As wedding photographers, it’s important for us to stay connected to top industry professionals. Who else can better advise you on how to perfect your craft than someone who’s been there and done it all? There’s so much we, as creatives, can learn from each other! This week I met up with Becky De Oliveira from Blush & Bloom, one of the best wedding and event flower studios in Toronto, to talk all things wedding florals! Even better, I got to check out her beautiful studio in the west end of the city and see how she’s putting together her beautiful, garden style floral creations first hand!
Ok, by now we know that wedding florals are one of the most important aspects of wedding styling and decor. As a wedding photographer, I get super excited when it comes to photographing your wedding flowers! Why? Floral design adds that extra special sparkle to your wedding decor and gives it texture, height, depth and colour. With so many styling options to choose from, you can truly customize your wedding with flowers that speak to you and set the mood and tone of your special day. In our interview below, Becky explains what flowers photograph best and what’s in trend this upcoming wedding season! I also featured some of my favourite shots from Melissa and Georgos wedding we worked together with Becky and her team.
Mango Studios: How does photography factor in your floral design and event styling process?
Blush & Bloom (BB): Photography is everything to my business! Almost as important as the flowers, if I can be so bold. We always love working with clients who have selected vendors that we work with often for their weddings and/or events. I know the details will be taken care of, and in turn we will have gorgeous reflections of the couple and their florals for our portfolio following the wedding. The bridal bouquet for me, personally is the key to the wedding, and in turn the images. I want it to be naturally fitting to each bride, and the time and effort that we specifically put into making it unique is crucial for the photos. Our bouquets have a specific shape and feel, so they can be photographed many ways, however, my favorite is always close up detail shots of the bride holding her flowers. Aside from that, I always love a full shot of the entire reception area to reflect the entire feel of the event. In smaller venues this always seems to be better received, as I can see the details that were added to the florals to complete the whole look. Details of the tabletop are another favorite, as a lot of our clients work with us through the design process to choose complimentary tabletop decor such as glassware, charger plates, candles, etc that all in turn compliment the flowers and complete the look. In the end, receiving clients photos in our inbox is the most magical gift of all in this business! We oftentimes don’t have time to take photos of every event that we do on site, so we miss a lot of details and often times regret not having more time to capture things, but knowing our photographer who is working the event is always a reassuring because we know they will nail every detail. Especially when the photographers are our friends!
MS: Do you help your couple’s search for a wedding photographer?
BB: Oftentimes our clients have a photographer already, but when they come for a floral meeting prior to knowing, I normally asses the feel of their wedding, the couple’s personal style, their Venue itself, and what type of personality they have. We have a handful of photographers that we always love working with, and we give 2-3x recommendations to clients based on who we feel they would be most suited to. It is always an easy sell to refer photographers we have worked with in the past, as the clients can look through our portfolio and rest assured that the photos of our work were captured by the companies we refer. I think clients really love to see the relationships between their vendors, and they feel a sense of ease knowing that we know how each other’s businesses work, and how we work together.
MS: What photos are you most excited to see post wedding day?
BB: Bridal bouquet details is my number one most excited moment! But overall, I love seeing the full gallery, oftentimes we don’t get to see other details like the bride and groom getting ready and dancing at night sort of captures.
MS: What are some photo worthy trends you’re seeing this year?
BB: I think architecture is something that from a total non-photographer’s perspective always seems to make for more interesting images. I see more and more locations with really interesting scale with the couple’s portraits, or interesting staircases and huge landscapes. Whether or not this is a trend coming from someone like myself can probably be argued but I do see more and more landscape images for couples portraits. I also think from a floral perspective that things like installations and large focal pieces are always what we feel is photo worthy! Anything the client orders and we create to add drama to a space is always crucial for it to feel like it did, so if it is relayed in a photo we all can reflect on how massive/stunning/eye catching it was on the day of.
MS: What is it that attracts you and your couples to Mango Studios each year?
BB: The classic, timeless elegance of the Mango style is always appealing to our clients, as well as us! I love that details are always covered and we always have a soft, light and pretty gallery to choose from, with so many photography options. You guys are fantastic, and so passionate about your work and we love that about you – as do our clients!
Photography: Mango Studios
Flowers and Floral Design: Blush & Bloom
Venue: Graydon Hall Manor
