited when my couples go out of their way to break every rule in the book. I’ve always appreciated the ‘who says you have to’ state of mind whether it applies to your wedding, or just everyday life in general. I’m terribly thankful that so many of my fantastic clients feel the same way.

Avid outdoors-man-&-woman Elizabeth and Jason traveled from Atlanta to Alberta for a very small lakeside ceremony in Banff. Immediately following the nuptials and a family-style lunch, they headed off into the backcountry for a week-long backpacking trip…so clearly they wore their hiking gear! Who says the bride must be in white?

Marisol and Orin decided to elope at Emerald Lake. A true elopement includes only the bride and groom…the thought of not having her mother present wasn’t an option to Marisol, so they invited her as their single guest. Mum even had the honor of walking her down the aisle…rain or shine.

Here’s another unconventional escort…Erin’s pup!

This was a fun wedding for me to be a part of! Diana and Charles rented out a beautiful chalet up at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort over the New Year’s weekend. They invited a bunch of friends and family members to join them for a casual NYE party…not a wedding. Surprise!

Aussie brides, Fox and Katie came to the Bow Valley to marry. Before departing for Canada, they went down to their local salon to get a lesson in hair and makeup so that they could spend the morning of the wedding getting ready together. So cute!

…and then they walked down the aisle hand in hand.

Adam & I loved this idea, so we did it too! It was seriously such an awesome moment walking through a narrow path in the bush together to our wedding ceremony. When we came around the corner all of our guests who were tucked into a little clearing started cheering and clapping…it was hands-down my very favorite part of our day.

Lauren’s best friends are all guys. For this reason, she chose to have “man-maids” instead of bridesmaids…why not? This group photographed so well!

Tracy and Jimmy wanted a nice, casual dinner party for their wedding reception. To achieve this, they rented a beautiful, spacious luxury cabin up at Kicking Horse in Golden, threw a bunch of burgers on the BBQ and had friends take turns manning the bar. It was a lovely, light-hearted and cozy affair.

So there you have it, a full week of some of my very favorite ideas and tips to keep your wedding authentic, thoughtful and close to your heart…I sure hope my insights have given you some food for thought! I must send a huge thank you to all my absolutely fantastic clients over the past few years…I absolutely appreciate the constant inspiration, all the great ideas certainly keep things interesting for me!

Now it’s your turn. Here’s the plan:

1. Send us your 5 days worth of scavenger hunt answers [Callandra's "tip of the day" and my "photo of the day"] by filling in this form right here. [HINT: if you joined us late or missed a day half-way through, chances are you may still be able to find some of the "hidden treasures" click here, here, here, here, and here you'll have to dig through the galleries to find the corresponding images to Callandra's tips....see the original contest announcement for details.]

2. Next, fill us in on your wedding date and location, as well as a few fun details about what you’ve got planned for your big day. We also want to hear about the two of you…we’re both suckers for a heck of a happily ever after story. The entry form is very straightforward, but be sure to drop me a line if you’ve got any questions. Keep in mind, we’re on the hunt for a fun, creative mountain-loving couple to collaborate with in the coming year…knock our socks off! We’d just love to see an inspiration board of some sort, Pinterest is a great way to build one! The form is due on Sunday May the 13th of May by 11:59pm MST. Be sure to familiarize yourself with all complete contest details and terms & conditions.

3. Callandra & I will sit down together with the entries [...and likely a bottle of nice red wine] in order to pick the winner of the giveaway which will be announced by May 15th.

4. The 4 of us get started on planning your Best Day Ever.

5. GOOD LUCK!

//”THE BEST DAY EVER” PHOTO OF THE DAY CAN BE FOUND IN CLAIRE & MIKE’S WEDDING ALBUM. DON’T FORGET TO HEAD ON OVER TO CALLANDRA’S BLOG FOR HER PORTION OF THE CONTEST. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS WEEK…CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU ALL!//